Chiffchaffs, finches and gulls on the move

Hello

A mild, dry and breezy day was welcome after all the rain!

Today and it was the turn of Clifford Hill Pits to shine with the 'redhead' Smew still present but also a Knot (a scarce wader at any time of the year), a Little Gull and a Kingfisher. The Ditchford Pits complex still retained the female Ring-necked Duck on the main pit and the drake Garganey on a flooded field next to Otter Lake on the Irhlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve. At Earls Barton Pits two Cattle Egrets were in a field next to Mary's Lake and two Black-tailed Godwits were with Golden Plovers on the Summer Leys reserve..

The gull roost at Stanford Reservoir accounted for eight hundred Common Gulls which have very much been on the move the last two days, plus a Caspian Gull.

A Cattle Egret was located at Wicksteed Park Lake this afternoon and at least one Mealy Redpoll was still at the attenuation pond off New Sandy Lane, Duston early this afternoon.

In the Brampton Valley today there were still two Bramblings with Goldfinches between Brixworth and Hanging Houghton and two Grey Wagtails and two Green Sandpipers in the valley below Hanging Houghton. The Peregrine was present for it's third day at nearby Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and two Short-eared Owls made a brief appearance west of the Brampton Valley Way below Lamport. A few incoming Chiffchaffs are present in a variety of locations as they begin to make their presence felt.

With two Ospreys back already at Rutland Water, the nest cam is in operation with a bird arrived at it's nest in Scotland way back on the 8th March so heads up for some of our local birds returning!

A modest ringing session at Kelmarsh Hall mostly just utilising a single mist net provided sixty-nine captures made up of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, six Great Tits, twenty-seven Blue Tits, a Long-tailed Tit, six Goldcrests, two Treecreepers, a Chaffinch, six Greenfinches, seven Siskins and twelve Goldfinches. Other birds present were two Ravens, a Chiffchaff and a Grey Wagtail.  

Regards

Neil M

Treecreeper at Kelmarsh
today courtesy of Jane
Neill.

  

Female and male Siskins
at Kelmarsh today courtesy
of Jane Neill.

Drake Tufted Duck.

Cob Mute Swan.