Birds of a mild January!

Hello

The Ring-necked Duck wasn't reported at Summer Leys Reserve today (seen there yesterday) but a Ruff was seen amongst the Golden Plover flock there.

Adrian saw two Short-eared Owls at Neville's Lodge near Finedon and the Stanwick male Hen Harrier flew through there too for good value!

Eleanor saw her usual pair of Ravens at Staverton today and a quick visit to Ravensthorpe Reservoir causeway was all it took to see a Great White Egret, two Green Sandpipers, a pair of Mandarin Ducks and an Otter west of the road causeway.

Two Bramblings and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Ravens.

Drake Ring-necked Duck
at Summer Leys yesterday...

Images courtesy of Robin Gossage.

County Birding 10th Jan

Hello

Eric's visit to Thrapston Pits on Thursday 10th Jan provided views of four Great White Egrets, three Goosanders, a pair of Egyptian Geese, the juvenile Whooper Swan and a flock of over a hundred Pochard.

David Arden's visit to Pitsford Reservoir north of the causeway confirmed the presence still of four Great White Egrets and three Woodcock (two in Christies Copse and one in Plantation Block 5).

Chris Payne completed a little ringing at Bradden in South Northants during the morning and caught 77 birds with Blue Tits dominating. Among these feisty characters were some quite old birds. The total was made up of 52 Blue Tits, 6 Great Tits, a Coal Tit, 5 Long-tailed Tits, a Dunnock, 8 Goldfinches and 4 Chaffinches.

Elsewhere Barbara Nunn located a drake Scaup at Earls Barton Pits on the Summer Leys Reserve as viewed from Chestnut Corner and Alan Coles saw the wintering male Hen harrier at Stanwick Pits at the east end from 3.20pm.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit.

Drake Scaup.

Juvenile Whooper Swan.

Sightings 9th Jan

Hello

Birding at Thrapston Pits independently by Eric and Nick on Wednesday 9th January provided sightings of four or five Great White Egrets, eleven Little Egrets, the juvenile Whooper Swan still, a Peregrine, a female Stonechat, a good flock size of 204 Pochard and a reasonable sized gull roost but made up mostly of Black-headed and Common Gulls.

Stanwick Pits provided views of the Hen Harrier at the east end of the complex again during the afternoon plus a Great White Egret and three Little Egrets, and the area near Finedon known as Neville's Lodge provided sightings of two or three Short-eared Owls.

Phil Jackman could see one of the Great Northern Divers at Pitsford Reservoir in the morning, again in the vicinity of Pintail Bay as viewed from the dam.

Regards

Neil M

Short-eared Owl.

Cormorant.

Female Stonechat.

All images courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

SP55 Short Day Count

Hello

On Sunday 6th January a team of birders comprising of Bethan Clyne, Jacob Spinks and Helen Franklin undertook the Banbury Ornithological Society Short Day Count in SP55 (Northamptonshire).

The keen team were on site at 8am at Fawsley Park once again to start their contribution to the BOS Short Day count in this square.  Once again the first 2 hours of the 8-hour count were the most productive with vocal Ravens, a fly-through Peregrine, a Red Kite, 2 Mandarin Ducks, Water Rail, a female Gadwall, a pair of Pochard and a large flock of Siskins being the stars of the show.

The unseasonably warm weather of late is undoubtedly influencing the birds to be seen in this corner of Northamptonshire – no large flocks of thrushes were noted, nor any grebes or owls or Brambling.  But Peregrines, Red Kites and Kestrels were all enjoying the sunshine at more than one site in the square and all five of the more common species of gulls were around in abundance.

A total of 64 species of bird were noted which is about average for this count.

Regards

Neil M

Peregrine.

Mandarin Duck.

Raven.

Local Bird Ringing 6th Jan

Hello

Local ringers gathered at Stortons Pits on Sunday 6th Jan to monitor the local and transient birds on site and caught 54 birds of 12 species. Good preparatory work beforehand provided this diversity which were made up of a Jack Snipe (a species rarely caught locally), a Chiffchaff, 13 Great Tits, 14 Blue Tits, a Long-tailed Tit, 3 Dunnocks, a Bullfinch, 7 Goldfinches, 3 Chaffinches, a Greenfinch and 6 Reed Buntings.

Meanwhile Kenny and Sarah experimented with some new equipment at their ringing site at Linford Lakes in preparation for operations later in the year and whilst doing so their Potter Traps caught a Moorhen and a Water Rail. The foundations and grounds work for a new Sand Martin bank have now been started which will add a further dimension to the site!

Regards

Neil M

Jack Snipe at Stortons,
image courtesy of Chris
Payne.

Water Rail at Linford Lakes
courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

Goldfinch.

House Sparrow.

Starlings.

Above four images courtesy
of John Tilly.

Weekend Birding

Yesterday the resident Raven's were very vocal and entertaining with their overhead displays whilst I was at agility training at Staverton. 
On my way home I stopped off at Ravensthorpe Reservoir where there was a Great White Egret, Green Sandpiper and 2 Otters.
There were several Brambling and a Barn Owl below Hanging Houghton.
Today I caught up with both Great Northern Divers and Ring Necked Duck at Pitsford. Other birds present included 4 Great White Egret, 10+ Red Crested Pochard including a leucistic type bird which stands out, 2 Pintail and a pair of Stonechat.
Again Barn Owl and Bramblings below Hanging Houghton.

A couple of ringing recoveries.  A male Mallard was ringed at Pitsford 05/12/18 and was found ten days later 9km away at Spratton, dead from being shot.
A Goldfinch ringed 27/11/18 at Hanging Houghton was caught by ringers at Panshanger Lagoon, Hertfordshire on 28/12/18 after travelling a distance of 79km.

Regards Eleanor

Catch Up !!

Today I took the opportunity to "catch up" with some of the long standing winter visitors as well as start off my year list.  At Pitsford Reservoir I was able to tick off Great Northern Diver and Ring Necked Duck before heading over to Stanwick in search of the male Hen Harrier. I spent nearly 2 hours here viewing the rough field area and was literally just having a last sweep around and saw it hunting the area between the farm and the disused railway line. Other birds here included Pink Footed Goose, Cettis Warbler, Chiffchaff and a Barn Owl.
Earlier in the day there was a Barn Owl and at least 7 Brambling , four of which were superb males below Hanging Houghton.
On my run I encountered at least 18 Red Kites circling the fields near Haselbeech ,the air being filled with their evocative calls. Certainly a beautiful sight and sound on an equally beautiful frosty morning.
Our garden has been busy with birds too, at least 3 Brambling, Yellowhammers, male Reed Buntings , Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker.  We are not alone with having Brambling in their garden as our neighbours had at least 6 today also.

Regards Eleanor

Birds of 2nd January

Hello

Pitsford Reservoir continues to be the focal point for birdwatchers out and about in central Northamptonshire. Today both the Great Northern Divers were on show, at one stage together just north of Pintail Bay and not far off-shore. The Ring-necked Duck appeared just inside the mouth of the Walgrave Bay, a favourite spot and viewable distantly from Maytrees Hide next to the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station. Five Great White Egrets were confirmed and visible at the same time north of the causeway.

The reservoir continues to attract Red-crested Pochards and today there were fourteen north of the causeway including a new leucistic bird. Other birds included the long-staying pair of Stonechats which commute between the causeway and the Bird Club Hide, a Green Sandpiper, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Grey Wagtail and a Willow Tit. A pair of Marsh Tits visit the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station daily and there are good numbers of Chaffinches, Tree Sparrows, Yellowhammers and Moorhens taking advantage of the seed on offer there.

Neil Hasdell encountered three Goosanders and several Ring-necked Parakeets in Abington Park, Northampton this morning. A Barn Owl and four Bramblings were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton again and Eric's visit to Blatherwycke Lake provided a count of fifteen Mandarin Ducks; at nearby Deene Lake there were still three pairs of Shelduck, over a hundred Teal and two Snipe.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Mandarin Duck.

Drake Teal courtesy
of John Tilly.

Drake Goosander courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

New Year's Day

Hello

This morning a Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and Bramblings were heard in the finch flock by the large barn. A single male Brambling was in our garden again.

Birds noted at Thrapston Pits today was something of a repeat of yesterday with three Great White Egrets still on Aldwincle Lake but also eleven Little Egrets were present. A pair of Goosander were still there.

Two Great White Egrets were at Summer Leys Nature Reserve today and Adrian's efforts at Pitsford Reservoir included sightings of a Great Northern Diver, the drake Ring-necked Duck, four Great White Egrets and fourteen Red-crested Pochard.

Two Woodcock were flushed at Harrington Airfield today.

Regards

Neil M

Yesterday's Mistle Thrush,
image courtesy of Martyn Adkins.

Brambling courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Great White Egret
courtesy of Clive Bowley.

Happy New Year!

Hello

A ringing session at Woodford Halse today successfully processed forty five birds of eleven species made up of nine Long-tailed Tits, a Treecreeper, nineteen Blue Tits, seven Great Tits, a Nuthatch, a Chaffinch, a Goldfinch, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Mistle Thrush (a rare capture), a Redwing and three Dunnocks. Amongst other birds two Grey Wagtails were present on-site.

Birds at Brixworth Water Treatment Works today included a Cetti's Warbler and a Grey Wagtail.

Debbie and Eric spent three hours at Thrapston Pits today and confirmed the presence of three Great White Egrets (all on Aldwincle Lake), a pair of Goosander and a pair of Egyptian Geese.

A Peregrine was seen over Maidwell village at 10.40am this morning and the birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included the two Great Northern Divers feeding in Pintail Bay and in The Narrows near the Holly Tree and the drake Ring-necked Duck which this afternoon was in the mouth of the Walgrave Bay and at dusk was swimming just in front of Maytrees Hide. The regular supporting cast included four Great White Egrets and fourteen Red-crested Pochard north of the causeway and a Raven by the dam.

Happy New Year!

Eleanor and Neil

Mistle Thrush.

Raven.

NBC Indoor Meeting 2nd Jan

Hello

The next indoor meeting of the Northants Bird Club is this coming Wednesday 2nd January, our speaker being Dick Newell.

This talk will cover information about Common Swifts, their lifestyles, their migrations and their decline in the UK. As one of the main causes of the decline is loss of nest sites, the talk will cover a wide range of nest boxing solutions from off the shelf products to custom solutions. Dick is with Action for Swifts and has developed many ideas and designs to help Swifts. Many of these are documented on actionforswifts.blogspot.com.

In 2016, Dick and AfS were given a Marsh Award for Innovative Ornithology.

This will take place at the usual venue of the Fishing Lodge, Pitsford Reservoir. The meeting starts at 7.30 and tea and coffee will be available.

All welcome!

Neil M

As you were!

Hello

Just back in from an eight day tour of the Algarve in Portugal which provided us with some super weather and birds too!

Locally a Barn Owl has been busy around the village both last night, this morning and again this afternoon and several Bramblings were calling below the village in the Brampton Valley first thing this morning. Two Ravens were on the north side of the village early on and a Brambling was visiting gardens in the village late morning.

Away from Hanging Houghton and a Woodcock was flushed at Harrington Airfield but it was otherwise quiet there for birds.

Geoff Douglas located the drake Ring-necked Duck in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford today and Adrian's efforts at Thrapston Pits provided sightings of the juvenile Whooper Swan, two Great White Egrets and a pair of Red-crested Pochard.

Both Great Northern Divers were visible at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon, one in The Narrows/Holly Tree area and the other in and around the Pintail Bay where there was also a Yellow-legged Gull.

Regards

Neil M

Booted Eagle.

Hoopoe.

Western Swamphen.

Purple Sandpiper.

Odds and Ends

I always find the period between Christmas and New Year a bit of an odd time as nothing seems to happen and everything appears to be "on hold" before life returns to normal.
This also appears to be the case where the birds are concerned as I have only been seeing the same old regulars, Bramblings and Barn Owl below Hanging Houghton and Ring Necked Duck, Great Northern Diver, Whooper Swans, Red Crested Pochards and Great White Egrets at Pitsford Reservoir.
Eric visited Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston today and reports a Whooper Swan on Elinor Lake, 2 Great White Egret and a stunning drake Goosander at Aldwinkle end, a nice flock of Goldeneye on Town Lake and 5 Little Egrets and a couple of Cettis Warbler dotted about.
The birds seem to have disappeared from our garden and Harrington Airfield has been very bleak with nothing to report.
At least the days will be getting longer as we head towards a new year which we hope will be bird filled for everyone.

Regards   Eleanor

No pictures of birds I'm afraid but there is a birding theme !!          This is " Spot the birdie twitcher Tor" and he has qualified for the Rescue Dogs Agility final next year and he also came top of the league in his category beating all the fast collies !!! not bad for a hound that nobody wanted.

Christmas Greetings

Very little to report for my efforts over the last two days. Yesterday I only managed 4 Red Crested Pochards in the mist at the sailing club Pitsford Reservoir.  
Harrington Airfield seems extremely quiet and rather bleak.  
There are several Brambling still feeding with a Chaffinch flock infront of the old cattle barn below Hanging Houghton village. They roost in the hedge next to the barn and their numbers fluctuate during the day.  Also a Barn Owl regularly in the area.
Eric Graham reports that it was quiet at Titchmarsh Reserve, Thrapston today with the only birds of note being Great White Egret and a pair of Egyptian Geese.

WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR READING AND CONTRIBUTING TO OUR BLOG, FOR ALL THE FEEDBACK, PHOTOGRAPHS AND ALL THE PEOPLE WE HAVE MET AS A RESULT.  
WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND VERY BEST WISHES FOR A BIRD FILLED 2019 XX

Eleanor + Neil

image courtesy of Robin Gossage

Festive birds

Hello

A mild but wet and breezy affair today but the birds were still pleased to see me at the usual feeding stations!

The Ring-necked Duck managed to stay hidden at Pitsford today despite plenty of people looking for it! The regular birds seen included the eleven Whooper Swans, the adult Bewick's Swan, sixteen Red-crested Pochard, a few Pintail, three Great White Egrets and a pair of Stonechat. A drake Smew and the two Great Northern Divers were reportedly still present.

Thrapston Pits also kept its usual birds today with two Great White Egrets, the juvenile Whooper Swan and the Scaup all still present (courtesy of Nick Parker).

A Grey Wagtail was at Brixworth Treatment Works today and the usual Bramblings and the Barn Owl were still in situ at Hanging Houghton.

The Hen Harrier was again see fleetingly between Ringstead and Stanwick this afternoon.

A flurry of more ringing recoveries have proved interesting as follows:-

A first year male Blackcap was caught and ringed at Stortons Pits on 28th August 2018 and then captured and released again on 30th September 2018 at St Margarets, Dover in Kent. Presumably on its way to warmer climes this bird had travelled 201 km in a south easterly direction and taking up to 33 days to complete it.

A young drake Mallard caught and ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 23rd December 2003 was found dead with an injury at Towcester on 20th December 2018 at the ripe old age of fifteen years!

Finally a first year Blue Tit ringed at Linford Lakes (Milton Keynes) on 29th September 2018 was caught and released at Deangarden, Buckinghamshire on 20th December 2018, travelling 52 km south within 82 days.

Regards

Neil M

Robin

Sparrowhawk courtesy
of David Arden.

A Robin is always festive and
the Sparrowhawk is trying it's best!

Ringing recoveries

Hello

Jacob finally managed to see the drake Ring-necked Duck at Pitsford Reservoir today, initially picked up in flight and then in the vicinity of the mouths of the Scaldwell and Walgrave Bays. This has been a difficult bird for many local birders to connect with and like all the feeding 'aythya' ducks on the reservoir it clearly moves around a bit!

At least six Bramblings were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton early this afternoon, again in the vicinity of the large barn.

Stanwick Pits hosted the six White-fronted Geese and the Pink-footed Goose on the Roadside Pit but efforts at seeing the Hen Harrier at the eastern end of the complex between 10.30am and 12 noon proved negative.

Some ringing data has been received reflecting the activities of bird ringing locally and elsewhere...

EZ55626 was a ring placed on a nestling Kestrel near Stanwick on 1st June 2018 and despite fledging successfully sadly this bird was found dead (cause unknown) near Twywell on 6th December 2018.

FH95075 was a ring placed on a leg of a juvenile Carrion Crow at Hanging Houghton on 25th July 2018, not a species we ring very often. This bird was reportedly shot at nearby Lamport in early December 2018.

GV11773 was a ring used on an adult drake Mallard at Pitsford Reservoir on 28th July 2018 and this bird was then shot near Brixworth in November 2018.

Sadly these bigger birds didn't fare too well but better news has been received of the following two much smaller birds...!

Z976742 was the ring placed on a juvenile Blue Tit at a place called Caer Du, Howey in Powys on 19th October 2017 and this little mite turned up in a mist net at Bradden, South Northants on 9th December 2018 by which time it was an adult bird! A 160 km journey for a Blue Tit is pretty astonishing and I wonder what the stimulus for flying almost directly east was -and where is it now and where is it off to next?

AYD7995 was more of a conformist - a ring that was affixed to a first year male Goldfinch on 21st October 2018 at Anglers Country Park, Wakefield, West Yorkshire - this bird was re-caught by Chris Payne at Greens Norton, South Northants on 26th November 2018 having travelled 168 km in a southerly direction.

Regards

Neil M

Kestrel.

Carrion Crow.

Mallard courtesy
of Jacob Spinks.

Blue Tit.

Goldfinch.

A quiet day...

Hello

Birds at Hanging Houghton today included three Bramblings in our garden and others heard calling below the village in the Brampton Valley. A Raven was heard too.

Efforts at locating the Ring-necked Duck at Pitsford Reservoir today didn't pay off but presumably it is still there somewhere! Other birds noted included the adult Bewick's Swan, the eleven Whooper Swans and a drake Smew all north of the causeway, courtesy of Jacob.

Harrington Airfield seemed quiet this afternoon and has been for some time...just resident species and winter thrushes are the current norm.

Regards

Neil M

Pintail.

Mute and Whooper Swan.

Whooper Swans.

Stonechat.

All recent images from
Pitsford Reservoir courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Birds of a windy and then wet day!

Hello

Eric paid Blatherwycke Lake a visit today and notched up two pairs of noisy Egyptian Geese, a pair of Black Swans and three pairs of Mandarin Ducks. Deene Lake just down the road hosted an excellent six pairs of Shelduck, another pair of Black Swans, four Snipe and a Green Sandpiper.

Nick Parker saw three Goosanders at Ringstead Pits today on Kinewell Lake (this species seems scarce this winter) and Eleanor saw four Bramblings in the Chaffinch flock in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

I undertook the remainder of the WeBS count at Ditchford Pits this morning concentrating on the more central pits. A female Red-crested Pochard was present and other birds included just one Kingfisher, a Snipe, a Cetti's Warbler and two or three Chiffchaffs.

In pretty inclement conditions this afternoon a Great Northern Diver was in the Pintail Bay at Pitsford Reservoir and a smart adult Yellow-legged Gull was also present.

Regards

Neil M

One of the juvenile
Great Northern Divers
at Pitsford Reservoir.

Red-crested Pochard.

Images courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

It took six hours and four observers to complete the Pitsford Reservoir WeBS count today, the day of the month when we attempt to count all birds utilising the waterbody. We managed to find all the known scarcer birds with the exception of the Ruddy Shelduck (if still present).

The drake Ring-necked Duck was with other diving ducks and quite mobile between The Point (between the Scaldwell and Walgrave Bays) and towards the Lagoon Hide. Although closer to the eastern shore, the best place to watch it is from the Maytrees Hide area. A female Scaup was in the Walgrave Bay and the eleven Whooper Swans and the adult Bewick's Swan were mobile between the Scaldwell and Walgrave Bays. Six of the Red-crested Pochard were in the Walgrave Bay with ten more off the Sailing Club near the dam. Most of the Pintail seemed to have left us with just three birds found today.

A Great Northern Diver was seen in the Pintail Bay and an individual was by the dam - both birds were not seen simultaneously but there is probably still two birds! Four Great White Egrets were present north of the causeway but there appeared to be only one or two Little Egrets.

Waders included a Redshank, a Ruff, two Green Sandpipers and fifty-seven Snipe. Ninety Little Grebes was noteworthy and two Grey Wagtails and a pair of Stonechat were present too.

Elsewhere birds at Thrapston Pits consisted of two Great White Egrets, the juvenile Whooper Swan, a pair of Red-crested Pochard, a Peregrine, a Little Owl and a Stonechat. A Great White Egret remained at Summer Leys Nature Reserve.

The male Hen Harrier was seen again north east of Stanwick Pits this morning, hunting over fields and rough ground between Mallows Cotton derelict farm buildings and Stanwick Quarry.

Regards

Neil M

Marsh Tit.
Scotland Wood, Kelmarsh Estate.

Little Grebe. Ninety birds
were present at Pitsford today.

Ruddy Shelduck...may still be
present but we didn't see her today!