Eventful ringing sessions

Hello

A mild and dull day with a brisk breeze at times.

Some ringing at Stanwick Pits yesterday (Friday) resulted in a mixture of birds and included a female Sparrowhawk. Some more bird ringing took place at Stortons Pits resulted in nearly a hundred birds being caught and processed which included large numbers of Blue and Great Tits but also a Great Spotted Woodpecker, three Goldfinches, seven Reed Buntings, six Robins, a Blackbird and two Water Rails.

Today (Saturday) and a ringing session at Linford Lakes yielded an excellent thirty-five Redwings, six Fieldfares, seven Chiffchaffs including an apparent Siberian Chiffchaff, four Goldcrests, a Song Thrush and a Blackbird. Other birds noted on-site included a Woodcock, a Great White Egret, a flock of Siskins and a flock of over a hundred Lapwings.

We still have several Hedgehogs coming for food each night, and were still coming when it was much colder.

The two Cattle Egrets were still in the vicinity of Stanford Hall today, at one stage at SP593791 before roosting in riverside trees. At Stanford Reservoir today the gull roost contained a first winter Mediterranean Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and 147 Great Black-backed Gulls. Three Great White Egrets were seen in flight at dusk and two drake Goosanders were present too.

Stanwick Pits again hosted seven Cattle Egrets on Roadside Pit and four Redshanks were present too. An injured Barn Owl found there sadly died from it's injuries.

Two 'ringtail' Hen Harriers around Neville's Lodge (off the A6 between Finedon and Wellingborough) this afternoon were good records with some five hundred Fieldfares noted in the general area.

A Great White Egret and a pair of Stonechats were at Summer Leys LNR and twenty-five Siskins were at Kelmarsh Hall.

At Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon there was a Woodcock, two Siskins and a Redpoll at Christies Copse, a Great White Egret was in the Walgrave Bay and at the south end of the reservoir an unidentified diver was seen briefly swimming in to The Narrows, a first winter drake Scaup was in the mouth of the Moulton Grange Bay, an adult Yellow-legged Gull was loafing in the general area and other birds included Ravens, a Kingfisher, a pre-roost gathering of sixty Linnets and a pair of Stonechats on the fence below the dam.

Regards

Neil M

Fieldfare.

Apparent Siberian Chiffchaff.

Images courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.