A mixture of winter weather

Hello

Very wintry weather today with a frost, minus four temperatures at dawn then sleet, snow and rain! Perhaps as a result our garden had visits from singles of Brambling, Redwing and Fieldfare today, no doubt attracted to common birds feeding in the garden.

However first thing this morning the weather was beautiful with a couple of hours of lovely sunshine following a pinkish sunrise.

At Harrington Airfield this morning I only managed to encounter about twenty or so Bramblings which were attracted to the mixed seed in the ringing rides. Nearby a drake Mandarin Duck at Draughton Pool was probably the Pitsford individual.

At Pitsford Reservoir today sightings included at least six Great White Egrets, nine Pintail and a Green Sandpiper, with eight Great White Egrets counted in the Walgrave/Holcot Bays yesterday. Up to thirty Tree Sparrows are visiting the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station still.

There was a Birdguides report of two adult Caspian Gulls at Naseby Reservoir this morning and at Borough Hill Country Park the Black Redstart and a Stonechat are hanging on!

Birds at Stanwick Pits today included two Cattle Egrets, two Great White Egrets and a White-fronted Goose with Greylags, mostly around North Lake.

At Summer Leys LNR there were two Great White Egrets today, ten Snipe, two Bramblings and three Lesser Redpolls and nearby a Green Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper were at Earls Barton New Workings. Thrapston Pits attracted a leucistic Wigeon, three Great White Egrets, a Peregrine and a Stonechat.

A Barn Owl was at Blueberry Farm this morning with fifteen Bramblings near the top of Blueberry Hill. This afternoon there was a Barn Owl and eight Grey Partridges in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

Lapwing.

Stonechat.

Greylag Geese.