Warm Northamptonshire...

Hello

Birding opportunities today have been minimal - although at Pitsford Reservoir there was at least one Spotted Flycatcher still in the belt of trees next to the Sailing Club early this afternoon. Eleanor walked around Sywell Country Park this afternoon but didn't see anything of note and she covered her usual patch in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and couldn't see much there either...

Neil Hasdell visited the Summer Leys reserve near Earls Barton this morning and saw a Green Sandpiper, a Red-crested Pochard and his first Marbled White butterfly of the year.

The Mute Swans at Pitsford Res are renown for their poor production rates so it was gratifying to see that one of the two pairs using the Sailing Club as their nesting site has produced a brood of seven cygnets...

Regards

Neil M

Aaahhh...!  :>)

Cormorant.
Abington Park Lake.

Camargue images

Hello

A few more images last month of birds (mostly) from the Camargue area of France...

Regards

Neil M

Corn Bunting.

Slow Worm.

Short-toed Eagle with snake...

Slender-billed Gull.

Curlew Sandpipers and
Little Stint.

Curlew Sandpipers
and Dunlin.

Curlew Sandpiper.

Eurasian Bee-eater.

Squacco Heron.

Middle of June already!

Hello

A pair of scruffy Ravens was about all Eleanor could find at Blueberry Farm today and an evening stroll at Harrington Airfield was good enough to see a pair or two of Grey Partridge and hearing a 'purring' Turtle Dove...

A couple of days ago Dave Francis checked the tern rafts at Pitsford Reservoir and the Common Tern nest count has now increased to 51 which is a very good effort. Last year was very productive after a couple of very lean years so we are hoping for more breeding success in 2017.

Regards

Neil M

Beautiful Hooktip moth.

Figure of Eighty moth

Privet Hawk-moth.
All moth images courtesy of Jacob,
the subjects coming to his moth trap
at Scaldwell.

Yes it really is a Blue Tit, well what's left of it!
Adult female Blue Tits have a very hard time
during the breeding season with an astonishing
work rate...

The beginning of the day...

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker
and her fledged young...

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Above five images all courtesy of
Cathy Ryden.

Chequered Skipper butterfly
courtesy of Martin Randall.

Monitoring our local birds

Hello

A great deal of activity amongst the Northants Ringing Group team members during the last couple of days as we try to map the fortunes of breeding birds at our local sites. The high winds of recent days have prevented the use of mist nets in the main but both yesterday and today (Wednesday) has provided a period of stability and low wind speeds.

Chris Payne has been concentrating his efforts at monitoring how Swallows are getting on in South Northants, keeping counts of nests, numbers of eggs and hatched young. An established pair of Swallows will often hatch five youngsters in the first brood if the conditions are favourable, and with a protein-rich diet of insects these nestling are capable of growing up fast indeed! Which is just as well as the parents will often then try for a second brood and will do this even when the flying young from the first brood stay close! In the best conditions possible, some birds will even try a third brood before they and their offspring flee south for the winter.

Two ringing sessions at Harrington Airfield (Tuesday and Wednesday) provided a nice catch of birds with plenty of evidence of just-fledged youngsters which included Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer. Uncommon captures included a Green Woodpecker, a Jay, a Nuthatch and four Linnets. Birds noted on-site yesterday included an Osprey flying south towards the Brampton Valley at 10.30am and a Siskin. A Grasshopper Warbler was heard singing both days and 2-3 Turtle Doves remain as do a few pairs of Grey Partridges. Butterflies included Orange-tip, Small Heath, Common Blue, Ringlet and Painted Lady.

Yesterday (Tuesday) evening saw a short ringing session at Lamport which resulted in seven Swifts being caught (three of which were initially ringed last year), a couple of Swallows and thirteen House Martins (one initially ringed at the same place last year). Other birds noted here included Hobby and Spotted Flycatcher.

This morning (Wednesday) saw another CES ringing effort at Pitsford Reservoir so you can see that the ringers were thinly spread! This resulted in 50 captures, the highlights being ten Blackcaps, six Garden Warblers, four Treecreepers, two Marsh Tits, a Kingfisher and a Jay.

Regards

Neil M

Male Linnet.

Male Yellowhammer.

Female Orange-tip butterfly.

Male Green Woodpecker. This bird was
first ringed as a juvenile in 2015 but is
now very much an adult male and is no doubt
supporting it's own nestlings which will probably
 fly the nest any day now.

Jacob Spinks proving that is is possible
to obtain good flight shots of Common Swifts!

Common Swift at Lamport.

You know I can't resist taking images
of Red Kites even if I  probably
have hundreds of similar photos!

Bees and Bee Orchids

Hello

Interesting birds at Harrington Airfield seemed to be restricted to just a few Grey Partridges today, although Roger Eads found a swarm of bees in a hawthorn bush (picture below)! The orchids are looking very good there at the moment, Common Spotted dominating but also small pockets of Bee Orchids too. Please note that there will be bird ringing in operation there tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday morning and the old airstrip and bunkers will be out of bounds. The concrete track and footpaths remain unaffected.

Regards

Neil M

Bee swarm by Roger Eads.

Birds in the hand by Jacob Spinks.
The very pale eye and solid shawl of
grey on the Jackdaw is typical of a mature
 bird, the males being marginally larger.
The ruby red eye of the Collared Dove
also indicates maturity, but these doves
can breed all year round and ageing can be
difficult!

As highlighted by Chris Payne, quite
poignant for the time of the year with
lots of young birds about!

And a breezy Sunday too!

Flying Fortress over
Welford this afternoon.

Hello

I spent the morning completing another Common Bird Census at Pitsford Reservoir today in warm and pleasant conditions with it becoming progressively windier as the day progressed. The White-fronted Goose was still on-site and Jacob also saw two second summer Caspian Gulls. The Oystercatchers continue to feed their remaining youngster and scarcer residents included several Marsh Tits and a Willow Tit.

At this time of the year insects often take centre stage and the warm sunshine created an environment for many to emerge and show themselves. Butterflies on the reserve today included Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Large Skipper, Small Copper and Brown Argus. The new ponds in the Walgrave Bay created last year were sheltered and provided a haven for dragonflies, namely Blue Emperor, Broad-bodied Chaser and Four-spotted Chaser.

Jacob heard the Grasshopper Warbler near Scaldwell village again today and Eleanor heard the usual one in it's weedy field between Lamport and Blueberry Farm. Harrington Airfield continued to host two Turtle Doves, a pair of Grey Partridge and a Sedge Warbler continues to sing from a patch of dense vegetation there.

Regards

Neil M

Oystercatcher. An adult was ringed on-site
several years ago and a ringed individual
comes back every year to breed. We haven't
been able to read the ring each year but assume
it is the same long-lived individual.

Meadow Brown butterfly.

Speckled Wood butterfly.

Muntjac.

Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly.

Blue Emperor dragonfly.

Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly.

Garden Warbler.

Brown Argus butterfly.

Red Kite.

All wildlife images taken at
 Pitsford Reservoir today.