Tuesday 5 March 2024

A brief encounter with White Fronted Geese

Yesterday Nick Parker found 4 Adult White Fronted Geese over at Titchmarsh NR where they remained for a couple of hours before disappearing.   A great rewarding find for Nick who regularly visits this site.                                                The drake Garganey was again at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows plus  a Black Tailed Godwit.  Cattle Egrets were present near Aldwinkle and Ditchford Lane.                   Away from the Nene Valley,  an adult Mediterranean Gull and Stonechats at Hollowell Reservoir and pr Stonechats,  2 Green Sandpipers and Barn Owl below Hanging Houghton. 

Today most of the news is  from the Nene Valley.  At Clifford Hill 2 Oystercatchers and a Red head Smew, 3 Great White Egrets,  2 Dunlin and 8 Redshank at Summer Leys, drake Scaup and female Ring Necked Duck on the main lake at Ditchford and Marsh Harrier at Stanwick GP. 

It's not too late to catch the fabulous mesmerising spectacle of the Starling murmuration.  Still huge numbers gathering at Summer Leys and Stortons GP. Well worth a trip out at about 17.00hrs-18.00hrs.

Tomorrow evening at 19.30hrs the Northamptonshire Bird Club will be meeting at the Lodge, Pitsford Water.  It is the AGM but don't be put off as the business part of the meeting is a short affair.  This will be followed by a talk from local naturalist John Friendship-Taylor on the virtues of " local patch birding".  I'm sure that this will be a very interesting talk and one that strikes a chord with many of us who regularly watch/visit the same area.      A local patch can be any type of habitat but it is quite enlightening to watch the same area during the year and monitor the changes in the wildlife which may be due to the weather or land management.  I suppose that my local patch is  split between Blueberry and Harrington Airfield.  I know that Mark watches Hollowell Reservoir,  Nigel the attenuation pond at Duston where currently there are 20+ Redpolls, Steve at Stanwick,  Nick at Titchmarsh and the many more stalwarts in the county watching "their patch". 

Regards Eleanor 

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