Ditchford WeBS count

Hello

I completed a WeBS count at Ditchford Pits today, starting west of Ditchford Lane where an adult male Peregrine was perched on pylons. Juvenile Woodpigeons perched next to him on the wires but he was clearly not hungry!

On a count which was busy with people wherever I went, wildlife was in pretty short supply but other birds west of Ditchford Lane included a Curlew and nine Egyptian Geese and a Kingfisher plus three Cetti's Warblers and a couple of Grey Wagtails.

The older pits east of Ditchford Lane didn't yield much that was significant, the Battle of Britain commemorative flight of a Hurricane leading a trio of Spitfires was the undoubted highlight!

The main pit between Irthlingborough and Higham Ferrers was busy with wildfowl, the shallow water and abundant water weed attracting 4 Pintail, 190 Gadwall, 50 Shovelers and 110 Wigeon. More Grey Wagtails, a couple of Kingfishers, a Hobby hawking dragonflies and small numbers of Siskins and Redpolls were the best of the rest! A Brown Hawker is very much at the end of their flight period.

Elsewhere and Gary Burrows was having a good time at Borough Hill Country Park this afternoon with finds of a Black Redstart, a Common Redstart, a Whinchat and at least nine Stonechats! Four more Stonechats were watched in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton by Jonathan.

Stanwick Pits today was still hanging on to nine Cattle Egrets plus a Great White Egret, five Pintail and a Ringed Plover and the Peregrine was atop St Mary's church again in Higham Ferrers at 10am.

Interestingly, the Lammergeier (or Bearded Vulture if you prefer) which has been summering in the Peak District wasn't reported there today but there was a sighting of it at 2.30pm in neighbouring Leicestershire flying SE over Thornton... which begs the question did it come into Northamptonshire airspace?

Regards

Neil M

Egyptian Geese.

Grey Heron.

Highland Cow, or if you are
north of the border, Highland 
Coo! A small herd of these
animals manage the sward and
coarse grasses of the Ditchford
Lakes and Meadows reserve.

All images from Ditchford Pits today.

Sightings for Saturday

Hello

Eleanor's visit to Lamport Hall and Harrington Airfield produced no birds of note today with the bushes pretty much empty of birds. However Terry saw a Merlin chasing Skylarks at Harrington Airfield and Hollowell Reservoir's Little Stint re-appeared this afternoon in company with two Ringed Plovers, and a Stonechat was present too.

A red wing-tagged Marsh Harrier was seen at both Stanwick and neighbouring Ditchford Pits today and other birds at Stanwick included four Cattle Egrets and a Great White Egret. An Osprey was seen flying west over Ditchford Pits and a Peregrine was on St Mary's Church at Higham Ferrers.

A first year Mediterranean Gull and a Great White Egret were at Summer Leys LNR this morning, two Crossbills were mobile in Wakerley Wood and three Yellow-legged Gulls were at the south end of Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon.

Debs and Eric enjoyed their walk around the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits today, catching up on two Great White Egrets, a Kingfisher and two Hobbies showing well as they hawked dragonflies

Regards

Neil M

Yellow-legged Gull at
Pitsford Reservoir this
afternoon.

More ringing recoveries

Hello

Quite a number of ringing recoveries have come through recently, reflecting the efforts of Northants Ringing Group members and those nearby and in surrounding counties...

1.    An adult Reed Warbler was ringed at Marston Vale Millennium Country Park in Bedfordshire on 16th April 2017 and re-trapped at Linford Lakes on 30th July and 8th August this year. The two sites are only 17km distance but of course this bird will hopefully be on it's way for at least a fifth winter spent in Africa!

2.    A juvenile Reed Warbler ringed at Linford Lakes on 8th August this year was re-trapped at Icklesham, East Sussex on 19th August, a distance of 166km within 11 days in a predicted south easterly direction;

3.    A Reed Warbler caught and ringed as a juvenile at Holme Pierrepont, Nottinghamshire on 13th August 2017 was found in a mist net at Pitsford Reservoir on 30th July this year, 1082 days elapsing between the two records. This bird will hopefully make it to Africa for a fourth successive winter!

4.    A Blue Tit ringed as a first year male at Hanging Houghton on 31st October 2019 was caught again on 4th September this year by Colin Graham of the Rockingham Forest Ringing Group. Colin operates a ringing site at Southwick and this bird was re-trapped in a mist net there, some 33km from Hanging Houghton;

5.    Another Blue Tit which was ringed at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate as a first year female on 9th March 2020 was re-trapped on 10th September at Rectory farm, Tingewick in Buckinghamshire, this being 185 days later with the bird having traveled 46km in a SSW direction;

6.    A juvenile Blackcap initially ringed at Hillesden, Buckinghamshire on 14th July this year was re-trapped 21km away at Linford Lakes on 24th August, the bird having traveled 21km in a north-easterly direction;

7.    A Garden Warbler caught and processed at Linford Lakes on 8th August this year was first trapped and ringed on 1st September 2018 at Bolea, Huesca in Spain when assessed as a juvenile bird. There is a distance of 1093km between the two sites but of course this bird has traveled thousands of miles during the 707 days between;

8.    A male Sparrowhawk was ringed as a nestling by John Woollett on 1st July 2010 at Eastcote near Towcester. This bird was then caught in a mist net by Chris Payne at Greens Norton on 25th November 2015. More recently this bird was reported as freshly dead at Towcester on 5th May 2020. Ten years is a good age for a Sparrowhawk, the evidence suggesting it remained close to it's natal area during much of it's life.

At Hollowell Reservoir this morning there was a Great White Egret, a Dunlin, a Snipe and a Stonechat and this evening new birds in included a Little Stint, five Dunlin and two Ringed Plovers.

At Pitsford Reservoir birds on the reserve this afternoon included at least four Great White Egrets, a Garganey, a possible Caspian Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Hobby, a Green Sandpiper and a Dunlin.

Stanwick Pits again held nine Cattle Egrets, two Great White Egrets and a Common Tern this morning and this evening there was an adult Caspian Gull and seven Yellow-legged Gulls present on the Visitor Centre Lake. 

A Spotted Flycatcher was located at Daventry Country Park and a pair of Stonechat were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

Reed Warbler.

Blue Tit.

Blackcap.

Garden Warbler.

Sparrowhawk.

Naturetrek Pitsford Day Tour

Hello

A very bright and sunny day with a cool NE breeze made for very pleasant conditions for the Naturetrek day tour around the reserve section of Pitsford Reservoir today.

After our 9am muster it was time for Mischa to show off some of the moths that had been captured in the moth traps. The autumn moths at Pitsford have become more exciting as the years have gone by and today was no exception with some stunning autumnal specimens which included dazzlers such as the scarce Merveille du Jour and the rare Clifden Nonpareil.

After this excitement we took an anti-clockwise walk around the reserve and the Holcot Bay provided a very brief view of a Stoat, the first Goldcrests of the day and great views of various dragonflies and a bold Spotted Flycatcher. Siskins were whizzing around everywhere with an estimate of about eighty on the reserve plus three smart Lesser Redpolls. 

In the Walgrave Bay we espied the first two Great White Egrets of the day and subsequently saw four in the Scaldwell Bay but could only be sure of five birds overall. Little Egrets and Cormorants were easy viewings and an adult Great Crested Grebe made short work of a Jack Pike! More dragonflies were busy sunning themselves or hunting in the lee of the trees and there was a surprising number of Common Blue Damselflies on the wing too. Butterflies included some smart Small Coppers, a fresh Comma and Red Admiral. A Hobby was catching insects along the west section of the bay and the Roesel's Bush-crickets were both visual and audible despite the meadows being cut and baled.

We sat in Willows Hide in the Scaldwell Bay where one of the Great White Egrets posed. We could hear two Kingfishers calling but couldn't see them. All the birds on the bund flew up and we picked up on a juvenile male Peregrine hunting over the water. He disappeared and then came back again and we last saw him in hot pursuit of one of the Kingfishers and closing fast. Both birds disappeared from view behind the willows and we didn't see either of them again. After this the second Kingfisher emerged from his bush and we enjoyed 'scope views in bright sunshine.

Plenty new waterfowl were in including numbers of Wigeon and Shoveler and the Bird Club hide was good for additional views of birds already seen. Tree Sparrows fed from the feeders at the Old Scaldwell Road and an adult Yellow-legged Gull argued with a Lesser Black-backed Gull over rights to a dead fish. Three Common Sandpipers were chasing each other along the road causeway. All in all an enjoyable walk and some great autumnal wildlife!

Elsewhere and Hollowell Reservoir hosted a Great White Egret, five Dunlin and a Green Sandpiper and Stanwick yielded six Cattle Egrets, a Great White Egret. a Common Tern and two Yellow-legged Gulls.

Two Common Redstarts remained at Harrington Airfield today, Lamport Hall fielded one or two Common Redstart(s) and a Spotted Flycatcher and there were twenty-one Yellow Wagtails with the cattle at Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

Clifden Nonpareil

Merveille du Jour which 

apparently translates as 

'wonder of the day'!

Common Darter.

Greylag Geese.

Migrant Hawker.

Spider sp and Common 

Blue Damselfly.

Spotted Flycatcher.

Brixworth Ringing

Hello

Yesterday's (Tuesday) excursion to the north Norfolk coast was a warm and pleasant affair. The sea and sea shore held some birds of interest but we didn't see a great deal of particular note. Five Common Seals fishing closely in a small creek were probably the highlight...

In the county yesterday the highlights included a Spoonbill briefly in the morning on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadow reserve at Ditchford Pits and at least eight Cattle Egrets again at Stanwick Pits plus two Great White Egrets and two Pintail.

Hollowell Reservoir supported a Great White Egret and a Stonechat and Harrington Airfield's best birds were two Common Redstarts, a Wheatear and a Turtle Dove.

Today (Wednesday) and Stanwick Pits hosted nine Cattle Egrets, two Great White Egrets, two Pintails and a Monk Parakeet and later six Yellow-legged Gulls.

At Pitsford Reservoir there were three Great White Egrets in the Scaldwell Bay plus two Pintails and a Green Sandpiper. Two Greenshanks were found in the new workings next to Whiston Lock this evening.

A Common Redstart was at Lamport Hall this evening and another individual was in a hedgerow at Hanging Houghton in the first grass field alongside the A508 north of the village.

At Brixworth today there was another ringing session which provided 118 captures of fifteen species, the highlights perhaps being ten Meadow Pipits, twelve Chiffchaffs, fourteen Blackcaps, two Reed Warblers, a Cetti's Warbler, two Goldcrests, seven Lesser Redpolls and twelve Reed Buntings. A Hobby was also on-site.

Regards

Neil M

Common Seal.

Woodpigeon.

Lesser Redpoll.

BOS Autumn Day Count SP54

Hello

Ten hours of a particularly warm and sunny day in September were spent birding the 10 x 10 km SP54 tetrad in the deep south of Northamptonshire as part of the Banbury Ornithologists Society (BOS) survey process.

The most obvious birds first thing were plenty of Siskins and Meadow Pipits on the move, and the movement continued all day. Lesser Black-backed Gulls adorned many fields and the abundance of flying insects including Crane Flies ensured they were clumsily hawking insects in the still conditions. Chiffchaffs were also very common today, their calls and some song from the juveniles ringing out from hedges and copses wherever we went.

Kingfishers were found at three sites and Grey Wagtails at four and Yellow Wagtails at five. Little Grebes still feeding young were at Trafford Bridge and Great Crested Grebes were feeding a youngster at Edgcote Lake. Two Little Owls were calling near Greatworth, two Spotted Flycatchers were in trees not far from Thorpe Mandeville, two Redpolls were seen along the River Cherwell near Edgcote and a Raven was heard calling there. A covey of five Grey Partridges were a good find between Culworth and Sulgrave.

Butterflies included Red Admiral, Brimstone, Speckled Wood and Small Heath and plenty of dragonflies even included a late Brown Hawker.

At Market Harborough today an Otter was seen well but briefly in the River Welland behind Waitrose and the river also attracted a swimming Grass Snake and a Kingfisher.

The birds at Stanwick included the full complement of nine Cattle Egrets and six Crossbills were in Wakerley Wood but only seen in flight close to the car park.

At Harrington Airfield there were two Common Redstarts again plus a Whinchat, a Turtle Dove and Hobby and Pitsford Reservoir hosted four Great White Egrets in the Scaldwell Bay plus a Red-crested Pochard, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a Hobby.

Nick Wood completed some ringing at Chase Park Farm (near Yardley Chase) today with forty captures of 15 species which included eight Chiffchaffs, four Blackcaps, a Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat.

The ringers at Stanford Reservoir were again busy today with over 300 birds processed which included 28 Meadow Pipits, 10 Reed Warblers, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, 197 Blackcaps, 30 Chiffchaffs, 2 Siskins and 10 Redpolls. However the star of the show today was yet another Wryneck, the second caught and ringed at Stanford this autumn.

Regards

Neil M

Hornet Hoverfly, the largest
hoverfly in the UK and an 
excellent mimic of the Hornet!
Image courtesy of Nick Wood.

Coupled Migrant Hawkers
courtesy of Eleanor.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Siskin.

Meadow Pipit.

Chiffchaff.

Warm and breezy September Sunday

Hello

Breezy, warm and sunny today but not great for birds it seems! Reports from around the county were limited today as the temperature soared...

Yesterday (Saturday) and Eric's walk at Titchmarsh Reserve, Thrapston Pits provided views of a Yellow-legged Gull, two Great White Egrets, two Peregrines, a Hobby and five Ravens.

Today (Sunday) and the nine Cattle Egrets were again at Stanwick Pits plus two Great White Egrets and a Green Sandpiper. Nearby five of the Cattle Egrets were later at the eastern end of Ditchford Pits plus a Caspian Gull, two Common Sandpipers, a Green Sandpiper and a Common Tern.

At Hollowell Reservoir a Great White Egret was present this morning and the Ruddy Shelduck was on the dam at Ravensthorpe Reservoir.

Stonechats (numbers not known) were reported from near Irchester today and birds at Harrington Airfield included two Common Redstarts, fifteen Tree Sparrows and a Barn Owl. Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included three Great White Egrets, a Goldeneye, a Hobby and a Yellow-legged Gull all in the Scaldwell Bay.

Regards

Neil M

Yesterday's Greenshank
at Pitsford Reservoir courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Hobby.

Peregrine.

Wonderful wagtails!

Hello

A couple of us returned to Brixworth STW to complete a little more ringing this morning, this time a little more targeted. It paid off with four more Grey Wagtails caught and ringed plus two Pied Wagtails, a Yellow Wagtail, half a dozen Meadow Pipits and four species of warbler. Other birds noted included a couple of un-ringed Grey Wagtails, a Hobby, two Ravens and a couple of Water Rails.

The birds at Stanwick Pits today included a Marsh Harrier and seven Cattle Egrets with nearby Ditchford Pits/Irthlingborough attracting two Great White Egrets, four Cattle Egrets, twelve Snipe and a Common Sandpiper.

Pitsford Reservoir attracted two Great White Egrets, a female Red-crested Pochard, a Greenshank, three Green Sandpipers, three Dunlin and an adult Yellow-legged Gull, all north of the causeway.

Hollowell Reservoir held a Garganey and a Great White Egret and a Peregrine was on St Mary's Church at Higham Ferrers. At Lamport Hall a Marsh Harrier flew across the fields towards Scaldwell and migrant passerines included a Common Redstart and two Spotted Flycatchers.

Thirty Yellow Wagtails were in cow fields at Hanging Houghton this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Yellow Wagtail.

Grey Wagtail.

Reed Warbler.

A grey day...

Hello

A rather grey day and definitely a lack of reported sightings around the county despite being very much  migration time! There were still plenty of Siskins and Meadow Pipits filtering through the county during the day...

Dave's ringing session at Pitsford Reservoir concluded this morning and in total he captured 94 birds of sixteen species which included 34 Blue Tits, 12 Great Tits, 4 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Wrens, 4 Dunnocks, 5 Robins, 8 Chiffchaffs, 3 Reed Warblers, a Sedge Warbler, 2 Whitethroats, a Blackcap, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 8 Tree Sparrows, 5 Chaffinches, 2 Greenfinches and a Moorhen.

A busy ringing session at Brixworth Treatment Works yielded 184 birds of twenty species made up of a Blackbird, a Song Thrush, 3 Dunnocks, 5 Robins, 7 Wrens, 18 Great Tits, 43 Blue Tits, a Pied Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtails, 35 Meadow Pipits, 2 Swallows, 15 Blackcaps, 20 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, 3 Sedge Warblers, 3 Reed Warblers, 2 Cetti's Warblers, a Chaffinch, 9 Goldfinches and 11 Reed Buntings.

Other birds seen there included a Raven, a Hobby, a Water Rail and at least four Grey Wagtails in total.

Stanwick Pits first thing provided Steve Fisher with nine Cattle Egrets again at the western end of the complex plus a Marsh Harrier. Four of those Cattle Egrets were later on the main lake and the Siskin count of birds going over south was at least 56. Adrian had a probable Marsh Harrier at Ringstead Pits this afternoon plus a Yellow-legged Gull.

Regards

Neil M

Cetti's Warbler at Brixworth today,
images courtesy of Lynne Barnett.

Meadow Pipit.

Muntjac.

More ringing!

Hello

Perfect conditions for mist netting small birds ensured that ringers in the county and just over the border were especially busy.

The Stanford Reservoir Ringing Group again processed large numbers of passage migrants today which included an extraordinary total of 269 Blackcaps, 82 Chiffchaffs, 3 Willow Warblers, 5 Whitethroats, 2 Garden Warblers, 2 Sedge Warblers and 7 Reed Warblers. Five more Common Redstarts were captured today (taking the Stanford total to an amazing 28 birds this year) and two Goldcrests and thirteen Meadow Pipits also joined the throng. The star of the show though was the rare and difficult to identify Marsh Warbler which was well photographed before released.

Chris Payne committed to some ringing at a private site near Greens Norton and his haul included 21 Blackcaps, 8 Chiffchaffs, 11 Blue Tits and an excellent 10 Siskins plus singles of Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Willow Warbler and Reed Warbler.

Kenny and Helen and helper Keith worked extremely hard at Linford Lakes today to process a superb total of 202 birds and again warblers dominated with 15 Reed Warblers, 29 Chiffchaffs, 4 Willow Warblers, a Whitethroat, 41 Blackcaps, 2 Cetti's Warblers and 13 Sedge Warblers. Forty-one Long-tailed Tits and twenty-eight Blue Tits boosted the total and variety came in the shape of a Carrion Crow, two Meadow Pipits and a Goldcrest. Birds noted on-site included a Peregrine and a flock of Siskins and excellent mammals comprised of Otter and Water Shrew.

Dave Francis was ringing at Pitsford Reservoir today and will continue his session tomorrow and ringing is planned for Brixworth STW tomorrow morning.

Away from ringing a Naturetrek day tour at Pitsford Reservoir took in a walk around the reserve and the best of the birds were three Great White Egrets, four Hobbies hawking insects, a female Red-crested Pochard, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, three Kingfishers and plenty of Siskins and common warblers. Other birds seen included a Green Sandpiper and two Snipe and odonata included Migrant Hawker, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter and Common Blue Damselfly. Five species of butterfly were on the wing and the moth trap provided thirteen species for us to peruse including a couple of Large Red Underwings and a variety of autumnal species.

In the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton, Stuart Munday caught sight of a male Merlin again attacking the plentiful Goldfinches, a Whinchat and a Stonechat.

At Stanwick Pits today, Steve Fisher saw five Cattle Egrets on the Main Lake, Adrian witnessed three flying Crossbills at Kettering over Weekly Wood Avenue, a Great White Egret was seen in flight over Oundle this morning, two Little Owls were on show at Delapre Abbey (Northampton) first thing and three Ring-necked Parakeets were in flight at Wollaston.

The stunning Blue Underwing moth or Clifden nonpareil was seen at two places in the county today, there are a number of Hummingbird Hawk-moths being reported and still good numbers of the active day-flying Silver Ys. A Clouded Yellow butterfly was at Clifford Hill Pits today but the remaining couple at Hanging Houghton haven't been seen/reported since the week-end.

Regards

Neil M

Carrion Crow courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Willow Warbler courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Dunnock courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

Treecreeper courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Reed Warbler courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Siskin courtesy of
Chris Payne.