Pitsford CBC

Hello

An induction ringing session for two new potential ringers was organised for Stortons Pits yesterday under the guidance of Chris Payne, John Boland, Helen Franklin and Nick Wood. During the course of this sixty-six birds were processed of fifteen species, the vast majority juveniles and newly-ringed. Warblers included seven Chiffchaffs, ten Reed Warblers, four Sedge Warblers, four Common Whitethroats, six Blackcaps and a Garden Warbler. A re-trap Long-tailed Tit had been ringed initially in December 2021 as far away as Astcote south-west of Northampton in John Woollett's garden.

A careful extraction was a Lunar Hornet Clearwing moth from one of the nets and interestingly the ringers at Stanford Reservoir encountered exactly the same thing yesterday and also carefully released an individual of the same species.

I completed one of the last Common Bird Census surveys of the year at Pitsford Reservoir today, starting just before 5am and finally concluded at 12.45pm when of course there wasn't much singing anyway. Whilst completing these surveys I try and keep an eye out for other wildlife too. The first half of the walk was cloudy and warm but insects and birds were at a minimum but of course there were plenty of Muntjacs, a Red Fox and Brown Hares out and about.

When the sun came out so did the insects with plenty of butterflies of about sixteen species including a couple of Purple Hairstreaks. A Giant Woodwasp is not a species I see regularly and is an impressive insect. Brief views of a large dragonfly in front of Willow Hide suggested a female Vagrant Emperor but the views were insufficient to identify.

Six Great White Egrets were on-site plus two Green Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers, four Kingfishers, a female Tufted Duck with four ducklings and an early return with a Wigeon befriending the summering flock of Gadwall which number over two hundred. A 'reeling' Grasshopper Warbler was in scrubby bushes on farmland to the east of the Walgrave Bay and singing Sedge Warblers in the Scaldwell Meadow are clearly intent on second broods. Two Yellow-legged Gulls were an adult and a third calendar year bird.

Elsewhere and a Barnacle Goose and two Little Ringed Plovers were at Clifford Hill Pits and an Osprey and two Little Ringed Plovers were at Hollowell Reservoir. A Spotted Flycatcher was at Bucknell Woods and butterflies on offer there were White Admiral, Purple Emperor and Purple Hairstreak. Spotted Flycatchers were vocal in Hanging Houghton village today.

Regards

Neil M

Giant Woodwasp.

Lapwing.

Otter. 

At one point the three Otters swam within 
touching distance of a very large Common
Carp wallowing in the shallows and they
completely ignored it! I know they have a
liking for small 'silver fish' and they were
moving fast and Carp seemingly wasn't on
 the menu!

Large White.

Blue Emperor.