Montagu's Harrier

Hello

The strong gusty winds from the north continued today but at least there were periods of sunshine to soften the blow.

Typically as spring progresses and our winter visitors slip away and are replaced by the regular summer visitors which become the norm, passage migrants dwindle and birds of interest are often reduced to a few individuals rare to the county. And so it proved today with very little reported on the birding scene but with a rare bird in the shape of a Montagu's Harrier seen by Gary Pullan at Boddington Reservoir this morning. This female bird was on show for up to fifteen minutes before moving away to the west. Officially the rarest breeding raptor in the UK, it is naturally a rare visitor to the county and Gary is to be congratulated on this find in cold, blustery conditions.

A Dunlin and a Ringed Plover were noted at Summer Leys today and Pitsford Reservoir still hosts two long-staying Yellow-legged Gulls (a first summer and a third summer).

The only recent additions to our 'recorded from the garden list' from the last couple of days has been Mallard and Lesser Black-backed Gull but I would love to know how far the Starlings are coming from to feast on our dried mealworms or gather them up to take to nestlings. I had estimated 5-8 pairs nesting in the village but there is more than that coming in for them and the peanut 'Flutter Butter'!

Regards

Neil M

Female Montagu's Harrier
courtesy of Eleanor.

A migrant flock
of Ringed Plovers
and Dunlin at Pitsford
Reservoir during 2015.
With the high water
levels this spring, waders
have been in short supply
at Pitsford this year.

A stunning shot of a
Swift by Dave Jackson.
Now back in reasonable
numbers and currently
decorating the skies above
our reservoirs and gravel pits.
Some are already back in
purpose-made nest boxes
erected for them locally.
Sadly the Covid 19 virus
has delayed the ambitious
plans to create an entirely new
colony of these threatened birds
with the erection of a large Swift
nesting tower within the
NN6 postal district.

Cold and windy Sunday

Hello

A cold and windy May day which will have been a significant upheaval to our breeding birds used to much warmer weather!

Bob Bullock kicked off proceedings in the county with the find of a Sanderling at Clifford Hill Pits this morning. This arctic-bound wader was in company with two Dunlin. A Ringed Plover was in the roadside quarry at Earls Barton next to the A45 and early this afternoon Adrian located two Cattle Egrets at Summer Leys where there was also a Dunlin.

There are still a few wild bird feeding stations requiring maintenance at this time of the year including three at Pitsford Reservoir and I visited one of these this morning to refill the feeders. Birds over the water included just-arrived Swifts, hirundines and Common Terns and still a variety of gulls but nothing of particular note.

The garden feeding station is more of a challenge trying to keep up with droves of Starlings, Jackdaws, Blackbirds and more coming in for protein-based food to feed their chicks!

Regards

Neil M

The village of Hanging Houghton
as viewed from Blueberry Hill. The
pink of the campion just below the
village contrasts with the yellow
of oil seed rape.

Yesterday evening's
sun prior to sunset,

Common Tern in this
morning's shower of
rain at Pitsford Reservoir.

Sultry Saturday

Hello

Plenty more sunshine in sunny Northants with the cloud bubbling up this evening ahead of a couple of forecast cold days.

The Wood Sandpiper was reported at Summer Leys today and a Ringed Plover was on the flooded field at Barnwell but very little else has hit the headlines!

An extra pair of Oystercatchers were by the dam at Pitsford Reservoir this morning and a singing Spotted Flycatcher was in the usual spot in the trees next to the Sailing Club. A food-carrying Grey Wagtail near Brixworth and a pair of Kingfishers along the brook in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton indicates breeding birds.

The best birds from the garden today were Hobby and Raven and Large Red Damselflies were laying eggs in our garden pond.

A Barn Owl was sadly picked up in Scaldwell village in a weakened state today and taken into care.

Regards

Neil M

Raven overhead!

Large Red Damselfly.

Goldfinch courtesy of
John Tilly.

VE Day

Hello

Another day of stunning weather, and very befitting VE Day! I think for many in Northants the high point of the day was the visit to the county of the Red Arrows on their way back from the fly-past over London!

Birdwise the Wood Sandpiper remained at Summer Leys reserve today, spending at least some of it's time in Wader Bay. Elsewhere there was a 'reeling' Grasshopper Warbler at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and Salcey Forest hosted two Spotted Flycatchers and a Cuckoo.

Our list for birds recorded from the garden for May is 44 with no additions today.

Regards

Neil M

Male Greenland Wheatear
Harrington Airfield (yesterday)
courtesy of Paul Crotty.

Common Whitethroat
Harrington Airfield.

Birds, butterflies and damselflies

Hello

A fine gentle day with little in the way of wind and plenty of sunshine but with mist and a sharp ground frost first thing.

Pitsford Reservoir continues to host a Great White Egret and a single Little Egret and there were two Common Sandpipers on the causeway. The first Cootlets were out in force and there were both Canada and Greylag goslings on show as well as a couple of broods of Mallard. Other birds on-site included a drake Pochard, Cetti's Warbler and Raven and plenty of insects included a big hatch of damselflies. Sadly there was also an adult Grey Heron with fishing line and a Pike lure wrapped around it's bill.

The Wood Sandpiper was again at Lower Barnwell flooded field and later in the day one was discovered at Summer Leys reserve by Hugh Matthews. Also present was a Common Sandpiper, a Barnacle Goose, a Cuckoo plus a Hairy Dragonfly on Marigold Pond and Common Blue Damselflies.

Other birds reported today included two Ravens over the Nene Valley near Cogenhoe and two Common Sandpipers at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve.

Our May 'recorded from the garden list' went up by two today with the addition of little and large in the shape of a Goldcrest and a Grey Heron!

A butterfly survey completed at Harrington Airfield yesterday successfully located up to seven Dingy Skippers. The rough grassland that they and smaller numbers of the Grizzled Skippers like is rapidly being lost to scrub as the Hawthorn and Blackthorn advances from all sides.

Regards

Neil M

Great Crested Grebe lit up
in early morning sunshine.

Nine Cootlets counts
as a very large brood!

Green-veined Whites.

Red Kite. Now a familiar
sight in most parts of the county.

More blue sky birding!

Hello

Yesterday evening (Tuesday) and a Barn Owl was hunting the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Today (Wednesday) and the Wood Sandpiper from yesterday was still present today on the flooded fields at Lower Barnwell (courtesy of John Hunt).

Our usual circuit at Harrington Airfield this morning was filled with birds, particularly singing warblers, and among other things we connected with a Raven, a pair of Grey Partridge, a singing Grasshopper Warbler and a female Wheatear. At least three Brown Hares were present too.

After a quiet couple of days the birds recorded from the garden list jumped five with the addition of Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Skylark, Swift and Common Whitethroat... still waiting for Dunnock and Magpie though!

Adrian was in luck today though and managed a female Merlin chasing Starlings from his Wellingborough garden and several people reported Swifts overhead.

A Spotted Flycatcher was at Bradlaugh Fields, Northampton today and a Cattle Egret was at the eastern end of Stanwick Pits this morning, not surprisingly with cattle! Most reports of Cuckoo are coming from the Nene Valley or sizable woodland blocks.

Regards

Neil M

A Hobby compilation relating
to probably just a single bird
 showing well at Stortons Pits
courtesy of Paul Crotty.

This stunning male Hawfinch was
 caught and ringed by Jacob at
 Spurn yesterday.

 Images courtesy of
Bethan Clyne.

Vivid blue sky birding

Hello

An altogether busier day today for birds of interest in the county although none have come my way!

John Hunt located another Wood Sandpiper this morning at Lower Barnwell floods. At lunchtime David Arden saw a Great White Egret and a Dunlin in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir and at 2pm an Osprey was seen fishing at the south end of the reservoir.

Fiona watched a daytime hunting Barn Owl this morning, again in the Brampton Valley by Lamport Station.

Birds at Summer Leys reserve today included a lingering Sandwich Tern and the drake Garganey still and Adrian located two Whimbrel in the Nene Valley west of the railway viaduct at Ditchford Pits this afternoon.

Later summer migrants such as Garden Warbler, Hobby and Swift are being reported in a more widespread manner now and it seems to be a good spring for Lesser Whitethroats with lots of singing birds staking their claim.

Regards

Neil M

Dunlin at Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of David Arden.

Jackdaw.

Woodpigeon.

Stock Dove.

This Common Buzzard careered across
the field behind our house this afternoon
on an unsuccessful strike at a Rabbit
feeding in the field just a few feet from the
boundary hedge...five minutes later and two
Rabbits fed unconcernedly in exactly the same spot
with the buzzard watching from a tree
on the opposite side of the field!

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.