Red-necked Grebe

Hello

A period of ringing along the old airstrip at Harrington Airfield today provided 43 captures.  This was made up of 12 Willow Warbler, 4 Chiffchaff, 4 Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler, a Dunnock, 6 Robin, a Wren, a Reed Bunting, 5 Yellowhammer, a Blue Tit, a Great Tit, 3 Blackbird and 3 Linnet.  Other birds noted on-site included Hobby and singles of Spotted Flycatcher and Redstart.  My apologies if this operation thwarted your birding plans at Harrington today.

Afterwards a visit to Pitsford Res immediately yielded a surprise with a summer plumage Red-necked Grebe displaying noisily to Great Crested Grebes on the reserve from the Maytrees Hide!  Two drake Red-crested Pochard and a Pintail were in the Walgrave Bay and a Goldeneye and a Snipe were in the Scaldwell Bay.  In total there were 5 adult Yellow-legged Gulls in residence and a juvenile Mediterranean Gull was again off the yacht club in inclement conditions this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Red-necked Grebe with
Great Crested Grebes
Pitsford Reservoir

Harrington Airfield - restricted access Friday 8th Aug

Hello

Tomorrow (Friday 8th August), a ringing session is planned for the bushes around the old airstrip at Harrington Airfield.  This means that these areas will be out of bounds to birders and others whilst the nets are in situ (unless you have specific permission to be there from the landowner).  Access around the remainder of the site is unaffected with unrestricted access to the concrete track and footpaths as usual.  As it is, many of the more interesting migrants are not actually in the ringing area!

Thank-you in anticipation for your co-operation and patience.

Neil M

Harrington Madness !!

Another beautiful Autumn morning lured me and my 4 legged companions to Harrington Airfield where an early morning saunter lasting two and a half hours proved very productive.
At the moment I have two dogs with gammy legs so I am having to walk very slowly and take plenty of rests, but rather than hinder me this is providing me with better birding opportunities and often whilst we are stationary the bird[s] literally pop out of the bushes and "give themselves up "!

I must admit that when I started off this morning the airfield had the appearance of being quiet as the bushes along the main track seemed ominously silent, whereas these bushes have been busy with birds, especially Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Linnet.

Anyway at about 07.45hrs I had a mad 5 minutes as I stood scanning the bushes around the shooting wall. There was a small bird flock which included a female type Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher and a first for me at Harrington, a Pied Flycatcher. Whilst watching these the Marsh Harrier flew over !!  Amazing, you just never know what is going to turn up at this site. Yesterday I saw nothing at all and less than 24 hours later all these birds and more.

I continued to the end of the track and deviated along the grassy track off to the left and the Grasshopper Warbler was singing and 2 Turtle Doves came out of the bushes.

On my way back I checked the rough grassy strip which joins the main track to the rough area with the obvious bunkers. There have been several Redstart in these bushes for a while, but they can be elusive.  I saw a male Redstart here this morning. He was calling very quietly and flittered around the bushes and again I only saw him because I was letting the dogs have a rest !!

I saw the Marsh Harrier again at about 08.45hrs and other raptors included Red Kites, Common Buzzards and Hobby. A brief stop to pick some blackberries which we will be having for tea tonight and home for a much needed cup of coffee.

Already this morning over the garden there has been 2 Crossbills, Grey Wagtail and Raven.

Regards
Eleanor

Harvest time!

Hello

A Constant Effort Site ringing session at Pitsford Reservoir this morning followed on from a start-up session the evening before. Over 70 birds were caught and included 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Kingfisher, 2 Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Whitethroats, 2 Reed Warblers, 2 Sedge Warblers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 3 Willow Warblers and 10 Wrens!  Five Mallard were also caught and ringed.

A Cuckoo was seen in the Scaldwell Bay and a Hobby and a Grey Wagtail were by the dam.

Birds at Harrington Airfield between 7am and 9am this morning included singles of Wheatear, Whinchat, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart and Grasshopper Warbler, and the 'cream crown' Marsh Harrier was also present as were 2 Turtle Doves.

This afternoon 2 Ravens and a Whinchat were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and a Redstart was in thick hedging a field south of Blueberry Farm this evening.

A field being ploughed near Kelmarsh this afternoon attracted plenty of gulls including an adult Yellow-legged and a juvenile Mediterranean Gull.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull
Kelmarsh

Evening watch

Hello

This evening a Barn Owl was hunting at the southern end of Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.  It seems that the local Barn Owl population is enjoying an exceptionally good year with plenty of vole food on offer.  Many pairs are double-brooding but bizarrely there is so much food about that these birds are not hunting much during the day time and consequently showing very infrequently!

Birds visible from the yacht club at Pitsford Reservoir this evening included the pair of Ruddy Shelduck, 2 Little Egrets, 3 adult and 1 juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls and a juvenile Mediterranean Gull.

Regards

Neil M

Visible 'bush migration'

Hello

A quick visit to the reserve section of Pitsford Res this morning provided views of the lingering adult Yellow-legged Gull in the Scaldwell Bay and two drake Red-crested Pochard in the Walgrave Bay.

Large numbers of migrants were in the Brampton Valley between Hanging Houghton and Blueberry Farm this morning.  Whitethroat was easily the most common warbler, accompanied by Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler and Blackcap.  Two Grasshopper Warblers sang at Blueberry Farm and there were two Whinchats in the field just north of the farm complex.  A Hobby took a Swallow there.

Three Redstarts were showy next to the farm in hedging adjacent to the footpath leading towards Lamport.

At Harrington Airfield this lunch-time, a juvenile Ring Ouzel made a brief appearance amongst a throng of more common migrants.

Regards

Neil M

Sunday's birds

Hello

A period of ringing at Stortons Pits this morning yielded about forty captures which included Cetti's Warbler, Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler, Blackcap and Whitethroat. Overhead visible migration included Sand Martins moving south, Swifts moving over and 2 Grey Wagtails.  Birds utilizing the reed fringes included vocal Water Rails and at least one Kingfisher.

Pitsford Reservoir again hosted the two Ruddy Shelduck off the dam early afternoon, and birds in the Scaldwell Bay included a Goldeneye and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.

This morning Eleanor again espied a 'cream crown' Marsh Harrier between Cottesbrooke and Haselbech, and later at Harrington Airfield saw what may have been the same Marsh Harrier, together with two adult male Redstarts and a Whinchat.

Regards

Neil M

Yellow-legged Gull
Pitsford Reservoir

Saturday pm

Hello

This afternoon a quick circuit of Harrington Airfield was required after the heavy showers had passed over. Two or three Redstarts remained elusive and an adult male was possibly newly-arrived.  A Whinchat was present and there are still plenty of juvenile Whitethroats flitting around in a variety of vegetation.

This evening another Redstart was present at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and a 'cream crown' Marsh Harrier was quartering a field towards Haselbech.  A pair of Grey Partridge were also present.

Birds visible from the yacht club at Pitsford Res this evening included 2 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls again, two Yellow-legged Gulls (one juvenile) and the pair of Ruddy Shelduck too.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Whitethroat
Harrington Airfield

Juvenile Yellowhammer
Harrington Airfield

Saturday am

Hello

A quick recce at Pitsford Res this morning was sufficient to note a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls, 5 Little Egrets, 2 Black Swans, a couple of Common Sandpipers and a Willow Tit.  Three Whimbrel flew south at 10.05am.

Eleanor also saw two Whinchats working a field ditch in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Northants Bird Club Meeting

Hello

The next Bird Club meeting is an outdoor meeting at Pitsford Reservoir on Wednesday 6th August 2014 starting at 7pm.  This is half-an-hour earlier than normal, taking in to account the available light.  The venue is the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir where there is sufficient parking, and tea and coffee and biscuits will be available all evening.

The planned events for the evening will be dictated by the weather conditions but following a briefing in the Lodge classroom at 7pm, we hope to take a walk around part of the Holcot Bay in search of birds and general wildlife.  At the same time it is planned to run a bird ringing demonstration with mist nets being utilized nearby.  If we are fortunate to catch some birds, these will be processed just outside the Fishing Lodge for all to see.

With luck it is hoped that moths and other invertebrates will be available for general viewing and macro-photography, so please bring your camera and appropriate lenses!

At about 9pm, the diurnal wildlife will take a back seat as we think about the creatures of the night!  Graham Warnes will be on hand to show us the equipment to track bats, several species which regularly fly at Pitsford.  Excursions will be made around the Lodge in an effort to track down Pipistrelle, Daubenton and other species.

Should the weather not be conducive for lengthy outside excursions, we have a couple of indoor presentations lined up as a contingency.

We look forward to members and non-members alike to come along to the evening's events - all welcome!

Pitsford update

Hello

A single mist net erected in the garden for the first few hours this morning yielded over 50 captures, juvenile Blue Tits making up over half of this total.  However two juvenile Nuthatches were a treat.

A visit by Eleanor to Harrington Airfield this morning provided views of 2 Turtle Doves, a Redstart, a Wheatear, a Whinchat and 3 Crossbills.  A single Wheatear was in the Brampton Valley between Cottesbrooke and Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

At Pitsford Res this morning it was difficult to muster much of interest on the reserve, the best being a Goldeneye, 2 Wigeon and 4 Little Egrets.  Two broods of Tufted Duck seem to be the only evidence of breeding on-site this year, and to date there appear not to be any Gadwall broods.  However there are large numbers of young Coots and Moorhens and the latter broods of Great Crested Grebes are doing well too.

Birds visible from the yacht club this evening included the pair of Ruddy Shelduck still, 2 Little Egrets, 3 Yellow-legged Gulls, 2 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls and at least 2 Common Sandpipers.

Regards

Neil M

The Yellowhammer

Hello

Simon Hales has kindly sent through some shots of a singing male Yellowhammer at Harrington Airfield. Locally we are fortunate in Northants as we still maintain a healthy population of these birds, but the picture isn't the same in other parts of the country where this species has diminished.

The Yellowhammer like many buntings has a lengthy breeding season and the males sing from early spring until early autumn. Although they feed their unfledged young on invertebrate food, they are reliant on seeds for much of the remainder of the year, and crucially it is a typical species that probably suffers the 'hunger gap' period in late winter/spring when there is very little natural food left.  It is very likely that the comparative lack of winter stubble fields these days is one of the reasons why there is less food available, and this species is always going to be responsive to local and national agricultural processes.

It as actually one of my favourite birds.  I think the adult males are absolutely stunning, but the plumage of the duller females is particularly intricate and full of super browns, russet and chestnut and soft yellow tones.

Regards

Neil M

Owl medley

Hello

Always photogenic, owls are often targeted by wildlife photographers.  Sometimes though an owl will simply materialise in front of a photographer armed with a camera.  Such is the case of this medley of owls as depicted by local naturalist Robin Gossage...

Regards

Neil M

Short-eared Owl

Barn Owl

Little Owl

Tawny Owl

All pictures courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Further ringing

Hello

The reasonable weather of recent weeks coupled with a generally good breeding season resulting in plenty of young birds about has provided the momentum for plenty of action from the county bird ringers. Scientifically there is value in ringing young birds in the nest, inasmuch that it provides a significant understanding of their life history when seen or recovered again.  However this isn't always feasible, so the next best thing is to try and ring birds which are clearly juveniles and can be easily aged as 'hatched that year'. The moult strategy employed by a bird may sometimes provide a significant clue as to the age of the bird.  Some species may retain much of their juvenile feathers until a year later, whereas some species such as Tree Sparrow and Long-tailed Tit will rapidly moult the feathers they left the nest with and become very difficult to identify from adults.

Yesterday John Woollett ringed at Stortons GP and Chris Payne ringed in his excellent bird garden in Greens Norton.  John caught typical species associated with the reserve and Chris ringed good numbers of House Sparrows plus other species including Starling, Collared Dove, finches, tits and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Yesterday afternoon and this morning saw Dave Francis and colleagues ringing at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station at Pitsford Reservoir.  This produced a very high total of 110 birds, 102 which were new. The total included 27 Tree Sparrows (nearly all juveniles), 10 Chaffinches, 8 Sedge Warblers, 4 Reed Warblers, 2 Garden Warblers, 2 Blackcaps, a Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler and a Moorhen and a Woodpigeon!  Using mist-nets also provides an indication of what is lurking in the often dense seasonable foliage when small birds are typically very hard to spot!

Regards

Neil M

Big bird in the net!

Hello

Some wild bird ringing in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning proved very interesting, not least when a juvenile Grey Heron collided with a mist net!

In all we processed about 45 birds which included a Kingfisher, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat, 2 Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, 9 Chiffchaffs and 3 Willow Warblers.

Other birds noted on-site included 2 drake Red-crested Pochard, 2 Black Swans, 6+ Little Egrets, a Curlew, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a Nuthatch.

At Harrington Airfield this morning, Eleanor saw a 'cream crown' Marsh Harrier, 2 Ravens, 2 Grey Partridge, 2 Turtle Doves, 4 Crossbills, 3 Redstarts, a Whinchat, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Grasshopper Warbler.

Regards

Neil M

Neil Hasdell with the
captured Grey Heron.

Kingfisher.

Both images courtesy of
Lynne Barnett.

Wheatear

Hello

Very limited opportunity for birding today, but a migrant Wheatear at the top of Blueberry Hill (Blueberry Farm), Maidwell this evening was the first south-bound individual seen so far this season...

Regards

Neil M

Birds of the harvest

Hello

Efforts at ringing on the Harrington Airfield plateau this morning provided 38 captures which included 15 Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Willow Warblers and 4 Yellowhammers. Other birds noted included 2 Redstarts, a Grasshopper Warbler and a Hobby. My apologies if the planned ringing session prevented you from visiting the site today.

At Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon, birds in the Scaldwell Bay included 6 Little Egrets, a Kingfisher, an adult male Ruff and a Green Sandpiper.

Also this afternoon, there was a single Whinchat in a wheat field adjacent to the gated road between Cottesbrooke and Brixworth, and 2 Ravens were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

Sunday birds

Hello

Late yesterday evening and this morning there was some bird ringing in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir leading to the capture of 74 birds which included only 12 re-traps.  Species included 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 12 Wrens, 9 Blackcaps, 7 Chiffchaffs, 6 new Robins, 3 Reed Warblers, 3 Sedge Warblers (almost certainly migrants as there is only one pair on the reserve this year), a Whitethroat and a Kingfisher.

Another ringing effort this morning at Broadholme Sewer Treatment Works adjacent to Ditchford Gravel Pits required more ringers present to set up, but only resulted in 7 birds being ringed (4 Starlings, a Pied Wagtail, a Carrion Crow and a Magpie).  However three Peregrines put on a show all morning, and other birds included a Hobby, three Green Sandpipers and several Grey Wagtails.

This morning there was a Redstart and two Whinchat in 'shrike hedge' in the Brampton Valley between Cottesbrooke and Hanging Houghton, and this afternoon two Ravens and a Hobby sauntered over the garden here at Hanging Houghton.

Finally at Harrington Airfield today, birds on show included a Redstart, a Grasshopper Warbler and two Turtle Doves.  A short ringing session is planned for this site tomorrow morning (Monday) and the old airstrip will have restricted general access.  The concrete track and designated footpaths remain unaffected.

Regards

Neil M

Sultry Pitsford

Hello

A visit to Pitsford Reservoir this evening provided a few birds in the vicinity of the dam and yacht club, amounting to a juvenile Mediterranean Gull, three Yellow-legged Gulls and the pair of Ruddy Shelduck.

Regards

Neil M

Stortons Ringing

Hello

The Stortons Gravel Pit Ringing Team were hard at it again today and enjoyed another busy morning. Warblers took centre stage and of the 80 birds caught, 63 were new birds, and many of them sub-Saharan migrants.  Blackcap was the most common bird caught but also there were numbers of Garden Warbler, Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat.  Star bird though was a juvenile Grasshopper Warbler (please see images below).

At Harrington Airfield this morning, there were still two Redstarts present (including the now moulting adult male), a singing Grasshopper Warbler, a Turtle Dove and a Willow Tit.

Regards

Neil M

Grasshopper Warbler.
Images courtesy of
Kim Robinson and
Chris Payne

The last CBC of the season.

Hello

A walk around the reserve section of Pitsford Reservoir was called for this morning, as we completed the last Common Bird Census of the year.  Plenty of birds about but mostly standard fare which included about six Little Egrets, two Yellow-legged Gulls, a couple of Kingfishers and family parties of Common Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Tawny Owl.  The best of the smaller birds were Grey and Yellow Wagtail, Lesser Whitethroat and Marsh and Willow Tit.  There were some large feeding flocks made up of tits, warblers, Goldcrests and Treecreepers moving through the foliage. Insects included a good variety of common butterflies and dragonflies.

In the pre-roost gathering of gulls by the yacht club this evening, a juvenile Mediterranean Gull was present as were two Yellow-legged Gulls.  The pair of summering Ruddy Shelduck were with Canada Geese just off the dam.

At Harrington Airfield this evening, Eleanor kept to the main concrete track and saw a singing Grasshopper Warbler, a 'purring' Turtle Dove, a Redstart, a Barn Owl, a pair of Grey Partridge and two Crossbills flying low in an easterly direction towards the B576.

Regards

Neil M

Flowering Rush
Pitsford Res
Courtesy of Lynne Barnett

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull
Pitsford Res

One good tern...

Hello

Sorry nothing to report today, so just a retro image of Eleanor (wearing my cap and a belligerent Arctic Tern) on the Farne Islands in 2007!

Regards

Neil M

Swallows might make a summer, but Redstarts declare autumn!

Hello

Yesterday Chris Payne and John Boland spent some time monitoring and ringing Swallows in the south of the county with considerable success.  Please see the image below of these iconic British summer birds...

At Harrington Airfield this morning there were two Redstarts in bushes between the concrete track and the airstrip.  One was a juvenile but the other was a cracking adult male bird.  Both birds were quite vocal.

In the garden again today, birds coming to the sunflower feeder included the couple of Nuthatch and the Marsh Tit, with a Grey Wagtail nearby.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Swallows
Courtesy of John Boland

NN6 Birding

Hello

Eleanor was back at Harrington Airfield this morning and came across a mixed flock of birds in the vicinity of the old shooting wall off the main concrete track. Birds of note included two Spotted Flycatchers, a variety of warblers including Lesser Whitethroat and a Redstart. Two Turtle Doves were in the dead willows half way along the concrete track and a Grasshopper Warbler was 'reeling' at the very end of the same track. A Whinchat was by the main entrance.

At Blueberry Farm (Maidwell) this evening there was a hunting Barn Owl, a Cuckoo and a pair of Grey Partridge.  Two Ravens overflew the garden here at Hanging Houghton and the Grey Wagtail and two Nuthatch persisted.

This afternoon Wendy and Robin Gossage spent some time at Pitsford Reservoir and witnessed a fishing Osprey, plus a marauding Sparrowhawk inspecting the tern rafts (please see below).

Regards

Neil M

Osprey at Pitsford Res
Courtesy of Robin Gossage

Sparrowhawk at Pitsford Res
Courtesy of Robin Gossage

Views of Lamport from
Blueberry Farm, Maidwell

Buddleia Magic!

Hello

This morning two Turtle Doves again put in an appearance at Harrington Airfield.

Without wishing to seem lazy, it was a day when the wildlife came to us in and around our garden at Hanging Houghton. The last few days have seen our buddleia bushes heaving with butterflies and today was no exception with large numbers of Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock and smaller numbers of Red Admiral, Comma etc. The Silver Y moths then take over in the evening.

Birds in or from the garden today included two Ravens, a Grey Wagtail, and a Spotted Flycatcher, plus a Marsh Tit and two Nuthatch coming to the sunflower heart feeder.

Regards

Neil M

Small Tortoiseshell

Red Admiral

Brown Hares.  The fields between the
Scaldwell and Walgrave Bays at
Pitsford Reservoir are normally good
 for this super mammal.

 

Storton's Warblers

Hello

The ringers operating at Stortons Gravel Pits enjoyed perfect conditions this morning, culminating in the capture of 95 birds which included at least 52 warblers! They were made up of 18 Blackcaps, 20 Reed Warblers, 4 Whitethroats, 3 Garden Warblers, 4 Chiffchaffs and 3 Cetti's Warblers.  Both Stortons and Pitsford now only catch very small numbers of Willow Warblers, and then mostly during the spring and autumn as the bulk of this species now breeds much further north than middle-England.  Certainly when I first started ringing, the Willow Warbler was about the most common warbler encountered.

In the relative coolness of this evening, Eleanor located a single Redstart in the Brampton Valley between Cottesbrooke and Hanging Houghton, and another in hedging near Haselbech Hill.

Regards

Neil M

Pitsford am

Hello

Birds around the dam area of Pitsford Reservoir early this morning included the pair of Ruddy Shelduck, two Yellow-legged Gulls, a Raven, three Common Sandpipers and three juvenile Grey Wagtails.  The reserve section of the reservoir (north of the causeway) is currently holding large numbers of water-birds but apart from four Little Egrets I didn't see anything of note there this morning.  A couple of short ringing sessions on-site produced two Pied Wagtails and singles of Garden Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat and Marsh Tit.

Regards

Neil M

Pitsford pm

Hello

A walk around the Scaldwell Bay and part of the Walgrave Bay on the reserve section at Pitsford Res this afternoon was very warm and sunny (in between the heavy showers of this morning and this evening).  At this time of the year the meadows are noisy with the whirring and clicking of grasshoppers and bush-crickets and the thistle and knapweed flowers are adorned with common butterflies, day-flying moths and other nectar-seeking insects.  Literally thousands of Common Blue Damselflies cruise the air-space just above the water surface and the larger dragonflies of several species are continually on the hunt around the margins and woodland rides.

Birds this afternoon included a drake Red-crested Pochard in the Scaldwell Bay, three Wigeon, a Kingfisher, a few each of Marsh and Willow Tit in the mixed tit/warbler flocks, five Little Egrets and the very smart leucistic Great Crested Grebe still.

Regards

Neil M

Various views of Pitsford
Reservoir from the causeway

Great Crested Grebe

Gatekeeper butterfly

Six Spot Burnett Moth?

Distant shot of the eclipse
drake Red-crested Pochard
in the Scaldwell Bay

Three images of a juvenile
Water Rail at Summer Leys NR
courtesy of Simon Hales

Damp feathers

Hello

An excursion in the rain this morning was relatively short-lived, but a calling Water Rail at Brixworth Sewer Works suggests that they may have bred or at least summered at this small site.

The two Ruddy Shelduck were still present off the dam at Pitsford Res, associating with Canada Geese. Various large gulls were loafing on the buoys there despite the watercraft activities, and a Yellow-legged Gull was watching over proceedings from the remnants of the gull-watching hide!

Regards

Neil M

Moulting 4th year/adult Yellow-legged Gull
Pitsford Reservoir

Storm Birds!

Hello

A visit to the dam-end of Pitsford Reservoir at lunch-time today provided distant views of the pair of Ruddy Shelduck, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and other new gull arrivals in the shape of three adult Common Gulls and an adult Great Black-backed Gull joining the still summering immature.

A couple of Spotted Flycatchers were in Sunderland Wood (Kelmarsh Estate) this afternoon and two Redstarts remained elusive in thick hedging at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this evening...

Regards

Neil M