A grey spring day

Hello

A change of scenery today with a walk around the Nene Barrage section of Clifford Hill Pits which held large numbers of birds including an excellent array of gulls and wildfowl. Parking in Riverside Retail Park and a noisy Ring-necked Parakeet flew over. Other birds attracted to the wetlands included a pair of Pintail, seven Goosanders, a single Golden Plover, a pair of Oystercatchers, a couple of Siskins and a Cetti's Warbler.

A ringing session at the main feeding station at Pitsford Reservoir this morning began with a Chiffchaff being the first bird caught. Others included twelve new Reed Buntings, seven Tree Sparrows, five Great Tits, seven Blue Tits, two Dunnocks, a Robin, a Greenfinch, a Yellowhammer, a Starling and two Blackbirds.

Other birds on-site in the Scaldwell Bay included a pair of Oystercatchers, thirty Snipe, two Jack Snipe and a hunting female Merlin which caught a Starling over fields to the west of the reserve.

A Sand Martin was seen at Summer Leys LNR this morning and there was also a 'redhead' Smew there plus an Oystercatcher, a Siskin and a Redpoll.

The Short-eared Owl flushed up again from Bunker Three at Harrington Airfield this afternoon and there were about two hundred mobile Golden Plovers on-site.

Adrian located an adult Mediterranean Gull on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits this afternoon, a Peregrine was on the usual communications tower at St Peter's Way, Northampton and Clive again saw a Blackcap in his Wollaston garden.

Regards

Neil M

A rather tame Grey
Heron at Weston Mill,
Northampton today.

Female Goldeneye courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Goldfinch courtesy of
John Tilly.