A Hen Harrier, a Tawny Owl and Redpolls.

Hello

A ringing session at Pitsford Reservoir around the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station completed by Dave Francis this morning provided seventy-two captures of fourteen species. A Wheatear was a definite surprise - not only is it now a scarce migrant at Pitsford it is also not a species regularly caught in mist nets. Other birds included nineteen Chiffchaffs, twelve Blackcaps, four Reed Warblers, seven Blue Tits, a Great Tit, five Long-tailed Tits, four Dunnocks, three Robins, two Wrens, three Greenfinches, three Tree Sparrows, five Goldcrests and two Meadow Pipits. Small Copper butterflies were present in the morning sunshine.

At the same time there was some more ringing being conducted at Harrington Airfield which provided seventy-five captures also of fourteen species. The first bird caught was a male Tawny Owl and he was bird of the session. Thirty-eight Blackcaps provided the numbers and thirteen Chiffchaffs was a good number for this open plan site. A single Lesser Redpoll was a smart little bird, there was surprisingly only one Meadow Pipit caught and other birds processed included Song Thrush, Blackbird, three species of tits and other common birds. A Queen Hornet came to inspect us in the rather grey conditions and other birds on the move included a few more Redpolls, several parties of Siskins, a Grey Wagtail, four Golden Plovers and lots of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks plus calling Grey Partridges.

A Hen Harrier hunting over some wild bird crops between Dale Farm and Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning was a great sighting and there were two Wheatears and a Grey Wagtail in the horse paddocks at Dale Farm. Good numbers of Linnets, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits were in the same area. Blueberry Farm hosted a Common Redstart, a Whinchat and at least ten Siskins with a pair of Stonechats at Shrike Hedge in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton (but not seen there this evening). Two Grey Wagtails remain on the brook there.

This afternoon there was a Common Redstart in a field hedge along the footpath between Hanging Houghton and Scaldwell villages and a male Stonechat was in a field hedge off the track leading from Old village to Pitsford Reservoir. Three Redpolls were at Hanging Houghton.

About forty Golden Plovers were seen in flight over Kettering and the Bittern was again showing well on the Summer Leys LNR scrape.

At Stanford Reservoir today two hundred and sixty-three birds were newly-ringed and other birds there included four Red-crested Pochard, a Pintail, two Common Snipe, several Siskins, about twenty Lesser Redpolls, a Barn Owl, a Lesser Whitethroat (ringed) and a hundred Meadow Pipits. The Cattle Egret was again at Eyebrook Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Tawny Owl courtesy of
Jane Neill.

Lesser Redpoll courtesy
of Jane Neill.

Queen Hornet courtesy
of Michelle Spinks.