Black-browed Albatross

Hello

Apologies for no blog post yesterday - I took the risky decision to travel up to Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire in the afternoon with Neil Hasdell to try and see the returning Black-browed Albatross at the sea-bird city there. Sitting on the M1 in a two hour delay in Notts and we were beginning to regret our decision! Thankfully we managed to eventually pass through this bottleneck and arrived just after 6pm. In reality our timing was perfect as the albatross had been sitting on the sea drifting north and almost reached Filey Brigg before flying back towards Bempton and perching on the blowy and very dramatic cliffs just as we pitched up! This amazing beast spent time trying to sit alongside Gannets which weren't happy to see it - bill touching with some individuals - and it flew up and swirled around several times, each time perched back at a different place.

Some photographers had been there for much of the day and attached are some fantastic shots from Bethan Clyne who certainly enjoyed much better views than us!

In the county yesterday (Tuesday) an Osprey was seen in flight over Blatherwycke Lake and at nearby Deene Lake there was an impressive count of six Green Sandpipers. An Osprey was also seen at Daventry Country Park yesterday with one espied at Naseby Reservoir the day before.

Today (Wednesday) and a Black-tailed Godwit was noted at Summer Leys LNR and a Cattle Egret was reported from Stanwick Pits.

The second brood Starlings are on the wing now and our local male Sparrowhawk is taking them constantly and no doubt plucking them and taking them back to hungry youngsters of his own. Today he successfully caught and killed one of our female Yellowhammers which is one of about half a dozen still coming for seed on the back lawn - no doubt the Yellowhammer was feeding young too. It's tough but that's nature!

Regards

Neil M

Black-browed Albatross 
courtesy of Bethan Clyne.

Dorset delights

Hello

A dark, dank day with low cloud and light rain persisting throughout didn't make it very inspiring to be out!

Eric was out at Thrapston Pits though and saw typical birds of the season which included three Cuckoos (two calling), three Oystercatchers and still a Ring-necked Parakeet.

A Wood Sandpiper was reported at Stanwick Pits this evening, present at 6.40pm on the main lake.

Regards

Neil M

Otter caught on nocturnal
trail camera locally.

Rock Pipit.

Linnet.

Little Owl

Mediterranean Gull.

Fulmar.

Above five images from an
excursion to Dorset courtesy
of John Gamble.

Ringing at Linford Lakes.

Hello

Kenny and a sizeable team operated equipment at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes today to process well over a hundred birds, the majority of them this year's youngsters and newly ringed.

The total included five Sand Martin nestlings, three Wrens, four Robins, six Dunnocks, eight Great Tits, twenty-six Blue Tits, seven Long-tailed Tits, a Treecreeper, six Reed Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, twenty-three Blackcaps, two Garden Warblers, seven Willow Warblers, eight Chiffchaffs, two Whitethroats, two Cetti's Warblers, a Woodpigeon, a Greenfinch and a feisty male Sparrowhawk which was probably terrorising all of them!

A sizeable Grass Snake was seen and a calling Cuckoo was heard.

An Osprey was seen at Hollowell Reservoir at lunchtime and a Cattle Egret was seen at Stanwick Pits with a Great White Egret and a Mediterrranean Gull seen at Earls Barton Pits yesterday.

Two Peregrines were adorning the church spire in the town centre at Market Harborough this morning with two juvenile Grey Wagtails along the River Welland there.

A Caspian Gull was off the A5 between Lilbourne and the DIRFT3 site this afternoon and a pair of Grey Partridge and an adult male Peregrine were at Harrington Airfield this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Sand Martin nestling.

Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.

Juvenile Robin.

Sparrowhawk.

Grass Snake.

All images courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

More Pitsford images...

Hello

Little in the way of fresh bird news for today, apart from a Cattle Egret at Stanwick Pits, so some more images from the PItsford CBC on Wednesday...

Regards

Neil M

Great Crested Grebe.

Two sets of proud
Greylag Goose parents!

Juvenile Cormorant attempting
to gain food from the gullet of
it's parent, much to the disgust
of the local Coot!

A field including Poppies
(Brampton Valley near Draughton).

Freshly-emerged Small
Tortoiseshell butterfly.

Ringing recoveries

Hello

A few more Northants Ringing Group ringing recoveries have come through as follows:-

1.  A juvenile Blackbird was ringed at Stortons Pits on 6th August 2017 and on the 15th June 2021 this bird (then identified as a male), was killed by a cat at Briar Hill, Northampton, some 1409 days later (only about 2km distance);

2.  An adult female Goldfinch was caught and ringed at Wasps Nest, Nocton Fen, near Lincoln on 10th November 2020 and caught again in a mist net at Hanging Houghton on 19th June this year. On this latter date she was heavy and exhibiting a brood patch suggesting she was breeding locally. The distance between the two localities is 98km and she travelled SSW to reach Hanging Houghton;

4.  A juvenile Reed Warbler was caught and ringed at Baden Dow Farm, Wiltshire on 27th August 2020 and this year was re-captured at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 5th June when assessed as a male. The distance between the two sites is 113km but of course in the intervening time this bird has been to Africa  and back!

5.  An adult Reed Warbler was caught and ringed at Marston Vale Millenium Country Park, Bedfordshire on 16th April 2017 and re-captured at Linford Lakes also on 5th June 2021 when assessed as an adult male. This bird which is at least five years old will have travelled to Africa on at least five occasions; 1511 days elapsed between the two captures.

A wander at Harrington Airfield this afternoon proved quiet for birds, one or two pair(s) of Grey Partridge are believed to part of a contingent of three pairs on-site - and so far no young have been seen this year. A couple of new flowers found there during the last couple of days include Common Twayblade (a green orchid) and the tall and rangey Yellow Sweet Clover.

A gaggle of gulls off the A5 near Lilbourne by the DIRFT3 site this morning included two first summer Caspian Gulls and five Yellow-legged Gulls.

A Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton early this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Male Blackbird.

Goldfinch.

Reed Warbler courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Creatures of the summer

Hello

The overnight trail camera successfully captured two Foxes and an Otter last night but the subjects were too far away to enjoy properly so we will be attempting to place the camera in a different position for nocturnal activity to the future!

Two Yellow-legged Gulls and a Kingfisher were at Pitsford Reservoir north of the dam early this afternoon and a wander along the Brampton Valley Way was sufficient to map two Spotted Flycatcher territories, one just north of Draughton Crossng and the other just south of the Kelmarsh Tunnels.

Two Avocets were found at Clifford Hill Pits this evening, continuing an excellent flow of records of this species in the county over the last few years.

Under the excellent stewardship of the county recorder David James, local butterfly recording is definitely in full flow now as many of the regular and common species are being reported and catalogued. Northamptonshire has an enviable reputation for excellent woodland butterflies and we are now seeing the first of the Black Hairstreaks, Dark Green Fritillaries and some of the other scarce species beginning to emerge and it won't be long hopefully before our more significant woods play host to such beauties as Silver-washed Fritillaries, White Admirals and Purple Emperors.

Regards

Neil M

Black Hairstreak.

Dark Green Fritillary.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Yellow-legged Gull.

Pitsford CBC

Hello

A long and busy day, it's always a good idea to make the best of the good weather!

I started the day at Pitsford Reservoir where I completed a Common Bird Census around the reserve, concluding in the early afternoon. It takes me ages because I'm continually distracted by mammals, insects etc. Bird-wise it was pretty routine with the summering Pink-footed Goose still present, a Spotted Flycatcher on eggs and fledged young birds everywhere. Waders were confined to Oystercatcher and Lapwing.

The main spectacle were the damselflies which today must have numbered in their tens of thousands. Common Blue Damselfly were the most numerous but there were good numbers of Large Red-eyed too. Other odonata included Large Red Damselfly, lots of Beautiful Demoiselles, Four-spotted Chasers, Black-tailed Skimmers, a single Hairy Hawker, a single Southern Hawker and plenty of Blue Emperors.

Butterflies included Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Large Skipper, Common Blue, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral and it's a good year for Chimney Sweeper moths with plentiful numbers on-site.

Muntjacs were seen all the way around the reserve, a single Brown Hare showed itself and a Grass Snake was a rare treat.

Some more strimming and tree work this afternoon was required and three feed stations were visited and the birds fed. Eleanor's best sighting at Harrington Airfield were two very young Red Fox cubs playing out in the open.

This evening I checked on some of the breeding birds at Lamport Hall where there are at least twenty-two pairs of House Martins and a few pairs each of Swift and Swallow. A Barn Owl was hunting again this evening in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

The Garganey was again seen on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR today and birds at Thrapston Pits included two Cuckoos, two Hobbies and a Ring-necked Parakeet.

Regards

Neil M

Cormorant.

Large Skipper.

Black-tailed Skimmer.

Mallard ducklings.

Red Admiral.

Stinkhorn fungi.

All images taken at
Pitsford Reservoir today.

Tigers, woodpeckers and owls

Hello

Initially a grey, blustery but dry day with plenty of sunshine this afternoon ahead of what should be a pleasant day tomorrow.

Today was spent with colleagues managing ringing rides at two sites - with such a rapid growth spurt the rides had become quickly overgrown and needed cutting back, about a month earlier than normal. I think it likey that the cold earlier part of spring supressed plant growth and then the heat and the rain thereafter created a very rapid growth rate - but then I'm no gardener!

A new hatch of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies are very welcome and we had a Scarlet Tigermoth in our front garden last night (after seeing one in the village the day before).

Chris Payne has been ringing more Barn Owl chicks today in South Northants with three 5-6 week old chicks ringed in one nest box and with still a brood of eggs in another box.

A number of people are reporting family parties of Great Spotted Woodpeckers arriving on their feeders, often an adult with one or two youngsters in attendance. The juveniles exhibit a bright red crown and I have only just recently learnt (thank-you John Tilly) that it can sometiomes be possible to determine the gender of the juveniles as the males have the more extensive red crown. There are other differences too, but these might be more discernable in the hand only.

A Garganey was seen on the Summer Leys LNR today.

Regards

Neil M

Scarlet Tiger moth.

Barn Owl courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Barn Owl courtesy of
Nathan Jones.

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker
and seemingly a male due to the extensive
red crown courtesy of John Tilly.

Flowers of Harrington Airfield

Hello

The poor substrate conditions around the old Second World War and Cold War bunkers at Harrington Airfield provide ideal growing conditions for common wild flowers which in turn make it attractive to moths, butterflies and other insects. It was pretty dull and cold today for butterflies but Speckled Wood, Small Heath and Meadow Brown provided brief flutters! First broods of Common Whitethroat and Willow Warbler are out now, not far behind the first of the fledged tit broods.

An adult Gannet was in flight over Peterborough today, arrowing it's way south west towards Northamptonshire but seemingly it wasn't subsequently seen in the county despite many of us looking up and hoping!

Regards

Neil M

Common Sainfoin.

Common Spotted Orchids.

Self-heal.

Viper's Bugloss.

Bee Orchid.

Yellow Shell moth.

I am particularly weak on
botany so hopefully I have 
these all identified correctly!

The scarcer summer visitors

Hello

It looks as if we will be in for cool and grey weather conditions for the next few days with maybe a sunny interlude on Wednesday. It seems that these periods of grey, northerly airstream are now a regular feature of June and I come to expect Swifts, Swallows and martins gleaning the leaden skies in an effort to find flying insects.

The protracted cool and windy spring doesn't bode well for many of our breeding birds and already there are reports of Cuckoos, Swifts and other small birds beginning their migration south - it seems only a few days ago when they arrived! However John Hunt's excellent sustained efforts at trying to develop a colony of Swifts at Spratton are going well with four nestboxes in the village occupied this year and with young hatched in at least one of the boxes.

Spotted Flycatchers seemed to arrive in numbers in May but it appears very few have stayed to breed and presumably the majority have moved north to Scotland where they are still relatively numerous. I did see one today that was calling anxiously at Chapel Brampton, presumably one of a breeding pair.

This year there is a Turtle Dove census and observers have been advised not to publicise sites where they might be breeding. Some initial results suggest they were very late arriving (often well into May) and I know of a couple of places where they have been seen regularly in the county - I'm quite sure that the national figure will be frighteningly low for yet another summer visitor that used to be classed as common and found in a number of habitat settings. 

Cuckoos persist in the river valleys in Northamptonshire, often at gravel pit complexes and a few can be found in the bigger woods but with very few in standard agricultural/rural settings. There are still plenty in Scotland with good numbers on the moors and scattered birch/oak woodland. Preliminary data from the BTO satelite-tracking project suggests that the birds that migrate over the Mediterranean Sea via Italy (often using the Po Delta to feed up) fare better than the birds that use Iberia and France as their feeding areas before moving over the Mediterranean further west.

Interesting birds in the county today were rather limited to a pair of Garganey at Stanwick Pits and a first summer Yellow-legged Gull at Pitsford Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Common Swift.

Spotted Flycatcher.

Turtle Doves.

Juvenile Cuckoo.

Bigger garden birds

Hello

A rather dull but not unpleasant day today in the county, but not enough in the way of sunshine to inspire much insect movement. Again it was the garden birds that provided most of the entertainment for me - first brood juvenile Starlings arguing with adults at the feeders - the latter now working hard to feed second broods. Plenty of adult Jackdaws are actively seeking suitable food for their young and descend into the garden at first light making quite a racket! A few advanced youngsters are with them but the majority have yet to fledge or are in the process of doing so - a particularly vulnerable time for them when Carrion Crows and other predators take advantage.

Stock Doves, Collared Doves and Woodpigeons jostle for position on our lawn and young tits in the garden included Coal, Blue and Great this morning. The local pair of Nuthatches are working hard and it sounded like their young possibly fledged today. Anyone who watches Blackbirds will know how hard they work in trying to raise young and already some of the adults are looking pretty tired and with broken or absent feathers. We used to have large numbers of juvenile House Sparrows in the garden from mid-June onwards but the numbers are much lower now and have been since an old farm with stables etc in the village was converted into small cottages.

We are fortunate to still have Greenfinches and today about three family parties came in to feed on the sunflower hearts. Plenty of Goldfinches do likewise, the juveniles quite quickly leaving the adults once they work out how to take hearts from the portholes for themselves. A few juvenile Chaffinches have appeared but already there are individuals suffering from the horrific leg diseases so prevalent in this species and which they clearly had even before fledging.

A Rosy Starling was reported on a bird feeder at Grange Park, Northampton this morning but hasn't been since. In reality these wandering birds could be seen anywhere but they are attracted to gatherings of Starlings and also have a particular taste for soft fruit and cherries. A Caspian Gull was found on pools off the A5 near the DIRFT 3 complex not far from Lilbourne again today.

Regards

Neil M

Jackdaw.

Magpie.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Juvenile Starling already showing
signs of post-juvenile moult.

All images courtesy of John Tilly.