Siskins, Reed Warblers and buntings.

Hello

The Great Grey Shrike was again visible from the track that connects the villages of Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke, initially this morning and still present late this afternoon. It's new favoured area appears to be a small plantation on top of the hill, off to the left hand side travelling from Hanging Houghton. In addition two Bramblings were on seed by the large barn near to the Brampton Valley Way below HH, a Barn Owl was ranging widely and two Corn Buntings joined the Yellowhammers again at the wild bird feed crop.

A heavy passage of Meadow Pipits was evident today, still with good numbers moving this afternoon over Harrington Airfield where there was also a pair of Grey Partridge.

Alan Coles saw the two Great Northern Divers at Pitsford Reservoir today, again close to the causeway car park and Steve Fisher saw a Black-tailed Godwit and nine Redshanks at Stanwick Pits this morning.

A few Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers visited seed in our garden today and two Siskins spent a short time on the niger feeder.

Some ringing recoveries have been received of two juvenile Reed Warblers ringed at Stanwick Pits. S214415 relates to a bird ringed on 5th August 2016 and was again recorded on 6th May 2018 when caught by a ringer operating at Laguna de Negrillos, Leon, Spain (639 days later and 1186km from Stanwick). S750867 refers to a bird ringed on 16th July 2017 and assessed as an adult when caught again by a ringer working at Lagunas de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain on 2nd September 2018 (413 days later and 1127km from Stanwick).

Regards

Neil M

Siskin.

Reed Warbler.

Pitsford WeBS and the one that got away!

Hello

Much of today was spent completing the March WeBS count at Pitsford Reservoir, the last such count of the season.

The two Great Northern Divers were between the dam and the causeway and by early afternoon were close in to the Brixworth bank by the car park. A drake Red-crested Pochard was in the Scaldwell Bay and waders included a Jack Snipe, forty-eight Snipe and a pair of Oystercatcher. A big hatch of flies in pleasant, warmer conditions provided plenty of food for a variety of birds including many small gulls hawking over the water.

Summer migrants included ten Sand Martins and about sixteen Chiffchaffs on-site, a Wheatear near to the Pintail Bay and an overflying north-bound Osprey which flew over the adjacent Brixworth Country Park. An interesting kite also flew north which resembled a Black Kite, the bird was pretty tatty and missing primary feathers on both wings and unfortunately flew over north without being identified for certain.

Other birds included in excess of a dozen Siskins, three Kingfishers and nearly a hundred Cormorants (with about 39 occupied nests in the Walgrave Bay).

Lots of aircraft airborne over the reservoir today included three giant B52s, a Hercules, a Spitfire, the Blades Aerobatics team and an unidentified WW2 American fighter (maybe a Grumman Hellcat?)!

This afternoon the Great Grey Shrike between Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke was located in a hilltop plantation visible from the track and was still present up to about 5.50pm. In the same area birds included a Barn Owl, eleven Golden Plovers flying west, a Brambling and a decent flock of Yellowhammers (but one less due to a marauding Sparrowhawk).

Regards

Neil M

Oystercatchers.

Furtive Fox!

Muntjacs.

Chiffchaff.

The Blades and friend!

Carrion Crow.

All images taken at
Pitsford Reservoir today.

Spring birds squeezing through!

Hello

Less wind today but still stronger than I expected. Some nice sunshine but cool and some wintry showers.

Good numbers of Meadow Pipits on the move today and also Linnets and other finches noted moving north, particularly over Harrington Airfield.

The Great Grey Shrike was in hedging between Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke this morning but always keeping it's distance. The Yellowhammer flock was still present in the wild bird crop plus plenty of Reed Buntings, common finches and a couple of Corn Buntings. Other birds included two Ravens, a Barn Owl and at least one Brambling.

Ravens were again a feature today with two in the village at Hanging Houghton, a single at Lamport church and three near Mawsley.

A Green Sandpiper was on a pond near Weedon and Ian Dobson's feed station at Woodford Halse attracted eight Bramblings, ten Tree Sparrows, thirty plus Yellowhammers, twenty-six Chaffinches, a Greenfinch and a Reed Bunting. Three Reed Buntings were in our garden at Hanging Houghton and a Chiffchaff was singing first thing.

A Chiffchaff was also noted at Stanwick Lakes today and birds at Thrapston Pits included the long-staying Whooper Swan, three Pink-footed Geese, a Great White Egret and five Sand Martins.

Nine Common Buzzards 'worming' in one field near Kelmarsh was quite a sight today!

Regards

Neil M

A bit of a speck, but the Great
Grey Shrike in a hedge near Hanging
Houghton today, a Blackbird is just
below it!

Common Buzzard.

Two Corn Buntings near
Hanging Houghton today...

Storm Gareth - the last day I hope!

Hello

Strong gales again today and with heavy rain this evening which has initiated plenty of amphibian activity.

Despite spending much of the day out and about it was a struggle to find anything new. The most obvious passage birds were plenty of gulls and small numbers of Meadow Pipits and wagtails.

Two Ravens were at Staverton today and singles were noted at Hanging Houghton and between Spratton and Teeton. Most paired female Ravens will be on eggs in the nest now, the males foraging for them both.

A Woodcock was flushed at Scotland Wood (Kelmarsh Estate) and one of the Great Northern Divers was visible at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon, north of the dam by 'The Holly Tree'. The usual second calendar year Yellow-legged Gull was also just north of the dam.

Regards

Neil M

Raven.

Storm Gareth - day four!

Hello

The Great Grey Shrike appeared again on hedging this morning between Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke but this bird is spending long periods away from the usual site and presumably the high winds are causing it to keep a low profile. A Barn Owl was hunting in the same area this afternoon, another bird that has probably struggled with the extremes of Storm Gareth.

Alan Coles located two Great White Egrets and two Ravens at Summer Leys NR today and Eric's regular exploration at Thrapston Pits provided views of three Great White Egrets, a Pink-footed Goose, a pair of Oystercatcher and a few sheltering Chiffchaffs and Cetti's Warblers.

Regards

Neil M

Great Grey Shrike
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Barn Owl.

Storm Gareth - day three!

Hello

More powerful gusts and some sudden showers interspersed with nice periods of sunshine today and it actually went calm for a time this evening!

Four Brown Hares in a field next to Pitsford Reservoir was good to see this morning, and a calling Little Owl was a very welcome sign as they have thinned out significantly in recent years. Good numbers of Tree Sparrows, Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers continue to visit the main feed station at the bottom of the Old Scaldwell Road although there is quite a range of birds refuelling on what is on offer there.

At the other end of the reservoir, the two young Great Northern Divers looked fabulous in the afternoon light as they sat on the water together, roll-preening and spending a great deal of time re-arranging feathers and wing flapping. And the strong winds don't suppress the activities of big birds such as gulls, Red Kites and Common Buzzards which were all busy carving their way through the strong westerlies. The first Osprey was back at Rutland Water today, another big bird that isn't easily daunted by gale force conditions!

Three Reed Buntings were feeding in our garden today, a pair of Grey Wagtail were on the dam at Welford Reservoir and the best sighting at Sunderland Wood (Kelmarsh Estate) at lunchtime was a fine buck Roe Deer!

Regards

Neil M

Brown Hare
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Roe Deer.

Osprey
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Red Kite.

Jamaica

Hello

In February I was most fortunate to be able to visit the island of Jamaica in the West Indies with a view to seeing some of the endemic and near endemic birds of the island. During the eight days or so we managed to at least glimpse all of the 28 or so recognised endemic bird species and quite a number which are range restricted within the region. In addition I very much enjoyed trying to find and identify North American migrants wintering in Jamaica and simply enjoying the resident species too. I found photography particularly challenging but managed a few images of the more iconic species...

Regards

Neil M

Northern Potoo.

Loggerhead Kingbird.

American Redstart.

Little Blue Heron.

Displaying male Red-billed Streamertail.
.

Jamaican Owl.

Jamaican Tody.

American Royal Tern.

Storm Gareth - day two!

Hello

No birds of note today in very windy conditions - a Raven showed again at Hanging Houghton and the Yellowhammer flock in fields between there and Cottesbrooke was estimated at about seventy birds.

Despite the challenging conditions small numbers of Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails were on the move today and Lesser Black-backed Gulls have been filtering up from the south. Tom Green saw a Short-eared Owl at Neville's Lodge, Finedon yesterday.

John Gamble reports that there are now two occupied Grey Heron nests at Abington Park, Northampton rather than just the single pair of previous years.

A couple more ringing recoveries have been received as follows:-

An adult female Blackbird was ringed at Stortons Pits, Northampton on 30th January 2019 and was then caught by a ringer operating down in Temple Mead, Roydon, Essex only 38 days later. This bird travelled 85km in a SE direction, goodness knows where she hopes to raise a brood this year!

An adult female Great Tit was caught and ringed in Scaldwell village on 26th March 2016 and was unfortunately taken by a cat in the same village on or about 11th March this year, 1811 days later. Had she survived to this summer she would have been at least five years old.

Regards

Neil M

Vocal Nuthatch at
Abington Park, Northampton
yesterday courtesy of
John Gamble.

Blackbird.

Great Tit.

Storm Gareth

Hello

Very windy today courtesy of Storm Gareth and some heavy rain at times too, and it seems like we have some more stormy weather to look forward to!

The two Great Northern Divers were seen at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon, again off the Sailing Club. The gull roost was almost non-existent but the regular second calendar year Yellow-legged Gull was again present.

Two Bramblings and a flock of Tree Sparrows were in the bird feed crop between Blueberry Farm and the Brampton Valley Way below Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

A couple of ringing recovery details are as follows:-

An adult male Mallard was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 17th June 2016 and was reported as being found recently dead at Broughton near Kettering on 6th March 2019 (presumed shot). As is often the way with the numerous Mallard recoveries over the years this bird did not venture far (6km from ringing site);

A young female Greenfinch was caught and ringed at Winfarthing, Norfolk on 22nd September 2018 and was recaptured at Stortons Pits (Northampton) on 24th February this year. The origins of this finch are not known (possibly from the continent?) but it has clearly been rather mobile, Stortons being 140km west of the original ringing site.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Mallard
courtesy of Jacob Spinks.

Greenfinch.

Great Grey Shrike still!

Hello

Eleanor's early morning patrol of the Brampton Valley between Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke this morning quickly confirmed the presence of the wintering Great Grey Shrike, perched up in one of it's favourite hedges. It was till present some seven hours later, and the adult male Merlin again put in an appearance mid afternoon.

Nothing of note at Harrington Airfield this morning albeit that singing birds included Skylark, Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer.

A Raven was heard calling in Hanging Houghton and birds present at Brixworth Water Treatment Works included two Grey Wagtails, eight Snipe and a dozen Teal. Nearby a second calendar year Yellow-legged Gull was present just north of the dam at Pitsford Reservoir.

Eric's saunter around Thrapston Pits today conjured up sightings of the three Pink-footed Geese, a drake Goosander, a Little Egret, two Great White Egrets, a couple of Cetti's Warblers and two Chiffchaffs.

Regards

Neil M

Yellowhammer.

Common Snipe
courtesy of John Tilly.

Drake Teal
courtesy of John Tilly.

Back in the UK!

Hello

We returned home today following a 24 day tour of south east Asia visiting the countries of Laos, Cambodia and Thailand with friends John Dixon and Alex Lewis. This was essentially a birding trip but with an opportunity of seeing a few mammals and insects too and even a little culture with a visit to the Angkor Wat temple complex at Siem Reap in Cambodia. It was very warm out there with daily temperatures around 36 - 38 degree centigrade so our best wildlife sightings came in the early hours of the morning and the few hours before dusk. We were fortunate to see most of the birds we wanted to see and for Eleanor and I it had been a long time since we had been in this part of the world so we were a little identification rusty!

On arrival back at Hanging Houghton this morning we were greeted by a flock of about forty Fieldfares and a pair of Raven around the village. Eleanor explored the Brampton Valley below the village and up to the Blueberry Farm complex this afternoon. No sign of the Great Grey Shrike but there was still an adult male Merlin attracted to the flocks of finches and buntings still present in the area.

A couple of days ago three Cormorants were found dead at Pitsford Reservoir in suspicious circumstances suggesting intentional killing. All the birds were found by the dam and the cause of death has yet to be established but visiting birders are asked to be on high alert and to report any suspicious activity to the Police and/or the RSPB Investigations Unit.

Regards

Neil M

Fieldfare courtesy
of Jacob Spinks.

Cormorant courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Ringing Recoveries

Hello

A couple more ringing returns have filtered through recently:-

A juvenile Robin was caught and ringed at Harrington Airfield on 29th August 2018 and was found dead in the small village of Orton on 21st February this year. A young bird that had pretty much survived it's first winter seems to have fallen at the last hurdle to make it through to the spring. The bird only travelled about four km from it's ringing site;

A juvenile Reed Warbler was caught and ringed at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 9th July 2017 and was caught again in a mist net at Paul do Taipal, Coimbra, Portugal on 18th August 2018, a distance between the two sites of 1456km. Of course in between then this young bird would have wintered successfully in Africa during the 2017/18 winter and was on it's way again for the 2018/2019 winter. Records indicate that if they survive their first winter Reed Warblers tend to be long-lived birds with numerous trips back and forth between Europe and Africa.

A young female Goldfinch was caught and ringed at Hanging Houghton in November 2018 and it seems remained in the area and probably taking advantage of garden feeders until caught and brought in by a cat in the same village in February this year, a familiar story for many small birds and another risk associated with visiting gardens where the main predators are cats.

Regards

Neil M 

Robin.

Reed Warbler.

Goldfinches.

Northants Bird Club AGM

Hello

The Annual General Meeting of the Northants Bird Club is due to be held at the Fishing Lodge, Pitsford Reservoir on Wednesday 6th March 2019. The meeting will commence at 7.30pm and traditionally the main business of the AGM will be concluded quickly and a presentation on the wildlife of Taiwan from visiting speaker Colin Wilkinson will follow. Colin and a small team of naturalists visited this exciting Asiatic island recently and he will project images of some of the birds and other creatures they found.

Hot drinks and biscuits are to be made available during the evening as usual and everyone with an interest in wildlife is invited to attend!

Regards

Neil M

Smew courtesy
of John Gamble.

Bar-tailed Godwit.

Ringing and Willow Tits.

Hello

Our apologies for the lack of blog messages recently, we have been off-line for several days!

Last Friday (22nd) a bird ringing session took place at the feeding station at Pitsford Reservoir which successfully caused the processing of over a hundred birds. This total was made up of eight Mallard, a couple of Blackbirds, a Robin, four Dunnocks, nine Blue Tits, ten Great Tits, six Tree Sparrows, four Chaffinches, a Brambling plus a staggering twenty-nine Reed Buntings and twenty-nine Yellowhammers. An Oystercatcher was loudly proclaiming it's presence in the Scaldwell Bay!

A ringing session was then completed at Stortons Pits on Sunday 24th Feb, the group successfully netting 68 birds of thirteen species made up of eleven Great Tits, twenty-four Blue Tits, three Long-tailed Tits, three Robins, a Blackbird, a Song Thrush, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Cetti's Warbler, a Bullfinch, seven Greenfinches, six Chaffinches, two Goldfinches and seven Reed Buntings.

A major drive in the UK to try and successfully map our remaining Willow Tits is underway with localities in Northamptonshire among them. Last week a survey was completed at Pitsford Reservoir and the pair of birds known to be in the Scaldwell Bay were located using the playback method. Last year it seemed that we only had one pair on-site - further work will be completed to see if any more can be found this year.

Regards

Neil M

Willow Tit at Pitsford
Reservoir courtesy of
Dave Jackson.

Curlew courtesy of
Cathy Ryden. The next
two months should see
a trickle of Curlews moving
through the county...

Yellowhammer courtesy
of John Tilly.

Reed Bunting courtesy
of Robin Gossage.