Nene Valley birding

Hello

A grey but dryer day of late but still cool.

At Pitsford Reservoir the Great Northern Diver was still present in the vicinity of Catwalk Bay this afternoon and two Great White Egrets were at Stanford Reservoir where there were also five Goosanders, two Pintail, an Oystercatcher, a Stonechat and a Cetti's Warbler.

Eyebrook Reservoir hosted four drake Smew and a Scaup and Blatherwycke Lake still attracted a Cattle Egret and a Scaup.

The Nene Valley continues to dominate local birding and Summer Leys LNR provided the Glossy Ibis, seven Great White Egrets, three Oystercatchers and a pair of Goosanders and Clifford Hill Pits was still the only place in the county to see a drake Smew. 

In the general area below Cogenhoe and Whiston the meadows were the feeding areas for geese including five White-fronted Geese seen in flight, a Pink-footed Goose, a Barn Owl, a Peregrine, a Great White Egret and a pair of Stonechats. Twenty or so Chiffchaffs feeding along the edges of the sewer outflow by bridge K121 contained two Siberian Chiffchaffs.

In a winter with few Bramblings locally, three were in a large, mixed finch flock in a field between Wakerley Wood and the A43.

Fifty Yellowhammers, three Grey Wagtails and two Ravens were in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth, two Ravens were at Lamport Hall, a Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and a single Short-eared Owl remains on private land near Maidwell.

Regards

Neil M

Kestrel courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Mute Swan courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

North American Mink
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Robin courtesy
of John Tilly.

Long-tailed Tits courtesy
of John Gamble.