Last day of July

Hello

A quiet day in the county today with little significantly different on the last day of the month.

A Common Redstart and a Whinchat were at Harrington Airfield this afternoon and the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir hosted the two drake Red-crested Pochard, a Goldeneye and a Kingfisher this evening.

At Hollowell Reservoir this morning the female Ruddy Shelduck was still present plus an Oystercatcher, a Little Ringed Plover, five Green Sandpipers and three Common Sandpipers.

Birds recorded at Stanford Reservoir today included six Spotted Flycatchers, a Common Sandpiper, two Oystercatchers, eight Shelduck, eight Ravens and five Lesser Whitethroats. A Great White Egret was present at Summer Leys LNR as was a Red Underwing moth.

Of the many Common Terns found dead at Pitsford Reservoir this year at least four were previously ringed made up of three birds raised on the rafts there in previous years plus a bird ringed as a nestling at Ferry Meadows Country Park, Cambridgeshire way back on 27th June 2013. Well in excess of twenty Common Terns died at Pitsford earlier in the season all presumed victims of the bird flu which claimed many Black-headed Gulls too.

Regards

Neil M

Common Tern.

That has to hurt? Juvenile
Cormorants don't have the
best table manners when Mum/
Dad brings in the food!
Images courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Holly Blue butterfly.

Pebble Prominent moth.

Ringing at Linford Lakes

Hello

A small and very busy ringing team led by Kenny Cramer experienced a bumper ringing session on Friday at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes, catching an astonishing 251 birds of twenty species. Nearly all these were new birds and the majority were young birds hatched this year with warblers dominating the early morning and then the tits finding the mist nets in the latter part. The warblers were made up of forty-five Blackcaps, twenty Garden Warblers, twenty-one Reed Warblers, ten Sedge Warblers, six Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, six Willow Warblers and forty Chiffchaffs. The tits were made up of fifty-two Blue, eighteen Great and two Long-tailed. Other birds included six juvenile Goldfinches, two Treecreepers, a juvenile Goldcrest and three Great Spotted Woodpeckers with other birds including Blackbird, Song Thrush, Dunnock, Wren and Robin.

Back to today (Sunday) and birds at Pitsford Reservoir this morning included the male Common Redstart still, two Red-crested Pochards, two Common Sandpipers, a Green Sandpiper, a Redshank, a Great White Egret and a Hobby, all centred around the Scaldwell Bay.

Two juvenile Common Redstarts were at Summer Leys LNR today near to the main car park and a Greenshank was present before flying off west; a Whinchat was found next to the River Nene 100m downstream from the iron bridge below Great Doddington near to the sewer works.

An Osprey fished successfully at Ravensthorpe Reservoir today and Harrington Airfield hosted two Common Redstarts and a Wheatear.

Ten Spotted Flycatchers were the star birds at Stanford Reservoir today plus a Common Sandpiper and  eight Shelducks.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Goldfinch courtesy
of Michelle Sawbridge-Praties.

Lesser Whitethroat courtesy
of Michelle Sawbridge-Praties.

Juvenile Chiffchaff courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

The ring on this adult
Black-headed Gull having
a scratch confirms that this
bird is 26 years old!

Canon lens for sale

Hello

A very wet end to the day after some pleasant weather earlier and the singing birds are reducing day by day as we slip from summer to autumn.

Efforts at trying to keep our local Tree Sparrow population going around Pitsford Reservoir have fueled some success this year with a couple of broods of youngsters coming to the main feed station at the Old Scaldwell Road. The second feed station and nest box cluster off-site seems to have had success with an estimated twenty-four youngsters emerging from the nest boxes there so it seems we will keep our local Tree Sparrow population for a little longer yet! Ringing has told us that our local birds are joined by others from the north-east of England in the winter with the potential of fresh blood and variation in the gene pool of this nomadic species.

Today there was at least one Grey Wagtail in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth and a female Common Redstart was at Blueberry Farm (Maidwell) in the hedgerow at the bottom of the Big Field.

At Stanford Reservoir today the three Whinchats remained and the four Goosanders showed up in flight over the dam. Other birds included the eight Shelduck still, a Common Sandpiper and two Hobbies.

Robin Gossage is looking to sell his Canon EF 100-400 lens (f4.5-5.6L IS USM Mk2). Versatility is the name of the game with this lens which is in great condition and has been rarely used during the last few years. The lens works even better with the new mirrorless cameras (adapter required). It comes with the original case, both end caps, hood, filter and booklet and has two small blemishes (one on the hood and one on the body).

If interested contact Robin at robin.gossage@sky.com or leave a message on 01604 847967. Viewing of the lens is welcome - Robin is open to any reasonable offer in the region of £1,100.

Regards

Neil M

Comma courtesy of
John Tilly.

Small Tortoiseshell courtesy
of John Tilly.

Some of our adult passerine birds
are looking pretty tatty and
those that have finished breeding
will be undertaking a full moult
replacing wing, tail and body
feathers like this Robin.
Image courtesy of John Tilly.

Robin's Canon 100 - 400 lens.

Late July sightings

Hello

A warm but autumnal feel to the day with the countryside now the haunt of noisy juvenile Common Buzzards as they beg for food from the adults - and it will go on for some time!

At Pitsford Reservoir the Black-necked Grebe was utilising much of the Scaldwell Bay and the adult male Common Redstart had moved down to the perimeter fence and hedge of The Scaldwell Bay between the Maytrees and Bird Club Hides. At least one Purple Hairstreak was fluttering around oaks near to the Fishing Lodge.

An Osprey was again over Titchmarsh LNR at Thrapston today and a Common Gull was present too. Later in the afternoon a cream crown Marsh Harrier spent some fifteen minutes there before heading south and two adult Yellow-legged Gulls were noted. The Ruddy Shelduck remained at Hollowell Reservoir where there was also a Dunlin, four Green Sandpipers and two Common Sandpipers.

Stanford Reservoir attracted a Black-tailed Godwit today, the three Whinchats were still there and also four Common Sandpipers, eight Shelduck and a Hobby.

At Lamport Hall today there was a Hobby, two Ravens, a Grey Wagtail, twenty-seven screaming Swifts and two Little Egrets flew over. A modest ringing session there captured seven Swifts and sixteen House Martins during the evening.

Regards

Neil M

Grey Wagtail at Duston Mill
weir today courtesy of
 Tony Stanford.

Grey Heron at Duston Mill
today courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Common Swifts at Lamport
Hall this evening courtesy of
Chris Payne.

Shelducks and Redstarts on the move.

Hello

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included the Black-necked Grebe in the Scaldwell Bay, a Goldeneye and five Shelducks and with a Kingfisher, a Common Sandpiper and two Yellow-legged Gulls also present. An adult male Common Redstart was in a field hedge off the Old Scaldwell Road this evening, paralleling the footpath on the left hand side coming down the hill.

At Hollowell Reservoir the female Ruddy Shelduck was still present as were two Redshanks, four Green Sandpipers and three Common Sandpipers, and a female Common Redstart was in the feeder stream car park.

Stanford Reservoir hosted two Whinchats, two Hobbies, eight Shelduck and four Common Sandpipers and a female Common Redstart was at Summer Leys LNR off the footpath between the car park and Pioneer Hide.

A Wheatear was noted at Clifford Hill Pits and the juvenile Common Redstart was still at Woodford Halse nature reserve. Thrapston Pits hosted an Osprey, a Hobby and a site record of seventeen Shelduck.

Two Hobbies were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening and at least two Common Redstarts remained at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

An apparent second batch of Marbled Whites were on the wing at Lamport Hall yesterday and at Harrington Airfield today.

Tomorrow evening it is hoped to run a ringing session at Lamport Hall again targeting Swifts and House Martins as part of an on-going project. Should you wish to come along to watch please let me know!

Regards

Neil M

Male Common Redstart.

Shelduck courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Summer into Autumn

Nestling Common Swifts
at Spratton, image courtesy
of Pete Ramsey.

Hello

Southerly air flows over the last few weeks has caused a large influx of migrant lepidoptera with perhaps the Red Admiral butterflies being the most obvious. The extreme heat on the continent has probably fueled further movements north and our garden buddleias are attracting good numbers of Red Admiral and Large White butterflies, the evening shift seeing lots of migrant Silver Y moths and the occasional Hummingbird Hawk-moth.

A probable Caspian Tern touched down for about a minute at Summer Leys LNR today at about 11am but flew off east with no further reports. A Marsh Harrier was briefly at Summer Leys this afternoon and a Bittern put in an appearance late this afternoon. Elsewhere and the Black-necked Grebe was still present near to the Maytrees Hide at Pitsford Reservoir at lunchtime.

Two Common Redstarts were still at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning and a Spotted Flycatcher was noted at Kelmarsh village. Two Whinchats this evening at Stanford Reservoir are probably the first of the 'autumn' and other birds there included four Spotted Flycatchers, five Common Sandpipers, an Oystercatcher, seven Shelducks, a Hobby and four Ravens.

Other blogs by local naturalists that I recommend having a look at are 'Wild Northamptonshire' by James Underwood:-

http://wildnorthants.blogspot.com/

and 'Daft Mumblings' by Pete Ramsey:-

https://daftmumblings.com/

Regards

Neil M

Water Rail courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Common Sandpiper with a Sand
Martin in tow courtesy of Robin
 Gossage.

Pike for supper? The young
Great Crested Grebe managed it!

Red Admiral on the
Kelmarsh Estate today.

Southern Hawker on the
Kelmarsh Estate today.

Rain , Swifts and ringing recoveries

Hello

A wet day produced a limited supply of sightings in the county today but birding stalwarts at Stanwick located a passing Whimbrel, an adult Caspian Gull and eleven Yellow-legged Gulls this morning. A Yellow-legged Gull was also on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits.

At Pitsford Reservoir today the smart summer plumage Black-necked Grebe was again seen close to the Maytrees Hide in the Scaldwell Bay and other birds included a Goldeneye, a Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher.

Birds at Stanford Reservoir included an arrival of three juvenile Goosanders which is certainly a surprise in July, eight Common Sandpipers and eight Shelducks.

Checking Common Swift nest boxes in Spratton village this morning proved that five have been used successfully this year with broods of 3, 3, 2, 1 and 1. With likely other nesting pairs in the village this is something of a success story where one villager in particular (John Hunt), has made it his personal aim to bring back this species to the village and nurture a recovery of numbers. John was brought up in Spratton but left for work purposes but when he returned to the village he found no evidence of Swifts nesting in the village. With the provision of Swift nest boxes and the use of Swift sound recordings the birds have returned and re-colonised.

Some nocturnal listening in Hanging Houghton yesterday evening confirmed the presence of breeding Barn Owls and the presence of Little Owls too (the latter species has kept a low profile in recent years from a previous high of three pairs around the village some ten years ago).

A few ringing recoveries received recently includes an adult Goldfinch that was ringed near Overstone Park on 27th January this year and found dead after being taken by a cat on 9th July at Portpatrick, Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. This is yet another example of a Goldfinch probably breeding in Scotland but wintering in middle England. One hundred and sixty-three days had elapsed between the two records and the sites are 403km apart.

A juvenile Chiffchaff was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 17th August 2022 and turned up in a mist net at Stanford Reservoir on 17th June 2023, 304 days later. This is one of many warbler records but particularly Chiffchaffs that have been proven to move to and fro between these two sites which are only 21km apart.

An adult male Blackcap was ringed at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 3rd September 2022 and was caught again on 19th April 2023 at Lyste Buorren Summarreheide, Friesland, The Netherlands, 228 days later with a distance of 473km between the two sites. It seems likely that this is a continental/north European breeding bird that was on passage through Milton Keynes last autumn.

A nestling Goldfinch was ringed at Wigsthorpe, East Northants on 1st August 2022 and was caught in a mist net at Barnwell on 15th April 2023 when deemed to be a male. The distance between the two sites is just 4km.

Regards

Neil M

Southern Hawker courtesy
of Eleanor.

Goldfinch courtesy
of Beth Clyne.

Chiffchaff courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Male Blackcap courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Ringing at Stortons Pits

Hello

A ringing session at Stortons Pits this morning provided some forty-five captures mostly of young warblers including Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Chiffchaff. A Treecreeper hit the nets first thing and the remainder were common birds and with a couple each of Goldfinch and Greenfinch. A Common Sandpiper flew over heading for Sixfields Lake, three Peregrines were nearby and both Water Rails and Cetti's Warblers could be heard calling from the cover of reeds. Odonata included Blue Emperor and Brown Hawker.

At Pitsford Reservoir today there were two Yellow-legged Gulls off the dam and the Black-necked Grebe and Great White Egret remained in the Scaldwell Bay, north of the causeway. At Hollowell Reservoir the female Ruddy Shelduck was still present plus a Dunlin, a Greenshank, three Green Sandpipers and four Common Sandpipers.

Blueberry Farm near Maidwell pulled in at least three Common Redstarts this morning plus a mixture of warblers, a family group of five Spotted Flycatchers and a just-emerged Southern Hawker dragonfly. At Harrington Airfield this afternoon there were two more Common Redstarts (chipping compound and Bunker Three) and a cream-crown Marsh Harrier flew south. Two Hobbies were noted on the bridletrack between Little Brington and Brockhall.

Twelve Brown Hares were visible at Lamport Hall this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Hedgehog.

Black and yellow Longhorn Beetle and
Red Soldier Beetles courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Brimstone butterfly courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Juvenile Pied Wagtail 
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Stortons Pits interpretative board.

Hebrides and back

Hello

Fresh birds in the county today included a Garganey at Daventry Country Park, a Quail heard calling near Stanford Reservoir and a summer plumage Black-necked Grebe in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir. A Marsh Harrier was also seen at Summer Leys LNR and other birds at Stanford Reservoir included seven Common Sandpipers, an Oystercatcher and a Yellow Wagtail caught and ringed.

Other birds on the reserve north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir included a drake Red-crested Pochard, a Great White Egret, up to six Little Egrets and two Oystercatchers. A Raven was at Hanging Houghton. Birds at Hollowell Reservoir this morning included a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and three Green Sandpipers.

Yesterday evening a quick visit to the causeway at Ravensthorpe Reservoir yielded a brood of Tufted Ducks, a pair of Great Crested Grebes with a chick that was induced to consume a small Pike and there were several Purple Hairstreaks in small oaks actually on the causeway. A family of Little Owls (two adults and two juveniles) were located on the outskirts of Scaldwell village, feasting on chafers.

This evening there was a Barn Owl and a Hobby at Maidwell and a Barn Owl and two Hobbies at Hanging Houghton.

I'm just back from a Naturetrek cruise tour of the Hebrides where we encountered cetaceans, Otters, seals and plenty of sea-birds and some of the photos from the trip can be found on the Page or Tab entitled 'Hebridean Cruise July 2023'.

Regards

Neil M

Sand Martin courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

First year female Sparrowhawk in

our garden this afternoon.

Red Admiral.

A Wild Weekend!!

Weather wise it has been a wild and stormy weekend,  a bit like my two young collies who were competing at agilty with some success!!.  As I was competing at Peterborough I intended to pop into Titchmarsh LNR in the hope of catching up with the Black Necked Grebes.  When I arrived there late yesterday afternoon so did a storm. It thundered, lightened and rained heavily.  Needless to say I continued on my journey home where the sun was shining. I took advantage of this and headed off across the fields towards Blueberry.  A Common Redstart was still flitting about in one of the favourite hedgerows.  En route I disturbed 4 Little Egrets, 2 Grey Wagtails and a Kingfisher in the stream below Hanging Houghton and nearby an adult Grey Partridge with 2 small young. These are the first youngsters I have seen.                                                                                                                  Today on my way back from Peterborough the weather was more favourable when I arrived at Titchmarsh LNR.  Plenty of birds to look at and it did take me a while to locate the target species.  After a while an adult and juvenile Black Necked Grebe showed very well.  There was barely any size difference between the two birds, just subtle differences in plumage defining their ages. I'm not sure where the other two juveniles have gone although a juvenile has turned up  at Stanford Reservoir which may be one of them ??

An unsettled week of weather is forecast which may or may not produce some different birds.  Keep those ears and eyes open.

Regards Eleanor 

Intriguing Record !!!

 I think that it is fair to say that July tends to be a quiet month. Birds tend to be busy with breeding and looking after their offspring and migration doesn't tend to get started for another few weeks. However we shouldn't be complacent as you never know what will show up. Today over at Titchmarsh LNR  an adult Black Necked Grebe with 3 fully fledged juveniles capable of flight were discovered!!!! This is certainly an amazing record.  It is not known whether they somehow managed to breed here undetected or have flown in from elsewhere.   Best viewed from North hide they were still present late afternoon.          Very few birds reported from elsewhere.  Female Red Crested Pochard,  Redshank and Common Sandpipers at Stanford Reservoir.  At Hollowell Reservoir Ruddy Shelduck,  Greenshank,  Green and Common Sandpiper. 

On my early morning wander around Blueberry I came across a Common Redstart in one of their favourite hedgerows and in the afternoon I found another Common Redstart, this time at Harrington Airfield.  These birds seem to get earlier and earlier coming back but remain loyal to these favourite areas.  Harrington has been extremely quiet for birds. I regularly bump into Grey Partridge but they are all adult birds.  I haven't found any youngsters so far which is quite concerning.  The only other bird of note was a Hobby.

It will be interesting to see whether this family of Black Necked Grebes stay around for a bit longer,  I hope so as it will give me and anyone else a chance to catch up with this rather remarkable record.   And who knows what else could be found?

Regards Eleanor 

Fabulous Fermyn Woods

 Following a busy weekend of competing with the collies I thought that they could have an easy day and do something completely different.  As it was a nice sunny morning I took them and the hound into the woods.  My quest was to  see the Purple Emperor butterflies which are now out and about. I started out at Fermyn Country Park and slowly meandered through the park itself,  Fermyn Wood and into Lady Wood and beyond.  We spent 5 hours meandering around enjoying the weather and feast of Butterflies.  During this time I only came face to face with one other person and saw a couple more in the distance.  It really felt as if myself and dogs had the whole woods to ourselves.

Although I didn't see large numbers of Purple Emperors,  they gave amazing and ridiculously close views. One landed on my shoe seemingly oblivious to the dogs sitting next to me. I  wore a purple t-shirt which I thought was quite bright but this paled into insignificance against the vibrant purple sheen on these butterflies when the sunshine caught their wings.  It was well worth the visit. 

There were so many different species of butterflies on the wing, sometimes it was difficult to know where to look.  It really was a feast for the eyes. There were good numbers of Silver Washed Fritillary's whizzing around and perched up especially on the Blackberry flowers.  I counted 8 together on one small bramble.                                                Other species seen  were Purple Hairstreak,  White and Red  Admiral , Small and Large Skipper,  Brimstone,  Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock,  Comma,  Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Meadow Brown,  Ringlet and Gatekeeper.   Phew, but I'm sure that I missed some.  There were also plenty of Dragonflies,  Damselflies , Bees and other flying insects but I really didn't do these justice as I only gave them a cursory look.

Other wildlife seen were fox, hare ,Muntjac and Roe Deer. Tor the hound alerted me to the presence of a couple of Grass Snakes. I always know when he has found one as he literally jumps a mile.      Of course my ears were alert to the birds around.  Birds of note were 2 Siskins and 6+ Crossbills.   Plenty of vocal Jays,  Great  Spotted Woodpeckers and Nuthatches.                                                   

I literally had to drag myself away but I had other things that I needed to do,plus the dogs needed a rest!!   On my way home I popped in at Pitsford Reservoir and was surprised to hear and see the male Bearded Tit still present below the Lodge near to the moth trap.

A few other birds reported today include Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Little Ringed Plovers, Black Tailed and Common Sandpiper at Summer Leys.  Mediterranean Gull and Black Tailed Godwits at Stanwick GP and Garganey at both Daventry CP and Thrapston GP. 

On a different note,  yesterday I was up early and out with the dogs before 05.30. It was a stunning morning but already it had a real "autumnal feeling " as the mist hung in the valley.  Later in the day a Common Redstart was reported from the county border at Stanford on Avon.  Is this a sign that Autumn with all its amazing migration is starting already???!!!!

Regards Eleanor 

Sunshine and showers

Hello

The last few days has seen an increase in the number of migrant waders passing through the county, the majority being at Earls Barton Pits, Hollowell Reservoir and Stanford Reservoir in the shape of Black-tailed Godwits and a few Greenshank, Green Sandpipers and Common Sandpipers.

Today there were two Ospreys at Hollowell Reservoir and the female Ruddy Shelduck that has made the county it's home for the last few years has been sighted there too. A Turtle Dove seen today near Mary's Lake at Earls Barton - a rare sight in the county this year.

On Thursday a family party of Spotted Flycatchers was discovered in Hanging Houghton village and where yesterday a Siskin was present for a short time early in the morning. Ravens have been regular again in the village and at nearby Lamport and a group of thirteen Brown Hares were seen at Lamport Hall on Thursday.

The warmth and conducive conditions of the last few days has been super for the insects with great numbers of butterflies and odonata on the wing - most common species have been logged now. Despite the national picture for butterflies being reportedly bleak, it seems to me that we are bucking the trend here in Northamptonshire with many scarce species colonising new areas, particularly our woodlands.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Tree Sparrow.

Ringlet.

Comma.

Drinker moth.

Black-tailed Godwit courtesy
of Robin Gossage.