Happy New Year!

Hello

The last day of 2023 with the rain and wind so typical of this December still with us.

Two Cattle Egrets were at Stanford Hall today with a Pintail at nearby Stanford Reservoir.

A 'ringtail' Hen Harrier was near Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning and there were as many as  twelve Smew at Eyebrook Reservoir today which included six drakes, surely the biggest number of this species anywhere in the UK currently.

A first winter Shag seemed to spend just minutes at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon before flying south and a Grey Wagtail was there too. Summer Leys LNR attracted a Cattle Egret, two Great White Egrets, one hundred and seven Pochard and a pair of Stonechats.

The recent Waxwings seen at Higham Ferrers and Brixworth were looked for today but not seen and an additional bird was found at Brackley (and photographed) on Boxing Day.

Much of the Brampton Valley was flooded today and birds below Hanging Houghton included two Green Sandpipers, twenty-five Golden Plovers, a Woodcock, nine Grey Partridges and a pair of Stonechats.

There are now eight Water Rails in the Nene Valley in Northamptonshire sporting colour rings with more planned for 2024.

News has reached us of a Blackcap that was ringed at Harrington Airfield on 2nd October 2023 and was then caught again by ringers in France operating at Plaisance, Saint-Froult, Charente-Maritime on 10th October 2023. This young female bird weighing just 18g travelled 723km in a southerly direction in just eight days.

Happy New Year and our thanks to the photographers and other contributors throughout the year.

Eleanor and Neil

A basic map depicting the southerly
direction taken by the Harrington Blackcap
which potentially may have come from
Scandanavia initially, courtesy of Nick Wood.

Reed Bunting courtesy 
of Tony Stanford.

Goosanders courtesy 
of Tony Stanford.

Waxwing at last!!

 Finally a Waxwing on the doorstep!!! After weeks of waiting a single Waxwing was located yesterday in Brixworth feeding in a small Rowan tree next to the Heritage Centre.   When the news broke I was half way to Blueberry so couldn't get there.   Therefore I was very relieved this morning when Wendy and Stuart put the news out that the bird was still there. Today was a day of errands so I literally threw everything into the car and headed off to Brixworth.  I  inadvertently parked right next to the Rowan tree and literally could have reached out of the window and touched it.  As it was just before 08.30 the light was really dull but the Waxwing showed very well and was content to feed on the berries. However the Blackbirds too were attracted to the berries and proved to be competition for the Waxwing.   On my way back from running my errands I checked the area again and the Waxwing was back in the Rowan tree before being disturbed and flying into the nearby trees where it perched up like a sentry on duty.   Looking on the local social media pages a few of the residents caught up with this bird too.       My only other birds of note were 2 Green Sandpipers again in the valley below Hanging Houghton.  I am seeing/hearing these birds regularly at dusk.  I wonder if they are wintering here ?

The 2 Waxwings were seen again yesterday at Higham Ferrers but I haven't seen any reports yet for today.  These birds obviously showed very well judging by all the stunning photographs of them.  Infact I was planning on heading over there today but changed my mind when the Brixworth bird was found.    The juvenile Great Northern Diver remains at Pitsford Reservoir,  a Mediterranean Gull in the roost at Stanford Reservoir,  Marsh Harrier and Cattle Egrets at Stanwick GP,  Caspian Gull at both Hollowell and Ravensthorpe Reservoirs and Pink Footed Goose at Hollowell Reservoir. 

Have a good weekend. 

Regards Eleanor 

Post Christmas Birding

Well that's Christmas over for another year and hope that it was an enjoyable time for everyone.  Now we are in that strange period of waiting for the New Year to arrive.  I always find this a frustrating period as so many people are still on holiday and it's always impossible to get anything done.                                                 So when all else fails,  there is always birding!!   Mind you this has been equally frustrating today due to the weather . Despite being out and about my only birds of note were 2 Green Sandpipers on the flooded fields below Hanging Houghton.   I don't know whether these birds are wintering in the area as this is about the third time that I have seen Green Sands in this area.      My birding was very limited on Christmas Day but I  managed to sneak out to Pitsford Reservoir yesterday where the Great Northern Diver and Scaup were near the dam and a pair of Stonechat and pair of Red Crested Pochard on the small side. I didn't stay long as it felt like the whole world was out at Pitsford,  it was heaving with people. 

A few birds were reported over the Christmas period.  The two Waxwings were showing well in Higham Ferrers and were still present today.  Yesterday at Nevilles Lodge there were 3 Short-eared Owls and 'ringtail' Hen Harrier,  and Marsh Harrier at Summer Leys.

Today in the Gull roost at Stanford Reservoir there were 2 adult Caspian Gulls and a 1st winter Mediterranean Gull.  The Great Northern Diver was still at Pitsford Reservoir and 2 Waxwings were seen in Northampton early morning. 

The weather forecast for the coming days is not very promising,  more rain and strong winds.  Not the most inspiring outlook,  but you just never know what you could bump into!!

Regards Eleanor 

Waxwings at Higham Ferrers
courtesy of Jim Dunkley.

Harriers and Waxwings

Today an early Christmas present for some when two long awaited Waxwings were found feeding on Rowan berries at Fitzwilliam Leys in Higham Ferrers. Looking at the many photos they showed well and it will be interesting to see if they hang around.  I'm hoping that it's the start of things to come as rather frustratingly they have been in all our neighbouring counties.  It would be good if they turned up in less residential areas as it is always a bit of a dilemma with pointing optics towards people's property.

There were two 'ringtail' Hen Harriers in the county today. Steve Fisher watched one fly north east over the main lake at Stanwick GP and this afternoon whilst walking the dogs I came across one battling the head wind below Hanging Houghton.   There was also a Marsh Harrier through Stanwick. 

We would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and hope that you enjoy the day however you spend it. 

Regards Eleanor and Neil 

Into the Woods !

 I found myself with a free day today so took the opportunity of heading to the north of the county and two of my favourite woods,  Fineshade and Wakerley.  Combined with being a weekend and close to Christmas I wasn't sure whether I would regret my decision.  However the woods and the roads were very quiet.    

I started at day break at Fineshade Wood with my three dogs and we went for a  two hour run zig zagging through the wood on the numerous if somewhat muddy trails. During time at Fineshade I only met two other people and they too were running with their dogs.  On my run round I could hear numerous small flocks of Siskins, 4 Redpolls,  Brambling and flushed a Woodcock. There was a small flock of Crossbills in Westhay Wood. Following my run I  treated myself to breakfast from the cafe which was delicious and I highly recommend the coffee and homemade cakes. A quick walk around top Lodge area produced 2 further Crossbills,  Brambling and 2 Ravens. 

Suitably refuelled I drove the short distance to Wakerley Wood where there were about 15 Crossbills calling and flying around the car park.  I spent the next couple of hours wandering around Wakerley Wood, again zig zagging around on the numerous trails. The only other person I met was a rather bemused cyclist sitting in the middle of nowhere eating his sandwiches which he shared with my dogs !!  For most of my walk I didn't see or hear anything and it was eerily quiet.  Then suddenly I could hear quite a large group of Crossbills coming towards me and I watched them carry on through the Wood. I was over towards Spanhoe Airfield when I saw these.  Later on I actually came across 8 Crossbills feeding in some Larch trees plus at least 4 Brambling feeding underneath a small stand of Beech trees. 

Blatherwycke Lake was next on my agenda and I struggled to find any Mandarin Ducks in their usual area but the water level was very high so wondered if this was the cause of their absence.  All I could find were 2 Egyptian Geese.  I walked to the church as the area around the church can sometimes be very productive.  There were no passerines of note but looking down on the lake which was quite sheltered below the church there were 3 more Egyptian Geese and a Black Swan.  It was from this viewpoint that I saw an Otter which headed towards the village.                       A quick stop at Deene Lake produced a pair of Stonechat,  7 Shelduck and another Black Swan.  

All in all a very enjoyable day out even if the Crossbills were at times frustrating due to them being so mobile.  It was just so good to be able to get out and about before the constraints of the coming festivities take hold.

Very few birds reported today.  The Ringtail Hen Harrier was again at Nevilles Lodge, a Cattle Egret at Wicksteed Water Meadows and the Greater Scaup at Pitsford Reservoir.  A possible Glaucous Gull was seen at Pitsford so worth checking out any large gulls at Pitsford and beyond. 

Regards Eleanor 

Strong winds, colourful clouds and a Bittern!

Hello

The tail-end of yesterday's storm made today windy again but still very mild for the time of the year. With the shortest day now over we can begin to see a little more daylight from each day onwards!

A Bittern away from the Nene Valley in Northamptonshire is rare indeed and Ian's find of one at Fawsley Park today is definitely bird of the day! It was seen in flight and heard calling but not seen subsequently (there is plenty of reed/sedge cover for this bird to hide away).

Other birds were a bit few and far between today but Stanford Reservoir recorded an adult Caspian Gull and about one hundred and thirty Great Black-backed Gulls in the roost, two Pintail, a Goosander, a Great White Egret and a Chiffchaff.

Another Chiffchaff was along the Brampton Valley Way below Hanging Houghton this afternoon and Scotland Wood hosted a Raven and a couple of Siskins with at least a dozen Siskins at nearby Kelmarsh Hall. Another Raven was near Boughton and there were at least twenty Ring-necked Parakeets at Abington Park, Northampton this morning. Five Goosanders were at Stortons Pits today.

A small Starling murmuration and a pair of Goosanders were on offer at Summer Leys LNR with two Great White Egrets on nearby Mary's Lake. The Cattle Egret remained at Wicksteed Park Water Meadows LNR this morning.

Colourful high level Nacreous clouds seem to have been a feature up and down the country the last few days including locally.

Details have now come through of a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull seen at Pitsford Reservoir on 17th December 2023 (yellow ring with black inscription T2YX):-

This bird was first ringed at Gdansk-Jelitkowo, Zbiornik Jelitkowska, Pomorskie, Poland as a second calendar year bird on 8th March 2018. The distance between the two sites is 1308km with 2110 days elapsing between the two records.

Other sightings of this bird are of it 10km away from the ringing site just two days later on 10th March 2018, again in Poland on 9th July 2019 when it was 250km from where originally ringed and then two UK sightings of it at Grimsbury Reservoir, near Banbury, Oxfordshire on 4th July 2020 and at Pitsford Reservoir on 3rd December 2020. This six year old bird clearly winters in the English midlands but returns to breed in Poland.

Regards

Neil M

Goosander at Stortons
Pits today courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Common Gull and Black-headed 
Gull courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Muntjac at Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Grey Heron courtesy
of John Tilly.

Carrion Crow courtesy
of John Tilly.

Curlew courtesy of
John Tilly.

Birds of a very windy day!

Hello

Certainly a very windy day but mild and only a splattering of showers.

The Great Northern Diver and Scaup were still in situ at the dam end of Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon, the diver favouring the Pintail Bay and the Scaup between Moulton Grange Bay and the dam. Four Goosanders and a roost of ninety-seven Great Black-backed Gulls were the pick of the birds at Stanford Reservoir.

An afternoon foray looking for Otters at Market Harborough failed to locate them but a Peregrine on St Dionysius church was relatively low down and showing well and a Little Egret on the River Welland was not at all shy. A Grey Wagtail was noted too.

A 'ringtail' Hen Harrier was again visible at Neville's Lodge south of Finedon again this afternoon despite no doubt very windy conditions at this very open site. The Cattle Egret was again on show at Wicksteed Park Water Meadows LNR today.

Regards

Neil M

Distant images of the Hen Harrier
near Neville's Lodge on Monday
indicate that this individual was
a juvenile female. This individual
is a large, broad-winged bird with 
blackish under secondaries, pale tipped
coverts, a well-marked facial 'mask',
a pale-tipped tail and generously streaked
straw-coloured breast. On this occasion
she had clearly recently eaten as there
is a big bulge in her crop. There is more
than one bird at this site but this is the
bird that appears to be most regularly seen.
I'm sorry about the distant and cropped
images but if you click on them hopefully
you can see the salient features!

Little Egret at Market
Harborough today. Urban
birds used to seeing plenty
of people are probably the 
easiest to photograph!

Crossbills and harriers

Hello

The open field area between Finedon and Irthlingborough off the A6 and incorporating Neville's Lodge has been attracting some attention recently and today a Hen Harrier, a Short-eared Owl and a male Merlin were seen. Access to this area is by farm tracks and footpaths but it is imperative that visitors keep to these areas and do not wander across fields or stray from the obvious through routes and cause undue disturbance.

A mobile flock of Crossbills in excess of twelve birds remain at Wakerley Woods - the larches around the main car park is the traditional site for these birds but this winter they seem to be wandering to other parts of the complex and are likely to be the same birds sometimes seen at Fineshade Wood the other side of the A43 where they like the mature trees to the north-east of Top Lodge. Maps of both these sites can be found on the Birdwatching Sites tab of this blog.

There were two Crossbills and fifteen Siskins attracted to woodland including larches at Lamport Hall early this afternoon. Two Ravens were there too.

The Cattle Egret remained a fixture at Wicksteed Park Water Meadows LNR again today and a Marsh Harrier was seen over the north section of the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits today.

An adult Caspian Gull was at the Rushton Recycling Centre (formerly a landfill site) today.

Regards

Neil M

Marsh Harrier courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Crossbill.

Merlin.

Short-eared Owl courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Birds of a wet and mild December day

Hello

Steady rain for most of the night and the morning was hitting already drenched ground but as it was relatively light there seems to be little in the way of flooding. However Pitsford Reservoir is at full capacity and further rain will ensure the spillway will soon be in action.

The Great Northern Diver was at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon but the small gull roost failed to attract a gull of note. A male Merlin was probably attracted to some Linnets feeding on the wild bird plots on Lamport Hall land between Hanging Houghton and Scaldwell villages this afternoon and a pair of Stonechats were present too.

Blackcaps were reported from a couple of gardens in the county today and a Grey Wagtail and a Siskin were near Kelmarsh this afternoon.

This afternoon a Hen Harrier was seen again around Neville's Lodge south of Finedon off the A6 and a small flock of about five or six Siskins were in Mears Ashby village.

The Cattle Egret was at Wicksteed Park Water Meadows LNR again this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Chiffchaff courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Starling courtesy of
John Tilly.

Woodpigeon courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Red Kite.

Ditchford WebS count

Hello

Some initial light but persistent showers put a bit of a dampener on the early hours of the WeBs count at Ditchford Pits today. Birds west of Ditchford Lane included a female Merlin briefly, a Great White Egret in flight, a Little Egret, a Grey Wagtail, a pair of Stonechats, a Siskin, three Cetti's Warblers and a Chiffchaff. Birds east of Ditchford Lane included a Great White Egret, two Little Egrets, a Jack Snipe, eleven Common Snipe, a Water Rail, three Goosanders, just one Cetti's Warbler, a Chiffchaff, at least one Siskin, two Grey Wagtails and another pair of Stonechats. A Marsh Harrier was seen at the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve a little further east this morning. 

En-route to complete the count a single Cattle Egret flew over the A45 by Whitworths on the edge of Wellingborough this morning.

Staying east of Wellingborough, we visited the area around Neville's Lodge between Finedon and Irthlingborough and east of the old Sidegate Lane Landfill site and spent a couple of hours here in company with local guru Steve Fisher. A female Hen Harrier showed particularly well, particularly to David Sharp with it practically right in front of him! A second bird was seen briefly actually over the more distant landfill area. Some thirty Golden Plovers, a male Peregrine and about eight Grey Partridges were here too.

At Earls Barton Pits today a Peregrine was seen over Mary's Lake and there were four Goosanders on Summer Leys LNR. The juvenile Great Northern Diver was again reported at Pitsford Reservoir, this time in the Pintail Bay at about noon. The Cattle Egret remained at Wicksteed Park Water Meadows this morning and there were as many as seven Smew (five drakes) at Eyebrook Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Reed Bunting courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Magpie courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Buck Muntjac courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

A quiet Sunday

Hello

Another rather dull and breezy day with odd periods of brightness on a generally mild day.

A visit to Pitsford Reservoir this morning successfully located the unidentified diver from yesterday and confirmed it as a Great Northern Diver. This bird is a juvenile, the same age as the last bird on the reservoir, whether it is the same returning bird or another I'm afraid I don't know! An adult Yellow-legged Gull was present mid-morning and this afternoon there were two first year Yellow-legged Gulls present before they flew south plus a Kingfisher and the first year drake Scaup also this afternoon. All these birds were in the vicinity of the dam.

A 'ringtail' Hen Harrier was seen on the east side of the old Sidegate Lane Landfill site this afternoon and later nearer Neville's Lodge between Finedon and Wellingborough off the A6.

A Kingfisher showed well at Abington Park, Northampton today and five Grey Partridges were the best on offer at Harrington Airfield late morning.

Two Goosanders were at Kinewell Lake, Ringstead Pits today where there was also a a Pintail and a Great White Egret with two Great White Egrets and five Egyptian Geese in the Nene Valley near Woodford.

The Upper Thames Curlew Recovery Project have provided a film highlighting the work to try and stabilise breeding Curlews in lowland river valleys and this can be seen by clicking the below link.

The second link provides an opportunity to donate to the project as there is a need to educate, provide equipment and record the project outcomes of the work completed. Critical engagement with farmers and other landowners requires funding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6nL4ZI2cac

https://app.donorfy.com/donate/41MQ0BR8G5/UpperThamesCurlewRecovery

Regards

Neil M

Drake and female Goldeneye
at Pitsford Reservoir today.

A Red Kite against
a very dull sky
 just drains the warm
colours of the plumage!

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.

Birds of mid-December

Hello

A relatively mild if dull day nevertheless stayed dry with a light breeze.

Two Ravens have been in the village here at Hanging Houghton for the last couple of days. Each year they have a long hard look at the conifers in the village for nesting but tend to opt for a large cedar in Lamport village instead.

A ringing session at Harrington Airfield aimed at migrant thrushes caused the capture and processing of four Fieldfares, a Song Thrush and seventeen Redwings, only a fraction of the birds still inhabiting the berry bushes there. Bonus birds were a Green Woodpecker, a Goldcrest and several Blue Tits and a Great Tit. Fly-over birds included singles of Brambling, Siskin and Redpoll and three Ravens were particularly noisy. A Stoat was seen there too.

There was little of note to be seen north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir today with even higher and very brown water levels. A Chiffchaff was at the Old Scaldwell Road bushes and a Common Buzzard there was seen with a large Brown Rat this afternoon.

A drake Red-crested Pochard was noted at Clifford Hill Pits this morning, at the SW end of the main lake.

A 'ringtail' Hen Harrier was again seen in the Nene Valley between Irthlingborough and Wellingborough this afternoon and at Stanwick Pits there were seven Cattle Egrets on the Roadside Lake this morning.

Two more Cattle Egrets were in a field north of Home Farm near Stanford Hall and at Stanford Reservoir there were at least 1800 Common Gulls, about seventy Great Black-backed Gulls and two first winter Mediterranean Gulls in the gull roost. Fifteen Siskins were noted there too.

At Ravensthorpe Reservoir this morning there was an adult Caspian Gull and Siskin and Lesser Redpoll on-site. Nearby Hollowell Reservoir hosted a Jack Snipe, a Pink-footed Goose, an adult Caspian Gull and four Stonechats.

Four Woodcock and two Barn Owls were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Wigeon.

Goldcrest.

Pheasant.

All images from Pitsford
Reservoir today courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Female Green Woodpecker 
at Harrington Airfield today
 courtesy of Michelle Spinks.

Birds of a waterlogged county!

Hello

A much better day's weather today although we still have hordes of tits and other birds consuming everything in their path in the garden currently - they all seem very hungry!

Some ringing at Stanford Reservoir today accounted for 136 captures, mostly of Blue and Great Tits but also of six Chaffinches and other species too and Brambling were heard calling. The Stanford Ringing Group have so far ringed 13,423 new birds this year which is a record amount.

This afternoon at Harrington Airfield a Crossbill flew over heading west and a Peregrine was hunting over the old airfield a little later. Golden Plovers and Grey Partridges were heard calling. Tomorrow (Friday) there is a planned ringing session around the bunkers and scrubby areas which will restrict access to these areas. The footpath along the concrete track is unaffected.

The Cattle Egret remains in the area of Wicksteed Park Water Meadows and the Marsh Harrier was again around North Lake, Stanwick Pits today.

A Stonechat was noted at Kings Sutton station but there was no sign of the Waxwings in their favoured bush from a couple of days ago. A 'redhead' Smew was at Eyebrook Reservoir today.

A Barn Owl and a Green Sandpiper were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon and birds for the Blueberry Farm area near Maidwell included the trio of a Woodcock, a Jack Snipe and fifteen Common Snipe.

Regards

Neil M

Woodcock courtesy of
Cathy Ryden.

Jack Snipe.

Common Snipe.