Sunny and warm Good Friday

Hello

Very warm temperatures and strong sunshine are a rare recipe for Easter but I have no complaints!

I was involved in a Naturetrek Day Tour at Eyebrook Wild Bird Feeds which included a walk around the farmland at Rectory Farm, Great Easton and scanning over Eyebrook Reservoir. A full summer plumage Slavonian Grebe was on the reservoir plus a pair of Garganey and a fly-through Curlew. The fields and margins support good numbers of Brown Hares as well as plenty of Yellowhammers, Skylarks and Linnets as you might expect from a well-managed farm that cares for the environment and nature in general.

Four singing Nightingales were located in woodland in North Northants today and one that was caught and processed is a regular bird first ringed as a first year back in 2017 and caught again in 2019.

The weather ensured that lots of warblers were in song today and most common species have now been logged in the county, with a particularly large early arrival of Common Whitethroats.

Earls Barton Pits was the venue for a Great White Egret, a Greenshank, a Ruff, a drake Garganey and over ten Common Terns on the Summer Leys LNR with a Green Sandpiper and two Little Ringed Plovers on the new workings. Migrant raptors included a Hobby at Hartwell (plus two Wheatears) and an Osprey on the Elinor Lake at Thrapston Pits.

The female Ring-necked Duck and a pair of Mandarin Ducks were on Kinewell Lake, Ringstead Pits today, at least four Ring Ouzels were still showing at Honey Hill, Cold Ashby and a Greenshank was seen in flight between Lilbourne Meadows and the M1 motorway this morning.

Regards

Neil M

The five year old
Nightingale processed today
 courtesy of Rich Goswell.

Garganey at Summer
Leys LNR today
courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Great White Egret at
Summer Leys LNR today
courtesy of Dave Jackson.