Winter birds of Middle England

Hello

Cold and frosty nights with daytime winter sunshine makes winter very enjoyable!

Birds at Harrington Airfield included up to about twenty Bramblings and fifty Golden Plovers this morning, there was a Grey Wagtail and a Siskin at Hanging Houghton and the Brampton Valley below the village continued to host two Corn Buntings by the 'shrike hedge' wild bird crop.

Despite Nick's best efforts there was no sign of the Ring-necked Duck at Thrapston Pits today but a Hawfinch was on show around Blatherwycke Church up until about 2.30pm with a Raven over and about ten Mandarin Ducks on nearby Blatherwycke Lake.

Pitsford Reservoir still continues to hang on to the Wood Sandpiper and the Redshank along the shoreline between the causeway and the Maytrees Hide with a Kingfisher and a few Bramblings and a few Siskins in the Walgrave Bay.

A Short-eared Owl was a good find this afternoon between Hemington and Barnwell villages on the edge of the Polebrook Airfield complex at Ellands Farm (TL083847) where there was also a Barn Owl.

A female Wood Duck was located on the River Nene at The Embankment, Wellingborough at 1pm today and a gathering of one hundred Red Kites at Laxton this afternoon was no doubt an impressive sight and sound!

Four Stonechats graced Upton Country Park today and finches included two Lesser Redpolls at Stortons Pits and four Lesser Redpolls and four Siskins in alders at New Sandy Lane, Duston, Northampton by the attenuation pond. Stanford Reservoir hosted four Goosanders, eight Ravens, two Chiffchaffs and a Cetti's Warbler.

The streak of good birds at Eyebrook Reservoir continues today with a staggering eighteen Smew, a drake Scaup and still the three Avocets, with the Ring-necked Duck showing distantly in recent days (but not reported today).

Details of recent ringing recoveries:-

1. A Marsh Tit was ringed on the outskirts of Woodford Halse on 24th September 2021 but unfortunately it's excursion into the village ended badly when it killed itself by flying into a window on 11th November, forty-eight days later;

2, A first year male Blackbird was ringed in Astcote on 6th February 2018 and found dead as a road casualty in the same village on 18th November 2021, 1381 days later whilst in it's fifth calendar year;

3. A Chiffchaff was ringed as a first year bird at Linford Lakes on 23rd November 2020 and caught again by ringers operating at Swindon Sewer Works, Wiltshire on 20th November 2021, 362 days later (and 93km to the south west).

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Redpoll.

Starlings courtesy of
Jim Dunkley.

Konik Pony the Floodplain
Forest Reserve, Milton Keynes
courtesy of John Tilly.