March quality birds

Hello

Today a WeBS count was completed at Ditchford Pits and it initially seemed very quiet with little west of Ditchford Lane except two Egyptian Geese and two Oystercatchers a handful of Cetti's Warblers and a Grey Wagtail. To the east of Ditchford Pits it was more interesting with four Cattle Egrets, eight Little Egrets, two Jack Snipe, seventeen Common Snipe, a Kingfisher, several Cetti's Warblers and a Grey Wagtail. A Willow Warbler was at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows.

An excellent variety of scarce birds were available in the county today - it wasn't many years ago when the month of March was perhaps the least exciting month on the birding calendar but not this year!

A 'redhead' Smew was in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir today and two Sand Martins were off the causeway with three Ravens at nearby Holcot village. An Osprey was at Hollowell Reservoir early this morning and at nearby Ravensthorpe Reservoir a Glossy Ibis flew over low heading north west at 11.40am. A Pink-footed Goose and two Shelduck were at Stanford Reservoir and a drake Common Scoter graced Boddington Reservoir.

In the Nene Valley Summer Leys LNR again hosted two Cattle Egrets, six Little Ringed Plovers and a Swallow with three Shelduck, a Redshank, a Green Sandpiper and two Oystercatchers at the Earls Barton working quarry. Clifford Hill Pits attracted a drake Red-crested Pochard, a Little Ringed Plover, a Great White Egret and a Wheatear (which have been scarce so far this spring). Four White-fronted Geese at Wadenhoe Water Meadows must be the birds from Thrapston Pits last week.

An Osprey flew north near Braunston this evening and at Duston the attenuation pool off Sandy Lane was still the venue for two Mealy Redpolls, some Lesser Redpolls and Siskin.

More garden-visiting Siskins included five at Moulton, three in Duston and six in Brixworth with two at Woodford Halse in addition to a male Redpoll.

Some ringing in a garden on the east side of Northampton produced seventeen Siskins, thirteen Goldfinches, three Greenfinches and a Blackcap in addition to standard garden birds.

Four Short-eared Owls remain in a field with no public access west of Lamport village and a few Siskins were in the village at Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

Yellowhammer at Pitsford
Reservoir courtesy of Tony
Stanford.

Red-legged Partridges courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Common Snipe courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

First year male Siskin
courtesy of John Tilly.

Pitsford Reservoir at dawn (yesterday).