Black-necked Grebe, Yellow Wagtails and butterflies!

Hello

A Black-necked Grebe at Daventry Country Park was the find of the day in the county and birds at Stanford Reservoir included a fly-over Curlew, two Barn Owls, two Willow Warblers, two Blackcaps and a Lesser Redpoll. 

With a big hatch of flies at Pitsford Reservoir the dam area today attracted twelve male Yellow Wagtails, a White Wagtail, three Meadow Pipits and extra Pied Wagtails. The adult Yellow-legged Gull was still present and other birds included a Raven, twenty Sand Martins, a Swallow and a singing Blackcap. South of the causeway there was a singing Willow Warbler and still reasonable numbers of Common Snipe with numbers somewhere between twenty-five and forty mostly hidden in the margins.

Welford Reservoir this evening hosted four Yellow Wagtails, a pair of Grey Wagtails, two Swallows and a Willow Warbler. A Barn Owl was hunting in fields between Tiffield and Pattishall and a Great White Egret remains in the vicinity of Barton Seagrave/Wicksteed Park.

Summer Leys LNR provided views of two Great White Egrets, two Black-tailed Godwits, six Redshank, a Little Ringed Plover, an Oystercatcher, a Common Snipe, about fifteen Sand Martins, a Sedge Warbler, Blackcaps and Willow Warblers and a Grass Snake. An Otter showed well at Stanwick Pits yesterday and today birds noted at Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston included a pair of Oystercatchers, two Great White Egrets, a Kingfisher, Blackcaps and Cetti's Warblers.

Three Yellow Wagtails and a White Wagtail were at Chelveston Airfield this evening and large numbers of butterflies were busy in the warm sunshine and included multiple records in the county of Holly Blue, Small Whites and slightly later emerging butterflies.

Clifford Hill Pits provided views of a Raven, two Little Ringed Plovers and a Yellow Wagtail and a Blackcap fed on apples in a Duston garden. Three Curlews were noted at Lilbourne Meadows Nature Reserve. At least one Osprey was fishing on the lake at Kelmarsh Hall this afternoon with two or three Siskins on the estate near the Brampton Valley Way.

Thirty Jackdaws joined a Carrion Crow, seven Stock Doves and twenty-five Woodpigeons feeding on our small back lawn this afternoon with smaller birds still including visiting Pied Wagtails, Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers.

Regards

Neil M

Sand Martin at Summer Leys
LNR today courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Common Buzzard courtesy
of John Tilly.

Yellow Wagtail at Pitsford Reservoir
today courtesy of Martin Swannell.

Black-tailed Godwits at Summer Leys
LNR today courtesy of Tony Stanford.