October's birds of passage.

Hello

Pitsford Reservoir was the venue for the Slavonian Grebe again north of the causeway and other birds there included eighteen or so Pintail, at least ten Great White Egrets, four Shelduck, two Dunlin, a Ringed Plover, a Green Sandpiper, a Redshank, at least two Yellow-legged Gulls, at least six Stonechats and a Peregrine. With something like three thousand all-sorted birds north of the causeway it's anyone's guess whether the American Wigeon is still there! A modest ringing session there provided three Reed Buntings, nine Meadow Pipits, a Redwing, a Blackcap and two Stonechats. A Clouded Yellow was in Scaldwell Meadow.

Stanford Reservoir was also busy with a Marsh Harrier, a Bittern, an adult Caspian Gull, two hundred and sixty-five Lesser Black-backed Gulls at roost, twenty-eight Little Egrets, a Great White Egret, a Common Snipe, two Water Rails, two Kingfishers, two Cetti's Warblers and a passage of sixty Greenfinches, two Siskins and three Bramblings moving through.

A Caspian Gull was at Daventry Country Park.

Clifford Hill Pits provided a Rock Pipit, a Little Gull and three Ringed Plovers plus a Yellow-legged Gull.

A Great White Egret was at Castle Ashby Lakes today and a female Merlin (presumably the regular bird of the last two winters) was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton where it caught a Skylark. Four Stonechats were also there.

A ringing session at Linford Lakes today yielded about fifty-four birds with eighteen Reed Buntings, five Cetti's Warblers, three Redwings, six Chiffchaffs and a Blackcap.

Regards

Neil M

Redwing.

Reed Bunting with an aberrant
amount of white in the tail.

Above images courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

Apparent mature and flowering
Niger plant.

Stonechats at Pitsford Reservoir
today, the upper two courtesy of
Jane Neill.