Becoming colder...

Hello

Eleanor connected with a Short-eared Owl twice today near to the southern-most field of Blueberry Farm, albeit that the habitat of the old seta-side is rapidly deteriorating. A pair of Stonechat and two Bramblings persist in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Cathy Ryden was again over at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this afternoon but didn't see the Otters which are now showing regularly. However the Great White Egret was present as was a Kingfisher.

There may well be some ringing operations at Harrington Airfield during Saturday, Sunday and Monday and as such access to the old airstrip and bunkers will be restricted. Access to the concrete track and public footpaths remains unaffected. Anyone who would like to assist or simply be a spectator is requested to make contact beforehand.

Regards

Neil M

Images from Ravensthorpe Reservoir
courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Old gravel pit syndrome!

Hello

Well the bright day with plenty of forecast sunshine didn't really happen!

In any event I spent much of the day over at Ditchford GP completing the WeBS count on the older pits which don't receive much birder attention. They don't seem to turn up much that is unusual but parts of the old complex do still look very good, well they do to me if not the birds!

The sunshine that was around in the early part of the morning promoted flights of insects in to the air which included a late Common Darter dragonfly. Reasonable numbers of wildfowl didn't include anything out of the ordinary but it was good to count a couple of Water Rails, three Jack Snipe and nine Common Snipe. Smaller birds included five Kingfishers, nine vocal Cetti's Warblers, nine Chiffchaffs and at least one Grey Wagtail.

Eleanor's foray to Harrington Airfield this morning produced plenty of winter thrushes but not much else. Birds visible from the Old Scaldwell Road at Pitsford Reservoir amounted to four Great White Egrets, ten plus Little Egrets, at least twelve Red-crested Pochard, two Scaup, several Pintail and a female Peregrine.

An afternoon amble in Brixworth Country Park was good for two Bramblings, six Siskins, a couple of redpoll sp and a fly-over Raven.

Cathy Ryden was over at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this afternoon and watched three Otters on the 'small side' plus a Great White Egret and a Green Sandpiper.

Regards

Neil M

Shovelers

Numerous flocks of Long-tailed Tits
occupy the willows and other bushes
around the Ditchford GP complex and
these flocks can be a good 'carrier' species
 for other birds. I found Chiffchaffs
 and Goldcrests with them but no late
 autumn sibes!

Hungry Cormorant!

Hello

No birding opportunities for me or Eleanor today but Lyn and John Hunt saw the Slavonian Grebe on the old Barclaycard Pit from the North Hide at Thrapston GP this morning...

Some more images from John Gamble and Cathy Ryden for our grateful perusal...

Regards

Neil M

John Gamble photographed this
Cormorant trying to subdue an eel last
 week at Lodmoor, Dorset. Apparently
it was successful and despite
its wriggling the eel was consumed.

More atmospheric images from the Wash in Norfolk
of the mobile flocks of Knot over the mud
and shallow waters, courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Fox Cub by Cathy Ryden.

Tree Sparrow by Cathy Ryden.

Supermoon

Another image
of the Kingfisher
caught at Pitsford
Reservoir yesterday,
courtesy of Cathy Ryden

Hello

A Brambling and a Grey Wagtail were at Hanging Houghton today with a pair of Stonechat in the Brampton Valley below the village and another pair in the southern-most field of Blueberry Farm.

Harlestone Heath is subject of a great deal of forestry work at the moment but finches there today included eight Bramblings, about forty Siskins, four mobile redpoll sp and two Crossbills by the railway line.

A visit to Naseby Reservoir this afternoon produced an adult Caspian Gull on the water's edge eating a dead carp, a Green Sandpiper and a Grey Wagtail.

Eight Waxwings were in bushes where the bird hide used to be at Brixworth Country Park at 3.30pm, although they did seem fidgety...

Regards

Neil M

Supermoon over Pitsford
Reservoir yesterday
afternoon courtesy of
Cathy Ryden.

Woodcock and friends

Hello

A ringing session in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir today provided 65 captures made up of 49 new birds, 16 re-traps and 2 controls (birds ringed from elsewhere).

Pride of place goes to the first Woodcock to be caught and ringed at Pitsford Reservoir, expertly caught by Neil Hasdell as it scrambled out of a mist net.

Big birds caught in the duck trap included three Mallard and five Moorhens and thrushes were well-represented with a Song Thrush, 14 Redwings and 8 Blackbirds, probably all of continental origin.

Smaller birds hitting the nets involved 11 Goldcrests which included a previously ringed bird from an unknown location, a couple of Meadow Pipits, a Willow Tit and a Kingfisher. A Grey Wagtail already bearing a ring was ringed as a nestling at Stanford Reservoir earlier this year.

Other birds noted by the ringing team on-site included a fly-over Crossbill, a Siskin, a Brambling and 2 Ravens. Visual water birds were four Great White Egrets on view at the same time, a dozen Little Egrets, several Pintail, 2 Shelduck, 2 Scaup, a Redshank and 3 Dunlin.

At Hanging Houghton noteworthy birds were 2 Ravens, 2 Bramblings and a Grey Wagtail with 2 Bramblings and 2 redpoll sp at Walgrave. Harrington Airfield hosted 2 Woodcock, 2 Snipe, a Short-eared Owl and a female Peregrine plus plenty of thrushes and Blueberry Farm provided views of a Barn Owl and a pair of Stonechat. Another Barn Owl was hunting near Scaldwell village early this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Kingfisher

Woodcock.
All images courtesy
of Jacob Spinks.

Wet wildlife!

Green Sandpiper at
Pitsford Reservoir
yesterday.
Courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Hello

Wendy and Robin Gossage enjoyed their time on the reserve at Pitsford Reservoir yesterday, particularly as they experienced sustained if rather distant views of an Otter (see images below)!

A change of scenery this morning saw me over at Grafham Water first thing conducting a mini boat safari. Birds of note included a 'redhead' Smew and two adult Bewick's Swans.

Eleanor was again over at Staverton this morning and the regular pair of Raven were in residence.

Jacob Spinks spent much of today at Pitsford Reservoir in pretty awful weather conditions but he and other observers connected with the Great Northern Diver plus a Great White Egret, two Scaup (north of the causeway), a Redshank, four Snipe, three Dunlin, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, three Ravens, a couple of Bramblings and one or two Stonechat(s).

Early this afternoon Eleanor again stopped at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and saw the two Otters on the 'small side'. The Great White Egret was also close feeding off the causeway and a good find was a bright and vocal Firecrest with a tit flock feeding in the causeway bushes at the Guilsborough/Coton end.

It might have been a wet day but there was still plenty to look at!

Regards

Neil M

Otter (and Kingfisher)!

Otter at Pitsford
Reservoir (yesterday)
courtesy of Robin
Gossage.

Dunlin at
Pitsford Reservoir
yesterday.
Courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Wildlife of a sunny November day

Hello

Some ringing at Brixworth Treatment Works today provided 47 captures which surprisingly included just two re-traps (birds ringed on-site before). New birds included 2 Magpies, a Redwing, 3 Grey Wagtails, 3 Pied Wagtails, a Meadow Pipit, 3 Robins, 7 Dunnocks, 7 Wrens, 6 Goldcrests, 3 Blue Tits, 4 Great Tits, a Reed Bunting, 3 Chaffinches and a Goldfinch. Other birds on-site in stunning sunshine included at least one more Grey Wagtail, a Snipe and a Water Rail.

Jim Dunkley paid Ravensthorpe Reservoir a visit today and straightaway connected with two Otters as visible some of the time from the causeway (please see image below).

A Grey Plover was both visible and audible this morning (at about 8am) as it flew around the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and headed off towards Pitsford Reservoir. Birds seen later in the valley included a pair of Stonechat and a Barn Owl.

Harrington Airfield continues to attract large numbers of thrushes in the bushes and other birds included a female Peregrine, two Bramblings feeding at the concrete track entrance and a covey of about ten Grey Partridges.

Birds on show at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon in the region of the dam included a Great Northern Diver (in open water between Pintail Bay and The Pines), an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a drake Red-crested Pochard, five Dunlin and a Green Sandpiper.

Who said November was a dull month?

Regards

Neil M

Otter at Ravensthorpe Reservoir
courtesy of Jim Dunkley.

Bradden ringing

Hello

Harrington Airfield was the venue this morning for at least two hundred Golden Plovers and two Bramblings were on the seed at the start of the concrete track.

Chris Payne and John Boland committed to some ringing at Bradden today catching seventy-four birds made up of five Chaffinches, thirty-five Blue Tits, twenty-one Great Tits, two Robins, two Goldfinches, seven Goldcrests, a Nuthatch and a Blackbird.

Regards

Neil M

Stonechats at Blueberry
Farm courtesy of Dave Jackson.
Sadly the habitat is changing at
Blueberry Farm day by day now
and much of the seta-side, shrubs
and wild hedges have already been
severely cut back or destroyed
in preparation to convert the complex
back to mainline agriculture. It is
likely that at least some of the
Stonechats will have to find a new
wintering site...

A grey and dull day

Hello

A very dull and initially wet day made it difficult birding today. 

Birds at Blueberry Farm this morning included a Short-eared Owl again, a pair of Stonechat and 2-3 Bramblings flying over. A pair of Stonechat were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and three Tree Sparrows visited our garden which was a treat.

A male Grey Wagtail was at Brixworth Sewer Works and Harrington Airfield this afternoon yielded a flock of fifteen Golden Plovers and another Brambling.

A wander around Brixworth this morning failed to locate yesterday's Waxwings...

Regards

Neil M

Grey Wagtail

Kestrel

Both images courtesy of
Cathy Ryden.

Waxwings!

Hello

At 7.20am this morning whilst I was out in the garden feeding the birds, I heard the unmistakable high pitched musical trill of a Waxwing. Thinking it must be flying over I peered upwards but the single bird was perched on the top of a tree. By the time I had whizzed back into the house to find some optics and emerged again it had gone.

A little later and Eleanor heard Waxwings again and witnessed a flock of six flying steadily south over Blueberry Farm. A Short-eared Owl was flying around the southern-most field of the complex and at least eight Bramblings were in trees in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton with other singles and twos also heading south. At about 9am another two Waxwings were seen flying south over the Brampton Valley, again the distinctive calls giving away their presence. Four Stonechats remain in the immediate area.

At about 11am several Waxwings were heard calling in the village of Brixworth in the vicinity of Tantree Way and sounded settled but nothing was seen.

Pitsford Reservoir provided the rest of the avian interest with birds north of the causeway including three Scaup, three Great White Egrets, eight Red-crested Pochard, four Goosanders and several Goldeneye and Pintail plus a Redshank and two Green Sandpipers.

Regards

Neil M

A Waxwing from a previous year...
Better cut up some more apples!

Cold but sunny!

Hello

Two Woodcock and seven Golden Plovers greeted us at Harrington Airfield this morning and the main contributors to evidence continued autumn migration was good numbers of thrushes and Starlings. Chaffinches, Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings were coming down to the feed but it seems that the last wave of Bramblings have passed through now.

This afternoon and four Stonechats showed themselves at Blueberry Farm together with a hunting Barn Owl.

Birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir late this afternoon included four Scaup, three Great White Egrets, thirteen Little Egrets together in the Scaldwell Bay and still plenty of Pintail. The usual large winter corvid roost was scattered over the reserve...

Regards

Neil M

Jackdaw

Carrion Crow

Rook

Hundreds of Jackdaws, Carrion
Crows and Rooks make up a large
corvid roost at Pitsford Reservoir.

Sunday's sightings

Hello

A wander around Ravensthorpe Reservoir today provided views of a Great White Egret, a Green Sandpiper, a couple of Kingfishers and a male Grey Wagtail. Two Otters showed briefly at 1pm, again on the 'small side' and close to the causeway tunnel.

This morning there were twenty Golden Plovers in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and all eight Stonechats were present on the Blueberry Farm complex.

Birds visible north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir late this afternoon included four Scaup (I couldn't find the fifth bird), three Great White Egrets, ten Little Egrets, four Snipe and a Yellow-legged Gull.

Regards

Neil M

Great White Egret being
pursued by a Grey Heron at
Ravensthorpe Reservoir today.

Saturday's sightings

Hello

Plenty of Redwings and Fieldfares were at Harrington Airfield first thing this morning but not much else...

Two Otters were showing very well at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this morning (at about 10am) and one of them was still on show at about 3.30pm. Viewing was from the road causeway between the villages of Coton and Ravensthorpe with the animals fishing and playing in the water on the west side of the causeway (the 'small side'). A Green Sandpiper was also present.

A Peregrine suffered the attention of two mobbing Ravens at Staverton this morning and nearby Daventry Country Park with its low water levels hosted two Shelduck, a Green Sandpiper, two Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap, a Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail.

Two Ravens were at Lamport Hall this afternoon and a redpoll sp and a Grey Wagtail were at Brixworth Sewer Works.

Pitsford Reservoir continues to attract up to three Great White Egrets, at least ten Little Egrets, still plenty of Pintail, several Goldeneye, a Green Sandpiper and a Grey Wagtail. Scanning the gull roost didn't provide a bird of note. A Barn Owl was hunting the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton at dusk.

Kenny Cramer and team experimented with ringing in the afternoon until dark at Linford Lakes and caught thirty birds of eleven species which included two Redwings, a Blackbird, a Song Thrush, nine Long-tailed Tits, two Goldcrests, a Treecreeper and a Bullfinch.

With Waxwings arriving on the east coast in good numbers it can't be long before we soon have a sighting or two in the county...

Regards

Neil M

Raven.

Green Sandpiper.
Courtesy of Jacob Spinks.

November musings

Hello

Birds today were minimal but a wander around Blueberry Farm was sufficient to find a female Peregrine and the eight Stonechats still. Some brush clearance at Harrington Airfield this afternoon disturbed large numbers of winter thrushes in the hawthorns and on the fields where they were joined by flocks of immigrant Starlings and Chaffinches. There was even a decent-sized Lapwing flock at dusk, the first sizable flock for what seems like an age.

Chris Payne continues to monitor passage Goldfinches in his garden at Greens Norton, catching and ringing another 17 new birds yesterday to add to an already impressive autumn total. It is assumed that these birds are moving generally south from northern Britain and/or the continent, feeding up wherever they find a good food source.

Neil Hasdell has kindly created another birdwatching site map, this time for Stanwick Lakes, and this is now posted on the Birdwatching Site Maps tab.

Regards

Neil M

Male and female Goldfinches in adult plumage
look very similar but in the hand there are some
features that can allow ringers to identify the gender
in the majority of birds handled. In this image taken
by Goldfinch guru Chris Payne the right hand bird is a female and
 the left hand bird is a male, both still completing body moult.
 Finches often have remnants of their food stuck on their bill where
it can coagulate and remain for quite a time as in
the right hand bird. Females tend to be marginally smaller,
often exhibit grey/silver feather tips just above the bill and
generally the red around the face is more restricted and duller.
Males tend to be brighter and with blacker feathering around
the eye, on the crown and nape...

A picture of  Pitsford Reservoir reserve
warden Mischa Cross toasting marshmallows!
A very nice by-product of brush cutting and
 woodland management is the fire that follows -
and the opportunity to bake spuds and roast
chestnuts and marshmallows thereafter!