Wildlife of a dull November day

Hello

I arrived back last night from a nine day trip to South France, centred around the Camargue but with a view to finding birds including the fabulous Wallcreeper in the Apilles regional park. We were successful in our search but am now back for some county birding!

This morning there were approximately eight Bramblings around the grain store in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and later there were two males coming to feeders in the garden (in association with Chaffinches and Goldfinches).

Eleanor saw her usual two Ravens at Staverton today and this afternoon watched two Otters splashing about on the 'small side' of Ravensthorpe Reservoir.

A Golden Plover was heard calling at Harrington Airfield and birds at Pitsford Reservoir included nine Whooper Swans, four Great White Egrets, sixteen Pintail, thirteen Red-crested Pochard, a Redshank, a Ruff and two or three Yellow-legged Gulls.

Regards

Neil M

Male Brambling courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Otter.

Drake Pintail.

This morning I enjoyed a very pleasant walk around the Blueberry / valley below Hanging Houghton area . Everywhere glistened due to the overnight frost and initially bright sunshine which sadly was short lived and it was another dull November day.
Plenty of Redwings and Fieldfares eating the berries in the hedgerows whilst on the fields Skylarks, Chaffinches and Yellowhammers in good numbers.  However there is one less skylark as a male Merlin caught one for his breakfast. The Skylark put up a good fight and whilst it was fantastic to watch this duel at close quarters I felt quite sad when it was out witted by this fearsome falcon.
I flushed a Barn Owl from a hedge where it sat enjoying the brief spell of sunshine and further on a couple of Woodcock from the bottom of the same hedge !!
There was a pair of Stonechat along one of the overgrown ditches. These are new arrivals as I walk this area most days and they were not there yesterday.  
Other birds of note were at least 4 Bramblings, a Siskin and 8 Grey Partridge.
A visit to Harrington this afternoon was quiet apart from a Short Eared Owl and 2 Ravens.

Regards Eleanor 

Monday's Musings

I managed to get out and about today, Despite several visits to Sywell I have managed to avoid seeing the White Fronted Geese which have been there for a while.  This afternoon I saw one White Fronted Goose which appeared to have a damaged wing and the geese were definitely on edge, possibly as a result of the shooting that was taking place nearby.   Nothing else of note on the water itself but a nice flock of Siskins and Redpolls in the alders at the back of one of the bays.
A brief look at Pitsford produced 11 Whooper Swans, 2 Great White Egret and 10+ Red Crested Pochards north of the causeway.
I visited Harrington Airfield late this afternoon, but my gentle amble turned into more of a gallop as I tried to beat the incoming rain. However my pup and gammy legged dog slowed me down and we all got a good soaking.  Prior to the rain I saw a male Merlin and 2 Short Eared Owls. The bushes were full of chattering Fieldfares and Redwings and  there were plenty of Skylarks and other passerines on the fields which were obviously attractive for the Merlin

Regards Eleanor

Kenny Kramer had a productive ringing session in the Milton Keynes area over the weekend

A light frost and a misty start was more inkeeping with the time of year compared to the recent mild conditions.

As predicted, as soon as the sun hit the nets and the wind picked up, we almost immediately stopped catching, but not before we had processed 74 birds, 56 new birds of 17 species.

Redwings were the top secies of the day with 17 new. There was a definite influx of blackbirds with 9 caught. Two song thrush and our first fieldfare of the season completed the thrush contingent.

Yet another blackcap was a surprise as were 3 chiffchaffs and 2 cettis warblers.

2 redpoll added to the wintery feel.

4(!) Magpies went in the net together but all managed to get out before we could reach them, as did a green woodpecker.

Sarah spotted a water rail skulking along the Great Ouse and a flock of around 80 siskin was sticking stubbornly to the treetops.

Non-avian sightings included a common toad and a weasel that popped its head up by the ringing table, perhaps curious to see what we were doing (or looking for a free meal.)

A sad recovery was blue tit D870645 which was ringed as an adult in 2015, making it at least 4 years old and retrapped 5 times since, most recently in October this year. It was found dead inside the woodland hide, perhaps having become trapped inside, or was possibly sick and roosting in the hide.

A good crowd of visitors turned up for the open day and many were thrilled to see some nice birds in the hand.

Thanks!

Kenny

Blackcap 1

Reed bunting 1

Cettis warbler 1 (1)

Redwing 17

Fieldfare 1

Blackbird 6 (3)

Robin (1)

Wren 4 (2)

Great tit 1 (3)

Blue tit 8 (3)

Dunnock 1 (1)

Song thrush 2

Goldcrest 2

Redpoll 2

Chiffchaff 3

Long tail tit 6 (4)

Birds in the Mist !

It is that time of the year when the daylight hours for birding are so precious and I struggle to find enough time to fit everything in. Today the hours seemed even less as it was a very dreary, grey November day.  Most of my birds were heard rather than seen. A large flock of Golden Plover were flying around Harrington Airfield with their evocative call penetrating the mist. As I walked the fields with the dogs, the hedgerows and fields were full of chattering Fieldfare and Redwing which became "shapes" in the mist as they disappeared.
Yesterday Eric Graham visited Blatherwyke Lake area where there were large numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing moving through and a 100+ Golden Plover circling before heading off west. 
Other birds present included 6 pair of Mandarin Duck, 3 Black Swan, 3 Little Egret and good numbers of Wigeon and Gadwall.
A visit to nearby Deene Lake produced 4 Green Sandpiper and over a 100 Teal on the exposed mud and several Shelduck have arrived.
Meanwhile Chris Payne and his helpers enjoyed a good ringing session at Bradden where 76 birds were ringed. These included 27 new and 10 retrap Blue Tit, 14 new and 7 retrap Great Tit and 1 new and 1 retrap Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Regards Eleanor

Mid-week at Pitsford

Hello

Birds today at Hanging Houghton included a pair of vocal Raven and a Grey Wagtail.

Eric's patrol of Thrapston Pits today yielded just a single Velvet Scoter on Town Lake, a Great White Egret and a Kingfisher plus the usual throng of winter wildfowl, thrushes and raptors.

Birds specifically in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir as seen by Jacob amounted to the eleven Whooper Swans still, three Great White Egrets, ten Red-crested Pochard, sixteen Pintail, the adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Stonechat, a Willow Tit and a Grey Wagtail. The trees around the reservoir attract large roosts of corvids with many in the Scaldwell, Walgrave and Moulton Grange Bays and Jacob estimated Jackdaw numbers to be as many as 5000!

The gull roost at Pitsford this afternoon provided views of a first year Mediterranean Gull and a first year Yellow-legged Gull.

Regards

Neil M

Yellow-legged Gull.

Black-tailed Godwit courtesy
of Jacob Spinks.

Stonechat courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Raven.

Mid November sunshine and birds

Hello

Birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir this morning included four Great White Egrets, eleven Whooper Swans, at least eleven Red-crested Pochard, a number of Pintail, the usual adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Black-tailed Godwit and at least one Stonechat. A Red Admiral butterfly was flying around rather feebly in the stunning sunshine.

Jacob heard a Hawfinch calling from a tree at Brixworth Country Park this morning and noted a Brambling and Siskin too. Small numbers of Siskins were at Scotland Wood this afternoon, seventy Golden Plovers were at Harrington Airfield and there was a Redpoll at Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

More images from Iceland this summer...

Harlequin Ducks.

Iceland Gull.

Kittiwake.

Great Black-backed Gull.

Lots of waterfalls
in Iceland!

...but not many Arctic Foxes!

Arctic Tern.

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

The WeBS count was completed today (Monday) at Pitsford Reservoir in sunny conditions. At least four Great White Egrets remain (four seen simultaneously on a couple of occasions) but there may be more, the eleven Whooper Swans also remain and other interesting wildfowl included twenty Red-crested Pochard and twenty Pintail. Waders were well represented with thirty-one Snipe, a Black-tailed Godwit and two Green Sandpipers. A rather strange-looking Peregrine was active all morning and other birds of note included eight Little Egrets, the usual adult Yellow-legged Gull, a couple of Siskins, up to six Grey Wagtails, a Chiffchaff and three Stonechats.

Regards

Neil M

Peregrine.

Tufted Ducks.

Great White Egret.

Grey Heron.

Nine of the eleven Whooper
Swans enjoyed a little fly
around today!

Birds of rain, wind and sunshine

Hello

Kenny and team put up with some varied weather this morning to commit to some more ringing at Linford Lakes and were rewarded with fifty captures of ten species. Blue Tits and Great Tits were the most numerous but other birds included three Redwings, a Goldfinch, a Chaffinch, another late Blackcap and a re-trap Water Rail that was first caught in December 2017. Other birds noted on-site included a Raven and a small group of Siskins.

The Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning hosted up to three Great White Egrets, the eleven Whooper Swans still, thirteen Pintail, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Green Sandpiper and a first year female Peregrine. The afternoon gull roost off the Sailing Club produced two different Yellow-legged Gulls (a first year and a second year).

Harrington Airfield provided sightings of a Woodcock, seventeen Golden Plovers and an adult male Peregrine this afternoon and a Barn Owl was hunting the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton at dusk.

Regards

Neil M

Water Rail
courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

Drake Shoveler.

Whistling Wigeon!

The Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford
Reservoir, a mixed group of
Mute and Whooper Swans take
centre stage.

Saturday's birds

Hello

A male Brambling was near to the feeders at Scotland Wood (Kelmarsh Estate) this morning and an early but brief visit to the Old Scaldwell Road at Pitsford Reservoir confirmed the continuing presence of the eleven Whooper Swans, two Great White Egrets and five Pintail.

Andrew Tyrrell was at Harrington Airfield this morning and enjoyed watching a Merlin whizzing around on the top fields but it quickly moved on.

Eleanor's brief visit to Ravensthorpe Reservoir was enough to spot two Great White Egrets and the gull roost count at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon also provided views of two Yellow-legged Gulls (adult and first year) and a first year Mediterranean Gull. Two Ravens remained at Staverton.

Regards

Neil M

Marsh Tit.

Robin.

Birds coming for food
at Scotland Wood.

A flock of Black-headed Gulls
 at Pitsford Reservoir...
just add bread!

Presentation at University of Northampton

Ditchford WeBS (Central)

Hello

I completed the central section of the Ditchford Pits WeBS count today - again it was mild, mostly dry and breezy. The main pit between Higham Ferrers and Irthlingborough again held spectacular numbers of wildfowl which included over 200 Mute Swans, over 400 Wigeon and over 500 Gadwall. There was hardly any room for the swimming Otter to manoeuvre around the ducks and surprisingly there was minimal interest in this aquatic mustelid which is quite capable of taking a duck or two!

I failed to find any particular birds of interest with just singles of Kingfisher and Cetti's Warbler, up to three Chiffchaffs, a Grey Wagtail, a Siskin and two Little Egrets.

I finished the day by popping in to Stanwick Lakes via the Diamond Centre end and managed to see three of the Cattle Egrets trying to keep up with fast moving cattle (at 4pm), a Little Egret and a Great White Egret - who would have predicted a trio of egrets spectacle twenty years ago?

Eric visited Thrapston Pits again today and connected with the six Velvet Scoters still on Town Lake, a Great White Egret and several Cetti's Warblers. He and Debbie later visited Stanwick this afternoon and saw all four Cattle Egrets, the Great White and a couple of Little Egrets too...

Regards

Neil M

A charm of Goldfinches!

Red Kite.

Female Shoveler.
 The older and shallower pits in the
Ditchford Gravel Pits complex
provide excellent foraging opportunities
for dabbling ducks, in particular Wigeon,
 Shoveler and Gadwall.

Cormorant.

A small section of the
Gadwall armada!

Ditchford WeBS (West)

Hello

Yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) and Jacob and Bethan checked the gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir and located two Yellow-legged Gulls (adult and first year).

Today (Thursday) and I completed the WeBS count on the western section of Ditchford Pits. It was very quiet for birds in mild, breezy conditions and the only birds of note were a fine adult Peregrine on the pylons west of Ditchford Lane plus an overflying Raven. A Mink was seen and a Migrant Hawker dragonfly was still on the wing.

A Grey Wagtail remained at Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

Red-necked Phalarope.

Brunnich's Guillemots.

Iceland Gull.

Great Black-backed Gull.

Red-throated Diver.

All images from Iceland in June.

Ringing recoveries

Hello

Not much opportunity for birding today but early this morning the eleven Whooper Swans were still in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir and five Great White Egrets were visible north of the causeway. Later in the morning the Whoopers were in a close-knit flock next to the Maytrees Hide, disturbance had caused much of the wildfowl to exit the bay (tree management work near to Willow Hide) and the Whoopers were pretty much the last ones out. I hope they remained and they didn't use this as an excuse to move on...

We have received notification of some ringing recoveries including a House Sparrow fatality in Hanging Houghton (road casualty) and a Goldfinch fatality in Scaldwell village (both birds were ringed as juveniles this autumn in Hanging Houghton). Other records with a little more history are as follows:-

KN98466 was a juvenile Blackcap first ringed at Harrington Airfield on 30th August 2018 by Helen Franklin and then re-captured four days later at Southwick Wood by Colin Graham. For some reason this bird moved 27km ENE after initial capture, the significance which may prove difficult to interpret!

AKD286 relates to a juvenile Cetti's Warbler ringed at Tring, Hertfordshire on 5th August 2018 and this young bird travelled 32km north to be re-captured at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 30th September 2018 (56 days later).

LJ39586 refers to a juvenile Starling first caught and ringed in Rushden on 13th July 2018 which was subsequently reported as taken by a cat elsewhere in Rushden on 20th October 2018.

Regards

Neil M

Blackcap

Cetti's Warbler.

Starling.