Brixworth ringing.

Hello

A warm and sunny summer's day and much of it was taken up with a ringing session at Brixworth Water Treatment Works where a small team managed to catch and process 111 birds of 20 species. 

Warblers completely dominated the session with 24 Chiffchaffs, 3 Willow Warblers, 11 Reed Warblers, 7 Sedge Warblers, 13 Blackcaps, 10 Common Whitethroats and singles of Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat. Other birds included a Pied Wagtail, 3 Song Thrushes, 3 Magpies and singles of Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer. Five Grey Wagtails evaded the nets and a Kingfisher flew through.

Eleanor completed an early morning walk at Harrington Airfield this morning seeing the long-staying male Common Redstart, hearing a 'reeling' Grasshopper Warbler near Bunker One, and seeing a silent adult Cuckoo and 2 Crossbills and 4 Siskins flying over.

A Crossbill was heard flying over Brackley this morning and the Earls Barton Pits complex hosted a single Black-necked Grebe and a Dunlin on Summer Leys LNR and this evening a Spoonbill initially at Summer Leys and latterly at Hardwater Lake.

The Peregrine was again on it's church spire in Market Harborough town centre this fine evening.

Regards

Neil M

The diminutive Chiffchaff, one
of the most common birds
ringed in the UK.
Image courtesy of John Tilly.

Sedge Warbler courtesy of
Lynne Barnett.

Common Whitethroat
courtesy of Lynne Barnett.

Pitsford Reservoir day tour

Hello

Today was another Natutretrek day trip to the Wildlife Trust reserve at Pitsford Reservoir. After meeting at 9am, Mischa provided some eleven specimens from the moth trap to examine before they were given their liberty and included a Bufftip which was recently voted as Britain's favourite moth!

We then took a slow walk around the reserve in initially breezy, grey conditions but this gradually gave way to an increase in temperature and then some lovely periods of sunshine. Ringlets were the first butterflies to put in an appearance followed by the whites and in the end we saw 16 different species with a couple of examples of Marbled White and lots of pristine Peacocks, Red Admirals and one small area with several bright Commas.

The best bird was a stunning adult male Common Redstart that was using the perimeter fence between the Holcot and Walgrave Bays about 400m east of the Old Walgrave Road as it's feeding perch with sallies down to the ground and adjacent plantation.

Clouds of Common Blue Damselflies lifted out of the grass as we progressed and we saw a couple of Common Toadlets. The Walgrave Bay hosted at least three Little Egrets and a Hobby and by this time Ruddy and Common Darters were on the wing and the small pools at the bottom of the bay was good for Four-spotted Chaser, Emerald Damselfly and Blue Emperor with occasional glimpses of Brown Hawkers and Black-tailed Skimmers. A male Muntjac barked at us and we heard quite a few Marsh Tits without properly seeing any of them!

There were rather more birds in the Scaldwell Bay where Mischa rescued a Common Tern chick and placed it in the raft it needs to remain in for a little longer before trying to fly again! Rafts of feeding Coots included plenty of Gadwall and two small broods of Tufted Ducks were present. A Southern Hawker dragonfly posed nicely and a Black-tailed Godwit was on the shoreline between the Bird Club and Maytrees Hides.

Stanwick enjoyed a variety of birds today with two mobile Great White Egrets, two Cattle Egrets, a Black-tailed Godwit, two Redshanks, two Little Ringed Plovers, a Common Sandpiper, a Whimbrel (that subsequently flew off), a Yellow-legged Gull and a Turtle Dove that flew east.

One of the Black-necked Grebes was still at Summer Leys LNR today plus a Dunlin on Round Island and two Great White Egrets flew SW at Stanford Reservoir this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Adult male Common Redstart...sorry it's
a bit distant!

Emerald Damselfly.

Four spotted Chaser probably
of the form 'praenublia'.

Gatekeeper or if you
prefer the old name -
Hedge Brown!

Ringlet.

Ruddy Darter.

Southern Hawker.

All images taken at Pitsford
Reservoir today.

Dull and damp Wednesday

Hello

Yesterday (Tuesday) Chris Payne committed to some solo ringing near Greens Norton and processed over a hundred birds. Great Tits and Blue Tits dominated but other birds included three Blackcaps, five Chiffchaffs, a Treecreeper, a Goldfinch and five Great Spotted Woodpeckers.

Yesterday evening John Hunt was standing in his Spratton garden admiring the Swifts flying around and was pleased to see a Barn Owl checking out the garden meadow. As he stood there the Barn Owl flew towards him and landed on his head for a couple of seconds! It then flew around and went to land on his head again, only thwarted as John tried to photograph the event!

Today (Wednesday) and birds at Pitsford Reservoir included Spotted Flycatchers, a Grey Wagtail, a Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper at the south end and two Yellow-legged Gulls and three Common Sandpipers and over two hundred Gadwall on the reserve north of the causeway.

Birds at Stanwick Pits included a Whimbrel flying over in a south westerly direction and a Cattle Egret which flew east as well as a Yellow-legged Gull.

In the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton a pair of Grey Partridges still had their two young, there was a Barn Owl and a Little Owl and mammals active this evening included a Badger, a Muntjac with a brief view of an Otter again.

Two Siskins flew over Harrington Airfield this morning and a Grasshopper Warbler was 'reeling' near Bunker One; five Grey Wagtails were at Brixworth Water Treatment Works.

I did't see the Otter at Market Harborough this evening but the Peregrine was present on the church spire in the town centre.

Regards

Neil M

Treecreeper courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Wood Wasp or Horntail
courtesy of David Arden.

Kite-tailed Robber Fly
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

The wildlife of mid July

Hello

Evening birds for yesterday (Monday) included the male Common Redstart still at Harrington Airfield, a Crossbill in Denton Wood (Yardley Chase) and two Curlew and a Common Sandpiper at Earls Barton Pits. A Black-tailed Godwit over Far Cotton, Northampton was detected audibly after dark.

Some time spent at the south end of Pitsford Reservoir this morning (Tuesday) provided observations of a fishing Osprey, a Common Sandpiper, three Yellow-legged Gulls, three Siskins, a pair of Spotted Flycatchers (sadly without young), a Kingfisher, a couple of Little Egrets and at least two Grey Wagtails. Two Stoats were patrolling the perimeter of the Sailing Club grounds causing the birds to be on high alert.

Stanwick Pits provided early morning views of two Cattle Egrets and a Redshank on the Main Lake and this evening a Little Tern was seen initially on the main lake and latterly on the Visitor Centre lake.

At Summer Leys LNR the two juvenile Black-necked Grebes remained in situ as did three Common Redstarts on a private track between Brockhall and Little Brington (present for at least three days). The Common Redstart was still at Harrington Airfield today, this time perhaps a little closer to Bunker One and a Hobby was seen there.

Hollowell Reservoir sported the female Ruddy Shelduck still and a couple of Little Ringed Plovers and late news for yesterday (via Birdguides) was of three White Storks seen in flight at Long Buckby which headed west in the morning.

Neil Hasdell has kindly completed maps for Hollowell and Ravensthorpe Reservoirs and updated the map for Pitsford Reservoir and these can be found on the 'Birdwatching Site Maps' Tab. More maps will follow in due course once site checks have been completed and accuracy is assured.

Regards

Neil M

Stoat on the hunt.

Common Terns at Pitsford
Reservoir yesterday - images
courtesy of Dave Jackson.

 The youngster became waterlogged
and seemingly didn't have the strength to
extract itself from the clingy
surface vegetation. Once extracted
and placed on the stump the adults
continued to feed it and Dave has
captured one of the adults with a
very small Pike as prey - something
I saw myself last week but wasn't
 quick enough to photograph!

Pitsford ringing.

Hello

Some bird ringing at Pitsford Reservoir using mist nets at the Old Scaldwell Road yesterday afternoon and this morning provided 63 captures of 12 species. This was made up of 18 Blue Tits, 16 Great Tits, 13 Tree Sparrows (12 juveniles, one adult), 3 Mallard ducklings, 3 Wrens, 2 Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler, 2 Dunnocks, 2 Reed Buntings and a Greenfinch. Birds noted included two Kingfishers, a couple of migrant Sedge Warblers, two Yellow-legged Gulls and a fly-over Osprey. Butterflies included Marbled White and Small Copper plus several Black-tailed Skimmers bombing about.

At Earls Barton Pits this morning there were two Great White Egrets at Hardwater Lake and the two juvenile Black-necked Grebes were on Summer Leys LNR.

A sweep for butterflies at Fermyn Woods today provided Purple Hairstreaks, Silver-washed Fritillaries, a couple of White Admirals and Hummingbird Hawk-moth and Weekly Hall Woods produced sightings of Purple Hairstreak and Silver-washed Fritillary. A Hummingbird Hawk-moth was in our garden on the buddleia this afternoon alongside Red Admiral and pristine fresh Peacock butterflies.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Lesser Whitethroat.

Juvenile Tree Sparrows.

Ringing day

Hello

This morning and the male Common Redstart was again at Harrington Airfield close to the chippings compound with a Grasshopper Warbler reeling at Bunker One.

The two now rather long-staying juvenile Black-necked Grebes were seen at Summer Leys LNR this morning and a Mandarin Duck was found at Kinewell Lake, Ringstead Pits.

A dead Barn Owl was found at Pitsford Reservoir today having been predated by something. It was a ringed bird so we will learn more of it's history but preliminary details suggested it was ringed as a nestling in 2017.

Northants Ringing Group ringers were very active today and Nick Wood performed a solo effort at Chase Park Farm, Yardley Chase where five and a half hours work provided 31 birds of 12 species made up of 2 Bullfinches, 6 Blue Tits, 3 Great Tits, 2 Common Whitethroats, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 5 Blackcaps, 2 Garden Warblers, a Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackbirds, 2 Dunnocks and a Robin.

At Linford Lakes Helen and Kenny worked the nets to capture 90 birds of 20 species, 82 of which were newly ringed. The warblers provided the most interest apart from a juvenile Marsh Tit which is a rare encounter on-site. The warblers were made up of 10 Chiffchaffs, 6 Willow Warblers, 7 Whitethroats, 13 Blackcaps, 6 Garden Warblers, 9 Reed Warblers and 2 Cetti's Warblers (one of which had already been previously ringed elsewhere).

A small team operating at Stortons Pits today processed 64 birds of 16 species, 55 of which were birds not previously encountered. Again warblers dominated with 6 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, 4 Whitethroats, 18 Blackcaps, 3 Garden Warblers, a Sedge Warbler, 15 Reed Warblers and 2 Cetti's Warblers - one of which was a male first ringed in 2016 and subsequently re-captured in 2018 and 2019.

Regards

Neil M

Marsh Tit courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Caloptilla alchimiella.

Endotricha flammealis.

Ephiattes manifestator.

Insect images courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

The wonders of nature

After the recent wet and windy weather I was rather hoping that a few new birds would pop their heads out. But that does not seem to be the case. The two juv Black Necked Grebes and a few Black Tailed Godwits remain at Summer Leys, female Ruddy Shelduck at Hollowell and Crossbills around the car park area at Wakerley Wood. This has always been a favourite haunt for Crossbills and usually they are very easy to locate as they are quite vocal and quite noisy eaters as they munch on the cones. 

I visited Harrington Airfield yesterday and finally managed to see the male Common Redstart which frequents the bushes between the chipping compound and the first bunker. Prior to this I had heard it calling and watched the vegetation move as it flitted through the bushes.  There was a Barn Owl out hunting and 7 Crossbills and 2 Siskins flying over.
Today I went to Pitsford Reservoir. I didn't spend too long around the big side as it was extremely busy with people.  At least 2 Common Sandpipers were flying around and an Osprey made a short appearance.    It was nice to escape to the peace and quiet of the small side north of the causeway.  Plenty of birds around including 2 Little Egrets doing a good job of hiding themselves in the reeds. The male Red Crested Pochard remains in the back of the Scaldwell bay and i noticed at least 4 Wigeon.  
There was a large raft of  " aythya" ducks of which there were over 230 Tufted Duck which is a good number for this time of year and always worth a close look just incase there is something more interesting among them.

It seems that all the young birds are out and about. Our garden is full of young Goldfinches, Starlings and Jackdaws. In the morning just after first light we often have 50 Jackdaws feeding, most of them youngsters and very vocal. I certainly do not need an alarm clock with these but I do wonder how popular we are with our neighbours !!    The warblers seem to have had a successful year as lots of young Blackcap, Whitethroat and Willow Warblers about.
I was pleased to see that my two families of Grey Partridge are still intact, fingers crossed, as I think that they always seem to struggle.
At Pitsford it was quite entertaining to watch the young Black Headed Gulls and Common Terns, both species giving their respective parents grief.

One of my highlights today was when I was out running early this morning. I heard something which I haven't heard for a while, the begging call of a Tawny Owl. So after a slight deviation from my route I located 2 young Tawny Owls looking at me from the safety of a big oak tree.
The other highlight of my day came this evening . I had a very excited message from a friend who had just seen an Otter. This confirmed my suspicions as I had seen signs of activity over the last couple of days.  I walked that way this evening and if I'm honest didn't expect to see anything but I managed to see it as it swam along the brook.  Amazing , and just as I'm recovering from this encounter a Barn Owl appeared a literally flew at head height seemingly oblivious to me standing there.

Regards Eleanor

More Crossbills.

Hello

Today's bird sightings were dominated by Crossbills as the summer irruption into the UK continues.

At Bucknell Wood today there were at least twenty Crossbills in the trees before being attacked by a Sparrowhawk. Smaller flocks seen subsequently may have been part of the original large flock, and a Raven was present too.

Tom had at least a dozen Crossbills in his sights in trees within the car park complex at Wakerley Wood in the north of the county and Nick had three more fly over Town Lake at Thrapston Pits (and an Osprey fly north there at 2pm).

In the meantime the two juvenile Black-necked Grebes continue to grace the Summer Leys LNR and this afternoon's steady light rain procured hundreds of Swifts and five Redshanks to appear, with a Common Sandpiper noted earlier.

Steve's daily excursion to Stanwick Pits provided views of four Cattle Egrets and a Mediterranean Gull, all on the main lake early on. A Raven infuriated the local crows at Hanging Houghton this morning!

A Naturetrek day trip to Pitsford Reservoir unfortunately coincided with some particularly wet and persistent weather but the warmth and light winds at least permitted sharp-eyed observers to find water-logged butterflies and other insects. Before we began our walk Mischa had kindly collected some moths from the traps and provided us with thirteen species to look at including Pine Hawk-moth, Elephant Hawk-moth, Yellowtail, Bufftip and Beautiful Hooktip. 

The weather was far from ideal in spotting small birds in the foliage but we glimpsed a family party of Spotted Flycatchers and encountered Marsh Tits at several points around the reserve. Warblers didn't put on much of a show but we saw Reed and Garden Warblers and a Lesser Whitethroat sang briefly. Fourteen species of butterfly were logged including a couple of Purple Hairstreaks and a few Marbled Whites and Emerald Damselfly was the best of the odonata on show. Plenty of Common Toadlets were on the march and we had to be careful not to tread on them and Roesel's Bush-crickets were 'reeling' despite the precipitation.

Regards

Neil M

A nosy Elephant Hawk-moth

Beautiful Hooktip.

Common Blue Damselflies.

Emerald Damselfly.

Marbled White butterfly.

Small Skipper.

Essex Skipper.

All images from a wet
 Pitsford Reservoir today.

Common Tern

Hello

Some very wet weather out there today but it didn't deter the keenest of birders!

At Earls Barton Pits there were three Black-tailed Godwits at the eastern end of Hardwater Lake this morning and the two juvenile Black-necked Grebes were still on the Summer Leys LNR reserve.

Late morning and five Crossbills were in trees around the main car park at Wakerley Wood, very much a traditional stop-over site for them. 

This afternoon and there were four Cattle Egrets on the Main Lake at Stanwick and Hollowell Reservoir continued to host the female Ruddy Shelduck plus a Little Ringed Plover and a Dunlin (with an Osprey in the morning).

The adult male Common Redstart was seen again this afternoon at Harrington Airfield, moving between bushes about 50m beyond the chippings compound. Also present was a pair of Grey Partridge and a foraging Stoat.

Information relating to the colour-ringed Common Tern seen at Pitsford Reservoir on Monday (and also Saturday by Adrian) has quickly been provided by the project ringer Andy Smith. The bird was ringed as a nestling at Watermead Country Park, Leicestershire on 18th June 2017, so it's not far from it's natal area. Hitherto it had been reported twice during it's life, the first time at Seaforth, Merseyside on 14th August 2017 and then on Coquet Island, Northumberland on 18th June 2019! Terns are amazing travelers and their light but strong frame takes them all over the globe and often very quickly. 

Following its dispersal in the autumn of 2017 it no doubt traveled around quite a bit of the UK before heading off to winter in African coastal waters where in all probability it remained throughout 2018.
Clearly in the spring of 2019 it visited the NE coast of England (Coquet Island is the place in England for Roseate Tern and whilst there it would probably have been easily outnumbered by this species and Arctic Tern too). In any event this summer finds it back in the English Midlands where we might speculate as to whether it is one of the breeding birds on the tern rafts at Pitsford Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

UO5 as a nestling just after
being ringed in June 2017,
image courtesy of Andy Smith.

...and this is what UO5 looks
like now, a beautiful, sleek
adult Common Tern.

The Pitsford Oystercatchers
of 2019 ( it might be the same
pair again this year) courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Ringlet butterfly courtesy
of John Tilly.

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Cranes, grebes and Siskins

Hello

It seemed a much quieter day for sightings in the county today, well that was until this afternoon when Stuart Munday witnessed two Common Cranes fly over his house in Duston, Northampton towards Sixfields! Unfortunately they weren't reported again.

The two juvenile Black-necked Grebes were still at Summer Leys LNR today as was a single Common Sandpiper.

The southern end of Pitsford Reservoir attracted four Yellow-legged Gulls at lunchtime with a fifth north of the causeway later. There was also a Spotted Flycatcher and a Grey Wagtail next to the Sailing Club and there were four Grey Wagtails in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth.

Four Siskins flew over our Hanging Houghton garden this morning and at Stanwick Pits this afternoon there were four Mediterranean Gulls, three Common Sandpipers and thirteen Siskins.

A ringing session near Greens Norton this morning demonstrated pre-planning with an excellent catch of 112 birds of eleven species made up of 39 Great Tits, 28 Blue Tits, 7 Robins, 2 Dunnocks, 7 Wrens, 5 Treecreepers, 3 Blackbirds, 5 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 4 Blackcaps, 10 Chiffchaffs and 2 Bullfinches. At a few sites in the county this year, nest box usage by Great Tits has been more numerous than Blue Tits. This could be simply due to the larger Great Tit out-competing the Blue Tit for a prime nesting site or in some areas the Great Tit is now the more numerous of the two. However in our garden the ratio is about ten juvenile Blue Tits to one juvenile Great Tit!

Also this year I have been noticing a lack of Dunnocks with none currently in our garden and a couple of places which normally have a concentration of pairs where there are now only a few. Sadly Bullfinches have been reducing slowly during the last ten years and the population seems to have plateaued out at a new reduced level of birds - a scenario duplicated by quite a few passerines in Northamptonshire during the last three decades. On the plus side we now have more Goldfinches, Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Cetti's Warblers and Robin and Wren populations are doing well following a recent run of mild winters.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Great Spotted
Woodpecker courtesy of
Chris Payne.

Banded General Soldierfly
courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Black and Yellow Longhorn
Beetle courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Jumping Spider
Satticus scenicus.

...and with a rather large
prey item!

 Images courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Eventful Monday

Hello

A Sunday evening visit back to the River Welland at Market Harborough provided close views of an Otter, albeit at dusk in challenging light conditions.

Another blustery day (Monday) with squalls and sharp showers gave way to lovely sunshine but still a strong wind and a beautiful evening.

Matt Hazleton was on the ball at Summer Leys LNR this morning, locating two juvenile Black-necked Grebes off Round Island, a very early 'autumn' dispersal record. Later observers enjoyed these birds plus a party of up to twenty-three Black-tailed Godwits and a fly-over Curlew.

Steve's morning visit to Stanwick provided views of four Mediterranean Gulls, a Green Sandpiper and two Barnacle Geese. And Chris Hubbard's continual birding at Stanford Reservoir paid off again with a Little Tern over the dam that flew off west just after 8am.

An Osprey put in an appearance at Hollowell Reservoir again this evening and two Turtle Doves together were seen at a site in the county this afternoon.

Pitsford Reservoir has plenty of waterbirds on show in the Scaldwell Bay currently and in among them were eight splendid adult Black-tailed Godwits on the shoreline between the Maytrees and Bird Club hides. A party of six migrant adult Redshanks were resting on one of the tern rafts, pretty much ignoring the hustle and bustle all around them! The drake Red-crested Pochard was loosely associated with the Gadwall flock there. A colour-ringed Common Tern was photographed and I await details of where it originates.

Although I have suspected it for some time, today was the first time I have actually witnessed a Cormorant predate another waterbird - a well-grown (three quarter size) juvenile Great Crested Grebe was the unfortunate victim with the adults helpless to intervene. The Cormorant drowned the grebe and then swallowed it whole - they are capable of swallowing large fish but this probably didn't slide down so easily!

The non-avian highlights of a stroll and bird feeding expedition to Harrington Airfield was a Grass Snake, Blue Emperor dragonflies and of course Marbled White butterflies. The best birds at Hanging Houghton was a Hobby and a couple of Siskins.

This evening a Quail was calling from a barley field between Cottesbrooke and Blueberry Farm (at about SP 720753) and a male Peregrine was nearby.

Regards

Neil M

Otter at Market
Harborough.

Just-fledged Spotted Flycatcher.

Black-tailed Godwits
at Pitsford Reservoir.

Distant image of a Cormorant
swallowing a Great Crested Grebe.

Colour-ringed Common Tern.