Birding South West

Hello

Today we took a journey down to the south west of the country, stopping briefly in Gloucestershire and Devon before arriving in Penzance, Cornwall. A beautiful, sunny day with high temperatures in the afternoon, the mildness overnight and lack of a breeze also causing some lingering morning fog and mist.

The excellent Gloucester Services on the M5 just south of Gloucester do a mean breakfast and also provided avian entertainment in the form of a Grey Wagtail and tame Moorhens on the pool there.

Our next stop was Great Haldon Forest near Exeter where we were greeted by a party of Common Crossbills in the visitor car park. Other finches included plenty of Siskins and a few Redpoll and Nuthatches were vocal as we trekked the Raptor Trail. The only raptor we did see there were Common Buzzards! Feeders by the cafe attract Nuthatch, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker etc.

Travelling deep in to Cornwall along the A30, we stopped at the Hayle Estuary, a favoured venue of ours since the eighties. Up to ten Mediterranean Gulls were easy to see among their more common cousins, the best of the waders were Whimbrel and Spotted Redshank and several Blackcaps flitted in the brambles. The beach at Long Rock near Penzance was busy with people and dogs but birds on show included Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull, Grey Wagtail and Wheatears.

And so our autumn holiday has begun...

Regards

Neil M

Three Mediterranean Gulls
with a Black-headed Gull in
the foreground.

Adult Mediterranean Gull.

Juvenile Common Crossbill.

Grey Wagtail.

September sunshine birds

Hello

A beautiful autumn day with plenty of sunshine and cool temperatures at the start and end of the day...

Eleanor's morning visit to the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton provided plenty of visible migration, again dominated by Meadow Pipits. A pair of Stonechat were right on cue and two Ravens were visible too. A walk around the bunkers and top fields at Harrington Airfield was a mostly quiet affair with just a Redpoll and a Golden Plover of note.

There was no sign of the Grey Phalarope at Pitsford Reservoir today, although Jacob did see a Greenshank and Green Sandpiper around the dam area.

Regards

Neil M

Tufted Duck
courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Goldeneye, courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Black Tern courtesy
of Dave Jackson.
All the above images
were taken at Pitsford
Reservoir yesterday.

Cattle Egrets.

Great White Egret,

Little Egret.

All the egret shots were taken
by John Gamble whilst on a
recent excursion to Dorset.

Daventry was the place!

Hello

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir this morning included a fishing Osprey off the dam at 10.10am and a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls north of the causeway plus two Siskins flying over south.

This afternoon there were seven Yellow-legged Gulls in the roost, a late Tree Pipit flew south at 6.35pm and other birds included Raven and a Greenshank.

A Grey Wagtail was at Brixworth Water Treatment Works and the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton funnelled Meadow Pipits and Skylarks south with feeding birds including a Wheatear and two Whinchats.

However it was Daventry Country Park that was on fire today, Gary Pullen witnessed five adult Common Cranes circling over the site, and other birds there included the still-present Grey Phalarope, a Great White Egret and a Little Stint!

Regards

Neil M

Adult Yellow-legged Gull
at Pitsford Res today...

Pitsford Grey Phalarope

Hello

There was plenty of evidence of migration in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning, south-bound birds including the first Redpoll of the autumn, two or three Siskins, Grey Wagtail and plenty of Meadow Pipits. Two Whinchats were in the ditch vegetation and four Golden Plovers were on the fields.

Nearby, Brixworth Country Park hosted a couple of Raven and two or three Siskins. A cracking juvenile Grey Phalarope was located at Pitsford Reservoir, for a time showing closely just off the dam during the early afternoon. 

Matt Carey watched a juvenile Gannet overfly Clifford Hill GP this morning as it flew along the river and it or another was later reported in flight between Holdenby and Chapel Brampton.

Further east and Eric saw a Great White Egret at Thrapston Pits and notched up eight Cetti's Warblers and plenty of Chiffchaffs. Marsh Harrier and Spotted Flycatcher were reported from there too.

Regards

Neil M

The juvenile Grey Phalarope
at Pitsford Reservoir today.

Wet morning, sunny afternoon...

Hello

Birds in the rain north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir this morning (courtesy of Neil Hasdell) amounted to a Great White Egret, a Yellow-legged Gull, a Green Sandpiper, four Pintail and a Grey Wagtail with plenty of migrant hirundines skimming over the water.

The gull roost off the Sailing Club this evening included twelve Yellow-legged Gulls and an adult Caspian Gull.

I completed the last bit of the WeBS count at Ditchford Pits this afternoon in pleasant conditions. There was little of note, the best birds being two juvenile Common Terns, two Kingfishers, two Water Rails, a couple of Cetti's Warblers and singles of Siskin and Grey Wagtail.

Regards

Neil M

Speckled Wood butterfly.

Moonrise over the
gull roost at Pitsford.

Pitsford Ringing

Hello

A ringing session took place at Pitsford Reservoir today at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station.

In total 94 birds were processed of 12 species of which twenty were birds previously ringed. This total was made up of a Magpie, six Dunnocks, four Robins, two Wrens, three Chiffchaffs, sixteen Great Tits, thirteen Blue Tits, twenty-two Tree Sparrows, twenty-three Meadow Pipits, two Greenfinches, a Chaffinch and a Reed Bunting.

Other birds seen during the period included an Osprey, a Great White Egret, three Yellow-legged Gulls, a first year Mediterranean Gull, a Grey Wagtail, a few Yellow Wagtails and a couple of Siskins.

Regards

Neil M

Sunrise at Pitsford!

Wren.

Chiffchaff.

Meadow Pipit.

Tree Sparrow.

All images courtesy of
John Tilly.

Plenty of bluster!

Hello

Blustery conditions again today and Gary Pullen found the anticipated Grey Phalarope, a first year at Daventry Country Park and still present late in to the afternoon...

I visited the west end of Ditchford Pits this morning and part-completed a monthly WeBS count. Numbers of wildfowl were generally low and with no surprises, the best birds being a juvenile female Peregrine, three Grey Wagtails and a handful of calling Cetti's Warblers. A Water Rail was heard calling and there were plenty of Chiffchaffs in the bushes.

Sheltered rides out of the wind were good places to see Speckled Wood and Red Admiral butterflies and dragonflies included Common Darter and Migrant Hawker.

Regards

Neil M

This juvenile female Sparrowhawk
still has a little to learn about catching
House Sparrows, as she missed all of
them on our back lawn this afternoon!

Autumn birds

Hello

Out and about a bit today but not much to show for it!

A wander at Harrington Airfield between the bouts of rain provided good numbers of common birds including several Chiffchaffs. A Golden Plover was flying around and a small flock of Skylarks flew around calling.

A visit to the main feeding station at Pitsford Reservoir was sufficient to see the Black Tern and the regular loafing adult Yellow-legged Gull. There appeared to be an influx of Chiffchaffs here too and at nearby Brixworth Water Treatment Works there were more plus a Grey Wagtail.

The best birds in the garden here at Hanging Houghton were singles of Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

Regards

Neil M

Chiffchaff.

Grey Wagtail.

Red Admiral butterfly...
all typical autumn creatures!

Autumn gales

Hello

Eric and Nick Parker visited Thrapston Pits today including a walk around the Titchmarsh Reserve in blowy conditions. Birds of note included a Great White Egret, a couple of Kingfishers, two Cetti's Warblers and four Spotted Flycatchers.

The Black Tern was still at Pitsford Reservoir today, visiting the gull roost in the evening. Other birds of note included four Yellow-legged Gulls and at least one Common Sandpiper. No obvious wind-blown birds as yet!

Regards

Neil M

Grey Phalarope.

Sabine's Gull.

Strong and sustained westerly gales can
sometimes produce exciting sea-birds, even
in land-locked Northamptonshire!

Black Tern

Hello

This evening was something of a repeat of yesterday, the gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir containing an adult Caspian Gull, at least six Yellow-legged Gulls, the Black Tern and at least one Common Sandpiper, with a Raven nearby...

Regards

Neil M

The juvenile Black Tern
at Pitsford Reservoir, superbly
captured by Dave Jackson.
It is likely that this bird is the
same one that first arrived at
Pitsford way back on 27th August...

A warm September day...

Hello

Not much opportunity for birding today but a visit to the Sailing Club at Pitsford Reservoir this evening to watch the gathering gulls provided sightings of an adult Caspian Gull, at least seven Yellow-legged Gulls and a Black Tern.

Also this evening a Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Moorhen.

Juvenile Little Grebe.

Mute Swan.

All above images taken by
John Tilly at Pitsford Reservoir.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth
at rest courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Sunday round-up

Hello

I'm just back from a successful ten day trip to Portugal with other members of the Northants Ringing Group, spending three days birding and then seven days ringing migrants on the west Atlantic coast. I hope to publish some images in due course...

In the meantime Eric Graham has been industrious at Thrapston Pits/Titchmarsh Reserve of course with a Marsh Harrier over North Lake on 14th Sept plus a Green Sandpiper, and a Great White Egret, eight Little Egrets and two Hobby yesterday (15th).

Back on the 12th Sept Chris Payne embarked on a little ringing at his Bradden site catching an excellent 118 birds which included only four re-traps. Chris must have finished the session with sore fingers because I'm quite sure that all 66 Blue Tits and 32 Great Tits would have pecked him well in turn before they left him! Other birds included a Coal Tit, 8 Chaffinches, seven Blackcaps and singles of Robin, Wren, Dunnock and Nuthatch.

Chris returned there again today with reinforcements and caught 52 birds (12 re-traps) amounting to 22 Blue Tits, 15 Great Tits, 3 Coal Tits, 4 Chaffinches, 3 Blackcaps, 2 Goldfinches, a Wren and a Nuthatch. The team also processed an odd Chiffchaff which showed some features of the notoriously difficult to identify Iberian Chiffchaff. These birds tend to look like Willow Warblers, exhibit paler legs and brighter bare part colouration than most standard Chiffchaffs, generally have a longer 'Primary 2' feather and the emargination on the sixth primary tends to be less obvious than the standard 'collybita' Chiffchaff. In reality though it is only the distinctive call or DNA that confirms identity - this bird wasn't heard to call (of course)...

A short stop-off at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this afternoon (16th) provided views of a Green Sandpiper, a Little Egret, two Pintail and two Hobby.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Great Tit.

Both Great Tits and Blue Tits
seem to have produced good
numbers of fledged young this
year.

Hobby courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Skua Sp !!

I had a very interesting start to the day. I arrived at my usual starting point below Hanging Houghton just before 07.30 hrs and bumped into someone from the village who had just completed his usual cycle ride around the fields with his dog. Although he doesn't carry binoculars he is always aware of the birds and wildlife around and over the years he has seen some interesting sights.
This morning he asked me "whether he could have seen a skua" and then proceeded to describe perfectly the action and jizz of a skua which he had witnessed chasing the gulls on the fields.
Very quickly I headed off in the direction of this possible skua. As I neared the field the feeding gulls took to the air in panic and I picked up a medium sized dark skua going low through the gulls and flying away from me.  All I could tell from my view is that it was a dark Skua .  
Despite much searching and several visits during the day I did not find it again. Strangely enough this bird was in the same field where I found a couple of Skua's a few years ago and this too was just after harvest time. !!  Coincidence ??

Eric had an interesting day on the Titchmarsh Reserve where there was a steady flow of hirundines leaving and a steady flow of winter ducks arriving.  There were two hobbies, one over town lake and the other showing well as it hawked insects over the pylon field.  Still a few warblers about including Cettis, Chiffchaffs and Lesser Whitethroats and 2 early Siskins were noted.  On Aldwincle Lake there was a rather smart Yellow Legged Gull and the ever present Great White Egret.

Regards Eleanor

Birds and Planes !!

Over the past few days I have visited my usual haunts, hedgerows and fields and have seen very little. Infact the silence has been deafening and it really felt as if all the birds had moved out. !!
The weekend has been more productive.  Yesterday whilst walking around Borough Hill, Daventry I located a small mixed flock of warblers which included Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler.  Tagged onto this flock were 2 Common Redstart and a Spotted Flycatcher. The birds were clearly on a mission and moved very quickly along the hedgerow and I had to walk fast to keep up with them .  There were also 2 Raven here and the usual Ravens at Staverton keeping us entertained whilst we did our agility training.
In the evening I took the dogs for a walk below Hanging Houghton which proved to be quite a stressful experience due to the local hunt appearing out of a gap in the hedge right in front of me !!!  It certainly took me and the dogs by surprise as this was 19.45 hrs and I had to quickly alter my route and in doing so I nearly jumped out of my skin when a Barn Owl suddenly appeared and started "hissing" at me . Once I'd recovered I watched it disappear like a ghost into the fading light.
Following my run this morning I decided to pop over to Hollowell and as I drove into the village the iconic Red Arrows came overhead, low and slow giving a lovely view.   At the reservoir itself the Spotted Redshank was feeding in the mouth of the Guilsborough Bay along with 2 Common Sandpiper. There were also 4 Little Egret present, one of which looked as if it had been rolling in the mud as it was covered in brown splodges.  A Whinchat was hopping about on the shoreline.
A visit to nearby Ravensthorpe Reservoir reminded me that Autumn is here with the presence of at least 20 Wigeon. Other birds included 2 Pintail and a Green Sandpiper.
I thought that I might as well call in at Pitsford Reservoir on the way home to catch up with the Knot. However when I arrived I thought that I had made a mistake as there was a lot of sailing activity and disturbance. I located the Knot on a small spit between the dam and grange bay and as I watched it a windsurfer came of his sailboard literally a few feet infront of the Knot and it didn't even move but carried on feeding.!!
I spent some time at the end of the old Scaldwell road and saw Black Tern, Whinchat , Garganey and a single Goldeneye, another reminder of the changing seasons. 
As I turned to leave I heard the familiar purr of an old plane and it was the Lancaster Bomber which looked amazing as it came low over the reservoir and headed across the fields towards Brixworth.
My final destination today was Harrington Airfield where the bushes were again silent.  However the greatest surprise came when I was walking towards the end of the rough area and saw a bird coming low head on towards me and it took a few seconds to register what it was......a Short Eared Owl, which simply passed me by and carried on. I don't think that it landed as I couldn't locate it again. 

Regards Eleanor

Harrington Visit

I didn't have a lot of spare time today for birding, but an hour at Harrington Airfield was very productive. There were at least two Common Redstart in the bushes between the first and second bunkers, and two Whinchat and a Northern Wheatear around the first bunker.  Plenty of raptors around including a cream crowned Marsh Harrier, always a nice bird to see and looking very much at home quartering over the fields.

Regards Eleanor

Redstarts aplenty!

Hello

Today's WeBS count at Pitsford Reservoir in very still, sultry conditions didn't produce a great deal of interest considering the time of the year. A Garganey was on the shoreline opposite the Lagoon Hide, there were about eight Little Egrets, five Pintail, a pulse of new-in Wigeon, a Green Sandpiper, four Spotted Flycatcher (including a pair with a begging youngster by the Fishing Lodge), two Redstarts in a field hedge next to Catwalk Bay and several Yellow-legged Gulls.

Migrant Hawker and Common Darter dragonflies were in good numbers and butterflies included Small Heath, Comma and Red Admiral.

Four more Redstarts (at least two males) were still along the footpath that runs from Bridle Road, Old and along field hedges between Walgrave village and Pitsford Reservoir. Other migrants here included Spotted Flycatcher, Lesser Whitethroat and common warblers. And this afternoon there was still one Redstart at Blueberry Farm in the field hedge at the bottom of the Big Field.

Ringing operations at Stortons Pits this morning kept the three ringers busy with seventy birds processed of which fifty-six were warblers. They were made up of 39 Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, 3 Whitethroats, a Willow Warbler, 4 Chiffchaffs, 2 Cetti's Warblers, and 6 Reed Warblers.

Regards

Neil M

Common Redstart.

Blackcaps!

Hello

Kenny Cramer and team worked hard this morning managing a ringing session at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes where they caught and processed a bumper 132 birds of 16 species!

Exactly half of the birds (63) were Blackcaps which are currently in very large numbers in the Midlands, many of them gorging on elderberries as they pass through the spine of Britain. Other migrants included 10 Reed Warblers, 5 Sedge Warblers, 11 Chiffchaffs, 6 Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler and a Whitethroat (a stunning total of 97 warblers). And of course two Kingfishers are always a treat!

A visit to Ringstead Pits with a walk around Kinewell Lake was a venue I haven't visited in a while, the best birds being two Egyptian Geese and a Grey Wagtail with a fabulous gathering of 18 Red Kites following a working tractor in an adjacent field. A Small Copper butterfly was seen there and a good number of Small Heath butterflies were on the wing at Twywell Hills and Dales Country Park.

The gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir this evening contained at least five Yellow-legged Gulls and a Green Sandpiper was heard calling.

Regards

Neil M

Blackcaps courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Indoor Meeting Northants Bird Club

Hello

The next indoor meeting of the Northants Bird Club is on Wednesday 5th September when three club members will each provide a twenty minute presentation on their chosen subject. Dave Thomas will treat us with images from the Namib Desert, Pete Gilbert will showcase images from his beloved Loire Valley in France and Bob Gill will present 'Summer 2018'.

The meeting will be at the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir with a prompt 7.30pm start. A warm welcome, hot drinks and biscuits are assured for all!

Regards

Neil M

Elephant.

Bluethroat.

Painted Lady.

Harrington Ringing

Hello

Today's ringing session at Harrington Airfield was quiet with just over thirty birds caught and processed during the morning. Perhaps the more interesting birds were three Blackcaps, a Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Willow Warbler, two Chiffchaffs and a juvenile Spotted Flycatcher.

Several Yellow Wagtails were on-site as usual and there was a trickle of hirundines migrating over the old airfield. Grey Partridges were vocal, particularly just after dawn.

Regards

Neil M

Common Sandpiper at Pitsford
Reservoir on Wednesday, courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Spotted Flycatcher,
courtesy of Jacob Spinks.