Birds of a grey Sunday

Hello

Members of the Northants Ringing Group were busy today with Kenny and Keith operating at Linford Lakes and John Woollett and team working the area around a new bird feeding station at Stortons Pits.

At Linford eighteen Redwings hit the nets as did two Blackbirds, a Cetti's Warbler, a Lesser Redpoll, a Blue Tit and a colourful Kingfisher. Other birds noted included two Great White Egrets and twenty Little Egrets. At Stortons Pits the catch totaled a huge ninety-six birds with the humble but successful Blue Tit making up the bulk of the catch. However other birds included ten Goldfinches, seven Lesser Redpolls, seven Greenfinches, a Cetti's Warbler, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Song Thrush and two Blackbirds. It seems the birds like the new feeding station which has been attracting Jays recently too.

At Pitsford Reservoir today the Wood Sandpiper was still in the Scaldwell Bay as was eight Great White Egrets, fifteen Red-crested Pochard, ten plus Pintail and two Woodcock. A flock of twenty Bramblings were in the Walgrave Bay near to Christies Copse (by seat 10) as was a Great White Egret, a Raven, a few Siskins, and Kingfisher with an adult Yellow-legged Gull by the dam.

Thrapston Pits attracted a Peregrine, four Stonechats and four Great White Egrets with the beginning of a Starling roost too. Ringstead Pits recorded a Raven, eleven Cattle Egrets and an excellent nine Great White Egrets. The Bittern showed again at Summer Leys LNR this morning and the growing Starling roost there this afternoon attracted a Peregrine.

Away from the Nene Valley there were still Bramblings and two Woodcock at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell, and Hinton Airfield in the south of the county attracted about seventy-five Golden Plovers, a flock of at least two hundred and fifty Linnets and a couple of Bramblings. A Goosander was at Abington Park, Northampton this morning and birds at Sywell Country Park included two hundred and eighty Golden Plovers and a Stonechat. A couple of Bramblings were in Hanging Houghton village and about thirty Siskins were at Lamport Hall.

Stanford Reservoir's birds were similar to yesterday with a Pink-footed Goose, a Richardson's Cackling Goose, an Egyptian Goose, a Water Rail, a Cetti's Warbler, a Siskin, a Kingfisher and a Chiffchaff.

Regards

Neil M

Kingfisher.

Lesser Redpoll.

Cetti's Warbler.
All images courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.