Nestbox maintenance.

Hello

A rise in temperature and dry for much of the day was a pleasing tonic!

A team of three of us spent the day on the reserve at Pitsford Reservoir clearing out, checking and repairing the numerous nest boxes in readiness for the imminent breeding season. It's surprising how many insects and mammals shelter in these boxes during the winter and today included queen wasps, a fabulous queen hornet, lots of beetles, sawfly larvae, ladybirds, spiders, Wood Mice and Grey Squirrels!

We also encountered Tawny Owls roosting in the big boxes and other birds noted on our seven mile wander included two or three Kingfishers, a Great White Egret, several Siskins, a Crossbill, two Woodcock, a couple of Ravens and a pair of Stonechats. Plenty of Redwings were feeding and singing in the plantations with some foraging in the adjacent sodden fields. Flying insects included a bumblebee.

Steve experienced a 'ringtail' Hen Harrier crossing the road between Holcot village and the A43.

The drake Lesser Scaup was again on the Clifford Hill Pits complex after first being found on the River Nene. The drake Smew was also present and a flock of eleven Black-tailed Godwits flew west towards Brackmills Industrial Estate.

Ringstead Pits hosted the drake Ring-necked Duck on Kinewell Lake where there were also eight Pintail and a Cattle Egret. Nearby a Tundra Bean Goose and up to ten European White-fronted Geese were at Denford, visible from a footpath between Woodford and Thrapston.

Further down the valley the Pink-footed Goose re-appeared at Islip Meadows (Thrapston Pits), before flying off with Greylag Geese, plus a Marsh Harrier was also present and a Curlew flew over.

The Glossy Ibis was in front of the screen hide at Summer Leys LNR this morning.

Much further upstream and a female Red-crested Pochard was found at Kislingbury Pits.

Nine Crossbills were noted at Harlestone Heath early this afternoon and the mobile Red-throated Diver was initially at Ravensthorpe Reservoir before moving to Hollowell Reservoir.

A Blackcap was again in a Wellingborough garden, a Grey Wagtail was at Rothersthorpe, a Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and a Little Owl was at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell. A Caspian Gull was at Daventry Country Park.

Mark wandered along the flooded Welland Valley, finding a first year Caspian Gull below Cottingham plus two Oystercatchers and a Green Sandpiper with an adult Yellow-legged Gull at Harringworth plus twenty-eight Pintail, seven Golden Plovers and a superb three thousand five hundred Lapwings.

Nearby at Eyebrook Reservoir there was a drake American Wigeon, three Pink-footed Geese, an immature Whooper Swan, eleven Greater Scaup and at least eight Smew.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Scaup today at Clifford Hill
Pits courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Tawny Owls at Pitsford Reservoir today.

The bottom image depicts a bird first ringed
as a nestling at Pitsford Reservoir in April
2014, one of three siblings. It was encountered
again in 2019 and this year will be twelve years old!

The four amigos on top of Blueberry
Hill today - Jaeger, Tor, Rouzel and Tystie!