Warblers, terns and waders

Hello

I'm just back in from an extended tour of Provence in France and a page/tab has been created to illustrate some of the images from the tour - Provence in Spring 2024.

Last Friday a ringing session took place at Stortons Pits which provided sixty-two captures of sixteen species and a welcome back to some of our warblers which included eight Chiffchaffs, a Lesser Whitethroat, eight Blackcaps, two Garden Warblers, a Common Whitethroat, two Reed Warblers and no less than five Cetti's Warblers.

Today (Sunday) and Arctic Terns were about in the county and nearby with four at Clifford Hill Pits, eighteen at Eyebrook Reservoir and a single at Summer Leys LNR. A Black Tern was at Ditchford Pits on Higham Lake and another was at Town Lake, Thrapston Pits.

Other birds at Summer Leys included a Greenshank, a Cattle Egret and a Ringed Plover and Clifford Hill Pits hung on to it's showy male Ring Ouzel, three Dunlin, two Little Ringed Plovers and a Ringed Plover. Additional birds at Ditchford Pits included a Pink-footed Goose and a Greenshank. Two Dunlin were at Barnwell lock floods, with a Cuckoo nearby at Barnwell Country Park and a Hobby was seen over East Hunsbury, Northampton this evening. Two Common Sandpipers and two Ringed-necked Parakeets were at Delapre Lake today.

The Cherwell Valley attracted an impressive thirty-two Yellow Wagtails between Clifton and Aynho plus a Shelduck and three Ringed Plovers.

Two Peregrines remain at Higham Ferrers and birds in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon included a calling Cuckoo, a Short-eared Owl and two Siskins. Two Redpolls visited a Brixworth garden.

Birds at Stanford Reservoir today included a Hobby, a Common Sandpiper, a fly-over Curlew, two Garden Warblers, two Cetti's Warblers, a Swift, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Cuckoo.

Some planned ringing at Harrington Airfield tomorrow (Monday) and possibly on Tuesday will restrict access around the bunkers and scrubby areas between the main concrete track and the chippings compound.

Regards

Neil M

Common Whitethroat
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Yellowhammer courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Lesser Whitethroat courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Garden Warbler courtesy
of Chris Payne.