Northamptonshire Birding: Scarce long-staying ducks

Hello

A ringing session at Stortons Pits this morning yielded a small number of common birds which included several Reed Buntings and a Chiffchaff. Other birds there included two Peregrines, two or three Grey Wagtails, another Chiffchaff and a Redpoll and Water Rails and Cetti's Warblers were vocal.

Eight Goosanders and a Stonechat were at Stanford Reservoir, the female Ruddy Shelduck was at Winwick Pools and two Scaup were at Eyebrook Reservoir. A male Brambling was at The Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station at Pitsford Reservoir today.

The female Ring-necked Duck and the female Scaup were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir still today and birds at neighbouring Hollowell Reservoir included two adult Caspian Gulls, a first year Yellow-legged Gull, seven Common Snipe, a fly-through Curlew and five Stonechats. A first year drake Scaup was on Billing Pits this afternoon and although there is no public access it may be possible to see the bird from Station Road, Great Billing.

A Blackcap was in a Brixworth garden today and the female Red-crested Pochard was again at Summer Leys LNR with a supporting cast of three Great White Egrets, two hundred Golden Plovers, an Oystercatcher, a Redshank, ten Common Snipe and a Water Rail. A Water Rail was showing well yesterday at the River Welland in Market Harborough (by the Aldi supermarket).

A Barn Owl was showing very well in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening and there were just over sixty Red Kites at the regular pre-roost gathering at Laxton this afternoon. Two Ravens were in the Welland Valley just north of Rockingham and birds at Deene Lake included six Shelduck, six Egyptian Geese, three Black Swans, a drake Mandarin Duck and a Little Egret.

Regards

Neil M