Peregrine!

Hello

Further birds seen at Pitsford Reservoir yesterday (Thursday) included five or six Red-crested Pochard, five Pintail (three drakes), three Stonechats, a Kingfisher and a Peregrine and the mammals included Stoat (all seen by Wendy and Robin Gossage).

This morning's (Friday) weather was pretty abysmal but it didn't stop migration with a number of birds on the move in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Mostly it was finches with several Siskins and Redpolls and twenty-five Bramblings, but also winter thrushes, Meadow Pipits and Starlings.

Ruth Ward saw a Marsh Harrier over-flying Summer Leys this afternoon heading west and a Great White Egret was seen later, and John Hunt located a perched Peregrine on Oundle church spire. 

There was no sign of the harrier at Harrington Airfield this afternoon but birds on view included Red Kites, Common Buzzards, a perched immature male Merlin and an adult male Peregrine. There were also at least four Bramblings on site and 2-3 in our garden this afternoon. An adult Mediterranean Gull (he/she is still kicking) was again in the gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon.

John Woollett and John Boland completed a little ringing at Stortons Pits today with two nets catching 41 birds made up of 22 Blue Tits, 15 Great Tits, 2 Long-tailed Tits, a Wren and a Magpie. Four of the Blue Tits were birds first ringed as nestlings in the nest boxes at Stortons and have clearly remained site faithful!

Regards

Neil M

Peregrine!

Always an exciting bird to see,
particularly when in flight and in
hunting mode. The top image was
taken at Pitsford and the lower images
are from Summer Leys where a pair
act in concert to hunt down quarry.

Images courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Egrets and owls

Hello

A bit of a surprise this morning for Lynne Barnett at Maidwell when she noticed a Great White Egret perched on an outbuilding in the garden! I think we recognise that Grey Herons regularly tour gardens looking for food, particularly in the breeding season, but I think this is the first time a GWE has been witnessed doing it locally!

A quick scan into the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning produced two Great White Egrets, three Red-crested Pochard (two drakes) and a female Stonechat.

At Harrington Airfield this afternoon there were plenty of the regular raptors active and a male 'grey' harrier (presumably a Hen but just not seen well enough) at range for just a couple of wing flaps before it disappeared below the lie of the land. Other birds included a couple of vocal Bramblings and a covey of four Grey Partridges.

At Neville's Lodge this afternoon Tom Green located two Short-eared Owls which were vocal and also Grey Partridge and Snipe too.

Jacob Spinks has spent much of the year at Spurn on the Yorkshire coast and naturally has seen a great deal of rare and scarce birds. Whilst working there he has also committed to a little ringing and yesterday caught and ringed a Long-eared Owl, surely one of the most stunning birds to be encountered as a ringer or birdwatcher.

Regards

Neil M

Great White Egret
at Maidwell courtesy
of Lynne Barnett.

Jacob Spinks with
Long-eared Owl.

The beautiful Long-eared
Owl courtesy of Bethan Clyne.

Ringing at Scotland Wood

Hello

A ringing session was held at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate this morning, the small numbers of ringers available meaning that this was a small scale effort but still resulted in 86 birds being caught and processed. It was good to record 31 re-traps among this number, birds that have survived from previous seasons and probably spending much of their lives in and around this woodland complex.

The total included a male Sparrowhawk, 19 Great Tits, 31 Blue Tits, 13 Coal Tits, 2 Marsh Tits, a Long-tailed Tit. a Wren, 3 Dunnocks, 8 Goldcrests, 3 Chaffinches, a female Brambling and 3 Nuthatches.

Other birds noted on-site included a male Brambling, a couple of Siskins and Redpolls and a Tawny Owl that watched me with interest when I unloaded my car at the start of the session!

Two or three Bramblings visited our garden at Hanging Houghton again today.

Elsewhere and Short-eared Owls seemed to be the theme with two seen by the DIRFT 3 development site and adjacent Lilbourne Meadows Reserve and another at Neville's Lodge near Finedon. Both Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows and Summer Leys Reserves accounted for single Great White Egrets today with a pair of Peregrines chasing Lapwings at the latter.

Regards

Neil M

Nuthatch.

Brambling.

Sparrowhawk.

Damp and breezy Tuesday

Hello

Dog walking and combining some of it with visits to service seven wild bird feeding stations was the order for the day...

Brixworth Treatment Works sported a couple of Grey Wagtails but nothing else of note, Harrington Airfield held several Bramblings which were well scattered, plus a mobile flock of twenty-three Golden Plovers and plenty of in-coming thrushes and over-flying Starlings and Woodpigeons.

Pitsford Reservoir was the site for the adult Mediterranean Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull by the Sailing Club and north of the causeway there were the usual two Great White Egrets, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a drake Pintail and three Red-crested Pochard, most of these birds being in the Scaldwell Bay. Small flocks of Bramblings and rather larger flocks of winter thrushes headed south west.

The Marsh Tits at Kelmarsh Hall and Scotland Wood and at the Old Scaldwell Road at Pitsford came to greet me as I filled up the feeders, or more likely they just wanted me out of the way before they raided the sunflower seeds! And with two visiting the garden feeders too it's great to hear their little sneezing call wherever I go! A couple of Bramblings muscled in on the Chaffinch flock regularly visiting our small garden.

A walk across the fields near Hanging Houghton this afternoon was pleasant despite the rain with plenty of birds taking advantage of the excellent mature and improved hedgerows managed by the Lamport Hall Trust with a flushed Woodcock and Bramblings being about the best birds seen. Lots of fungi in evidence and several examples of the Dog Vomit slime mould too.

Regards

Neil M

Yellow-legged Gull.

Wood Sandpiper.

Greenshank.

Images courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Limited birding

Hello

Mild and pleasant this morning, duller and with some rain this afternoon, albeit that the forecast indicates colder influences from the north and east pretty soon!

Not much opportunity for any birding for me or Eleanor today so most of the sparse sightings from today are due to others attempting to find something out there!

A couple of Ravens again made one of their frequent visits to the village today and making all sorts of curious noises.

Steve Fisher's efforts at Stanwick Pits yielded two Great White Egrets and five Cattle Egrets and Robin's foray to Harrington Airfield was worth it with a view of a Merlin and a Brambling. The small gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon was uninspiring albeit that the sick adult Mediterranean Gull was still present, but sadly not for much longer I don't think...

Ringing sessions are planned on the Kelmarsh Estate this coming week (Wednesday and Friday), concentrating on small woodland birds. Please let me know should you wish to come along to observe or even assist in the operations. In some respects the flagship bird for the estate could be the Marsh Tit which is actually well represented in the woodlands and to my mind has not declined locally (nationally it is still described as declining significantly).

Regards

Neil M

Marsh Tit.

A quiet weekend for birds

Hello

A wet and dreary morning but then a pleasant afternoon of weak sunshine summed up the weather today!

It was status quo at Pitsford Reservoir today with two Great White Egrets north of the causeway and an adult Yellow-legged Gull and four Red-crested Pochards were in the Scaldwell Bay.

Nick and Eric were at Thrapston Pits and between them saw two Great White Egrets, five Little Egrets, the Whooper Swan and a Kingfisher. Matt saw another Great White Egret at Summer Leys and there was a flock in excess of 300 Golden Plovers there.

A wander at Harrington Airfield this afternoon provided views of 2-3 Bramblings, a covey of five Grey Partridges and three Snipe.

Regards

Neil M

Brambling at
Harrington Airfield.

Northants Bird Club Meeting 6th Nov

Hello

The next indoor meeting of the Northants Bird Club is on Wednesday 6th November when club member and decorated photographer Dave Jackson presents Part Two of his Birds of New Zealand. The quality of his digital images are assured!

Dave will begin his talk just after the usual notices at the commencement of the meeting at 7.30pm at the usual venue of the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir. This is an open meeting and we welcome both members and non members alike. Hot drinks and biscuits will be available during the evening!

Regards

Neil M

November arrivals.

Hello

A visit to Pitsford Reservoir a couple of times today resulted in some birds not untypical of the season. In the Scaldwell Bay this morning there were four Red-crested Pochard (two drakes), an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a Stonechat. A little later birds at the south end of the reservoir included two Black-necked Grebes, which judging from their behaviour were fresh arrivals, and there was a Rock Pipit on the dam.

A very dark afternoon produced an early gull roost and an adult Mediterranean Gull and a third winter Yellow-legged Gull were in the roost.

Elsewhere and Steve Fisher saw three Great White Egrets just after dawn at Stanwick Pits and at Summer Leys John Moon found a 'redhead' Smew which remained into the afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Rock Pipit Pitsford
Reservoir courtesy of
Bob Bullock.

Fly Agaric.

Collared Earthstar.

Amethyst Deceiver.

Stinkhorn.

Autumn is definitely the season
 for fungi! All-sorted specimens
 by Robin Gossage,

Owl boxes

Hello

It was cold first thing with a frost and bright horizon at dawn but by this evening the temperature had risen considerably which generally means there is rain and wind around the corner!

An hour's stomp around Harrington Airfield first thing this morning provided views of a female Merlin, several Bramblings and migrant flocks of Woodpigeons, Starlings, Redwings and Fieldfares. Meadow Pipits and 'alba' wagtails continue to move in smaller numbers now and a few Siskins went SW. Neil Underwood later had a Peregrine here.

Today was earmarked for Tawny Owl box erection and three of us spent the latter part of the morning into lunchtime on the Kelmarsh Estate where we put up three new boxes (as constructed by Chris Payne) in three different woodlands. Fingers crossed for next year!

Eleanor's wander around Blueberry Farm and the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton for a good part of the afternoon was pretty uneventful but there are still two pairs of Stonechats remaining and small numbers of Bramblings. A Brambling again visited our garden today and a Raven was nearby.

At Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon an adult Mediterranean Gull was on the Sailing Club pontoon, there was a third winter Yellow-legged Gull and a Rock Pipit seemed to fly away to the south from the dam on the approach of dusk. Other birds included a Kingfisher and at least one Grey Wagtail.

A Marsh Harrier showed several times at Summer Leys today.

Regards

Neil M

Tawny Owl.

We hope they like
their new homes!
Image courtesy
of Helen Franklin.

Ringing at Brixworth

Hello

A ringing session took place today at Brixworth Treatment Works where a team caught and processed 86 birds of 14 species. Seventy-five of these birds were newly-ringed, the other eleven having been caught on-site during previous sessions. We failed to catch some of the traditional species at this site; the wagtails and magpies evaded capture! However we assessed a male Sparrowhawk, three Blackbirds, a Redwing, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, twenty-five Blue Tits, sixteen Great Tits, five Long-tailed Tits, four Robins, thirteen Wrens, six Dunnocks, a Bullfinch, three Reed Buntings, a Yellowhammer and six Goldcrests.

Other birds noted included at least two Grey Wagtails, nine Snipe and two Water Rails.

Three Bramblings were with the Chaffinch flock by the large barn in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning. A Red-crested Pochard and a Stonechat were at Clifford Hill Pits today and a Marsh Harrier flew over the scrape at Summer Leys at about 10.15am...

Regards

Neil M

Goldcrest.

Long-tailed Tit.

Redwing.

Reed Bunting.

Robin.

Sparrowhawk.

Wren.

Yellowhammer.

All images courtesy
of John Tilly.

Ringing recoveries

Hello

A busy ringing session at Bradden in South Northants today netted 107 birds made up of 55 Blue Tits, 34 Great Tits, a Coal Tit, a Long-tailed Tit, a Nuthatch, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Robins, 2 Wrens, 2 Goldcrests, 3 Dunnocks, a Goldfinch and 3 Chaffinches. Two Ravens were present there.

A rather quiet day for birds in the county today but Pitsford Reservoir continues to retain two Great White Egrets, now four Red-crested Pochard, four Pintail and two pairs of Stonechat all courtesy of Angi. A juvenile Whooper Swan was found by the River Tove at Bozenham today (Graham Martin), a Ring-necked Parakeet was visiting a bird table in Grafton Regis and a pair of Stonechat remains at Blueberry Farm.

Bramblings today included one in our garden again and two in the Brampton Valley with the Chaffinch flock below Hanging Houghton. At Harrington Airfield this morning two Woodcock were flushed and other birds included three Bramblings and a covey of four Grey Partridges.

Some recent ringing recoveries are as follows:-

1. A Great Tit which was ringed as a first year bird at Pitsford Reservoir on 23rd August 2019 was then caught again by ringers over at Stanford Reservoir on 8th October 2019, a distance of 20km movement over a 46 day period;

2. A Blue Tit which was ringed as a nestling in a nest box at Pitsford Reservoir on 20th May 2019 also found a mist net at Stanford Reservoir on 15th October 2019,  148 days having elapsed between the two records;

3. A Great Tit was caught and ringed at Laxton in the Welland Valley in north Northants on 21st September 2019 and then caught again at Harrington Airfield on 20th October 2019, this bird travelling 26km in a south westerly direction during a 29 day period;

4. A Tree Sparrow was ringed as a nestling in a nest box at the RSPB reserve of Saltholme, Stockton-on-Tees on 7th June 2019. This bird then appeared in a mist net at Pitsford Reservoir on 23rd October, 138 days later. That is a distance of 253km with this young bird effectively travelling almost directly south. This is not unprecedented as plenty of Tree Sparrows nesting in the north east of the UK migrate south in the autumn and we have recovered birds from the NE coast before.

Regards

Neil M

Great Tit
courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Blue Tit.

Tree Sparrow.

Thrushes and Bramblings

Hello

A ringing session at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes by Kenny Cramer and other members of the Northants Ringing Group yesterday (Sunday) was successful with a great selection of species again and with 90 birds processed, 70 of which were newly ringed. Warblers still persisted with 4 Blackcaps, 2 Chiffchaffs and a Cetti's Warbler and also 6 Goldcrests. Three Kingfishers must have been a gaudy affair particularly with a male Bullfinch too! Not surprisingly tits were in reasonable numbers with 23 Blue Tits, 5 Great Tits and 19 Long-tailed Tits and of course at this time of the year we expect thrushes and the team managed 5 Redwings, 2 Blackbirds, a Song Thrush and a handsome Mistle Thrush which is a bird infrequently caught in standard mist nets.

Other birds on-site included Tawny and Barn Owls, a Great White Egret and a party of Whooper Swans.

Today (Monday) and most of the birds reported in Northants were 'As you were!' with little change from the week-end. Pitsford still sported a Great White Egret, three Red-crested Pochard, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a couple of Stonechats, a Raven and one or two adult Mediterranean Gull(s) in the afternoon roost. Alan Coles saw a Great White Egret at Summer Leys but sadly the Bittern wasn't reported today.

Two male Bramblings, four Ravens and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today and there were six Bramblings along the Brampton Valley Way by Draughton Crossing.

Regards

Neil M

Kingfisher at release.

Mistle Thrush.

Images courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

Week-end birding

Hello

The constant rain yesterday (Saturday) made for a difficult day wildlife-watching. It was surprisingly mild in the morning but the afternoon temperatures dropped and that with the rain produced lots of sodden birds looking in a pitiful state, not least some of the young Woodpigeons not used to such a deluge and feeling so cold.

I visited feeding stations on the Kelmarsh Estate, one was flooded and difficult to gain access to, the other completely empty of food indicating large numbers of birds feeding. An adult Mediterranean Gull was again present in the gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir but sadly it didn't look well. There are always one or two sickly gulls about, possibly suffering from salmonella or similar and I suspect it is suffering the same. These birds tend to become weaker and simply keel over or are finished off by the resident Carrion Crows which are experts at picking out the weaker individuals. An adult Yellow-legged Gull was present too. Adrian saw the three Red-crested Pochard in the Scaldwell Bay and a female Scaup was seen at Summer Leys.

Today (Sunday) and of course the weather has been different again with light winds and all-day sunshine and not surprisingly more birds were found. The day started with a Ring-necked Parakeet near Barnwell and Summer Leys attracted a Bittern, two Great White Egrets, a hundred Golden Plovers, eleven Ravens and a Stonechat. Clifford Hill Pits hosted a Red-crested Pochard and a Stonechat and Thrapston Pits continues to hold on to the Whooper Swan.

Elsewhere a pair of Stonechats were near the Wellingborough Embankment and nearby Neville's Lodge attracted a Yellow-legged Gull, a Stonechat, four Grey Partridges and some Tree Sparrows.
A Great White Egret was at Stanwick Pits and Pitsford Reservoir held two Great White Egrets north of the causeway, three Red-crested Pochard, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, two Pintail and a couple of Stonechats. Eleanor completed a quick walk this afternoon around Borough Hill Country Park (Daventry) and three Short-eared Owls were flying around and making that extraordinary excited barking noise that they produce. At least four Stonechats were present too (a remarkable autumn for them)!

Regards

Neil M

The autumn has been a
good one for scarce small
birds in the county - it might
be time for some Bearded Tits!

This bird was photographed
at Leighton Moss, Lancs
by John Tilly.

Calm morning, wild afternoon...

Hello

With the weather forecast indicating a fine start to the day but rain and wind later, I elected to visit Harrington Airfield first thing and took a wander around the bunkers. The usual suspects were about and there was some visible migration with relatively low numbers of Woodpigeons, Starlings, Redwings, Skylarks, winter thrushes, Meadow Pipits and 'Alba' wagtails on the move. Finches were also moving and a Brambling and a couple of Siskins went over. However the only bird of note was a first year male Peregrine that swept over the fields and headed east.

Eleanor's two visits to the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton pretty much drew a blank today although there are good numbers of common birds in the vicinity of 'shrike hedge'.

Re-stocking the Old Scaldwell Road feeding station at Pitsford Reservoir is a monthly task and after I finished that this morning the rain had begun. Scanning around provided three Red-crested Pochard, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a Stonechat in the Scaldwell Bay and a Great White Egret in front of Lagoon Hide.

Two male Bramblings visited our garden this morning, joined by a female in the afternoon. A Grey Wagtail and a Redpoll were further garden additions with Ravens nearby.

Two Great White Egrets were at Stanwick Lakes today and a Whooper Swan, a Great White Egret and fourteen Snipe were at Summer Leys. A covey of nine Grey Partridges were seen near Hartwell by Graham Martin, with one perched in a elderberry (not a pear) tree!

A wild and windy gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon provided views of a/the adult Mediterranean Gull (it has a tendency to spend periods on the pontoon off the Sailing Club, nearest to the dam) plus a third year Yellow-legged Gull.

Regards

Neil M

In some autumns Stonechats
are very scarce in the county.
This autumn there seems to
be plenty about.

 Images courtesy
of John Tilly.

Barn Owls, Bramblings and more rain!

Hello

I forgot to mention yesterday that a Barn Owl was seen at the roadside between Moulton and Holcot early morning... there is evidence that many of the broods of young are late this year with still some pairs feeding unfledged youngsters.

A short ringing session at Woodford Halse this morning was curtailed when the forecast rain arrived earlier than anticipated. However among the small number of birds processed, highlights were probably a new Marsh Tit and five Goldcrests. Other birds on site which incorporates the upper reaches of the River Cherwell included Kingfisher, several Grey Wagtails and a drake Mandarin Duck (in flight). Decent-sized hedgerows and grazing meadows with plenty of trees and preserved corners makes for pleasant surroundings; a Hawfinch was present there on Sunday.

Eric Graham was at Thrapston Pits today and saw a Great White Egret on Aldwincle Lake and the Whooper Swan and a Yellow-legged Gull on Town Lake. Steve Fisher had two more Great White Egrets at Stanwick Pits plus a Brambling flying over.

Eleanor's morning foray in to the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton provided four Bramblings with the Chaffinch flock at the large barn by Brampton Brook and a pair of Stonechats. This afternoon there was a Corn Bunting, three Siskins and two Bramblings and a Barn Owl in the vicinity of 'shrike hedge'. A Brambling visited our garden at Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

At Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon there was a juvenile Scaup with Tufted Ducks just off the Sailing Club and the only bird of note in the rather small gull roost was just a single Yellow-legged Gull. I haven't seen any Mediterranean Gulls in the roost during the last four visits...

Regards

Neil M

Little Stint courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Lapwing courtesy of
John Tilly.

Curlew by
Robin Gossage.

Whinchat by
 Robin Gossage.