Waders, chats and flycatchers

Hello

A very quiet WeBS count at Ditchford Pits with the only birds of note west of Ditchford Lane being a Common Sandpiper, up to nine Common Snipe, two Hobbys, a Kingfisher and a handful of Cetti's Warblers. East of Ditchford Lane and it was even quieter!

Up to about a dozen Spotted Flycatchers were at Lamport Hall this evening and two Barn Owls were located.

Two or three Common Redstarts were in the usual hedging off the footpath south of Old/Cherry Hill/Walgrave with about twenty Clouded Yellows in the lucerne field.

At Stanford Reservoir today the Ferruginous Duck was seen again plus a Mandarin Duck, a Great White Egret, two Kingfishers, six Common Sandpipers, twenty-five Yellow Wagtails and four Spotted Flycatchers.

The Pectoral Sandpiper was again located at Daventry Country Park today and the Spotted Redshank was still present too.

Hollowell Reservoir sported a juvenile Black Tern off the dam, a Ringed Plover, a Greenshank, two Redshanks, a Common Sandpiper and a family of ten Egyptian Geese! Naseby Reservoir hosted the Caspian Gull as usual plus a Ruff, two Green Sandpipers, six Common Sandpipers and a Wheatear.

Birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir this morning were an Osprey, three Greenshanks, three Black-tailed Godwits, a Ruff and a Common Sandpiper.

In the Nene Valley, Clifford Hill Pits provided for two Common Sandpipers, fifty-eight Yellow Wagtails, a Common Redstart, at least three Whinchats (please see video below courtesy of Tyler Atkinson) and a Wheatear.

The New Workings section of the Earls Barton Pits complex still had a Glossy Ibis this afternoon, a Spotted Redshank, at least seven Green Sandpipers and three Common Sandpipers. A Glossy Ibis was on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR this evening with a Marsh Harrier earlier in the afternoon.

During the last couple of evenings, Kenny Cramer and team have tried roost catching at Linford Lakes reserve on the edge of Milton Keynes and succeeded in catching and processing good numbers of warblers, Sand Martins, Swallows and Yellow Wagtails.

Regards

Neil M

Yellow Wagtail courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Egyptian Goose.

A grisly end to a Ruff at
Pitsford Reservoir, with this
image of a Grey Heron courtesy
of John Kirkelionis.