Birds of early July

Hello

A pleasant, warm day which began calm but then became windy again.

A Great White Egret and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning. A little ringing at the Old Scaldwell Road area provided thirty-three captures of small birds including breeding warblers with the best of the catch being ten Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler, three Blackcaps, a Chiffchaff and eight Sedge Warblers.

A male Channel or Blue-headed Wagtail and a Snipe were at Clifford Hill Pits this morning and at Kinewell Lake at Ringstead Pits this afternoon there were two juvenile Cattle Egrets and two Mandarin Ducks.

A Bittern was noted again at Summer Leys LNR, plus the Otter again and a brood of twelve Tufted Duck ducklings were out and about.

A female Red-crested Pochard plus a female Red-crested Pochard x Mallard hybrid were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir today, north of the causeway.

A Redshank, an Oystercatcher and a Common Sandpiper were located at Stanford Reservoir where also a 'reeling' Grasshopper Warbler.

A Quail was again heard calling in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning, in a field between Blueberry Farm and 'shrike hedge'.

A Common Redstart was located at Borough Hill Country Park, Daventry this afternoon where also two noisy juvenile Peregrines.

Regards

Neil M

A male Channel or Blue-headed Wagtail.

Juvenile Meadow Pipit.

Juvenile Blue Tit.

Brown Argus.

All images courtesy of Tyler Atkinson.