A quiet start to the new month!

Hello

Seemingly another quiet day in the county for anything on the avian front today with very little reported.

Harrington Airfield this morning was cool and murky but it didn't stop the warblers singing! A Raven overflew the old airfield and other birds included an increase in Wheatears to four and a pair of Grey Partridge. The buntings came down for their mixed seed treat but it seems that the wintering Tree Sparrows may now have finally moved on.

Geoff Douglas noted a Peregrine over Barton Seagrave today but birding from our garden didn't produce much other than adding Great Spotted Woodpecker and Long-tailed Tit to the May list.

Oh well no excuse but back to the Lockdown Chores list!

Regards

Neil M

Male House Sparrow
courtesy of John Tilly.

Cockchafer or 'May Bug'.

Common Tern
Pitsford Reservoir.

Time for breeding

Hello

It seemed a very quiet day for sightings of anything different bird-wise in the county today. Cuckoos were being found at a few sites but sadly I haven't heard one around Hanging Houghton yet. Alan recorded a Grasshopper Warbler at Irthlingborough.

Representatives of most of the summer migrants have arrived now with perhaps Spotted Flycatcher to go, but I suspect some-one has seen one this week-end somewhere in the county.  That being said the bulk of the Swifts, Garden Warblers and other rather later migrants have still to arrive so there will be plenty of in-filling for the next couple of weeks.

The stunning sunshine of April and some recent rain has ensured that the leaf burst on the trees has been spectacular and it won't be long before it will be difficult to see birds in trees and bushes due to the foliage. 

Our modest little garden has come up with 39 species recorded from it after day three of the new month, the best vocal additions being Little Owl, Nuthatch and Willow Warbler.

Pitsford Reservoir also seemed quiet today but if the current calm conditions and constant water levels continue it could be a bumper year for the Coots as there are occupied nests all along the shoreline. A couple of brood of Mallard are around and there are now four goose nests (two each of Greylag and Canada) on the tern rafts, much to the disapproval of the Black-headed Gulls and returning Common Terns, and it's likely that the pair of Oystercatcher have a nest too.

Young Grey Herons are visible in the new nests in the Scaldwell Bay this year and other birds noted today included two Yellow-legged Gulls and just a single Little Egret.

Regards

Neil M

Yellowhammer courtesy of
Paul Crotty.

This bird was
photographed at Harrington
 Airfield, the venue for an
 on-going long-term project on
Yellowhammers associated
 with year-round
supplementary feeding.

Common Tern
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Many of the local
population of potential
breeders are back already
but it will be a few weeks
before they really
begin in earnest.

Coot.

Pitsford Reservoir can
attract as many as two
thousand of these birds in
the late autumn/early winter
but by mid- March most of
these extra birds will have
gone. This leaves just over a
 hundred birds left to try and
breed on-site. Coots and Moorhens
are common nocturnal migrants
and can be heard calling at night
in any month of the year, often only
flying (from the sound of it), a couple
of hundred feet overhead.

Garden wildlife.

Hello

An excursion this morning to Harrington Airfield didn't reveal any significant birding highlights but the female Greenland Wheatear was still present (Bunker Two) and at least one pair of Grey Partridge were on show. If you enjoy the continuous song of many Willow Warblers around you then the rough scrubby strip connecting the bunkers is the place for you! However the mammals stole the show with a Stoat and five Brown Hares on the roam.

Fiona found two cracking male Wheatears on top of Blueberry Hill (near Maidwell) this morning.

Scanning upwards and outwards from the garden during lunch-time and early afternoon quickly provided plenty of common raptors enjoying the breezy and sunny conditions. I quickly saw the four common raptors and went on to see two Hobbies, one of which hawked insects over the village for some time, plus a passing immature Peregrine. The best of the butterflies in the garden were Orange-tip and Holly Blue.

Other birds seen today in the county included three Cattle Egrets at Stanwick Pits and Hobbies seen at several locations. A Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton both yesterday evening and this evening.

News released today indicates that Northamptonshire finally has a new county bird recorder after a gap of some years. This role demands much and it's perhaps not surprising that it has been vacant for a while. Our best wishes to Jonathan Cook who takes on this responsibility and deserves support from all of us amateur naturalists!

Regards

Neil M

Male Greenfinch
tucking into sunflower
hearts.

Adult male Pied Wagtail
and the shyest of the four
adult wagtails coming to our
garden at the moment. The solid
black mantle, extensive bib and
white edges to the tertials and
coverts help age this bird.

Holly Blue butterfly.

Ringing recoveries

Hello

A few ringing recoveries today, sadly of dead or dying birds:-

1. A young male Blackbird was ringed at Harrington Airfield on 3rd November 2017 and encountered there again on the 15th of that month and again on 3rd May 2018. The remains of an adult male Blackbird were found at Harrington Airfield yesterday minus the legs and today Matt Care found the legs bearing the ring of this bird also at Harrington Airfield. All the indications are that it had been predated and the bill and legs isolated from the fleshy body of the bird. With the initial ringing date in November it wouldn't be unreasonable to think this bird was a migrant but the evidence points to a resident and breeding bird on-site that probably didn't quite make three years of age. This is the second adult male Blackbird to be found predated here within the last two weeks;

2. A Woodpigeon was caught and ringed at Hanging Houghton on 1st September 2019 and found in the village with a head injury three days ago and subsequently died, 240 days after ringing. It's unlikely that this bird had traveled very far between these dates and like many of it's kind was probably able to forage and find enough food within the local parish;

3. A first year Robin was ringed at Greens Norton way back on 3rd December 2016 and was taken by a cat in the same village just two days ago, some 1243 days after the initial ringing date. At least this bird had probably contributed to the local Robin breeding success during the intervening three breeding seasons before it's demise - although it wasn't officially encountered between the two dates;

4. A juvenile Starling was caught and ringed at Linford Lakes on 26th May 2019 and found dead in Milton Keynes on or about 25th April this year, 335 days later. The cause of death is not known and it's likely that this young bird spent much of it's short life in the Milton Keynes/South Northants area.

I counted up the species of birds recorded from our small rural garden during the month of April and the total came to 66 with probably the best two species being Bar-tailed Godwit and Curlew as fly-overs. Despite a reasonable haul we missed many relatively common species which included Jay, Common Gull, Siskin, Redpoll, Brambling, Lesser Whitethroat, Cuckoo, Swift, Hobby, Grey Wagtail and several others. The month of May is likely to be another lock-down month so the new list has begun but is at a very modest, low level after Day 1!

Birds seen today by local birders included two Wheatears still at Harrington Airfield this morning and the rare county sight of a first year Gannet in flight over Great Brington and then traversing over the village of East Haddon! Now that would be a great 'seen from the garden' bird in land-locked Northamptonshire (this has been achieved by birders in previous years)!

A Barn Owl continues to hunt around the village of Scaldwell in the daytime delighting the local residents.

Regards

Neil M

Recently-fledged and very
cute Collared Doves courtesy
of John Tilly.

Male Greenland Wheatear at
Harrington Airfield today
courtesy of David Arden.

Juvenile Gannet. Maybe
the bird in the county today
looked a little like this!

Barn Owl.

So that was an unprecedented April!

Hello

A dry but breezy interlude in the rain this morning was the time to get out if you could and birds at Harrington Airfield included the long-staying Greenland Wheatear pair and a Grasshopper Warbler singing intermittently. Good numbers today of singing Common Whitethroats and Willow Warblers were joined by a singing Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat.

A singing Common Whitethroat in our small garden this morning is the last new bird on our 'recorded from the garden' list for April. The list suffers from a lack of passage finches this year. Normally I would expect Siskin, Lesser Redpoll and Brambling to have visited the garden feeders during the month of April but we haven't recorded any!

Birds noted in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and towards Blueberry Farm included two Fieldfares, a Little Owl and two Hobbies.

Regards

Neil M

Fieldfare courtesy of
John Tilly.

Little Owl courtesy
of John Tilly.

Hobby.

White Stork and more...

Hello

Clifford Hill Pits continues it's excellent spring with some great finds of a Little Tern, up to three Whinchats and at least two Wheatears today.

Pitsford Reservoir hosted an Osprey this morning south of the causeway and this afternoon an Osprey was north of the causeway at about 5pm together with five Arctic Terns and the long-staying drake Mandarin Duck.

Elsewhere a Grasshopper Warbler was 'reeling' at Kingsthorpe, Northampton and a female Common Redstart flew over the A508 at Lamport Hall.

However potentially bird of the day was a White Stork seen flying over Brackley town this morning, disappearing to the west at about 10.20am. Despite it's size this is a species that is hard to catch up with in Northants and with an active re-introduction scheme in the south east of England at an early stage hopefully we will gradually see more records in the Midlands. Congratulations to Ian Moore on his South Northants sighting!

Regards

Neil M

Chris Payne's image of a
fledgling Dunnock came with
the title 'Grumpy'!

The successful Woodpigeon as
photographed by John Tilly.

Not the Brackley bird but a
White Stork in flight nonetheless!

Cold and wet!

Hello

Cold and wet out there today made it quite different to what we are used to!

Birds noted today included two Cuckoos at Stortons Pits, two Wheatears, two pairs of Grey Partridges and a Grasshopper Warbler at Harrington Airfield with a flock of Arctic Terns being reported at Clifford Hill Pits. 

Birds at a cold, wet Pitsford Reservoir today included plenty of hirundines, six Swifts, a Hobby and two Yellow-legged Gulls. A Barn Owl was again near the village of Old.

The dried mealworms are a favoured treat in our garden with plenty of Starlings, Blackbirds, Jackdaws and Pied Wagtails and there was definitely an increase in the frequency of visits and numbers of birds turning up with such a downturn in the day temperature!

Regards

Neil M

Starling.

A very young Blackbird!

...and with Mum!

All above images
courtesy of John Tilly.

Cetti's Warbler.

Garden Warbler.

Above three images courtesy
of Pete Gilbert.

Change in the weather

Hello

A dull, cloudy start in my part of the world this morning, then a period of warm sunshine and blue skies before becoming dull and cloudy and cool again by evening. A change in the weather with rain forecast overnight and on and off for tomorrow with much the same on Wednesday too. No complaints though after the stunning dry and warm weather of the last month.

A Wood Sandpiper was a good find at Barnwell floods this morning, continuing the theme of different waders each day as they stop over briefly before continuing their long journeys. There was also a White Wagtail there too.

The Curlew Sandpiper was at Clifford Hill Pits for it's third day with a supporting cast of two Dunlin, two Common Sandpipers, a Greenshank, a Ringed Plover, a Little Ringed Plover and an Egyptian Goose.

Peregrines appeared overhead today in Earls Barton village and St Crispins, Northampton and a Hobby was over Barton Seagrave and Hollowell. Swifts were noted at a few sites today and our garden was blessed with a singing Willow Warbler this morning which was another addition to the April 'recorded from the garden list'!

After an apparent period of absence there were two Great White Egrets at Pitsford Reservoir today plus Little Egrets, a Yellow-legged Gull and a Raven. Nearby a Barn Owl was active near Old this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Curlew Sandpiper.

Wood Sandpiper.

Hobby courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Long distance Great Tit!

Hello

Birds in the county today included the Curlew Sandpiper still at Clifford Hill Pits, a Dunlin at Barnwell floods, two Little Ringed Plovers at Upton Valley, two Wheatears at Harrington Airfield and a Great White Egret at Thrapston Pits. There were several reports of Cuckoo in the county today and Stewart Short located a male Blue-headed Wagtail with Yellow Wagtails on the Northants/Cambs border between Clopton and Bythorn.

A few bird ringing recovery details have been received as follows:-

1. An adult female Magpie was ringed at Brixworth on 15th June 2016 and this bird was caught in a larsen trap and sadly destroyed also at Brixworth on 11th April 2020, 1396 days later;

2. An adult female Blackbird was ringed at Astcote, South Northants on 10th January 2019 and this bird died after hitting a glass greenhouse in the same village on 12th April this year, 458 days later;

3. A Great Tit was ringed as a nestling in Caysbriggs, Moray, Scotland on 30th May 2019 and was next encountered in a mist net in Astcote on 3rd April 2020 when assessed as a first year female before release. This astonishing record means that this young bird traveled 632km in a SSE direction over 309 days. Not bad for a species that is supposed to be essentially sedentary!

Regards

Neil M

Magpie.

Female Blackbird courtesy
of Cathy Ryden.

Great Tit courtesy of
Cathy Ryden.

And here come some more waders!

Hello

Spring migrant waders rather dominated birding affairs in Northamptonshire today, with the Nene Valley pulling in some quality birds. A spring Curlew Sandpiper is a rather rare event in the county so a lingering one at Clifford Hill Pits was a great find by Mark Williams. Other waders seen there today included Little Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Common Sandpiper.

This year seems to been a reasonable one for spring Bar-tailed Godwits too with singles today still at Barnwell and Stanwick Pits. A Greenshank was still at Barnwell today too and other birds noted at Stanwick included three Cattle Egrets and two Little Ringed Plovers.

Three Ringed Plovers flew east through Summer Leys this morning and then this afternoon four Whimbrel were found on Fisherman's Point and the Garganey remains in situ. A Marsh Harrier was seen there yesterday evening. A drake Red-crested Pochard was at Stortons Pits today.

Away from the valley and a Tree Pipit flew over early morning between Brackley and Evenley and two Wheatears and two Ravens were at Harrington Airfield. A flock of about a hundred Fieldfares were at Blueberry Farm this morning and a Turtle Dove was discovered in NN6, the first I've heard of locally.

Birdguides information indicates that a Great White Egret remains at Thrapston Pits today and a Hobby was seen there too.

Regards

Neil M

Cowslips in the cold morning dew.

Turtle Dove courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Female Sparrowhawk courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Here come the warblers!

Hello

Birds in the county for yesterday (Thursday) included two Spotted Redshanks, two Greenshanks, a Little Ringed Plover and a Reeve all at Lower Barnwell Lock floods.

Harrington Airfield attracted a fine male Ring Ouzel which showed next to the old shooting wall off the concrete track and other birds on-site included a 'reeling' Grasshopper Warbler, two Wheatears and still over a hundred migrant Fieldfares.

Pitsford Reservoir yesterday hosted two adult Little Gulls and six Arctic Terns north of the causeway early in the afternoon and by the evening the dynamics had changed to nine Little Gulls, five Arctic Terns and two Common Terns.

Today (Friday) and after a cold start this morning the sun shone all day! Birds at Barnwell this morning courtesy of John Hunt included a Bar-tailed Godwit and two Greenshanks.

Incoming migrants seen in the county today included a Hobby at Bozeat, Swifts, more House Martins and a variety of warblers included the first wave of Garden Warblers and Reed Warblers and lots more Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and a few Grasshopper Warblers too.

Regards

Neil M

Willow Warbler.

Garden Warbler.

A female hoverfly with the scientific name of
helophilus pendulus as kindly identified by
 Fiona Barclay.

Speckled Wood butterfly.

Lady's Smock.

Lockdown - sites to peruse

Hello

If you have time on your hands and would like to look at digital images taken by some of our talented local wildlife photographers here are a couple of sites for your perusal...

https://www.paulcrotty.co.uk/

http:/tillyweb.biz/gallery/natureindex.htm

http://Simonwantlingphotography.co.uk

http://naturaltreks.co.uk/

https://youpic.com/photographer/MartinSwannell

...and if you want to see some nocturnal Storm Petrel action from Skokholm -

https://youtu.be/zmJF2-kFTnw

A daily blog is completed by the wardens on Skokholm (Pembrokeshire) and can be found at:-

skokholm.blogspot.com

..and of course there is the Northants Bird Club site with last year's best images from the photograph competition displayed at:-

https//northantsbirdclub.blogspot.co.uk/

Regards

Neil M

Honey Buzzard.

Raven.

More garden snaps

Hello

Yesterday (Tuesday) evening and David Arden again saw an Osprey north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir plus an Arctic Tern.

This morning (Wednesday) and John Hunt found two Spotted Redshanks at the flooded area near Barnwell plus a Greenshank. Birds at Stanwick Pits this morning included the Garganey and Bar-tailed Godwit still, plus a Mediterranean Gull, a Green Sandpiper and two Shelduck.

Stewart again found his Ring Ouzel near Clopton this morning and this evening Adrian saw a drake Garganey at Summer Leys and a Common Sandpiper and a White Wagtail. David Arden's evening foray at Pitsford Reservoir provided five Arctic Terns and Tom Green located a Little Ringed Plover on a pool at Sidegate Lane Landfill.

I connected with my first Lesser Whitethroats of the year today and an addition to the April 'from the garden list' was a fly-over Tree Sparrow.

Regards

Neil M

Sunflower hearts-loving
Collared Dove.

Male House Sparrows
just coming into summer
plumage with extended bibs
and breast markings.

Female Pied Wagtail now
almost as tame as the male!

The Swallows are already
inspecting last year's nests!

Birds of the breeze and sun

Hello

Another bright and breezy day but nothing new for the garden list today!

Yesterday (Monday) evening and David Arden saw a fishing Osprey at Pitsford Reservoir north of the causeway plus an adult Little Gull and about fifteen Arctic Terns.

Today and Steve Fisher's early morning visit to his local patch of Stanwick Pits provided a bumper number of about 170 Arctic Terns, a Bar-tailed Godwit, two Common Sandpipers and a drake Garganey.

Stewart was able to locate his male Ring Ouzel near Clopton again this morning and a visit to Harrington Airfield this morning provided 3-4 Wheatears, a pair of Grey Partridge and a singing Grasshopper Warbler which eventually showed well.

The Whinchat was again in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today and local information indicates that at least one Barn Owl is flying around fields and adjacent gardens on a daily basis in the village of Scaldwell.

Birdguides information recorded a Montagu's Harrier overflying Cottingham this morning and a record of three possible Eurasian Bee-eaters heard calling over Islip this afternoon (about 4.15pm).

Regards

Neil M

Life is a tussle if you
are a cock Pheasant!

Caterpillar of the Scarlet
Tiger moth in our Hanging
Houghton garden.

One of the Wheatears at
Harrington Airfield today.
The large size, pot-bellied
stature and plumage would
suggest this is an adult female
of the large 'Greenland' race.
Amazingly these stoic migrants
really do migrate from Africa all
the way to Greenland and even the
Canadian mainland...and the only
way is to cross the Atlantic with
 no stops!