Migrant passerines on the move

Hello

A period of ringing at Pitsford Reservoir this morning coincided with a 'fall' of acrocephalus warblers which really boosted the numbers. One hundred and sixty-seven birds were processed which only contained three re-trapped birds and a bird ringed from elsewhere. Reed Warblers were the most common bird handled with forty-seven birds with Sedge Warblers coming in second with forty birds processed. These are unprecedented numbers for Pitsford and adds evidence to the fact that this autumn there are huge numbers of migrant passerines moving down through central England with seemingly relatively few on the coasts. Other warblers included eleven Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, two Garden Warblers, six Blackcaps, ten Willow Warblers, four Chiffchaffs and a Grasshopper Warbler.

Two Tree Pipits were present and one was caught and ringed and four Tree Sparrows were caught and ringed too.

Other birds at Pitsford during the morning north of the causeway included an Osprey, four Great White Egrets, three Red-crested Pochard and an adult Yellow-legged Gull. Neil Hasdell located two different Lesser Emperor dragonflies (one at the Scaldwell Bay end of the causeway and another in front of the Bird Club hide).

The Cattle Egret was seen again at Summer Leys LNR and two Common Redstarts were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell with a Common Redstart, two Whinchats and a Wheatear in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning.

This afternoon there were at least four Common Redstarts dotted about at Harrington Airfield and two Wheatears on Bunker Three. One of the Wheatears was still present this evening with two Ravens just off the main track. A ringing session will be taking place there tomorrow morning so there will be restricted access around the bunkers and scrubby areas but the concrete track is unaffected.

The ringing team at Stanford Reservoir also fared very well today with an incredible twelve Common Redstarts caught and ringed as well as catching and ringing five Grasshopper Warblers and controlling a Jersey-ringed Willow Warbler.

Helen Franklin and her small team were ringing at Woodford Halse today where they processed an excellent one hundred and twenty-seven birds made up of sixty-one Blue Tits, forty-one Great Tits, a Willow Warbler, a Wren, a Coal Tit, six Blackcaps, six Robins, a Chaffinch, a Common Whitethroat, six Dunnocks, a Nuthatch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

This evening at least ten Spotted Flycatchers were  still at Lamport Hall and the Common Redstart was still present too and at Hollowell Reservoir there was an Osprey and three Great White Egrets.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Tree Pipit at
Pitsford today.

Grasshopper Warbler at
Pitsford today.

Common Whitethroat courtesy
of Tony Stanford.