Birds of spring

Hello

Two Avocets were a great spring find at Clifford Hill Pits this morning and they seemed to have lasted most of the day. A Little Ringed Plover was also present and a Dunlin was there first thing. A Black-tailed Godwit was briefly on Dragonfly Lake at the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve this morning.

Chiffchaffs seem to be fairly widespread now with further singles at Hanging Houghton and three north of the Lamport Station along the Brampton Valley Way today by way of example.

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included the Great Northern Diver again in it's usual bit of water between the Pintail Bay and the Narrows this afternoon with a Little Egret and an adult Yellow-legged Gull in the same area. North of the causeway a drake Garganey was located in the Scaldwell Bay at about 4pm this afternoon and a Brambling was present too. Another Brambling was nearby in a Scaldwell village garden this afternoon. Four more Bramblings were at Station Cottages, Brixworth this morning (where there was also a roadkill Polecat).

Three White-fronted Geese were on the main lake at Stanwick Pits first thing this morning and just across the border there were at least two Ospreys at Eyebrook Reservoir plus the female Ring-necked Duck again, a Slavonian Grebe and two Scaup.

A little ringing in a garden on the outskirts of Northampton yesterday provided singles of Siskin, Reed Bunting, Robin and twos of Goldfinch and Lesser Redpoll.

Regards

Neil M

Avocet.

Firecrest. An under-recorded
species in Northants - now is a 
great time to find one!

Curlew. Many waders are
in the process of moving back
to potential breeding sites.