More ringing data

Hello

Birds reported at Pitsford Reservoir today included three juvenile Shags around the causeway tunnel, a Great White Egret, three Pintail, two Green Sandpipers and five Siskins over.

At Hollowell Reservoir there was a fishing Osprey, a Great White Egret, a Garganey, a Pintail, two Hobbies and a Common Sandpiper.

Further east and Stanwick Pits attracted similar birds to the previous couple of days which included three Cattle Egrets and a Great White Egret. A Peregrine remained at St Mary's church in Higham Ferrers.

Elsewhere and a Tree Pipit was witnessed flying over Brackley and another was sound recorded over Duston, Northampton. A roosting flock of 32 Yellow Wagtails were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening.

Some ringing recoveries/sightings are as follows:-

1. The recently seen female Pochard at Pitsford Reservoir with a nasal saddle fitted was first ringed in France at Saint-Philbert-de-Grand-Lieu on 20th May 2016 and has been seen there regularly in 2016/2017/2019 and 2020. In fact she was still there on 17th June 2020 before turning up at Pitsford last month;

2. A first year Reed Warbler ringed at Icklesham, East Sussex on 7th August 2017 was encountered again at Stortons Pits on 2nd July 2020 when deemed to be an adult female and probably breeding. A total of 1060 days and six African journeys elapsed inbetween times!

3. A juvenile Cetti's Warbler was ringed at Brandon Marsh, Warwickshire on 6th July 2019 and caught again at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 12th July 2020 when regarded as an adult female. She had moved 56km in a SE direction over a period of 372 days to find a suitable breeding territory;

4. A predated Barn Owl found at Pitsford Reservoir on 12th July this year had been ringed as a nestling at Rutland Water on 9th June 2017 - 1129 days had elapsed between both records, 32km separating the two sites.

Regards

Neil M

Pochard.

Reed Warbler.

Barn Owl courtesy of
Chris Payne.

Cetti's Warbler.

September birds

Hello

It seems that there has been quite an exodus of small birds associated with summer during the last twenty-four hours and an influx of classic autumn birds with more waterfowl arriving.

A saunter into the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning paid off with a super adult male Merlin chasing the passerines around the nectar crop strip next to 'shrike hedge' plus a couple of Whinchats in the same area. Later on there were 2/3 Clouded Yellow butterflies on the nectar crop strip nearer to the Brampton Valley Way.

A subsequent recce at Pitsford Reservoir from the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station was sufficient to spot a Great White Egret, four Pintail, a Dunlin and a Green Sandpiper in the Scaldwell Bay and a juvenile Shag on and next to the causeway near to the tunnel. A subsequent more thorough perusal by David Arden later added a second Great White Egret, a Garganey, an Osprey and three Hobbies. This evening there was a juvenile Black Tern and a very good-looking freshly moulted adult winter plumage Mediterranean Gull (plus just two Yellow-legged Gulls) all off the Sailing Club.

Hollowell Reservoir hosted two Great White Egrets, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, two Common Sandpipers and a Whinchat. Harrington Airfield seemed very quiet for passerines this afternoon but there were still two Common Redstarts between the Chippings Compound and Bunker One, four over-flying Crossbills, three Ravens and a Hobby. Nearby at Lamport Hall, there was no sign of any Pied Flycatchers, only a single first year male Common Redstart and three/four Spotted Flycatchers were found. The Yellow Wagtail flock had also reduced considerably and I only saw nine with cattle in the cow fields at Hanging Houghton.

Blueberry Farm still hung on to some of it's birds with at least two Common Redstarts present plus four Whinchats, a Marsh Harrier and a Short-eared Owl that seemingly set off aiming for Harrington Airfield! A male Common Redstart was still present off the footpath leading from Twywell Hills and Dales Country Park.

In the Nene Valley, Chris Green noted ten Common Snipe at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows, a Whinchat was near Bozeat and a Dunlin was on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR. At Stanwick Pits Steve Fisher totaled up a Cattle Egret, three Great White Egrets, about fifty Wigeon, two Little Ringed Plovers, five Common Sandpipers, a Dunlin, a Ringed Plover and nine Yellow-legged Gulls.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Shag at Pitsford
Reservoir courtesy of
Dave Jackson.

Birds of Wednesday.

Hello

The bushes and hedgerow at Lamport Hall were eerily quiet this morning but I spent some time scanning and listening and eventually identified at least three different Common Redstarts which included a different individual from yesterday (a female). A Spotted Flycatcher sat out briefly and small flocks of Siskins flew through and the cattle attracted at least twelve Yellow Wagtails. Warblers seemed to include just singletons of Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff so back to Hanging Houghton where earlier I had seen an overflying and calling Tree Pipit flying south and about twenty-five Yellow Wagtails with the grazing cattle. A Grey Wagtail was in the general area.

Whilst back at home there were fleeting visits in the garden from further singletons of Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler and then a juvenile Common Buzzard alighted on the shed roof! He/she didn't stay long.

A visit to Market Harborough to see the Otters that have been showing well on the River Welland there drew a blank despite me patrolling the banks for nearly three hours. Three animals have been seen together very recently. My wildlife highlights were an adult male Peregrine circling over the town plus a couple of Nuthatches and a juvenile Grey Wagtail.

In the meantime Eleanor's daily jaunt in to the Brampton Valley provided a Peregrine (also an adult male) and four Whinchats and the nearby Blueberry Farm complex remained the place to see two Tree Pipits, three Common Redstarts, a Wheatear and four more Whinchats. Neil Underwood located two Common Redstarts at Harrington Airfield today, a Great White Egret was at Hollowell Reservoir and three Shags were congregated just off the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir late morning.

A Bittern was an excellent find on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR this morning plus a Snipe, a Common Sandpiper, two Dunlin and a Great White Egret. Not too far away and another Peregrine was perched on St Mary's church, Higham Ferrers.

This evening and Steve Fisher's diligent efforts at Stanwick Pits provided views of four Cattle Egrets, a Great White Egret, twenty-one Yellow-legged Gulls, two Little Ringed Plovers and a Common Sandpiper.

Regards

Neil M

Goldfinches courtesy of
John Tilly.

Juvenile Whinchat courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Common Redstarts, Pied Flycatchers and another Tree Pipit.

Hello

With perfect weather conditions it wasn't surprising that more ringing was undertaken in the county today.

At Pitsford Reservoir Dave Francis ran a session during yesterday evening and this morning at Pitsford Reservoir and captured 99 birds of 17 species which included eight Willow Warblers, eight Chiffchaffs, three Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, a Reed Warbler, two Sedge Warblers, a Whitethroat and six Tree Sparrows among more regular fare.

At Harrington Airfield ringing operations provided 88 captures of 18 species which included thirteen Linnets, five Yellowhammers, three Chiffchaffs, a Reed Warbler, ten Blackcaps, six Whitethroats, a Meadow Pipit, a Tree Pipit and two first year male Common Redstarts. Other birds noted on-site included another three Common Redstarts, a Grey Wagtail, a Golden Plover, several Siskins and a Short-eared Owl.

Two or three Pied Flycatchers were found in hedging at Lamport Hall this afternoon and during the course of searching for them at least four first year male Common Redstarts and nine Spotted Flycatchers were located. On the opposite side of the A508, twenty-eight Yellow Wagtails were in the cow fields at Hanging Houghton. Down in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton there were four Whinchats and two Clouded Yellow butterflies and further up at Blueberry Farm there were two adult male Common Redstarts and four more Whinchats.

Hollowell Reservoir fielded four Common Sandpipers and a Whinchat and a Yellow-legged Gull and a Common Sandpiper were noted at Pitsford Reservoir. Two more Common Redstarts were along the footpath leading from Twywell Hills and Dales Country Park and a Spotted Flycatcher and five Siskins were also seen.

At Summer Leys LNR the Garganey was still present, as was a Great White Egret and a Dunlin; Clifford Hill Pits hosted a Dunlin, three Ringed Plovers and a Common Sandpiper.

Regards

Neil M

First year male Common Redstart
at Harrington Airfield.

First year Tree Pipit at Harrington Airfield.

Bank Holiday Monday

Hello

The relatively still and cloudy conditions today were perfect for more ringing. At Stanford Reservoir the ringing team there caught an astounding 468 new birds today which included four Common Redstarts, four Grasshopper Warblers, a Sparrowhawk, a Lesser Redpoll and a Meadow Pipit.

At Stortons Pits 51 birds were caught with Blackcaps dominating at sixteen but also five Whitethroats, six Reed Warblers, four Sedge Warblers and four Cetti's Warblers among more common fare.

At Linford Lakes near Milton Keynes the ringing session produced over a hundred birds which included two more Kingfishers (with another yesterday), a Grasshopper Warbler, forty-two Blackcaps, twenty Reed Warblers, six Sedge Warblers, a Cetti's Warbler, eight Willow Warblers and nine Chiffchaffs.

An adult Grass Snake was in preparation of changing it's skin with a thin membrane over the eyes and amphibians included Common and Great Crested Newts.

Birds seen in the county today included more bumper numbers of Common Redstarts with birds at Harrington Airfield (probably four), Blueberry Farm, Ashby St Ledgers, Borough Hill Country Park (two) and the footpath between Pitsford Reservoir and the villages of Old and Walgrave (at least three).

Pitsford Reservoir attracted one or two Shag(s) and two Great White Egrets and Hollowell Reservoir hosted a Ruddy Shelduck, a Redshank, 2-4 Common Sandpipers, a Whinchat and a Wheatear. More Whinchats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton (four), Borough Hill CP and  Blueberry Farm (four).

A Marsh Harrier was again in the valley below Hanging Houghton, there was a Tree Pipit at Blueberry Farm, four Spotted Flycatchers were at Borough Hill CP and this evening a Short-eared Owl flew over Harrington Airfield where a ringing session will take place tomorrow (restricted access).

Regards

Neil M

Grass Snake.

Kingfishers.

Grasshopper Warbler courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Spotted Flycatcher courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

Migration in full swing

 Hello

Stanford Reservoir Ringing Group were operating again today and again did well with 139 new birds caught and 22 birds re-trapped from previous sessions. Obvious highlights among the captures were singles of Spotted Flycatcher, Common Redstart and three Grasshopper Warblers. Down at Linford Lakes on the edge of Milton Keynes, preparations were made for a ringing session tomorrow morning. However in the course of setting up the nets this afternoon a Spotted Flycatcher and a Kingfisher were caught as well as small numbers of Reed Warblers and Chiffchaffs. Other wildlife on show included Grass Snakes, Common and Great Crested Newts and other birds noted on-site included Green Sandpiper and Water Rail.

Plans are afoot for another period of ringing at Harrington Airfield during the morning of Tuesday 1st September when I'm afraid the old runway and bunker areas will be out of bounds during the session. A wander around there this morning confirmed two Common Redstarts as still being present between the Chippings Compound and Bunker One. Three Siskins flew over and a trickle of Meadow Pipits overhead signaled the start of their migration south over the county.

Sadly a juvenile Common Buzzard was found in a crumpled heap at the side of the A508 between Hanging Houghton and Brixworth - the corpse will be sent away for tissue analysis by the Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme (PBMS) that regularly assess any toxic build up of chemicals in the tissue of birds of prey and owls.

A Shag was still at Pitsford Reservoir this morning in the vicinity of the causeway plus a Common Sandpiper and a Swift. At the southern end of the reservoir this evening there was a second winter Mediterranean Gull, six Yellow-legged Gulls and a Curlew flew south.

Three Whinchats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today and a Common Redstart and two Spotted Flycatchers remained at Lamport Hall. Ian Dobson found two Common Redstarts at the traditional passage spot at Fawsley Park at the top of the track near the Granary.

Two Peregrines were using St Mary's church at Higham Ferrers as a resting spot today and in the Nene Valley today there was a Greenshank and a Whinchat at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows LNR and a flock of gulls using Kinewell Lake at Ringstead Pits to bathe in included at least fourteen Yellow-legged Gulls.

Regards

Neil M

Kingfisher.

Anaglptus mysticus Longhorn Beetle
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Apple Fruit Weevil courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Scarce Seven Spot Ladybird
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Egrets, Whinchats and a Short-eared Owl

 Hello

More strong winds and rain this afternoon made for unappealing conditions for wildlife watching!

Nevertheless there were things still out there to see and birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included a juvenile Shag, two or more Yellow-legged Gulls, two Garganey, a Great White Egret, a Hobby, a Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper and a Swift. One of the local Common Buzzards has made the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station it's regular spot and can be found sometimes perched on the bird table there where it brings prey for butchering (most of the time Brown Rats)!

Stanwick Pits provided views of six Cattle Egrets plus a Great White Egret, a Greenshank, two Common Sandpipers, two Little Ringed Plovers, a Dunlin and a Whinchat. Another Whinchat was found in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and Gary Burrows found a Short-eared Owl at Harrington Airfield this morning (Bunker Three).

The weather forecast for the coming week indicates that the weather will calm and it is anticipated that county ringers will again be active on Monday and Tuesday which again might provide captures of scarcer migrants.

Regards

Neil M

Common Buzzard.

Short-eared Owl courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Cattle Egret.

Stormy weather again!

 Hello

Yesterday evening (Thursday) and additional birds included a Marsh Harrier flying along the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton towards Brixworth and a flock of nine Knot seen flying along the dam at Pitsford Reservoir but they apparently didn't linger. Stanwick Pit was the venue for twenty-two Yellow-legged Gulls and a juvenile Caspian Gull plus eleven Snipe, four Common Sandpipers, two Little Ringed Plovers, three Cattle Egrets and two Great White Egrets - quite a haul!

Today (Friday) and the weather deteriorated significantly with periods of heavy rain and the return of gale force winds again this evening.

Pitsford Reservoir today hosted three juvenile Shags, three to five Yellow-legged Gulls, a Common Sandpiper and two Green Sandpipers. Two Common Redstarts remain between the Chipping Compound and Bunker One at Harrington Airfield.

Regards

Neil M

Hoverfly Chrysotoxum festivum.

Hoverfly Chrysotoxum cautum.

Snail sp.

Spectacled Moth.

All images courtesy of
Dave Jackson. Macro 
photography certainly makes
the humble snail quite something!
Dave has a couple more macro
photography workshops coming up
next month (9th and 16th), the
  venue being Pitsford Reservoir.
Should you wish to learn more
please book your place via the 
Naturetrek website
 https://www.naturetrek.co.uk/

County autumn ringing

Hello

Yesterday (Wednesday) and Pitsford Reservoir attracted three juvenile Shags, a Common Sandpiper and a Tree Pipit at the dam end in the morning. Just one Common Redstart was located along the footpath between Pitsford Reservoir and Walgrave village and there was a Wheatear and three Whinchats in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. A few Swifts were still flying over Far Cotton, Northampton and Summer Leys LNR hosted a Garganey, a Great White Egret, four Egyptian Geese, a Greenshank, a Ruff and a Common Sandpiper.

In the evening there were two Common Redstarts, three Spotted Flycatchers and two Crossbills at Lamport Hall and a Whimbrel was trilling evocatively as it flew south over Harrington Airfield and a pair of Hobbies were chasing Swallows.

Today (Thursday) and county ringers were active, making the most of dull, still conditions sandwiched between the storms of the last few days and an incoming band of rain.

The Stanford Reservoir team encountered and processed over 600 birds which was a staggering effort, the birds included a Spotted Flycatcher, eight Common Redstarts and the star bird a superb Wryneck!

Dave Francis tried a session around the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station at Pitsford Reservoir producing 68 birds of sixteen species which included a particularly lively Sparrowhawk, ten Robins, nine Tree Sparrows and small numbers of Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Whitethroats.

Chris Payne was over at Greens Norton where he managed 65 birds of 13 species which included a Kingfisher, an excellent twenty-six Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, eight Willow Warblers, eight Chiffchaffs, a Reed Warbler and five Goldcrests.

Harrington Airfield was also tried and provided 89 captures of 21 species with the highlights being six Tree Pipits, four Willow Warblers, five Chiffchaffs, seven Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, a Grasshopper Warbler, two Whitethroats, eight Swallows and four Tree Sparrows. The Tree Pipits were part of a movement of perhaps 12 -15 birds moving through. Two adult male Common Redstarts were also present and three flocks of Siskins flew over.

Away from ringing and a Quail was heard calling in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and an Osprey was seen flying south there. Nearby a male Common Redstart, two Spotted Flycatchers and a Wheatear were along south bordering hedges/fields of Lamport Hall this afternoon in rather wet conditions and the Yellow Wagtail flock at Hanging Houghton exceeded twenty birds.

Two juvenile Shags at Pitsford Reservoir today have been regionally eclipsed by the numbers (in their twenties) at Draycote and Rutland Waters. An Osprey was seen there too and in the Scaldwell Bay there were two Great White Egrets and a Common Redstart.

Regards

Neil M

Male Kestrel at Pitsford Reservoir.

Tree Pipit Harrington Airfield.

Painted Lady butterfly
courtesy of Jim Dunkley.

Images from Robin

 

Kestrel.

Little Egret.

Shag.

Kestrel.

Snipe.

Swallow.

Wren.

Grey Phalarope.

Common Tern.

Brown Hare.

All images courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Autumn has come early!

Hello

Yesterday (Monday) a ringing session was undertaken at Linford Lakes on the edge of Milton Keynes. This was a successful session but the sheer amount of quality wildlife on offer was amazing with a Water Shrew being seen as well as Bank Vole, four Common and eight Great Crested Newts, nine Grass Snakes, two Common Toads and two Common Frogs! Birds seen included an Osprey, a Great White Egret, three Green Sandpipers, a Dunlin and two Tree Pipits.

Sixty-nine birds were caught and processed made up of twenty-one Blackcaps, a Whitethroat, twenty-one Reed Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, six Chiffchaffs, four Wrens, eight Blue Tits, two Great Tits, two Long-tailed Tits and two Yellow Wagtails (this latter species is only caught in very low numbers locally).

Also yesterday evening three juvenile Shags could be found at the southern end of Pitsford Reservoir where the gull roost harboured ten Yellow-legged Gulls, half of which were juveniles. Eleanor's visit to the Brampton Valley in the evening very quickly provided views of a Marsh Harrier, two Wheatears and a Whinchat. Other observations during a pleasant, still evening included three Great White Egrets roosting in trees in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir and two or three Great White Egrets, two Common Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper at the Earls Barton Pits complex.

Today (Tuesday) and a predicted wild and wet affair proved to be an accurate forecast! At least two Shags were to be found this morning at the south end of Pitsford Reservoir as were up to five Yellow-legged Gulls and a Swift. A Peregrine was seen over the Moulton Grange Bay and birds still from yesterday included the two Common Redstarts still in the hedge en-route to the Bird Club Hide in the Scaldwell Bay and two Dunlin, a Green Sandpiper and a Ringed Plover on the shoreline. An afternoon Shag number assessment with at least one bird still in the Scaldwell Bay was that five birds were present at the reservoir today.

Chris Green saw two Swifts over Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve today.

Two or three Otters were on show on the swollen River Welland at Market Harborough this morning behind the Waitrose and Aldi supermarkets...

Regards

Neil M

Bank Vole courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Grass Snakes courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Yellow Wagtail courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Otter at Market Harborough today...

Ooops! A Hot Air balloon
made an impromptu landing
on the water at Pitsford Reservoir
yesterday but successfully managed
to lift off and drift away! 

Black-headed Gull
Pitsford Reservoir.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull
Pitsford Reservoir.