Northamptonshire Birding: Pitsford Reservoir CBC

Hello

A Common Bird Census was completed on the reserve section of Pitsford Reservoir, an old survey method which we have maintained to ensure consistency and an opportunity for suitable comparisons year by year.

Little out of the ordinary was noticed but there was a Great White Egret and a Cuckoo in the Walgrave Bay and foraging Kingfishers in all three bays indicating three pairs along the brooks outside of the reservoir. The young from the breeding pair of Ravens have fledged and there were successful broods of early nesting water birds such as Coot, Mallard and Canada Goose. Fluctuating water levels has paid havoc with the Mute Swan nests but many pairs of Great Crested Grebes have floating nests which hopefully fare better. Grey Herons nest in all three bays these days and some of the young have already fledged.

Song-wise it was the Garden Warbler which dominated the warblers with birds singing from all suitable lush vegetation and a few pairs of Common Terns have arrived to squeeze a nesting place amongst the throng of Black-headed Gulls already on the rafts.

Common butterflies on the wing include Orange-tips and Holly Blue and Hairy Hawker and Four-spotted Chasers were the only dragonflies seen.

Birds noted at Stanford Reservoir today included two Mandarin Ducks, four Oystercatchers, a Common Sandpiper, a Cuckoo and two Hobbies.

Birding at Summer Leys LNR yielded an Osprey, a Sanderling, a Greenshank, two Ringed Plovers and two Common Sandpipers.

A Hobby was seen at Hartwell and this afternoon there were still sixty raptors occupying two fields in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton near to shrike hedge, about half each consisting of Red Kite and Common Buzzard. Worms seem to be the attraction and there were also twenty Lesser Black-backed Gulls attracted too.

Regards

Neil M