Sunny Summer Leys

What a difference a day makes. After the wash out that was Sunday today was bright and sunny, if somewhat cooler.
As it was sunny I decided to try my luck at Summer Leys, in the hope that there may be a Bittern enjoying the warmth. As with yesterday my hopes were not realised. There was a marked absence of waterfowl on the main lake, presumably due to the high water levels caused by the recent rains. The only bird of note was a Peregrine sunning itself on a distant pylon. Approximately 200 Golden Plover periodically filled the air with their calls as they flew around the reserve. 2 Cetti's Warblers were also vocal a little closer to the ground.

Spot the pylon

                                        Spot the Peregrine on the pylon

The pylon the Peregrine was sitting on is somewhere in the middle third of the top picture, I think! Both pictures were taken on my phone, the second one through my telescope.

      Regards,
               
                 Neil H.

Soggy Sunday

Lacking inspiration on a thoroughly damp Sunday morning I decided to head over to Market Harborough to look for otters.
After 21/2hrs of walking up and down the River Welland in persistent rain I finally admitted defeat and headed for Pitsford. There was some consolation in a smart Grey Wagtail and two sightings of Kingfisher.
I called in at Pitsford for a coffee and a Rocky in the Maytree's hide after topping up the peanut feeder at the feed station. A pleasant 1hr was spent seeing not a great deal. Plenty of common water birds, including a smart drake Goldeneye. For the first time I managed to see 3 Great White Egrets at the same time, one of which was asked to relocate by one of the others.
Chris Payne had a ringing session at Bradden on Friday where he and associates caught a total of 57 birds, mostly Tits and Chaffinches, in approximately 2 hrs.  Star bird was a Nuthatch.

   Regards,

          Neil H.

Starlings and Sparrows

I visited Titchmarsh nature reserve yesterday afternoon to view the starling murmuration. A look over the adjacent pit prior to the arrival of the Starlings revealed a few common ducks in small numbers, as well as a couple of Little Egrets and a single Cetti's Warbler. 
Returning to the area detailed in a previous post, a short wait ensued before small groups of birds began to congregate at about 3.45pm.  These small groups steadily increased in size until several thousand birds were wheeling above the reed beds, periodically being harassed by two Sparrowhawks intent on acquiring a late supper prior to roosting. 
Groups of Starlings peeled off from the main congregation, diving into the reeds at speed, chattering to one another, before settling down for the night in the warmth of the phragmites beds. Eventually the skies were empty and the spectacle over.

A pair of ringing sessions were conducted yesterday afternoon and again this morning at the feed station at the end of the Old Scaldwell Road at Pitsford Reservoir.
The modest total caught was 36, including 22 new birds as follows:
Goldcrest 1
Wren 1
Tree Sparrow 10
Blue Tit 2
Chaffinch 4
Yellowhammer 1
Starling 1
Blackbird 1
Kestrel 1

During this morning's session the 200th Tree Sparrow of the year was caught, the first time this milestone has been passed at Pitsford.

   Regards,

           Neil H.

Otter(s) at Market Harborough

Hello

Celia Martin kindly emailed today to state that at least one Otter has been seen on the River Welland at Market Harborough, being seen twice recently by Aldis and Sainsburys. During the last two winters up to four different animals showed very well on the narrow river which passes through the small town of Market Harborough, showing no fear of humans and even dogs on leads. Last winter it was possible to watch these animals from hardcore paths that parallel the river - hopefully it will be the same this time too! We would be grateful if any further sightings could be emailed to us so that we can post details and provide the best opportunity for anyone wishing to see these fabulous mammals up close.

Regards

Neil M

Fineshade Wood update...

Hello again everyone

If you were one of the 123 objectors to this planning application you will have had a letter saying that the application is due to be discussed by East Northants Council's (ENC) Development Control Committee on Wednesday 26th November.  ENC's Planning Officer is recommending that permission is granted.

Legal action on wildlife issues

For a third time the Planning Officer issued a Screening Opinion declaring that this is not worthy of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA - a set of procedures that should be carried out with all major planning applications where there will be significant adverse effects on biodiversity.)  The full EIA procedures take time - up to a year - and Forest Holidays and their financial backers are in a hurry and always try to avoid using them. But even their piecemeal surveys have revealed many protected, rare and regionally important species.

Therefore a group of Fineshade Residents took legal advice from lawyers specialising in environmental law. This resulted in a formal request to the National Planning Casework Unit (NPCU, effectively the Secretary of State). We have requested a Screening Directive which may well overturn the council's Screening Opinion and force an EIA. The lawyers believe we have a very strong case. The council have agreed to delay granting actual approval of the application until that ruling comes through.

Lobbying Councillors 

Because the matter is still coming to the Committee on 26 November we feel it is very important for individual Councillors to know at first hand just how strong is the opposition to Forest Holidays' proposals. Could you therefore help to lobby the 17 representatives who will be the ultimate judges of what happens at Fineshade? The attached document contains individual's names and full contact details (all these details are publicly available on the ENC website.)  We think that many of these Councillors will not have read all (or any!) of the objections. On the other hand, they have had a glossy special presentation by Forest Holidays - the planning system really is stacked in favour of the developer. 

If you live in East Northants you may know some of the Coucillors, or have friends who do. If you live further away there is no reason why you shouldn't simply send them your previous objection and ask them to read it carefully. Could you send your objection to some or all of them individually, perhaps by post or by email?  We think some councillors don't really "do" email, and a letter arriving on their doormat could be very powerful. 

We think the road issues really need pushing now. Councillors could, for example, make a planning condition that there should be no development work until the access road and the dangerous A43 junction is upgraded. Could you send them pictures of traffic on the access road? (We can send you a selection).   Some will never have been to Fineshade at all, so could you phone any of them to tell them why you value Fineshade so much? Ask them if they have ever seen the traffic during a busy summer weekend. We are convinced that personal contact like this could be very useful indeed.

Attending the meeting

If you live locally could you come to the Council Chamber in Thrapston for 7pm on Wednesday 26th November?  We expect that Forest Holidays, a representative of the Parish Council and one objector will each be allowed to speak for 3 minutes. A large supportive presence in the public gallery will be most helpful.

Thank you very much indeed for your support so far and we really hope you'll be able to join us in a final push during the coming 9 days.

Barrie and Tricia Galpin

On behalf of Fineshade Residents

Starlings and Kingfishers

John Finlayson has provided details of a large Starling murmuration presently viewable on the Wildlife Trust Reserve at Titchmarsh near to Thrapston. It can be viewed  by walking from the Aldwincle Car Park, down the track to the reserve. Pass through the gate and turn right. walk past the disused hide to the next hide and view from there. The birds appeared (estimated 15-20,000) at approx 3.40pm today.
A  ringing session was conducted at Storton's nature reserve today by John Woollett and his enthusiastic team.
A total of just over 80 birds were processed including good numbers of Goldfinches and Greenfinches.  A flock in excess of forty Goldfinches was observed feeding on teasels close to the ringing station. The star birds of the session were the two Kingfishers pictured below.

Regards,
         Neil H.

Birds of the murk

Hello

Chris Payne continued with his committed ringing in the south of the county today, this time ringing in his Greens Norton garden. The results illustrate what garden feeding can achieve in terms of the number of birds attracted to appropriate food, and this is at a time when it is still unseasonably mild and there is still plenty of autumn bounty out there. Chris captured 94 birds which were made up of 44 Blue Tits, 11 Great Tits, 5 Coal Tits, 24 Goldfinches, 2 Greenfinches, 4 House Sparrows and singles of Wren, Starling, Chaffinch and Blackbird.

Birds at Pitsford Res today in murky conditions included a Great White Egret, several Little Egrets, a Black Swan and a Green Sandpiper (all in the Scaldwell Bay). A check of the gull roost by the dam provided views of a fine adult Caspian Gull and two Yellow-legged Gulls.

Eleanor noticed two Ravens over Brankley Farm between Haselbech and Naseby.

Regards

Neil M

Ring-necked Duck still present

Hello

Eleanor managed to find time to pop in to Wicksteed Park at Kettering at lunch-time and confirmed the continued presence of the female Ring-necked Duck on the main lake. It was associating with Tufted Duck and Pochard.

A female Merlin was present at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell at about 3.30pm this afternoon.

My poor contribution was a Grey Wagtail at Brixworth Sewer Works, an adult Yellow-legged Gull by the dam at Pitsford Res and a Black Swan was present in the Scaldwell Bay.

Regards

Neil M

County Bird Ringing

Hello

At a site in the south of the county, local naturalists and ringers Chris Payne, John Woollett, Kim Robinson and Mike Tubb spent some time this morning catching and ringing over seventy birds. Highlights included a Jay, a Sparrowhawk, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Bullfinch, four Coal Tits and a couple of Nuthatch. We are fortunate in Northamptonshire inasmuch there are ringers operating at sites in most parts of the county, but it is remarkably rare for birds that we have ringed locally to be re-captured by colleagues who on some occasions are only a matter of a few miles down the road!

This year looks to be a record year for the number of individual birds caught and ringed in this fair county of ours, reflecting the stunning successes of the Stanford Res Ringing Group and determined efforts by other students of migration as well as generally good summer breeding conditions which has resulted in a positive output of freshly fledged youngsters.

Regards

Neil M

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Sparrowhawk

Images courtesy of Chris Payne.

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

Another rain-affected WeBS count was attempted today, this time at Pitsford Reservoir. Noteworthy birds included two Great White Egrets, at least a dozen Little Egrets, the two Ruddy Shelduck still, 19 Red-crested Pochard, a drake hybrid 'aythea' duck (Tufted Duck x ?), 59 Snipe, about 10 Pintail, a female Merlin over at 10.38am, a Kingfisher, a Chiffchaff and a couple of Siskins.

Should anyone hear of a Canon 50D camera and lens being found locally, please contact me.

Regards

Neil M

Little Grebe
Courtesy of Clive Bowley

Visitors from the east

Hello

A ringing session around the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station at Pitsford Res this morning was all about quality as opposed to quantity. Seven Common Snipe caught and ringed was a good result as this species is particularly difficult to catch. No more Redwings hit the nets today but we did catch a Song Thrush, a couple of new Blackbirds and another Blackbird bearing a Norwegian ring! Further evidence that this current influx of Blackbirds are coming from far afield indeed.

We caught a handful of Tree Sparrows, four new birds ensuring we have now caught and ringed over 190 on-site this year, a record for Pitsford and presumably a good indication that the warm and moist summer was good for this species locally. An adult male Green Woodpecker was another welcome catching addition.

Birds seen included two Great White Egrets, a dozen Red-crested Pochard, a Black Swan and a Barn Owl dozing in the willows at the back of the Scaldwell Bay.

Birds at Harrington Airfield today included two Short-eared Owls, a male Peregrine and about 50 Golden Plovers.

Regards

Neil M

A bird in the hand...

Hello 

Birding at Harrington Airfield this morning was eventful with a male Ring Ouzel around the bunkers with many Fieldfares and Redwings. A female Merlin was dashing about and Bramblings were passing over constantly in small numbers, including a couple coming down to feed on seed on the concrete track at the main entrance. A couple of redpoll sp also flew over and other birds present included 15 Golden Plovers and a pair of Grey Partridge.

Ringing at Stortons Gravel Pits this morning was productive with some 117 birds caught and assessed by a number of ringers as led by John Woollett. This included half a dozen Redwings, four Great Spotted Woodpeckers, two Blackcaps, Cetti's Warbler, Goldcrests and plenty of Goldfinches and Greenfinches.

Similar ringing for much of the day took place at Pitsford Reservoir and provided about a hundred birds which included a couple of Mallard, 9 Goldcrests, a Song Thrush, 8 Redwings, 13 Blackbirds, 4 Kingfishers, 2 Jays, 4 Bullfinches and a Willow Tit.

Regards

Neil M

Jay at Pitsford Res
Courtesy of Jacob Spinks

Redwing at Stortons GP
Courtesy of Chris Payne

Kingfishers at Pitsford Res
Courtesy of Craig Freestone

Kingfishers at Pitsford Res
Female above and male below
Courtesy of Jacob Spinks

Ditchford WeBS count

Hello

Today we completed a rain-affected WeBS count at Ditchford Gravel Pits. We struggled to find much of note, the best birds west of Ditchford Lane being an Egyptian Goose, a 'redhead' Goosander and a first year female Peregrine. Other birds noted throughout the whole complex included a single Little Egret, an impressive roost of 75 Cormorants, in excess of a thousand Herring Gulls, a couple of Water Rails, 12 Kingfishers, 9 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Grey Wagtails and a Chiffchaff.

Regards

Neil M

Wet and windy!

Hello

An excursion in to the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Res this morning provided views of a single Great White Egret, 10 Pintail, a Black Swan, a pair of Red-crested Pochard and an adult Yellow-legged Gull. 

Three pairs of Stonechat remain at Blueberry Farm near Maidwell but they didn't seem to enjoy the wet and windy conditions!

Regards

Neil M

Wednesday ringing

Hello

Chris Payne conducted some ringing down at Bradden today and ended up catching 108 birds in four hours during good ringing conditions. The catch was mostly common birds and included Goldcrest and Nuthatch and typical woodland species.

In the meantime a small gang of us were operating some nets this morning at Harrington Airfield in a further effort at targeting thrushes. Nineteen new Redwings made it all worthwhile and thrushes dominated the catch which included Song Thrushes and Blackbirds. However we weren't the only ones on the look out for thrushes - a female Sparrowhawk was hunting the bushes for Redwings but we managed to catch her too (please see image below). Small numbers of Golden Plover were mobile all morning, about a thousand Woodpigeons flew over moving south/south-west and Fieldfares were conspicuous as they swirled around in the murky conditions initially. Other birds included a male Peregrine and singles of Siskin and redpoll sp.

This afternoon there were still at least two pairs of Stonechat at Blueberry Farm plus a Short-eared Owl and a Barn Owl.

Regards

Neil M

Male Sparrowhawk captured yesterday

Five years of ringing and Helen
Franklin was never there to ring
and process a Sparrowhawk. Now
she has ringed two in two days!

Juvenile female Sparrowhawk

All images courtesy of  Neil Hasdell.

Tuesday ringing

Hello

A split ringing session today with the morning spent at Harrington Airfield and a couple of hours ringing at Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

Many of the common birds have moved off from Harrington during the last couple of days so it was very much down to the migrant thrushes to perform. Not a single Fieldfare was seen all morning, but we were fortunate to catch and ring 19 passage thrushes in the form of 9 Redwings, 6 Song Thrushes and 4 Blackbirds. Other birds caught and ringed include two each of Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer and a re-trap Green Woodpecker added a splash of colour! 

Visible migration included small flocks of Woodpigeons and Starlings heading south plus a few more thrushes and common finches including a Brambling, and still small numbers of Meadow Pipits.

The birds processed at Hanging Houghton were standard fare but a new male Sparrowhawk was a real treat!

Regards

Neil M

Blueberry update...

Hello

A second visit by Eleanor to Blueberry Farm this afternoon provided views of three pairs of Stonechat, and two Short-eared Owls in Big Lichfields...

Regards

Neil M

Harrington Airfield - restricted access

Hello

Please note that on Tuesday and Wednesday this week there will be restricted access along the old airstrip and bunkers at Harrington Airfield. Access via the concrete track and footpaths remains unaffected.

Neil Hasdell has kindly produced two more maps of local birding areas which can be found on the Birdwatching Sites Maps Tab at the top of the Home Page. The two new maps are for Harrington Airfield and the Blueberry Farm complex.

At Pitsford Res this morning, two Great White Egrets were in the Scaldwell Bay as were a couple of Little Egrets, the Black Swan and at least six Pintail plus an increase in winter thrushes and a redpoll sp.

Birds seen at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning included two pairs of Stonechat and two Ravens.

Regards

Neil M

Northants Bird Club Indoor Meeting

Hello

This is a reminder to members and an invitation to non-members to attend the NBC Indoor Meeting this coming Wednesday (5th November) at the Fishing Lodge, Pitsford Reservoir, Brixworth Road just outside Holcot village (post code NN6 9SJ).

The main part of the evening will be an illustrated presentation of the birds and other wildlife of Argentina, as portrayed by our own Bob Bullock. Bob is well-known locally in birding circles and in recent years has proved to be an excellent wildlife photographer. This presentation follows an expedition to Argentina about a year ago and stunning images are assured!

There is ample parking on-site and tea and coffee and biscuits will be available during the evening.

Please try to be there and seated by 7.30pm.

Come along and be entertained!

Neil M

Magellanic Penguin
Argentina
Bob Bullock

Grey Fox
Argentina
Bob Bullock

Pitsford between the showers

Hello

Some pretty hefty showers out there today but still mild and bright between the periods of rain.

Time spent at Pitsford Res today failed to find much different amongst the high numbers of water-birds. Three Great White Egrets remain (two in the Scaldwell Bay and a single in the Walgrave Bay), the Red-crested Pochard flock increased to thirty (Scaldwell Bay), and there were fifteen Pintail and several Goldeneye. At least five Little Egrets fished the Scaldwell Bay.

The usual adult Yellow-legged Gull lingered in the Scaldwell Bay and other birds there included a Grey Wagtail and a pair of Stonechat still. The gull roost by the dam included an adult Yellow-legged Gull with another Grey Wagtail by the yacht club and two Woodcock were flushed from field hedges between the reservoir and Walgrave village.

A Grey Wagtail and a Chiffchaff were noted at Brixworth Sewer Works.

Regards

Neil M

Little Egrets may be standard
fare these days at Pitsford but they
are interesting to watch as they
adopt a range of different fishing
strategies. This bird was 'foot-trembling'
in the shallows, flushing out mobile
prey in the silt but probably also attracting
nearby fish themselves looking for
food in the substrate.

A Walk in the Woods...

Hello

A walk in the woods courtesy of Gary Burrows...

Sunny 1st Nov

Hello

An early morning wander in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton provided views of a flying Grey Plover, which surely must be the same bird seen nearby a couple of days ago. Presumably it is feeding on a damp field somewhere? About 10 Siskins were present in much the same area and later in the day there were several Golden Plovers and a Raven.

The amazing late autumn sunshine was sufficiently strong to bring a multitude of insects to the fore including plenty of Hornets and Red Admirals on my wander around the Kelmarsh Estate woodlands this morning.

Harrington Airfield was still attracting good numbers of common birds this morning, the only birds of note however being a male Peregrine and a Woodcock.

At Pitsford Res today there were three Great White Egrets on show north of the causeway plus two Little Egrets, a Ruff, a pair of Stonechat and a Raven flew over the Fishing Lodge. A first winter Mediterranean Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were present in the gull roost as visible from the dam.

Regards

Neil M

Haloween Birds

Hello

A classic autumn morning at Harrington Airfield with a high volume of birds moving over the plateau north to south. About 500 Woodpigeons moved over in just less than 90 minutes, other birds included about 300 Redwings, 90 Fieldfares, 200 Starlings and good numbers of Chaffinch, Skylark, Linnet, Goldfinch and Meadow Pipit. Small numbers of Tree Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting and Brambling added variety with singles of redpoll sp and Grey Wagtail.

Grounded birds included good numbers of Blackbirds and Song Thrushes and slightly more noteworthy birds seen included a male Peregrine, a Raven, two Chiffchaffs and two Blackcaps.

The reserve section of Pitsford Res late morning provided views of two Great White Egrets, 18 Pintail a Black Swan and two Green Sandpipers and at least one Willow Tit in the Scaldwell Bay and 26 Red-crested Pochard in the Walgrave Bay.

This afternoon birds noted at Blueberry Farm (Maidwell) included now three pairs of Stonechat, three Woodcock and a Barn Owl (Marsh Harrier reported).

Birds around feeders in the garden here at Hanging Houghton included a Marsh Tit, a Nuthatch and a smart male Lesser Redpoll, with a male Brambling nearby.

Regards

Neil M

The Great White Egrets
had found a shoal of small
fish in the shallows in the
Scaldwell Bay, two Grey
Herons and a couple of
Cormorants also took advantage.

Passerines en-masse

Hello

Eleanor was out and about today and ventured up to Harrington Airfield this morning. Large numbers of passerines were present which included Linnets, Yellowhammers and an influx of Blackbirds. Nothing of particular note though.

It was a similar story at Blueberry Farm near Maidwell with large numbers of small birds on or near the ground, causing a Common Buzzard to alter it's hunting technique and successfully catch a bird by quartering the field similar to a harrier. Two pairs of Stonechat remain on-site and two Ravens were noted in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Jacob Spinks was at Pitsford Res today to the south of the causeway and noted the Grey Phalarope still, the Bar-headed Goose and the pair of Ruddy Shelduck.

Regards

Neil M

Rough-legged Buzzard

Hello

This morning a small team of us decided to try a ringing session at Brixworth Sewer Works. The weather forecast was changeable and we weren't sure if the impending rain was going to disrupt our efforts. Although the overall catch numbers were not high, quality was in the form of four Meadow Pipits, a Pied Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, a Magpie, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and four Goldcrests.

However whilst we were in the process of checking nets, a raptor appeared just to the west of the site, slowly spiralled up and gently drifted off to the south-west. A stunning juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard! Looking more like a tiny Golden Eagle than a buteo, the bird exhibited proportionately slim wings, was long-bodied and of course displayed the bright white upper tail and dark terminal band, black carpal patches, dark lower abdomen and overall cold plumage tones with a pale head. We were all a touch stunned as the local status of this species is certainly rare; hopefully this may be the forerunner of other sightings as a good number of Rough-legs have been spotted this autumn to the east and north of us.

An adult Yellow-legged Gull later flew over the site towards Pitsford Res.

Eleanor in the meantime was at Blueberry Farm and notched up a pair of Stonechat on the north side of the complex with another pair in the southern-most field. A Grey Plover flew over calling in an easterly direction and a female Merlin caught a passerine. The Short-eared Owl was still in the southern-most field.

At lunch-time visit to Harrington Airfield yielded large numbers of passerines which included good numbers of Linnets and Yellowhammers. Six Bramblings were present and a Short-eared Owl was flushed from the airstrip. Two Ravens were also present.

Regards

Neil M

Magpie

Grey Wagtail

Meadow Pipit

Tuesday's Tales

Another glorious Autumn day with plenty of sunshine and light breeze.  I was up and about early this morning as were the Short Eared Owl and pair of Stonechat in the southern most field at Blueberry Farm.
After a quick coffee I took the younger dogs and headed to Harrington Airfield where I spent the next few hours. Initially there were birds everywhere !! Big numbers of passerines on the top fields including Skylark, Yellowhammer, Linnet, Reed Bunting and Goldfinch, but despite intensive scrutiny I couldn't find anything else different amongst them.  Small flocks of Starling and Redwing were constantly flying over. Harrington is one of those rare places where you can actually physically feel, hear and see migration happening and it can be quite remarkable.
The conditions, plenty of food, sunshine and breeze was perfect for raptors and it was only a matter of time before they put in an appearance.  A female Merlin came low across the fields and caused the passerines to panic. She appeared to catch something before she continued on her way.
Whilst sitting around the bunkers scanning I picked up a male Peregrine, 8+ Red Kites and numerous Common Buzzard.
As I walked back along the main track I was accompanied by 2 "cronking" Ravens.
This afternoon I visited Sywell Reservoir but despite walking round I only saw 6+ Siskins, 2 Grey Wagtail and a pair of Stonechat.

Regards Eleanor

Here and There !!

   Today I have been out and about mixing birding with errands, beginning with a short walk at Blueberry Farm area and finishing at Harrington Airfield.
The Short Eared Owl and pair of Stonechat were present in their usual southern most field of Blueberry. There was a noticeable movement of Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Redwing at this time.
A run along the Brampton Valley Way only produced 2 Grey Wagtails and good numbers of Redwings.
A brief visit to Pitsford Reservoir which was a very busy with people walking + cycling as well as numerous fishing boats and sailing craft . Infact it seemed as if "the whole world" was out enjoying the lovely Autumn warmth and the wildfowl themselves looked stunning in the sunshine.  From the causeway I could see 2 Great White Egret, 2 Ruddy Shelduck and 10+ Red Crested Pochard and from the dam a Green Sandpiper and the Grey Phalarope which was very mobile.
This afternoon I visited the garden centre at Harlestone and whilst browsing there were at least 4 Common Crossbill flying around. A walk around Harlestone Firs produced at least 20+ Siskins, mainly near the railway line and plenty of common woodland birds.  The rich reds, orange and yellow of the leaves were beautiful and my canine companions enjoyed a roll in the leaves followed by a bath in the muddy puddles !!!  it is very muddy away from the main track.
I decided to do a late afternoon visit to Harrington Airfield . I only walked out along the rough strip and it was quite productive with a Short Eared Owl, 6 Grey Partridge, approx. 50 Golden Plover and a pair of Stonechat, topped off with a lovely sunset.

Regards Eleanor

NBC Car Trip

Hello

Today Eleanor stayed local and birds in the Blueberry Farm area near Maidwell included a Short-eared Owl, a Peregrine and two pairs of Stonechat.

It was the day for the Northants Bird Club car trip and our car went to the Norfolk coast starting at Titchwell. A blustery south-westerly accompanied us all day but it remained mild and dry. Very few people were at Titchwell first thing and we quickly connected with Sparrowhawk, at least five Marsh Harriers, four Cetti's Warblers, a Woodcock and a Chiffchaff for starters. Plenty of Little Egrets and common waders occupied the salt-marsh and passerines included about five Rock Pipits. 

The sea provided views of Razorbill, Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser and Red-throated Diver and the shoreline bustled with Bar-tailed Godwit, Sanderling, Dunlin, Grey Plover, Oystercatcher, Knot and Curlew. A seal pup was left high and dry on the high tide but didn't seem that bothered!

Plenty of waterfowl and waders inhabited the fresh-marsh and brackish lagoon, the best being Spotted Redshank, Avocet, Ruff and Pintail. Skeins of Brent and Pink-footed Geese whizzed about in all directions.

Our next venue was Holkham which was very busy with people, dogs and horses! Nevertheless our perseverance paid off with distant views of a Great White Egret, four Marsh Harriers, half a dozen Common Buzzards and a flying well-marked Rough-legged Buzzard. Efforts at checking the small bird flocks in the foliage failed to find much out of the ordinary but Jays were very high profile and flocks of Starlings swept past us all day.

Scanning the sea and we found some close-in scoters which included a couple of small parties of Velvet Scoter and a very smart drake Surf Scoter. More Red-throated Divers, a Gannet and a Razorbill fished the shallows off the beach.

We finished the day with skeins of calling Pink-footed Geese arriving to roost against a stunning rich pink sun-set.

Regards

Neil M

Stonechat

Black-tailed Godwit

Little Egret

Brent Geese

Mild October

Hello

A ringing session in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir today netted about sixty birds, the best perhaps being a single Redwing and a dozen each of Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tit plus three Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a couple of Blackbirds which may have been of continental origin.

Other birds noted in the bay included a Brambling and a Grey Wagtail, a few Goldeneye and an adult Yellow-legged Gull. The Scaldwell Bay hosted two Great White Egrets in the afternoon plus a Little Egret, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, twelve Red-crested Pochard, several Pintail, two Green Sandpipers and a pair of Stonechat.

Blueberry Farm again provided views of a Short-eared Owl, a Barn Owl and a pair of Stonechat this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Little Egret

Great White Egret

Mad March Brown Hares in
October! The relative warm
temperatures appears to be
causing some unseasonal behaviour
in our local wild-life including these
Hares. And there are still some
butterflies, dragon-flies and bees about,
and many birds such as Dunnock
have started singing again.

Quick round-up

Hello

A gallop around Harrington Airfield was called for this morning, and a continuing theme for the autumn has been the large number of common birds present. It was the same today with excellent numbers of Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, common finches and the like inhabiting the scrub, and with pigeons, corvids and Skylarks on the open fields. A Corn Bunting, once a breeding bird at this location but now a rare visitor, was present near the first bunker after initially being flushed from the large triangle of rough grass. A Ring Ouzel was in track-side bushes near to the shooting wall and other migrant thrushes were present in good numbers. The finches included a few each of Brambling, Siskin and redpoll sp. Other birds included about 30 Golden Plovers, two Ravens, a covey of seven Grey Partridge, two Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap and a Willow Tit.

Birds in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Res this morning included a Great White Egret and 12 Red-crested Pochard and the Short-eared Owl and two Stonechats were still present in the southern-most field at Blueberry Farm.

Regards

Neil M