Gulls, Marsh Harriers and Redstarts still

Hello

A morning wander around Welford Reservoir caused me to bump into the adult Caspian Gull again. A Hobby flew over and released ducks on adjacent Sulby Reservoir included a leucistic Fulvous Whistling Duck and a southern hemisphere pintail species or hybrid.

A Marsh Harrier was seen at Pitsford Reservoir today and this evening a Redshank and a Common Sandpiper were on the causeway. Another Marsh Harrier was seen at Summer Leys LNR and other birds there included a Black-tailed Godwit and a Common Sandpiper.

Stanwick Pits hosted a Czec Rep ringed juvenile Caspian Gull plus a near-adult bird and with a Garganey still there too.

The Lilbourne Meadows reserve and the DIRFT site provided a female Common Redstart, four Snipe, four Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, a Ringed Plover and a Little Ringed Plover. Two Common Redstarts were still at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell today.

They seem scarce this year but a single Clouded Yellow butterfly was active in a brief show of sunshine near Blueberry Farm early this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Red Kite.

Oystercatcher courtesy
of John Tilly.

Kestrel courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Great Tachinid fly
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Hornet courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Traits of autumn

Hello

Very much an autumnal feel to the day with cooler temperatures, a lively breeze and sunshine, cloud and the odd shower.

A juvenile Peregrine and a Common Sandpiper were the only birds of note I saw at Pitsford Reservoir whilst filling up the bird feeders; a couple of Ravens were noisy at Hanging Houghton.

A visit to Harlestone Lake during periods of sunshine brought out the odonata with several Blue Emperors, Common Darters, a Beautiful Demoiselle (they seem to be everywhere this year) and plenty of damselflies which included Common Blue and Large Red-eyed. However also on the mat of floating vegetation were a couple of Small Red-eyed Damselflies which are a more localised species. Birds here were unremarkable but included Kingfisher and Little Egret.

Lilbourne Meadows/the dwindling DIRFT3 site is still proving attractive to birds with two Common Redstarts, five Green Sandpipers and three Snipe present today. A Black-tailed Godwit was on the south side of Clifford Hill Pits this morning.

Stanwick is also still pulling in the birds with two Caspian Gulls plus twenty Yellow-legged Gulls and a Garganey late afternoon. At Harrington Airfield this evening there was a Common Redstart by the Shooting Wall next to the concrete track and six Yellow-legged Gulls with two hundred Lesser Black-backs on fields there.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Common Buzzard.

Large Red-eyed Damselfly.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Blue Emperor.

Pike.

A quiet Friday

Hello

Not a great deal of wildlife reported of note today as the weather has been quite blustery with sunshine and a few showers.

A morning stint at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning located two Common Redstarts and a Spotted Flycatcher and birds at Harrington Airfield today included a vocal Common Redstart and still the Wheatear at Bunker One. Two Yellow-legged Gulls at Pitsford Reservoir again included a begging juvenile and a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull is likely to be a foreign-ringed individual (details submitted).

As the butterfly season begins to subside the local specialities ebb away but two Silver-washed Fritillaries were on the wing at Salcey Forest this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Flecked General Soldierfly
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Rubytail hedychrum niemelai
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Comma butterfly.

An eclipse drake Mallard.

Red Kite.

A wonderful image of
Pitsford Reservoir courtesy
of Magda Toruj.

More ringing at Harrington Airfield.

Hello

Some more ringing at Harrington Airfield took place this morning which provided a modest catch before the change in the weather. A Sparrowhawk is always an exciting catch and a second year male hit one of the mist nets and was duly ringed and released. There was a small influx of Willow Warblers which included freshly-moulted adults as well as the bright juveniles and other birds processed included a Garden Warbler, two Reed Warblers and a couple of Common Whitethroats. Two adult Long-tailed Tits were first ringed there in November 2017 and July 2015 and they were caught with ten juveniles which I would assume was their impressive brood for this year! The first brood Yellowhammers didn't seem to come to anything on-site this year but we are now seeing second brood youngsters appearing and even this late in the season the territorial adult males are still singing strongly.

Other birds noted on-site included a first year Wheatear and two Ravens.

Not too far away and two Redstarts were noted in hedging at Lamport Hall, visible from the footpath that runs along the southern boundary of the park and Blueberry Farm near Maidwell boasted three Common Redstarts in hedging between Maidwell Lodge and Blueberry Hill and a Wheatear and a Whinchat on the summit of Blueberry Hill.

Eric's visit to Blatherwycke Lake today provided views of a Great White Egret, five Little Egrets, a Kingfisher, a pair of Raven and a summer flock collection of twenty-seven Mistle Thrushes. At Deene Lake sightings included an Osprey, a Raven, two Green Sandpipers, a pair of Black Swans and a large flock of Lapwings.

An Osprey was noted at Hollowell Reservoir this morning and birds at Stanwick Pits this afternoon included two Caspian Gulls, thirty-two Yellow-legged Gulls and a Garganey.

A Clouded Yellow butterfly was again on a nectar strip in fields between Cottesbrooke and Blueberry Farm today.

Regards

Neil M

Sunrise at Harrington Airfield
this morning.

Male Sparrowhawk.

A Hummingbird Hawk-moth
was at Hanging Houghton today.

More Ragwort insects

Hello

A stunning sunny and warm day but with bubbling cloud too, a typical day to see gulls and other birds sailing around in circles picking off flying ants.

This morning there were still three Common Redstarts at Blueberry Farm and birds at Harrington Airfield included another two Common Redstarts and a Wheatear - more ringing will be taking place tomorrow (Thursday) morning prior to the onset of more showery weather for the next three or four days. General access to the bunkers and old airstrip will be restricted during the morning but available in the afternoon.

There were also still two Common Redstarts in hedges along the bridle track leading from Bridle Road, Old village and traversing the fields between Cherry Hill and Walgrave and Pitsford Reservoir.

Over at Lilbourne Meadows and the DIRFT3 site, the long-staying female Common Redstart is still there plus four Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, a Ruff and a Little Ringed Plover.

Eric's visit to Thrapston Pits started of quietly but he witnessed a juvenile Marsh Harrier moving through the reserve towards Oundle and saw six Little Egrets and singles of Common Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper.

Two Whinchats, a Wheatear and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon and evening.

At Pitsford Reservoir this morning there were two Great White Egrets and an adult Yellow-legged Gull in the Scaldwell Bay and later in the day a Goldeneye and two Common Sandpipers were seen north of the causeway too.

Regards

Neil M

Hoverfly Sritta pipens.

 Fly Eriothrix rufomaculata.

All Ragwort insect images courtesy
of David Arden.

Small Skipper.

Juvenile Tree Sparrow. There are still
small numbers coming to the Pitsford
Reservoir Feeding Station at the Old
Scaldwell Road. Breeding productivity
 appears much lower than last year.

The Ravens are still 
visiting Hanging Houghton
most days...

Ragwort

Hello

Ragwort, a great-looking plant and the bright yellow flowers are particularly noticeable in summer into autumn. The plant can be hazardous to livestock, particularly horses, so it is perhaps little surprise that it is often pulled from the earth where such animals may come in to contact with it, and expunged from hay crops too. The toxin attacks the liver of horses in particular.

Ragwort though is a great plant for insects, particularly nectar-loving insects as well as the foodplant for Cinnabar moths and others. David Arden has been photographing insects at Spratton attracted to the golden almost feathery flowers.

A couple of ringing sessions took place locally in ideal conditions for mist nets. At Stortons Pits John Woollett and John Boland caught forty-one birds which included four Common Whitethroats, three Garden Warblers, seven Blackcaps, eleven Reed Warblers, a Cetti's Warbler and small numbers of Goldfinch, Robin, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Great Tit, Dunnock and Wren. One of the Garden Warblers was first encountered in June 2017 and was caught twice again in 2019 so presumably is a local breeding bird and possibly on the Stortons Pits reserve itself.

The other ringing operation was at Brixworth Water Treatment Works which yielded seventy-one birds of twenty-two species. This total included five Magpies which are very common on-site, six Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, six Blackcaps, a Reed Warbler, seven Sedge Warblers, five Chiffchaffs, two Willow Warblers, a Yellow Wagtail, two Grey Wagtails and eight Pied Wagtails. A Hobby and a Little Egret were seen there too.

Birds located elsewhere in the county today included three Common Redstarts and three Wheatears at Harrington Airfield, two Common Redstarts at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and two Spotted Flycatchers at Lamport Hall. A juvenile Marsh Harrier was at Hollowell Reservoir this morning and at Lilborurne Meadows and the A5 pools birds included a Common Redstart, a Green Sandpiper, a Little Ringed Plover, two Curlews, an adult Caspian Gull and ten Yellow-legged Gulls.

Stanwick Pits again attracted a near-adult Caspian Gull plus six Yellow-legged Gulls, a Cattle Egret and a Garganey.

Regards

Neil M

Small Copper butterfly.

Brown Argus butterfly.

Brown Argus butterfly.

Gatekeeper butterfly.

Gatekeeper butterfly
and Cinnabar moth caterpillars.

All Ragwort images courtesy
of David Arden.

First year Yellow
Wagtail courtesy of
Lewis Aaron.

Ringing at Harrington Airfield.

Hello

A ringing session in perfect conditions at Harrington Airfield today provided about seventy-seven captures made up of twenty-three species. A juvenile Green Woodpecker was much admired and warblers were made up of two Chiffchaffs, ten Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat and thirteen Common Whitethroats. A Coal Tit is a scarce encounter at this site and other birds included just a single Swallow, seven Yellowhammers and a handful of finches and three Reed Buntings. Three moulting Common Redstarts were interesting captures of this passage migrant, two of them being adults and the other a first year male. There may be another ringing operation here on Thursday morning.

The only birds of note seen included a Barn Owl and a couple of Yellow Wagtails and two very young Grey Partridges.

Not far away and two Comon Redstarts remained at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning and this afternoon a Wheatear and two Whinchats had dropped into the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton (there was no sign of them this morning). The regular Common Redstart hotspot along the footpath leading from Bridle Road, Old village and traversing several fields heading east next to Pitsford Reservoir proved it was back in business this autumn with at least three birds on show late this morning plus two Whinchats and a hunting Marsh Harrier.

A Garganey was still at Stanwick Pits today and an Osprey was seen at Stanford Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

A juvenile male
Green Woodpecker.

Garden Warbler.

A first year male Common Redstart.

An adult female
Common Redstart.

Adult Common Redstart, either
a dull male or a bright female.

All images from Harrington Airfield
this morning.

A wet 1st Aug

Hello

The weather this morning didn't accord to the forecast, being much wetter than anticipated. Nevertheless it didn't stop the ringing team down at Linford Lakes catching over a hundred birds, mostly new birds not previously ringed. Warblers were the main focus with thirty-two Reed Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, a Cetti's Warbler, fourteen Chiffchaffs, nineteen Blackcaps, six Garden Warblers and five Common Whitethroats. Other birds included Great Spotted Woodpecker, Long-tailed Tit, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Robin, Dunnock and Goldfinch.

Tomorrow (Monday) there is a ringing session planned for Harrington Airfield and general access is restricted around the bunkers and old airstrip - the footpaths are unaffected.

A single Common Redstart eventually showed itself during a brief visit to Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and Fiona recorded a confrontation with a Red Claw Crayfish along the Brampton Valley Way near Hanging Houghton this morning (please see image)!

Late this morning an adult Caspian Gull was seen near Lilbourne on the ground off the A5 near to the pools and DIRFT3 site, a Great White Egret was at Summer Leys LNR this afternoon and two juvenile Peregrines visited Raunds church today.

A couple of vocal Ravens have been regularly in the villages at Hanging Houghton and Lamport the last few days, seemingly re-asserting their territorial rights now they have mostly finished moulting.

The rather grisly video is of a female Sparrowhawk eating a just-killed Woodpigeon in a Maidwell garden courtesy of Kevin Marshall.

Regards

Neil M

Red Claw Crayfish courtesy
of Fiona Barclay.

Sedge Warbler courtesy
of Lewis Aaron.

Woodpigeon courtesy of
John Tilly.

Last day of July.

Hello

An early morning walk at Harrington Airfield seemed grey and generally quiet for birds. A single Grey Partridge sprung a couple of times, a Hobby cruised overhead and a very elusive Common Redstart was found on the way back between the Chippings Compound and Bunker One. Please note that a ringing session planned here for Monday will mean resticted access to the bunkers and the old airstrip area but the concrete track will still be accessible.

At least two Common Redstarts remain at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell, one of them being a stunning adult male.

At Pitsford Reservoir it seemed only standard fare was on show, the best on offer being a Great White Egret, the eclipse drake Goldeneye and three Yellow-legged Gulls which included a begging juvenile.

Over at Stanwick Pits a single Garganey was located and birds at Earls Barton Pits included a Great White Egret and a Common Sandpiper on the Summer Leys reserve and a Common Sandpiper on Hardwater Lake. Five Dunlin, a Little Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper were all at Clifford Hill Pits early this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Southern Hawker.

Four-spotted Chaser variant
courtesy of Jim Dunkley.

Great White and Little Egret
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Kingfisher courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Large Red-eyed Damselfly.

Blustery and grey Friday

Hello

A much quieter day in the county today, perhaps no surprise with the blustery and sometimes wet conditions in contrast to the sunshine of yesterday.

Although they couldn't be found this morning, two Common Redstarts popped up in the footpath hedgerows between Blueberry Lodge and Blueberry Hill near Maidwell this evening.

A near-adult Caspian Gull appeared again at Stanwick Pits this afternoon and at Welford Reservoir this evening there was a moulting adult Caspian Gull plus four Egyptian Geese and a Grey Wagtail.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Emperor dragonfly.

Chiffchaff.

Ampedus sanguiolentus Click Beetle
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Cassida rubyginosa Tortoise Beetle
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Corizus hyoscyami
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Pitsford Day Tour

Hello

Today was a Naturetrek Day Tour on the reserve at Pitsford Reservoir which started with the contents of the moth trap of fifteen species with perhaps a couple of Ear Moths and an Elephant Hawk-moth being the highlights. A Painted Lady and a Red Admiral butterfly were on the buddleia next to the Fishing Lodge.

Despite the breezy conditions odonata were out in good numbers, particularly Southern and Brown Hawkers. We also saw Blue Emperor, Migrant Hawker, Four-spotted Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Ruddy Darter, Beautiful Demoiselle, Emerald Damselfly, Large Red-eyed Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly and of course large numbers of Common Blue Damselflies. Other interesting insects included Hornet Hoverfly.

Great Crested Grebes are clearly having a good year with several broods of young on the reserve but the small birds were pretty quiet but Goldcrests, Treecreeper and Marsh Tit showed themselves. A Hobby was seen a few times, there were a few Little Egrets but a Wigeon was the only duck out of the ordinary.

Peacock butterflies showed nicely, we saw several Commas and the usual species we expect at this time of the year and we tracked down just one well-behaved Purple Hairstreak.

Elsewhere and the Common Redstarts are still arriving in the county with a male seen near Old, three at Blueberry Farm (including two new males) and three or four at Harrington Airfield which again included a new adult male on-site.

At least two Spotted Flycatchers were also at Blueberry Farm and a juvenile Marsh Harrier was seen flying from Harrington Airfield off towards Pitsford Reservoir.

At Earls Barton Pits a Wood Sandpiper and two Common Sandpipers were on the Summer Leys LNR with a Common Sandpiper and a Great White Egret on Hardwater Lake.

Waders at Deene Lake this afternoon included eight Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper and one hundred and sixty-seven Lapwings. A near-adult Caspian Gull was at Stanwick Pits this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Painted Lady.

Elephant Hawk-moth.

Hornet Hoverfly.

Peacock butterfly.

Southern Hawker.

Grey Heron.

All images from Pitsford
Reservoir today.