Here come the Stonechats!

Hello

My apologies but we will be off-line for a couple of weeks so this will be the last blog for a while.

More ringing activity locally has included a number of wildfowl sessions with quite a number of Mute Swans, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese and Mallard ringed. Eight more Barn Owls were located and ringed in what is proving to be an exceptionally good year for the species. Kenny at Linford Lakes has been working hard with another roost catch of fifty-nine Swallows and a Yellow Wagtail. Today a general ringing session there yielded another hundred birds, most of which were newly-ringed. Fifty-seven Blackcaps was an impressive total plus fifteen Reed Buntings, five Chiffchaffs, two Sedge Warblers, a late Willow Warbler and two Meadow Pipits. Bigger birds were a Blackbird, a Green Woodpecker and a Jay but the seemingly star bird was a Stonechat, only the second one to have been ringed at Linford.

Two hundred and eighteen new birds were ringed at Stanford Reservoir today which included a Grasshopper Warbler, a Garden Warbler, a Willow Warbler and two Common Redstarts.

General birding in the county provided the Osprey again at the New Workings section at Earls Barton Pits where also a Hobby and a Marsh Harrier,

A Cattle Egret was photographed at Titchmarsh reserve, Thrapston Pits today and a Bittern was at Higham Ferrers Lakes, Ditchford Pits with a Kingfisher and a Shelduck on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve.

Birds at Hollowell Reservoir today included eleven Ringed Plovers, five Dunlin and a pair of Stonechat. Stanford Reservoir general birding also located two aythya hybrids which appear to be of Pochard x Tufted Duck parentage, fifteen Little Egrets, a Caspian Gull briefly and two Cetti's Warblers

Birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir were a first year Caspian Gull, two adult Yellow-legged Gulls, a Dunlin, five Ringed Plovers, a Common Snipe, two Pintail, three Shelduck, twelve Great White Egrets and a pair of Stonechat.

Single Stonechats were at Upton Country Park and between Kelmarsh and Arthingworth.

The Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton was good for a female Merlin, six Golden Plovers, a Wheatear, two Stonechats and a Whinchat.

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owls!

Chicken of the Woods fungi.

Robin courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Green Woodpecker.

Blackbird.

Jay.

Stonechat.

Above four images courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.