Birds of mid February

Hello

Still cold and windy but an imminent change in the weather it seems!

The Short-eared Owl re-appeared at Harrington Airfield this morning where there were also two Ravens, a Woodcock and at least three Bramblings. Two Ravens and a singing Blackcap were in Hanging Houghton village and the Brampton Valley below the village was good for a hunting Short-eared Owl, a Barn Owl and two Stonechats. Another Barn Owl was hunting at nearby Blueberry Farm and six Siskins were near Haselbech.

Birds at Sywell Country Park today included a small flock of Redpolls, a Water Rail, a Grey Wagtail and a pair of Stonechats.

In the Nene Valley two Green Sandpipers and just seven Chiffchaffs were in the vicinity of Ecton Sewage Farm and at Ditchford Pits there was a drake Smew on the Skew Bridge Lake and a Great White Egret on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve.

Stanwick Pits continues to be the place for the wintering White-fronted Goose flock with thirty-three individuals today plus a Pink-footed Goose, four Dunlin and three Pintail. A female Scaup was found off the south-east shore at Hollowell Reservoir today and five Redpolls continue to visit garden feeders in Greens Norton village.

A ringing encounter with an adult female Blue Tit at Hanging Houghton was pretty special as she was first ringed as a nestling on 31st May 2013 - which means she is over seven years old!

Regards

Neil M

Snowy scene on the
Kelmarsh Estate

Lapwing.

Wren.

Robin.

Lots of birds about!

Hello

With the continuation of this very cold weather I spent pretty much the whole day feeding birds! The weather forecast suggests that there should be a change beginning tomorrow with a much milder and damper new week in store.

Today's birding in the garden was again dominated by the fabulous Fieldfares with at least fifty birds feeding in the garden but not all at the same time. In fact they are so argumentative that the back lawn has numerous grey feathers where scuffles are almost constant! Like most garden birds it seems that individuals have different tastes - some of the Fieldfares stick rigidly to apple and ignore everything else; others love the dried mealworms and just a few will take cheese, suet pellets and other broadcast fare. Dodging around them are good numbers of Blackbirds and up to four Redwings at a time - they also have a taste for the dried mealworms. A few Reed Buntings and Pied Wagtails were joined by a male Blackcap this afternoon which even sang briefly.

At Harrington Airfield this morning the wintering female Merlin showed up and there were still four Bramblings coming down for the food. A couple of south-bound Lapwing flocks were the first of several seen during the day. Yesterday (Friday) afternoon the Iceland Gull was again seen at Rushton Landfill site.

The wintering Great Northern Diver at Pitsford Reservoir was between the Catwalk Bay and the causeway this morning and a Barn Owl was hunting below the dam. This evening the diver was off the Sailing Club as was an adult Yellow-legged Gull. A Woodcock was flushed near Brixworth and the Barn Owl was seen to successfully catch a vole at Blueberry Farm this afternoon where four Snipe were flushed from a ditch.

Nick Parker found the best bird of the day with a single Glossy Ibis flying south over Thrapston Pits at about 11.35am but so far it hasn't been re-located. Nick also saw a Knot with Lapwings at Islip Water  Meadows. Other Nene Valley birds included seven Great White Egrets at Summer Leys LNR first thing with Stanwick Pits returning totals of thirty-three White-fronted Geese, a Pink-footed Goose, two Cattle Egrets, a Great White Egret, four Pintail and two Dunlin.

Clifford Hill Pits provided some sightings with two Jack Snipe, two Snipe, four Dunlin, at least fourteen Golden Plovers and two Stonechats. Single Goosanders were noted on the River Nene at Thrapston and Higham Ferrers, three 'redhead' Smew and a Great White Egret were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and birds at Hollowell Reservoir included a Jack Snipe, ten Snipe, a Great White Egret and eight or nine Crossbills.

A Peregrine was on a church again at Higham Ferrers, a lonely Siskin was on the Kelmarsh Estate and a pair of Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Several Redpolls were feeding from a suspended feeder at Greens Norton today and a Polish ringed first year Caspian Gull was on the ice at Stanford Reservoir this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit on tree sap
icicle courtesy of
Trevor Wilson.

Male Starling in winter
sunshine courtesy of
John Tilly.

Garden birding

Hello

With the very cold weather continuing our small garden has been very busy with birds again today including an invasion of Fieldfares - on several occasions I counted over twenty individuals attacking apples and each other, or feeding on dried mealworms/suet pellets and the last of the guelder rose berries.

Double-glazed windows isn't great for photography but I spent a little while this morning trying to digitally capture the mini invasion.

At least two Bramblings were still at Harrington Airfield this morning, an adult Peregrine was north of Kelmarsh, a Barn Owl was again at Blueberry Farm and the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton continued to host two more Barn Owls and a pair of Stonechats.

Elsewhere and again the Nene Valley dominated proceedings with three Great White Egrets at Summer Leys and Stanwick Pits continued to attract the Bar-tailed Godwit, two Dunlin, two Oystercatchers, two Redshanks, nine Snipe and seven Pintails.

This morning the Ring-necked Duck showed on the Large Lake at Ditchford Pits (plus two Oystercatchers flying over) but couldn't be found on a search this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Feisty Fieldfares!

Mistle Thrush.

Pied Wagtail.

Redwing.

Otters, nest boxes and new maps

Hello

Late news from yesterday (Wednesday) included up to four Otters showing well south of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir, and last night the extreme cold seemed to vocalise the local owls with three Tawnies calling around the village at Hanging Houghton and a Barn Owl shrieking and flying down the tree-lined main road!

It seems that the Nene Valley was the place for the best birds today (Thursday) with the Ring-necked Duck and at least three Smew at Ditchford Pits (two drake Smew and the Rn Duck on the Skew Bridge Lake next to Rushden Lakes Shopping complex and single mobile 'redhead(s)' on Wilsons and Large Lake and Delta Pit).

If you find the plethora of gravel pits and lakes at Ditchford Pits confusing, Neil Hasdell has kindly come to the rescue and has created some new maps of this interesting area with the names of all the pits/lakes marked - please look on the Birdwatching Site Maps tab.

Also in the Nene Valley the Bar-tailed Godwit is hanging on at Stanwick Pits (on the Main Pit) plus at least twenty-seven White-fronted Geese and two Cattle Egrets were still at the north-east end of the complex.

At Summer Leys LNR there were five Great White Egrets, a Shelduck and an Otter showing at about 5pm.

A Peregrine was still visible on St Mary's church at Higham Ferrers and there was a Raven, at least two Bramblings and four 'boxing' Brown Hares at Harrington Airfield.

A Barn Owl persists at Blueberry Farm and the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton provided records of a Jack Snipe, a Barn Owl, two Stonechats, plenty of Fieldfares, at least 116 Skylarks and three more feisty Brown Hares.

It seems that despite the harsh weather many of the Long-tailed Tit flocks have already broken up and I'm seeing them in pairs; Blackbirds and Song Thrushes are singing continually and spring is not far off now. So it's timely to mention nest boxes as we should be erecting and rectifying damaged boxes in time for the breeding season. Chris Payne constructs quality boxes for a variety of species and a two page fact sheet can be found on the Tab 'Eco (nest) Boxes'. In addition to boxes for tits, Robin, Tree Sparrow etc, Chris creates larger boxes for owls, Kestrel and others.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Smew.

Weasel.

Long-tailed Tit.

Otter.

Birds of the cold

Hello

It may be the last of any significant snow this week but seemingly tonight is likely to be one of the coldest nights on record so please make sure your bird feeders are filled up in the morning ready for the hungry birds!

The drake Ring-necked Duck had switched pits at Ditchford Pits today, choosing the old Skew Bridge Pit next to the Rushden Lakes complex as it's water of choice. Other birds in the Nene Valley included five Dunlin on a flooded field next to Barnwell Country Park, the Bar-tailed Godwit still on the Main Lake at Stanwick Pits and a Pintail, a Chiffchaff and a Cetti's Warbler at Stortons Pits.

Summer Leys LNR was good for two Great White Egrets, two Shelduck, a Snipe, two Dunlin and a Water Rail showing by the feeding station. Further down the valley and Thrapston Pits entertained another Great White Egret, a Peregrine, two Oystercatchers and a Sparrowhawk subduing a Blackbird.

A Peregrine was again on the National Grid tower off St Peter's Way, Northampton, there were still four Bramblings at Harrington Airfield and Pitsford Reservoir was visited by a female Merlin flying north this afternoon (a rare bird there in recent years) and a pair of Mandarin Ducks in the Pintail Bay.

Blueberry Farm near Maidwell provided views of a Barn Owl and over thirty Meadow Pipits and fields there and into the Brampton Valley held hundreds of foraging Fieldfares. Also in the Brampton Valley between Blueberry and Hanging Houghton were nine Grey Partridges, ten Tree Sparrows, two Barn Owls, four Stonechats, twenty five Golden Plovers and sixty Lapwings.

Regards

Neil M

Dunlin.

Peregrine.

Water Rail - in the 
thick mud!

The wintry weather continues

Hello

Another cold day with some quite spectacular snow flurries and a hail storm for some this afternoon.

It would appear that the weather has been affecting some of our coastal waders with inland records of Dunlin, Bar-tailed Godwits and particularly Knot. Some of these birds appeared in the county yesterday with a Knot in the Welland Valley near Gretton which was still present today. Another Knot and a Bar-tailed Godwit and two Dunlin were found at Stanwick Pits today where there were still five Redshanks, twenty-nine White-fronted Geese and two Cattle Egrets.

The adult male Ring-necked Duck was seen again on Large Lake, Ditchford Pits today together with a Great White Egret.

Chris Green reported the details of the colour-ringed Peregrine on St Mary's church at Higham Ferrers to the BTO and details have come through quickly which indicates this bird was ringed as a nestling in Leicestershire in 2018, oddly enough on another St Mary's church at Bottesford! It wasn't clear from the BTO response whether the bird had been sighted elsewhere since 2018.

Jon found a couple of groups of Crossbills again at Hollowell Reservoir this morning, amounting to between five and ten birds and birds in the Nene Valley in the Ecton SF area below Cogenhoe included a Kingfisher, three Green Sandpipers, a good number of wintering Chiffchaffs, five Stonechats and two Grey Wagtails.

Eleanor's afternoon patrol of Blueberry Farm near Maidwell again connected with the wintering female Merlin and a Barn Owl, and a Raven was noted at Pitsford Reservoir. Our garden birds included three Reed Buntings and several Fieldfares seeking sanctuary and food plus another increase in visiting Blackbirds.

Regards

Neil M

Common Buzzard near
Scaldwell today attracted
to a roadkill Badger, image
 courtesy of Jacob.

Skylark and Meadow Pipit
are birds of the open country
and a falling of snow and freezing
conditions make them species
easy to witness making daytime
cold weather movements.

A little bit of Storm Darcy

Hello

It seems as if the county has remained on the edge of the latest winter storms with some snow but not the amount we perhaps feared.

The drake Ring-necked Duck was back on Big Lake at Ditchford Pits this afternoon and further east at Stanwick Pits Steve found the Ferruginous Duck hybrid again on the western section of Main Lake and twenty-nine White-fronted Geese and three Cattle Egrets at the north-east end of the complex.

Eight Goosanders were on a small pool at Northampton County Golf Course and a Barn Owl emerged to hunt the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton late this afternoon.

The weather seemed to cause the Golden Plovers and Lapwings to flee the fields at Harrington Airfield but there were new flocks of Fieldfares and Redwings on-site - no doubt pushed here from more extreme weather elsewhere. Four Bramblings remained with the other finches and were quite mobile.

At Pitsford Reservoir today the Great Northern Diver was fishing off the Sailing Club and a procession of birds were seen moving south west over the reservoir which included twenty Golden Plovers, a Dunlin, thirty-six Fieldfares, five Skylarks and four Meadow Pipits. A Stonechat and two Snipe were visible in the Scaldwell Bay and yesterday there was a male Stonechat and over two hundred Fieldfares at Chase Park Farm, Yardley Chase.

The weather caused two Mistle Thrushes to reclaim Chris Payne's garden at Greens Norton and our garden welcomed three Reed Buntings and one or two Fieldfare among the regular attendees.

Regards

Neil M

Fieldfare.

Common Buzzard
courtesy of Jacob.

Rook.

It's a cold easterly wind!

Hello

The overnight snow didn't last very long but the cold easterly wind all the way from the Baltic is very much with us! 

An Iceland Gull was at Rushton Landfill (seen the day before too) and today a Caspian Gull was seen there too. Sadly the Ring-necked Duck wasn't seen at Ditchford Pits today.

A male Blackcap was in a Woodford Halse garden today and at Astcote John Woollett attracted a pair of Ravens to his garden after putting food out for the local Red Kites.

A Peregrine and a pair of Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and this afternoon there were two Ravens at Harrington Airfield plus three Bramblings and about one and hundred and fifty Golden Plovers. Three Ravens were noted at Pitsford Reservoir today.

Regards

Neil M

Artist's impression of the
White-tailed Eagle in the
Walgrave Bay at Pitsford
Reservoir last Sunday morning
courtesy of David Arden.

The Pitsford Great
Northern Diver  
courtesy of David
Arden.

A Brambling at 
Harrington Airfield
today.

Common Buzzard at
Scaldwell village
 yesterday, courtesy
of Bethan Clyne.

New arrivals

Hello

A fresh suite of birds found today with the best bird being a drake Ring-necked Duck on Big Lake at Ditchford Pits as found by Matt Hazleton. This is the second old gravel pit found by walking east from Ditchford Lane (and the Wildlife Trust car park) or perhaps more easily from the Rushden Lakes shopping complex and walking west from the old Skew Bridge Ski Pit. A little bit of nostalgia as this was the same place I found one many, many moons ago! In some respects it was anticipated as there have been recent individuals in neighbouring Leicestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. Nevertheless a great find and well done to Matt!

A flock of eighteen Bewick's Swans were briefly at Stanford Reservoir late morning before moving off north and seemingly they haven't been seen again.

Two Peregrines on St Mary's church at Higham Ferrers includes one with a colour ring and birds at Harrington Airfield this afternoon included a Short-eared Owl flushed from Bunker Three and flying around before returning from where flushed, at least four Bramblings including three stunning males and about two hundred and fifty Golden Plovers.

Jon's efforts at Hollowell Reservoir provided views of a Jack Snipe, four Snipe and three Stonechats.

At Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon there were four Stonechats and roost monitoring counts provided 395 Redwings, 390 Fieldfares and 49 Yellowhammers all courtesy of Jacob. Again the Little Owl was vocal between the reservoir and Scaldwell village.

The female Merlin was careering around the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today and other birds included the usual Barn Owl and four Stonechats. Perhaps not the best timing, but I noticed some frog activity in our garden pond today!

Regards

Neil M

Drake Ring-necked Duck
(Image taken at WWT Slimbridge).

It isn't just the birds
that come for the free
food at Harrington Airfield!

Golden Plovers at
Harrington Airfield.

Short-eared Owl 
courtesy of Robin
Gossage.

Cold weather birds on their way!

Hello

As we await the arrival of a significant change in the weather this week-end with strong easterly winds from the Baltic and snow forecast, it was a day to visit the local feed stations and top up the feeders in anticipation of some challenging weather for our birds.

With extreme weather hurtling in from the east it will probably push birds ahead of it and already there is evidence of a huge invasion of Woodcocks on the Yorkshire east coast. In a day or two these birds and thrushes and others will be seeking refuge in the county and our gardens may well swell with extra hungry birds.

Our garden is only small but some ringing in the garden tells me that this year we have already been visited by over forty Blackbirds, over forty Goldfinches, over eighty Blue Tits and fifteen Robins. Helen opened her garden net today and the first bird processed was a male Blackcap!

At Pitsford Reservoir today the Great Northern Diver was near the Pintail Bay and birds north of the causeway included at least one Stonechat and four Snipe.

In the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton the four Stonechats and the Barn Owl were still there and birds at Harrington Airfield this afternoon included a male Brambling and two hundred and twenty Golden Plovers.

At Hollowell Reservoir Jon located an adult Caspian Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.

Regards

Neil M

Male Blackcap courtesy
of John Tilly.

Woodcock.

Female Blackbird. Expect
extra Blackbirds in your gardens
 from Sunday onwards!

Buntings, snowdrops and maybe more snow!

Hello

A foggy morning and a wet afternoon didn't really provide the perfect backdrop for finding much out there today! It looks like that at least some of the county will experience more snow this coming week-end!

A male Bearded Tit was seen by the gritting table at Stortons Pits today, probably one of a pair wintering there.

At Stanwick Pits Steve located two Cattle Egrets and five Redshanks and Harrington Airfield still supports at least one Brambling, and an undetermined number of Golden Plovers and Lapwings were calling in the fog.

An interesting ringing recovery received today was of an adult male Reed Bunting which was ringed at Harrington Airfield on 7th September 2020 and then caught again at Besford Bridge, Worcestershire on 2nd January this year. This is a distance of 91km with this small bunting travelling West South West during a 117 day period. Most Reed Bunting recoveries tend to be local and we have quite a number of records of birds moving around the county but also with a movement between Harrington Airfield and the Cambridgeshire fens. In contrast, over the years we have ringed hundreds of Yellowhammers and have not received any records that suggest these birds of farmland and marginal habitats stray far.

Neil Hasdell has been busy again (with the kind assistance of Adam Homer) and a map relating to Stanford Reservoir has been added to the Birdwatching Sites Map tab.

Last night was the Northamptonshire Bird Club's annual photographic competition and congratulations to Robin Gossage for being victorious and winning the Graham Soden shield. If you would like to see the three winning images from all thirteen categories please visit:-

https://northantsbirdclub.blogspot.com/p/photographic-competition.html

Regards

Neil M

Male Reed Bunting (in
winter plumage).

Male Yellowhammer. A
bunting regularly in the same
habitat as the Reed Bunting
but with a different wintering
strategy.

Bobsie hiding in the snowdrops!

Correction!

Hello

Following the last blog, it seems that the White-tailed Eagle reported north east of Kettering is more likely to be the female G318. Satellite tracking indicates that this bird is now in Cambridgeshire. The original bird, male G393 has now progressed even further south into Buckinghamshire so for the time being it seems that our WtE fun is over!

Regards

Neil M

White-tailed Eagle.

More spring-like weather!

 Hello

With no further news on the female White-tailed Eagle, it was a surprise to see that the male bird flew through the county again this morning, identified near Kettering flying in a north-easterly direction.

At Pitsford Reservoir today the Great Northern Diver and a Barn Owl were in the Pintail Bay area and birds north of the causeway included four Chiffchaffs and a couple of Siskins. Some impressive roosting totals in the Scaldwell Bay this afternoon included over four thousand Jackdaws, 491 Fieldfares, 429 Redwings and about 65 Tree Sparrows. A flock of 240 Golden Plovers flew around and headed off. A Little Owl was heard calling near the reservoir again.

A huge flock of 3,000 Lapwings were counted on floods near Bozenham Mill and the Peregrine was again on the National Grid tower at St Peters Way, Northampton.

Four Stonechats, two Ravens and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley Way below Hanging Houghton and a further Barn Owl was at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

Regards

Neil M

A blast from the past - 
the Great Grey Shrike
from last year that
wintered in the Brampton
Valley, courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Short-eared Owl
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Fieldfare eyeing up the sloes!

Male Stonechat at
Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Jacob Spinks.