Blustery Tuesday

Hello

A blustery and cooler day today but it didn't affect the small birds moving over which included Swallows, Meadow Pipits, wagtails and Skylarks and still more Siskins.

A ringing session on the Courteenhall Estate yielded well over a hundred birds with finches dominating with seventy-seven Goldfinches, seven Linnets and three Chaffinches being caught and ringed. Other birds included a Marsh Tit, two Chiffchaffs and four Blackcaps and a Sparrowhawk and a Grey Wagtail and a couple of Barn Owls were in close attendance.

At Stanford Reservoir today the best birds were four Red-crested Pochards, a Garganey, a Great White Egret, a Pintail, a Water Rail, two Kingfishers and two Cetti's Warblers. The Cattle Egret was still at Eyebrook Reservoir.

A Jack Snipe was at Hollowell Reservoir today and other birds included the female Ruddy Shelduck, a Common Snipe, a Dunlin, an adult Caspian Gull plus a Stonechat.

At Pitsford Reservoir there was a juvenile female Peregrine hurtling around the reserve this morning plus a Raven, a Great White Egret and a few Siskins in the Walgrave Bay. From the dam this evening there was a juvenile Caspian Gull and seven Yellow-legged Gulls (at least one juvenile). A large gull at range with the mantle a little darker than the Yellow-legged Gulls and with moderate head and upper neck streaking plus the structure and bill colouration and strong, bright plumage tones suggested the rarer Azorean or 'Atlantis' Yellow-legged Gull. However it wasn't possible to see the colour of the legs or feet and I didn't see enough to rule out a hybrid.

Twelve Cattle Egrets was a great count at Stanwick Pits today and other birds included two Ruff, two Pintail, a Yellow-legged Gull and a Common Sandpiper.

A Golden Plover, six Grey Partridges and four Stonechats were at Clifford Hill Pits this morning and at Harrington Airfield there were two pairs of Stonechats, a Wheatear, a late Common Whitethroat plus twenty-five Golden Plovers, thirty Siskins and six Redpolls.

The Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton also hosted a pair of Stonechats at shrike hedge and another pair near to the Brampton Brook plus five Golden Plovers and a Curlew over.

Regards

Neil M

Siskin courtesy of
Dave Jackson.

House Sparrow courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Goldfinch courtesy of
Lewis Aaron.

Cattle Egrets.