An interesting Blue Tit

Hello

The continued calm and mild conditions provided some more opportunities for ringing today even if there was more drizzle than expected. Over at Greens Norton Chris Payne conducted some garden ringing and caught a high total of fifty-four Goldfinches, six Blue Tits, two Great Tits, two Starlings and a Collared Dove. One of the Blue Tits, an adult bird, demonstrated an unusual bill deformity with the upper mandible being 24mm longer than the lower mandible and curved downwards. The bird was in fine fettle and a healthy weight so it clearly has adapted to it's odd bill growth.

At Pitsford Reservoir today a small catch of birds around the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station included a Jackdaw, a Song Thrush, two Redwings, two Blackbirds, two Blackcaps, a Meadow Pipit and a female Stonechat. A flock of about twenty Pink-footed Geese flew north there at dawn and other birds noted included three hundred Redwings moving south, smaller numbers of Skylarks and Fieldfares going the same way, a Yellow-legged Gull, an apparent hybrid gull (maybe Yellow-legged x Lesser Black-backed?) somewhat resembling a Caspian Gull, thirty Common Snipe, a Grey Wagtail, a Kingfisher, a Great White Egret and six Pintail.

Three Hawfinches were seen at Thenford church this afternoon and one was seen briefly at Cottesbrooke village this morning.

At Stanford Reservoir this morning there were seven Whooper Swans which departed at 8.25am, six Red-crested Pochards, a Great White Egret, a Yellow-legged Gull and two Redpoll.

Seven Whooper Swans, perhaps the same birds from Stanford, flew east over Clifford Hill Pits at about 9.30am. The Glossy Ibis, a Marsh Harrier, over two hundred Golden Plovers and a female Stonechat were at Summer Leys LNR this morning and a drake Red-crested Pochard and a Green Sandpiper were on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits this morning. A Redshank, a Common Snipe and two Pintail were at Stanwick Pits.

Twelve Pink-footed Geese flew north-east over Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this afternoon and a Green Sandpiper and two Grey Wagtails were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

At Harrington Airfield this morning there was a Short-eared Owl, a large number of Redwings and Fieldfares were on the move plus two Bramblings and four Redpolls.

A Great White Egret was in flight at Brackley this morning and at Blatherwycke Lake there was a drake Red-crested Pochard, two Egyptian Geese and a Black Swan with three Black Swans at Deene Lake.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Female Stonechat
courtesy of Jane Neill.

Jackdaw courtesy
of Jane Neill.

Redwing courtesy
of Jane Neill.

Meadow Pipit courtesy
of Olivia Neilson.