Wryneck in the frame.

Hello

I spent the day on the reserve section of Pitsford Reservoir today conducting a Naturetrek Day Tour. It was rather cool and with showers and hail and even some thunder at times which meant that insects were at a minimum! Mischa had some moths for us to examine comprised of Powdered Quaker, Hebrew Character, Muslin Moth and the aptly named Brindled Beauty. During the periods of sunshine we managed to find butterflies in the forms of Orange-tip, Green-veined White, Peacock and Speckled Wood and other insects included Dark-edged Bee-fly and Ashy Mining-Bee. Plenty of newly-arrived Garden Warblers were on-site with a couple of them showing and we enjoyed good views of Marsh Tit, Willow Warbler and Goldcrests.

Muntjacs showed regularly including a very young fawn just in front of us and the best of the birds were two Little Egrets, three or four Great White Egrets, the pair of Oystercatchers, four Common Sandpipers and plenty of Swallows, martins and a few Swifts.

The Borough Hill Wryneck showed well at times today as reflected in the images kindly provided; other birds there included a Tree Pipit and two Whinchats and a Wheatear.

Clifford Hill Pits and particularly the Nene Barrage basin provided seven Whimbrel today plus three Dunlin, two Common Sandpipers, two Hobbies and a Wheatear. Summer Leys LNR was still seeing some action in the form of a Sandwich Tern, both Spotted Redshanks, a Ruff, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Dunlin, two Hobbies, a Cuckoo and a White Wagtail with a Greenshank and a Dunlin on nearby Hardwater Lake.

Welford Reservoir provided for three Common Sandpipers and a White Wagtail and Hollowell Reservoir first thing had a Duinlin and an over-flying Osprey. Another Dunlin was seen in flooded fields near the A605 near Lower Barnwell Lock and the two Dotterel were still in a bean field near Piddington. A Whinchat was a good find in a field at Kingsthorpe off Studland Road between the allotments and Spencer Football Club and a Wheatear was in a sheep field at Oundle at the east end of the Deenethorpe Road. Three Common Sandpipers, a Dunlin and a family of Oystercatchers were at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows LNR. A Whimbrel was seen at Stanford Reservoir early this morning.

John Hunt was delighted to see a returning Swift to his nestbox at Spratton this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Images courtesy of
Ken Prouse.

Image courtesy of
Dave Jackson.

Image courtesy of
Nathan Jones.

All images of the Borough Hill
Country Park Wryneck.