Our most common raptors

Hello

Two ringing sessions took place yesterday (Sunday), with efforts at Linford Lakes providing 42 captures which included 22 new birds. They were made up of 5 Robins, a Dunnock, 2 Wrens, 12 Great Tits, 17 Blue Tits, 2 Long-tailed Tits, a Song Thrush, a Blackbird and a Goldcrest. Stortons Gravel Pits provided 46 captures of which 33 were new birds including 2 Redwings. The re-traps included a six year old Robin.

Today and John Hunt reports that a pair of Egyptian Geese were looking rather maternal at Oundle Marina and he noted 10 Siskins at nearby Barnwell Country Park.

I spent much of today whizzing around the wild bird feeding stations in the centre of the county, dispensing food in readiness for the apparent change in temperatures forecast for later in the week. I didn't see any birds of note during my travels...

Regards

Neil M

Sparrowhawk.

Male Kestrel.

Common Buzzard.

Steve Bennison took a stroll
around Kingsthorpe Meadow
yesterday morning and was pleased
to see and photograph our three
most common raptors.

Jay

Image courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Love is in the Air!

Hello

Another BOS Short Day Count was completed today, this time in SP54 in the south west of the county. Edgcote and Trafford Bridge/Marsh was the initial venue and in fact we spent about half the day in this general area finding about sixty species of birds. The scarcer species included a Little Egret, a Water Rail, a Common Snipe, two Kingfishers, three Grey Wagtails, an adult male Peregrine, Tree Sparrows, Siskins and a single Willow Tit.

Visiting sites further south in the 10km square provided views of a female Merlin not far from Chacombe, a couple of Ravens and some more Siskins at Thenford.

The mild conditions of the last few days has stimulated further breeding interest in both our birds and mammals. Eric Graham watched six Great Spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other around at Titchmarsh Reserve yesterday and we saw much the same thing at Edgcote today. And at least one of Robin's images below, errrm, also indicate similar interests in our British mammals...!

Regards

Neil M

A pair of Red Fox
Pitsford Reservoir

A pair of Muntjac at
Pitsford Reservoir!

And of course the intimate photographer
could only ever be our own Robin Gossage!

More Waxwings!

Hello

The Banbury Ornithological Society Short Day Count took place in SP55 today, a 10km square in Northamptonshire west of Daventry. We were fortunate to encounter Waxwings in Woodford Halse village. Initially we heard a calling bird in the fog shortly after 8am but returned in the late morning and found a flock of seven in gardens along Adams Road which created a great deal of local interest.

In murky conditions it was difficult to find many of the species we were looking for but Fawsley Park hosted as many as three Kingfishers, three or four Water Rails, a small party of Siskins, a Grey Wagtail and woodland and water birds typical of the site. Other birds noted in SP55 included several Ravens, two Peregrines, a Woodcock and a Brambling.

Eleanor was at Staverton this morning and saw 2-3 Ravens and a visit to Ravensthorpe Reservoir this afternoon provided views of three playing Otters and two Great White Egrets from the road causeway. The pair of Stonechat remain about a mile west of Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

The flock of seven Waxwings
today in the murk at Woodford
Halse courtesy of Jacob Spinks.

More images of the
photogenic Waxwings at Roade
 last week courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Scotland Wood ringing

Hello

A rather cold start this morning but a small band of us committed to some bird ringing on the Kelmarsh Estate today, concentrating our efforts in Scotland Wood.

Good numbers of small birds were present in this mixed woodland, their numbers supported with the provision of feedstuffs. In total 137 birds were caught and processed (111 new and 26 re-traps) totalling 14 species made up of 7 Blackbirds, 3 Goldcrests, 8 Long-tailed Tits, a Treecreeper, 2 Nuthatches, 3 Dunnocks, 29 Great Tits, 3 Marsh Tits, a Willow Tit, 5 Robins, 38 Blue Tits, 27 Coal Tits, 9 Chaffinches and a first year female Sparrowhawk. Several Siskins were also present in the wood.

Regards

Neil M

Female Sparrowhawk. This fine
raptor is a first year bird hatched
in 2016. The underside has yet to
develop the barring of an adult and the
chestnut fringing to the upperside and pale
 edges to the coverts is typical of this age.

Birds of Pitsford

Hello

Several birders' efforts at Pitsford Reservoir today eventually enticed some birds out in to the winter sun which included five Bewick's Swans flying south over the dam this morning, two Great White Egrets, two Red-crested Pochards, the Slavonian Grebe (off the Sailing Club), two Green Sandpipers, a Kingfisher, a female Stonechat and a Raven with an adult Caspian Gull and a first year Yellow-legged Gull in the afternoon gull roost.

Ravensthorpe Reservoir still hosted three Great White Egrets despite icy conditions plus a Grey Wagtail and a Kingfisher.

The pair of Stonechat were still near Hanging Houghton and Harrington Airfield provided views of a Woodcock and about fifty Golden Plovers. Yesterday evening, Helen Franklin saw a Barn Owl close to Catesby west of Daventry...

Regards

Neil M

Bewick's Swans

Mute Swans

Raven

Slavonian Grebe

Tufted Duck

Gadwall

All the above images
taken at Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Jacob Spinks.

Wigeon

Great White Egret

Pair-bonding Mute Swans

Above images taken at
Ravensthorpe Reservoir
by Cathy Ryden.

Finches and wagtails.

Hello

Yesterday Lyn and John Hunt saw a Stonechat at Oundle Water Meadows and counted 4 Grey Wagtails and 135 plus Pied Wagtails at Oundle Water Treatments Works.

A ringing session at Kelmarsh Hall today provided 119 captures made up of a single Wren, 4 Blackbirds, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Dunnocks, 2 Greenfinches, 14 Great Tits, a Nuthatch, 46 Blue Tits, 3 Coal Tits, a Long-tailed Tit, 34 Goldfinches, 3 Chaffinches, 2 Bullfinches and 4 Robins.

Other birds noted on-site included a Raven, at least seven Siskins and a Grey Wagtail.

Eleanor ran around Sywell Country Park twice today with her dogs, notching up a Water Rail, a Kingfisher, two Grey Wagtails, fifty Siskins, a Cetti's Warbler and a pair of Stonechat.

A pair of Stonechat remain in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and birds this afternoon at Pitsford Reservoir included two adult White-fronted Geese with the Greylag flock in the Pintail Bay, a first year Yellow-legged Gull in the roost, a Kingfisher, a Snipe, a Redshank, a Green Sandpiper and a Grey Wagtail.

Regards

Neil M

Robin

Goldeneye

Great Crested Grebe

Recent images from
Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Stunning birds of winter...

Hello

Yesterday the transient Nene Valley White-fronted Goose flock turned up over the Summer Leys reserve near Earls Barton as photographed by Steve Bennison.

The Waxwings at Roade showed superbly yesterday as captured by Robin Gossage, but all the indications are that they have now gone with no reported sightings today.

Pitsford Reservoir was visited by John Moon and Neil Hasdell today and between them they saw the Slavonian Grebe near to the Holly Tree, a Great White Egret, two Green Sandpipers, a Redshank, a Chiffchaff and a Grey Wagtail.

Two Ravens were over Brixworth Country Park this morning and the pair of Stonechat remain in the valley below Hanging Houghton and Short-eared Owls continue to show well near Neville's Lodge south of Finedon.

Regards

Neil M

White-fronted Geese

Greylag Geese

Redwings

Long-tailed Tit

Water Rail

Sparrowhawk

All above images taken at Summer
Leys LNR yesterday courtesy of
Steve Bennison.

Waxwings at Roade yesterday...

Short-eared Owl Neville's Lodge today...

Above four images courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

A cold January day

Hello

Being comparatively close, I couldn't resist going to see the male Blue Rock Thrush at Stow on the Wold in Gloucestershire this morning. Four of us rolled up in cold conditions and luckily connected with this vagrant nice and quickly as it perched up in trees and on roof-tops in a small housing estate. A local palliative care charity was quite rightly taking advantage of the influx of visiting birders, providing hot drinks, food and toilet facilities and a nice warm room. In return generous birdwatchers and photographers were depositing notes and coins into collecting boxes and this small community charity has already collected £1,200 in just a few days.

The charismatic thrush generally showed well but occasionally disappeared in to gardens, and I hope it was finding sufficient food to keep it going during this winter weather.

Pitsford Reservoir has had a slow start to the new birding year, but Jacob is again attempting to year list at the site. Today he located a drake Red-crested Pochard, two Green Sandpipers and a Redshank but the gull roost failed to attract anything of note. A Barn Owl was hunting along roadside hedgerows at Scaldwell this afternoon.

Birds visible from the causeway at Ravensthorpe Reservoir early this afternoon included three Great White Egrets, a pair of Red-crested Pochard x Mallard hybrids (but different birds to those seen at Pitsford in the latter part of 2016), a Green Sandpiper, a Kingfisher and at least seven Siskins.

Harrington Airfield hosted an adult female Peregrine, about two hundred Golden Plovers and a Brambling feeding on the seed on the concrete track.

Ken Spriggs watched the Bittern on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Gravel Pits today, on this occasion seeing it from the Kirby Hide looking north towards the artificial Sand Martin wall. Other birds included a Great White Egret, ten Little Egrets and a Raven eating a dead Mute Swan on Long Island.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Rock Thrush

Velvet Shank Fungi

Image courtesy of  Philip Davies.

Grey Wagtail.

Stonechat.

Above three images taken
recently at Pitsford Reservoir
by Robin Gossage.

January events

Hello

The next indoor meeting of the Northants Bird Club is this coming Wednesday (4th) when Chris Ward presents on the birds and other wildlife of Ecuador. This South American country boasts a massive bird list and attracts eco-tourists from all over the world to savour many gaudy and resplendent species.

Chris is well travelled and an excellent presenter and photographer and I would recommend your attendance from 7.30pm at the regular venue of the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir, just outside Holcot on the Brixworth Road. Hot drinks and biscuits are available during the evening and it is a good excuse for a New Year catch up with like-minded naturalists.

Sunday 22nd January 2017 sees the local RSPB group teaming up with the rangers at Stanwick Lakes (or Gravel Pits if you prefer) to hold an event in preparedness for the forthcoming 2017 Big Gardenwatch. The venue will be the visitor centre at Stanwick Lakes and will include a bird ringing demonstration as managed by Ian Wrisdale and members of the Northants Ringing Group.

Regards

Neil M

Wigeon.

Slavonian Grebe

Great White Egrets Boxing Day.

Recent images from
Pitsford Reservoir courtesy
of Robin Gossage.