Skokholm cameras, more Harrington ringing and a Crane!

Hello

Eric's sustained efforts at Thrapston Pits today yielded a perched Osprey surveying Elinor and Aldwincle Lakes, three Pink-footed Geese, two Egyptian Geese, a Great White Egret, six Common Terns, a pair of Oystercatchers and plenty of early warblers.

Stanwick Pits attracted a migrant Knot today plus an adult Little Gull and the Summer Leys reserve continues to hold on to it's drake Garganey (Gull Island) and a Great White Egret was on the scrape.

Some bird ringing took place at Harrington Airfield during the last two days which provided the temporary capture of eighty birds of fifteen species. This number was made up of 33 Yellowhammers, 3 Reed Buntings, 14 Linnets, 4 Chaffinches, a Goldfinch, a Robin, 8 Dunnocks, 2 Wrens, 2 Chiffchaffs, 3 Willow Warblers, 3 Blackcaps, a Long-tailed Tit, 3 Great Tits, a Blackbird and a Song Thrush.

Two of the Willow Warblers were ringed there as adults on 3rd May 2018 and 14th June 2017 so have presumably returned to breed on the scrubby habitat around the bunkers. Several of the Yellowhammers were also several years old and are likely to breed close by. A Raven was seen to over-fly the old airfield but nothing else of note was seen.

The long-staying Great Grey Shrike was seen a couple of times in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today, showing better in the morning (as did a Barn Owl). I was there late this afternoon but couldn't locate it, but was rewarded with a fly-by Swallow, then two Ravens and then a high-flying Common Crane flapping slowly north over the village.

Up to a hundred and fifty Fieldfares were flying over Hanging Houghton this afternoon (probably held up by the northerly winds) and our garden was brightened up with at least seven feeding Yellowhammers.

A strong relationship exists between members of the Northants Ringing Group and the diminutive but very special Pembrokeshire island of Skokholm. Chris Payne has cemented this further, using his entrepreneurial and technical skills to successfully apply for a grant and build and utilise high tech camera equipment to remotely record the antics of breeding sea-birds on the island. Chris has just returned from the island where he has sought to set up and maintain cameras as activated by hand-held digital devices. These cameras can be used to monitor the activity of adults and nestlings, thus preventing physical intervention/disturbance and will be used with species such as Storm Petrels, gulls and auks. Chris will be returning during the year to ensure smooth progress and quality data collection.

Regards

Neil M

Willow Warbler.

Reed Bunting.

Yellowhammers.

Chiffchaff.

Blackcap.

Linnet.

All images above courtesy
of John Tilly.

Guillemot ledges.

Herring-bone design
'petrel station' wall purposely
built for breeding Storm Petrels.

Camera monitors set up
and running!

Images from Skokholm courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Harrington ringing

Hello

The Hanging Houghton Great Grey Shrike was on show again today, sometimes showing well along the brook and hedgerows below the village and viewable from the hard standing next to the large barn. A Peregrine was on show over woodland towards Cottesbrooke.

Birds at various places within the Earls Barton Pits complex today included an Osprey over east, a male Redstart (in bushes north of Mary's Lake) and a Grasshopper Warbler at the back of the screen hide, Quarry Walk.

Bird ringing will be taking place at Harrington Airfield tomorrow and access to the old airstrip and bunkers will be restricted during this time. The footpaths and concrete track will remain unaffected.

Regards

Neil M

Yellowhammer.

Linnet.

Willow Warbler.

Preliminary ringing this afternoon
at Harrington Airfield provided captures
 of these three species.

Cold air migrants

Hello

The cold north easterly airstream continues but doesn't stop incoming summer migrants!

Yesterday (Tuesday) and Eric's visit to Thrapston Pits provided views of the two Pink-footed Geese, three Egyptian Geese, two Great White Egrets and four species of warbler, but just a single Sedge Warbler so far. Deene Lake was also visited by Eric and hosted a single Snipe, three pairs of Shelduck and 100 plus Teal. Nearby Blatherwycke Lake attracted a pair of Shelduck and two pairs of Black Swans. Also noteworthy yesterday was a flock of about eighty Fieldfares near Naseby Reservoir - they're leaving their departure to the breeding grounds a little late!

Today (Wednesday) and the Great Grey Shrike was still showing well alongside the brooks below Hanging Houghton and a Barn Owl was present too. A couple of flocks of high flying Cormorants heading NE over Pitsford Reservoir this morning was interesting as it seemed they were very much on passage. It was tempting to think they may have been the 'carbo' nominate forms on their way to coastal breeding colonies (it is thought most of our breeding birds are of the race 'sinensis').

A visit to the small Wildlife Trust reserve at Barnes Meadow, Northampton today yielded fifteen Snipe and a singing Cetti's Warbler, and nearby a food-carrying Raven flew in to trees in the grounds of St Andrews Hospital suggesting local breeding. Ian Moore saw a possible Cattle Egret in flight near here too.

Other birds reported today included a Little Gull and two Black-tailed Godwits at Stanwick Pits, a drake Garganey and an Osprey at Summer Leys, a single Grey Plover at Hollowell Reservoir and two Little Gulls, three Little Ringed Plovers, a Wheatear and nine White Wagtails at Clifford Hill Pits.

Regards

Neil M

Cormorant.

Common Buzzard.

Images courtesy of
John Tilly.

Waders, gulls and more...

Hello

Kenny Cramer and crew have conducted some ringing at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes during the last two week-ends (31st March and 7th April) resulting in a good mix of birds. Perhaps the highlight was a Snipe caught and ringed on the first date but other birds included a re-trap Blackcap from 2017 and two re-trap Long-tailed Tits from 2015.

Today the Great Grey Shrike was on show again below Hanging Houghton for most of the day, spending much of the time in bushes and small trees along the brooks. A visit to the dam at Pitsford Reservoir at lunchtime provided views of two adult Little Gulls hawking insects and a fly-by immature Peregrine.

Most of the action today though was in the Nene Valley. The Summer Leys reserve at Earls Barton Pits hosted four Common Scoters, a Great White Egret, a Common Tern, four Little Ringed Plovers and two White Wagtails. Stanwick Pits attracted two Little Gulls, a Mediterranean Gull, four Common Terns, a Little Ringed Plover and two Black-tailed Godwits. Clifford Hill GP was also busy with a Bar-tailed Godwit, twelve Little Gulls, singles of Arctic and Common Tern, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers, Dunlin and up to ten White Wagtails.

Reservoir birds included three Little Gulls at Boddington and a Grey Plover, two Little Ringed Plovers and three Dunlin at Hollowell.

Regards

Neil M

Common Snipe
courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

Little Ringed Plover
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

White Wagtail.

Little Gulls and other birds!

Hello

I've just returned back from an eight day trip to SE Poland where a group of us explored the forests and meadows of Bieszczady, some of it up close to the Ukraine border. Mammals were the tour focus and we managed views of Wolf, Pine Marten, Wildcat and Bison but only found the tracks of Eurasian Lynx and not the beast itself! The birds are always good there and included both storks, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Goshawk, woodpeckers, Ural Owl and early summer migrants.

At Hanging Houghton today a Yellow Wagtail flew over calling and two Ravens were embarking on some high altitude synchronised flying (without calling) suggesting they are perhaps intent on making this area their territory. The Great Grey Shrike was on show in the Brampton Valley during the day, generally close to the barn on the west side of the Brampton Valley Way. One male Brambling was on the feed by the barn and a Wheatear was present nearby too.

Little Gulls were the migrant theme today with birds at Stanford Reservoir, Hollowell Reservoir, Clifford Hill GP and Earls Barton GP. A Black Tern was with them at Clifford Hill GP and other birds at Hollowell Reservoir included two Grey Plovers, a Dunlin and a Raven. Steve Fisher saw a second summer Mediterranean Gull at Stanwick Pits and there were three Goosanders there too.

Pitsford Reservoir seemed to miss out on most of the action today but David Arden saw a perched Osprey in the Scaldwell Bay and a singing Brambling at the back of the bay and still the drake Red-crested Pochard. Eleanor saw a Great Northern Diver near the Holly Tree, a Common Tern and Yellow Wagtails. All three hirundine species were feeding over the reservoir, the pair of Oystercatcher and the Little Owl were still present as was the second calendar year Yellow-legged Gull. The afternoon storm brought in over a hundred gulls, mostly Common Gulls, but nothing else of note.

Eric's endeavours at Thrapston Pits provided sightings of two Pink-footed Geese, three Great White Egrets, a pair of Oystercatchers, six Common Terns and warblers included Sedge, Willow, Blackcap and Chiffchaff. Small numbers of Swallows were moving through.

Regards

Neil M

Brambling.

Osprey.

Images courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Good timing !!

Today it was a case of being in the right place at the right time.   Just before 07.30am I was scanning the bushes along the stream below Hanging Houghton when the Barn Owl came into view and showed well. I had just started my walk with the dogs when I looked up and saw the Great Grey Shrike perched on top of a small tree in front of me.
Late morning I visited Pitsford Reservoir where it was quite misty and grey. On walking down the old road to the feeding station I checked the hedgerow for a Little Owl which often sits there, but no luck. However 20 mins later when I walked back up the road it was sitting out in full view.   Not much to see from scanning the small side apart from a drake Red Crested Pochard and a nice flock of displaying Goldeneye.
The dam area was more productive as 2 lovely adult Little Gulls dropped in by the tower. Other birds included a Yellow Wagtail, Northern Wheatear and several Swallows.
By the time I visited Harrington Airfield it was late afternoon and birds were hard to find and it was now drizzling. Northern Wheatear, Willow Warbler, Yellow Wagtail and over 100 Fieldfare were the best birds.
 However I then had two very different encounters. Firstly the dogs got highly excited over a scent which led them to stare rather tentatively into one of the many deep holes around the bunkers.  When I peered into the hole they were looking into I found myself staring into the rather cute face of a polecat !!!!   It had obviously fallen/jumped into the hole and couldn't climb the smooth deep sides to get out. It was a beautiful looking creature. So we all stared at each other for a few minutes before I collected some wood and branches and put them into the hole hoping that the polecat would climb out.   As it seemed reluctant to move whilst I was standing there I wandered off around the bunkers and left it alone.  About 30 mins later I decided to wander back and see how the polecat was getting on and as I neared the hole I had my second encounter, a group of young lads clutching armfuls of alcohol and bags.  I don't know who jumped the most, me or them. Anyway my young collie was not happy with them and sounded quite fierce as he barked at them and they scarpered very quickly over the field towards the main road.  Goodness knows what they were up to ?
I carried on to the polecat in the hole and thankfully it had managed to get out using my makeshift wooden ladder.
My good sense of timing continued as I just reached my car before a very heavy shower appeared, phew.

Regards Eleanor

" My " Great Grey Shrike was showing well today in the small bushes/trees running alongside the stream below Hanging Houghton village. I wished it both a good morning and a good evening today !!    Other birds seen in the valley included 2 Grey Partridge , male Wheatear, 2 Brambling and rather surprisingly a single Corn Bunting.
A visit to Harrington Airfield produced a singing Willow Warbler, male Wheatear and well over 200 Fieldfares in the bushes.
Our garden is still attracting good numbers of birds.  As I looked out into the garden I thought how colourful it looked with Yellowhammers, 2 male Brambling, 10 male Reed Buntings, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldfinches and Chaffinches.

Earlier in the week [3rd April] Eric visited Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston. A good variety of birds seen , 3 Pink Footed Geese, Great White Egret in breeding plumage and Curlew at the Aldwincle end. A Whooper Swan on town lake. A pair of Oystercatcher on long island.  Singing Chiffchaffs, Blackcap and 2 Willow Warbler and the sight of wave after wave of hirundines moving through.

Regards Eleanor

Although I didn't manage to get out and about as much as I had hoped today I did bump into the Great Grey Shrike three times. It seems to be favouring the small bushes/trees alongside the stream below Hanging Houghton. 
Whilst training near Mears Ashby I noted a large flock of Fieldfares, approx 90 birds feeding in the horse fields on the short grass.  This is the largest flock that I have seen for a while and it makes you realise that they most have already headed northwards.
A quick look at Sywell Reservoir produced a Swallow, Willow Warbler and Cettis Warbler.

A reminder that the Northamptonshire Bird Club meet tomorrow evening at 19.30hrs at The Lodge, Pitsford Reservoir.  The speaker will be Alan Peters and it promises to be an interesting talk on " Kazakhstan----Birding the Steppes and Mountains of Central Asia"
Everyone is welcome, tea/coffee etc provided. 

Regards Eleanor

I am amazed that the Great Grey Shrike which I found a few months ago is still here !!  This morning as I was walking the dogs it was perched on the bushes alongside the stream below Hanging Houghton. It was showing very well but by the time I had run back to the car to fetch my camera it had moved further along the stream, but I managed a few pics.
Late this afternoon when I was again walking the dogs it was still in the same place.  
As it was a lovely day and perfect "running" weather so I duly obliged. My route took me along the Brampton Valley Way and as I ran across a small horse paddock near Draughton Crossing I practically fell over a super male Ring Ouzel feeding on the short grass with 2 Fieldfares and several Blackbirds.
Other birds today include a singing Grey Wagtail, 2 Grey Partridge, Brambling, Siskin and Raven.

Regrads   Eleanor 

Birding on a warm, sunny Saturday!

Hello

Another bright and sunny and even warm day today although the outlook for the next week looks much cooler.

Some of the local nest box monitoring schemes are underway as the Blue, Coal and Great Tits are preparing their nests early this year, with even a few pairs producing eggs already. They have a little way to go to catch up with the Long-tailed Tits though which paired off some weeks ago now and many have finished their state of the art des res in the standard of nests! These homes are a collection of feathers, spiders webs, moss and a variety of other fine ingredients woven into an elaborate domed nest generally suspended in a thorny bush.

A brief visit to Pitsford Reservoir to fill up the feeders at the feed station was sufficient to note a second summer Mediterranean Gull flying around north of the causeway, an early Common Sandpiper on the causeway and a Little Owl perched in hedging.

The Great Grey Shrike remains in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton, showing rather well on and off all day. It is currently utilising the hedgerow which has a 'Environmental Headlands' notice (on the LHS travelling along the track from HH to Cottesbrooke) and also the field ditch close to the straw/manure heap also on the LHS travelling away from the Brampton Valley Way. This afternoon a Short-eared Owl flew through the area. On the RHS of the track the wild bird crop is still attracting up to a hundred Yellowhammers and much smaller numbers of Reed Buntings and Tree Sparrows. There is also a collection of Chaffinches on the hard standing just in front of the large barn on the RHS travelling from the Brampton Valley Way, this also being a regular venue for Brambling (but not reported today).

The Cattle Egret showed itself on the Delta Pit at Ditchford Pits again today, but did become obscured in the vegetation in the vicinity of the Cormorant colony.

An Osprey was over the A43 near Blatherwycke Lake today, the lake itself hosting a pair of Black Swans and two pairs of Mandarin Duck. Thrapston Pits yielded three Great White Egrets today including one in breeding plumage, three Pink-footed Geese still and the pair of Oystercatchers. Butterflies were darting around in good numbers and included Orange-tips.

Summer Leys NR is likely to receive regular coverage now as we progress into spring and April tends to be a great month for viewing there. Birds there today included two Great White Egrets, an adult Mediterranean Gull, two Little Ringed Plovers, three Black-tailed Godwits and the drake Garganey was reported too.

Eleanor visited the excellent Kentle Wood today on the outskirts of Daventry, an altogether much quieter site for people than nearby Borough Hill Country Park, and the hill offers fantastic scanning opportunities with views for miles. Two Wheatears were present and an Osprey flew over heading north and two Ravens were present too. Undoubtedly the best bird though was a high-up White Stork that was soaring slowly south over the hill at about 3.45pm - it slowly disappeared into the haze that was a feature of the mid and late afternoon.

Single Ravens were seen at Hanging Houghton and Staverton and birds visiting our small garden at Hanging Houghton included a few each of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting and a pair of Nuthatch.

Regards

Neil M

White Stork.

Great Crested Grebe
courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Bittern at RSPB
Lakenheath courtesy
of Cathy Ryden.

Northants Bird Club Indoor Meeting 3rd April

Hello

The next meeting of the Northants Bird Club will be on Wednesday 3rd April at the usual venue of the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir (just off the road causeway on the road between Holcot and Brixworth) commencing at 7.30pm.

The visiting speaker Alan Peters will provide an illustrated presentation of his expedition to Kazakhstan in search of the special birds of this region and his talk is entitled 'Birding the Steppes and Mountains of Central Asia'.

Refreshments will be available during the evening and both members and non members of the club are welcome to come along!

Regards

Neil M

Demoiselle Crane.

Pallas's Sandgrouse.

Late March sunshine

Hello

A walk at Harrington Airfield this morning was useful to avoid the fog and mist of the valleys but only provided a sighting of a male Wheatear and little else. The Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton was initially fog-bound this morning but later the Great Grey Shrike came out to play showing well near to the manure heap and nearby hedges. Other birds nearby included a Corn Bunting, three Bramblings, a male Wheatear and a male Peregrine which seems to have taken up residence during the last week.

Ravens were noted at Kelmarsh and Hanging Houghton today and the Cattle Egret again appeared in bushes under the Cormorant colony at Ditchford Pits on the Delta Pit. Two Little Ringed Plovers were on Gull island on the Summer Leys Reserve at Earls Barton and yesterday an excellent photograph was taken of a Hooded Crow in flight along the valley just north of the reserve.

Eric and Ken Spriggs checked Titchmarsh Reserve and Thrapston Pits this morning notching up the usuals in the beautiful spring weather! Their haul included two Great White Egrets, the first year Whooper Swan, the three Pink-footed Geese, two Snipe, two Oystercatchers, a Kingfisher on Harpers Brook and warblers included Cetti's, Blackcap and Chiffchaff.

Two more ringing recoveries relate to a locally ringed Moorhen and Blue Tit:-

A young Moorhen was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 16th December 2016 and it's leg (and only the leg) with the ring affixed was found in Shenley, Church End, Milton Keynes on 20th March 2019! It is assumed that this bird moved south to the Milton Keynes area of it's own volition and was subsequently predated or otherwise came unstuck 36km from the original ringing site and 824 days later.

A first year Blue Tit was ringed in Market Harborough on 14th February 2018 by Rich Goswell of the Rockingham Forest Ringing Group. This bird was re-caught at Hanging Houghton on 27th November 2018, for some reason this little blue waif decided to travel south for 14km down the A508, 286 days elapsing between the two captures.

Regards

Neil M

Moorhen.

Blue Tit.

Pitsford CBC

Hello

I completed the first Common Bird Census of the season on the reserve section of Pitsford Reservoir today, a fair bit of it in stunning sunshine!

Perhaps not surprisingly there were plenty of birds in song, and in addition to the usual species today it included a couple of Bramblings and a Cetti's Warbler. Nuthatches were located at a record four different locations around the reserve, a sign that the woods are maturing. Another bird that has been increasing in recent years as the plantations have grown older is the Marsh Tit with sightings in all three of the bays and including singing birds on territory. Sadly there was only one singing Willow Tit which was in the Scaldwell Bay.

A Firecrest was located at the back of the Scaldwell Bay, lingering in a lone spruce and neighbouring Scots Pines near to the vehicle bridge over the brook, well beyond the Ringing Hut. Two Oystercatchers remain and Black-headed Gulls seem to be attracted to the rafts in the Scaldwell Bay, it has been some years since they have nested on these floating 'islands'.

A few Siskins were about and plenty of Common Buzzards, Red Kites and Sparrowhawks were busy in the blue skies. The most frustrating bird was a large lark that overflew the reservoir at 10.25am heading SW over the Scaldwell Bay. I heard the distinctive calls but was slow in picking it up in the blue sky and my visual appreciation was limited as it undulated away from me. Being especially large and sporting black underwings it was clearly an exciting bird but it just kept on flying strongly away...and I suspect will never be seen again!

Five species of butterfly on the wing included Orange-tip and incoming avian summer visitors included plenty of Chiffchaffs and a couple of singing Blackcaps. Some of the Cormorants have young in the nest, the colony now with 41 attended nests with others in preparation. A Great White Egret dropped in to the Walgrave Bay this morning, the first there for a while and two Redwings were in trees at the far end of the bay

Elsewhere and John Woollett ringed a female Brambling in his Astcote garden this morning and the Great Grey Shrike showed well early this morning between Cottesbrooke and Hanging Houghton but couldn't be found this afternoon. Blueberry Farm attracted sightings of twenty fly-over Golden Plovers, twenty Fieldfares and two Redwings.

A White Stork was seen in flight in a couple of locations in the county today after roosting in Warwickshire last night. The last reported sighting was flying west over Higham Ferrers. Mike Alibone saw the Cattle Egret at Ditchford Pits, again in bushes underneath the Cormorant colony of Delta Pit and best accessed from the Rushden Lakes Shopping Centre. Steve Fisher's daily early morning assessment of Stanwick Pits provided him with a flock of 16 Ruff on the Main Lake but unfortunately they seemingly didn't stay.

Regards

Neil M

Male Bullfinch
nibbling the buds!

Bank Vole (I think?)

Courting Great Crested Grebes.

Long-tailed Tit. Lots of pairs
 building their fantastic nests
 at Pitsford today!

All images from Pitsford Reservoir today.

Christies Copse ringing

Redwing.

Hello

A ringing session took place at Christies Copse in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning, on a cloudy calm day which saw plenty of visible migration during the first couple of hours post dawn. Small numbers of Bramblings, Siskins and Redpolls were moving around at tree top height and two or more Crossbills were heard calling overhead for a short while but moved off without being seen. Redwings included a flock of forty which landed in trees in the copse before moving on and four Oystercatchers were flying around in typical noisy fashion!

Great Tits and Blue Tits dominated the ringing session which saw 118 birds being processed but also included four Coal Tits, a Marsh Tit, a Goldfinch, four Chaffinches, a Redwing, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and three resident Blackbirds which have all been around for a few years!

Other birds noted included a Raven, a Woodcock, the singing Cetti's Warbler still and plenty of Chiffchaffs, a singing Blackcap and a small party of Sand Martins.

A/the Cattle Egret was located at Stanwick Pits/Lakes by Steve Fisher this morning, initially on the layby pit and later flying towards the Visitor Centre. The Great Grey Shrike and a Corn Bunting were again in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today, the shrike on show for much of the day.

A male Brambling was in Hanging Houghton village this morning and later two were on the seed by the big barn in the valley below the village. Another noisy Oystercatcher was heard calling over the village late this afternoon!

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit.

Coal Tit.

Great Tit.

Marsh Tit.

All images courtesy of
John Tilly.

Common Cranes, Tawny Owls and incoming Blackcaps!

Hello

The Great Grey Shrike was again present from the track that leads between Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke this morning.

Matt Hazleton saw two Great White Egrets at Summer Leys NR this morning plus a Green Sandpiper and a Blackcap.

Pitsford Reservoir hosted at least one Great Northern Diver today with one bird in the Pintail Bay, and a drake Red-crested Pochard was feeding off the Sailing Club. A Grey Wagtail was at Brixworth Treatment Works.

Martin Swannell saw a pair of Common Cranes thermalling over Moulton village at about 10.25am and Eleanor saw presumably the same birds soaring over Holcot village heading towards Pitsford Reservoir at midday.

Harrington Airfield provided views of a male Peregrine, a male Wheatear and four Grey Partridges. Birds at Thrapston Pits today included a Great White Egret, three Pink-footed Geese, the long-staying Whooper Swan, a Green Sandpiper, two Snipe, a Redshank and two Oystercatchers. Five Siskins were also present as were plenty of Chiffchaffs and singing Blackcaps and a Peregrine.

Deene Lake attracted an Osprey, five pairs of Shelduck, a pair of Black Swans, a flock of over a hundred Teal, three Snipe and four Green Sandpipers.

A check of the owl boxes at Pitsford Reservoir today confirmed four boxes occupied by Tawny Owls. One of these was a bird first ringed as an adult on 19th March 2015 and another was ringed as a nestling on 23rd April 2014. Other birds noted included a Raven, a couple of singing Blackcaps, four Marsh Tits on territory and Nuthatches holding territory in two areas. However the rarity for the site was a singing Cetti's Warbler in the Walgrave Bay, the first confirmed record for perhaps eighteen years!

Regards

Neil M

Common Cranes.

Tawny Owl
courtesy of
Chris Payne.

Bathing Blackcaps
courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Ditchford WeBS count

Hello

More lovely sunshine today compensated for the cold air and made for a smashing spring day.

The morning was spent at Ditchford Pits completing the March WeBS count. The pits west of Ditchford Lane produced a pair of Egyptian Geese, three Oystercatchers and a Shelduck and there were nine Common Snipe on marshy land east of the lane. Chiffchaffs and Cetti's Warblers were in reasonable numbers but unusually there were no Kingfishers seen and very few Great Crested Grebes in their usual haunts.

Two egrets roosting in bushes on Delta Pit underneath the Cormorant colony proved to be a Little Egret and a part summer plumage Cattle Egret. This pit is between the old Skew Bridge pit and the Wilsons Pits complex and the birds were relatively close to a wooden viewing platform on the circular walk that surrounds the old Skew Bridge Pit and is accessible from the Rushden Lakes Shopping Centre.

Butterflies were on show in sheltered areas and included the expected Brimstones and Small Tortoiseshells but two Orange-tips seemed early. Nick Parker later located a Little Ringed Plover on the adjacent Irthlingborough Lakes reserve and Bob Bullock saw four Little Ringed Plovers at Clifford Hill Pits on pools by the river footbridge.

Summerleys NR hosted a drake Garganey today as reported by Kim Taylor and later Dave Jackson. Eric's walk at Thrapston Pits today produced records of a Kingfisher, a small flock of House Martins, two Green Sandpipers, three Little Egrets, two Great White Egrets, two Pink-footed Geese still and a pair of Shelduck. Chiffchaffs and Cetti's Warblers were present in numbers and butterflies here included Comma and Small Tortoiseshell.

This afternoon the Great Grey Shrike was on show again from the track between Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke and other birds included a Barn Owl, three Bramblings, two Corn Buntings and fifty fly-over Fieldfares.

Regards

Neil M

Great Grey Shrike this afternoon
between HH and Cottesbrooke, image
taken by Eleanor.

Sunday's spring weather birds!

Hello

A quieter day of bird activity for me today! The garden provided small numbers of Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers coming in for broadcast seed (this is a particularly critical time for buntings as they struggle to find sufficient natural seeds), and a walk around the fields nearby was sufficient to find a few lingering Fieldfares and Redwings.

Over the week-end the bird food crop in the valley below the village continues to attract hungry birds which included a hundred Yellowhammers and a flock of 40 - 50 Stock Doves. Broadcast seed by the large barn near to the Brampton Valley Way continues to attract Chaffinches and other birds, and this morning two Bramblings were again with them. Close to this area and on the other side of the track, the Great Grey Shrike was hunting from vegetation in the ditch near to a large straw/manure heap and a Wheatear was nearby.

The sunshine and cool breeze brought out all the Common Buzzards and Red Kites again today, it seemed impossible to scan around today and not see examples of both species riding the air currents.

Yesterday I took photographs of a male Kestrel exhibiting very clean plumage features and sporting blue/grey secondaries which is normally a trait of the much rarer Lesser Kestrel. Analysis of the images today suggests it is just a male Common Kestrel, but interestingly it was this bird's behaviour that aroused my attention as it was feeding just like the rarer species and taking insects on the ground and in flight. Oh well maybe there are some Lesser Kestrel genes in there somewhere!

Harrington Airfield today provided fly-over singles of Redpoll and Siskin but little else and Eleanor saw the usual two Ravens at Green Acres, Staverton today. The Little Owl was vocal in trees near to the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station at Pitsford Reservoir again today and now seems to be very much on territory. Perhaps not good news for the local Tree Sparrows though!

Adrian saw the Ring-necked Duck on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston today plus a Jack Snipe too and Martin Swannel saw a Swallow at Merry Tom Lane near Chapel Brampton!

Kenny Cramer and team completed a stint of ringing at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes today and caught a good selection of birds. Ninety-one birds were processed of 14 species, 54 of which were newly-ringed birds. Totals were singles of Jay, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Blackcap and Great Spotted Woodpecker, plus two Goldcrests, two Chiffchaffs, two Reed Buntings, three Wrens, seven Chaffinches, fifteen Goldfinches, ten Greenfinches, sixteen Blue Tits and twenty-nine Great Tits. Two Snipe were seen on-site and non-avian interest included two Common Shrews and two Grass Snakes.

Regards

Neil M

Male Blackcap.

Carrion Crow.

Both images courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Birds of Friday/Saturday

Hello

Yesterday (22nd) and local birds included the Great Grey Shrike and a Corn Bunting again in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. A few Bramblings and Siskins were at Scotland Wood (Kelmarsh) and there were again nine Common Buzzards in one tilled field near the village. A few Siskins and the pair of Oystercatcher were at Pitsford Reservoir.

Eric's birding at Thrapston Pits provided records of the immature Whooper Swan, three Pink-footed Geese, a pair of Shelduck, two Great White Egrets, two Oystercatchers, three aggressive Kingfishers and several Chiffchaffs and Cetti's Warblers.

Today (23rd) and a ringing session at Scotland Wood provided 69 birds of 14 species, 41 of which were new birds. They were made up of two Blackbirds, a Song Thrush, a Dunnock, two Wrens, four Robins, three Nuthatches, a Treecreeper, a Goldcrest, a Long-tailed Tit, twenty Great Tits, sixteen Blue Tits, ten Coal Tits, six Chaffinches and a Chiffchaff. Other birds seen included a Crossbill, a male Brambling and a Siskin.

The Great Grey Shrike and Corn Bunting showed up in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and again there were two Ravens in the village. This afternoon two crane sps flew from Brixworth towards Pitsford Res, they were viewed distantly from the track that runs along the Brampton Valley towards Cottesbrooke.

Elsewhere two Wheatears were at Borough Hill CP, and a Green Sandpiper and a flock of Sand Martins were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir. Two Avocets graced the Summer Leys Reserve with a Little Ringed Plover also in attendance. Single Short-eared Owls were seen at Neville's Lodge and next to Lilbourne Meadows and Nick Parker again relocated the Ring-necked Duck at Thrapston Pits on the Titchmarsh reserve this afternoon at about 4pm. A male Peregrine was near Blueberry Farm (Maidwell) this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Wren.

Treecreeper.

Song Thrush.

Long-tailed Tit.

Nuthatch.

Blue Tit with deformed
upper mandible.

All images by John Tilly at
Scotland Wood.