Boxing Day birds

Hello

A much milder day weather-wise but seemingly with powerful gusts overnight courtesy of yet another storm!

Visits to the Kelmarsh Estate today didn't provide any sightings of interest and a succession of would-be observers to Pitsford Reservoir left disappointed as the Bewick's Swans of yesterday had seemingly departed and the Smew weren't located either. The Great Northern Diver was proving difficult to see but eventually it was seen this afternoon off the dam. It could well be the Hollowell bird as there was negative news from there today. Four Stonechats were still on show in the Scaldwell Bay.

A new bird in at Hollowell Reservoir was a Siberian Chiffchaff found by Mark Piper in the bay near to the Sailing Club. Other birds included a nominate Chiffchaff, a single Great White Egret, the female Ruddy Shelduck still and two Jack Snipe. Nearby and there were five Great White Egrets together at Ravensthorpe Reservoir which probably included the Pitsford birds as there were none reported today.

Stanford Reservoir again provided the right habitat for the four Black-necked Grebes and in the flooded Nene Valley the Bittern was seen again at Summer Leys LNR. A male Blackcap was in a East Hunsbury garden today.

Regards

Neil M

Siberian Chiffchaff.

Great White Egret.

Birds of Christmas Day

Hello

Lovely cool, crispy weather provided the stimulus to be out and about for much of the day, the last two cold nights also ensuring there were lots of hungry birds to feed too!

An enjoyable stroll around Harrington Airfield catalogued plenty of common birds but the only ones of note were a single Raven, ten Golden Plovers and a covey of five Grey Partridge.

A Raven was very noisy at Hanging Houghton on my return as I fed the birds in the garden for the second time - three Pied Wagtails and plenty of Starlings and Blackbirds and others were quickly back in to hoover up all the treats.

With similar duties to perform at Pitsford Reservoir, I visited the south end and after topping up the feeders etc I had time for a scan around and picked up on a juvenile Great Northern Diver initially in the Pintail Bay but later off the dam. With multiple Great Northerns at other large waters in middle England during November/December I think we've all been scratching our heads as to why we only had the one at Hollowell. Two Yellow-legged Gulls were off the Sailing Club.

With more birds to feed at the Brixworth Feeding Station I moved on to there next and was then able to count three Water Rails (two seen) and a Grey Wagtail at the Treatment Works there.

It was afternoon before I arrived at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station at Pitsford Reservoir where the water level had risen considerably to 100% capacity. David Arden had located four 'redhead' Smew in the Scaldwell Bay in the morning and after I had filled up the feeders etc I had a scan around. A Great White Egret flew past and I located the Smew with a stunning drake leading them around (a total of five birds). They were active and as I continued 'scoping them they swam past a small gathering of swans which included three adult Bewick's! The swans went on to graze the Scaldwell Meadows with the geese.

An adult Yellow-legged Gull may have been a third individual for the day and a pair of Stonechat, a Redshank and six Snipe were found along the water's edge with a Chiffchaff in the perimeter hedge.

Elsewhere and Bob Webster located eight Cattle Egrets and a Great White Egret at the north-east section of Stanwick Pits.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Great Northern Diver.

Drake Smew.

Bewick's Swan.

Merry Christmas!

Hello

A ringing session planned for Kelmarsh Hall was called forward to today due to the uncertainty of future pandemic restrictions post Christmas. The significant flooding of yesterday at Kelmarsh had subsided but it was still a sticky, muddy affair trudging to the nets and back. One hundred and twenty birds were processed, the highlights being four Fieldfares, three Redwings, four Blackbirds, a Nuthatch, twelve Goldfinches, a smart adult male Siskin and a Grey Wagtail. Two Ravens were vocal and displaying.

Hundreds of thrushes and Starlings were gleaning the saturated fields in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today where there was also a pair of Stonechats. A Barn Owl was between Upper Catesby and Hellidon this morning and a Woodcock was seen flying into Scotland Wood pre-dawn.

Stanford Reservoir today hosted at least one Black-necked Grebe, a female Scaup and one of the Bearded Tits was heard calling. Five Jack Snipe were located at Daventry Country Park this morning.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas wherever you happen to be and your circumstances. The year has been a tough one for many people and fortitude, patience and goodwill will also be required for a chunk of 2021 too. Thank-you for the support of readers, photographers and all nature lovers who have helped in supporting this blog and providing information, images, videos, maps and more!

Best Wishes

Neil and Eleanor

Robin.

A Northamptonshire sunset
taken this afternoon by Helen Franklin.

Severe weather and Blue Tits!

Hello

A day of heavy rain linked with mild temperatures and strong winds this evening and many places in the county are flooded - the weather forecast for tomorrow is quite different!

Very few reports of birds today but Stanford Reservoir continued to support the four Black-necked Grebes, a Great White Egret and the long-staying pair of Bearded Tits.

I visited three feeding stations in very wet conditions today but saw very little for my trouble but there was still a Grey Wagtail and a few Siskins at Kelmarsh Hall this afternoon.

So some pictures from the ringing session at Pitsford yesterday courtesy of Bethan Clyne...

Regards

Neil M

First year male Fieldfare.

Unusually coloured claws
on the Fieldfare...!

Blue Tits. Although more difficult
in the field, in the hand (for much of the year)
it is often possible to assess both age and gender.
 In general the females tend to smaller and duller with
the adults brighter and bluer. The males
tend to exhibit broader collars with more 
contrast on the face and head and azure
edges to the tail feathers (and proportionately
more azure in the crown that the females),
and the lesser and median coverts are a rich
almost cobalt blue colour. The adult males
exhibit blue primary coverts (with minimal contrast
in the depth of blue from the lesser/median coverts)
 with first year males exhibiting different primary
covert colours that can range from a bright turquoise
to a dull green, and contrast with the blue of the 
lesser/median coverts. 

Owls, newts and a Weasel!

Hello

A ringing session at Linford Lakes today yielded two Tawny Owls, a re-trap male from 2017 and a new female which weighed 150g more than the male. Other birds included five Redwings and a Chiffchaff and a six year old Great Tit. Non avian highlights included an inquisitive Weasel and a number of Frogs and two species of newt. 'Bob' the Robin of course tracked Kenny and Keith down and demanded his festive mealworm treat!

More ringing at Pitsford Reservoir today provided over a hundred captures which included forty-seven birds newly ringed with highlights of a Fieldfare, five Blackbirds, a Song Thrush, eight Redwings, four Goldcrests and a Chiffchaff. Other birds seen included a Barn Owl, a fly-over Crossbill, two or three Siskins, two Redpolls, two or three Woodcocks and three Great White Egrets.

Another Barn Owl was between Spratton and Brixworth early this morning and two Woodcock were mobile roadside birds between the villages of Scaldwell and Old pre-dawn.

Other observations included ten Crossbills (in larch) and a Raven at Harlestone Heath, a female Red-crested Pochard was located at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and Hollowell Reservoir continued to host the juvenile Great Northern Diver and wintering flock of eleven Pink-footed Geese plus two Great White Egrets and the Ruddy Shelduck.

The four Black-necked Grebes and a Great White Egret plus one or two Bearded Tit(s) all starred at Stanford Reservoir and three White-fronted Geese were seen in flight SW over Islip.

Regards

Neil M

Tawny Owls courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Count the newts (seemingly
of two different species)!
Images courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

More ringing recoveries

Hello

My day was taken up maintaining wild bird feeding stations today - despite the mild conditions there are still plenty of hungry birds out there!

At Pitsford Reservoir today there were two Great White Egrets north of the causeway and an adult Yellow-legged Gull off the dam.

The Bittern was again seen briefly in flight at Summer Leys LNR today and the four Black-necked Grebes were near the dam at Stanford Reservoir. A Raven flew over Hanging Houghton and a few Siskins were noted at Kelmarsh Hall.

Some more ringing recoveries associated with Northants Ringing Group activities are as follows:-

1. A juvenile Blue Tit was ringed at Geddington, Northants on 17th June 2020 courtesy of our colleagues in the Rockingham Forest Ringing Group. This bird was found in a mist net at Kelmarsh Hall on 27th November 2020, the little sprite travelling 16km to find us in middle Northamptonshire 163 days later!

2. A second calendar year Black-headed Gull was caught and ringed near Pomorskie, Poland on 8th March 2018 and was marked with a yellow colour ring. The bird was re-sighted at two different locations in Poland on 9th July 2019 and 10th March 2020, and then seen at Grimsbury Reservoir not far from Banbury on 4th July this year. Bethan and Jacob re-sighted this bird at Pitsford Reservoir on 3rd December 2020 when it was off the Sailing Club and coming to bread;

3. A first year Goldfinch was caught and ringed at Hanging Houghton on 23rd September this year and then caught again at Dungeness Bird Observatory, Kent on 26th November. In the sixty-four days between records the bird had moved 205km in a south-easterly direction. I would speculate that this bird was perhaps en-route to winter in France/Iberia; 

4. A first year male Siskin was caught and ringed near Telemark in Norway on 27th September 2020 and then extracted from a mist net at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 7th December (71 days later). This little finch had travelled 1025km in a south-westerly direction.

Regards

Neil M

Sparrowhawk courtesy
of David Arden.

Male Siskin feeding
on alder, courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

A paddling of Goldeneye
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Pitsford Ringing

Hello

A rather intense and busy ringing session in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir today yielded 224 captures of sixteen species. Not surprisingly it was the tit family that made up the numbers with as many as 98 Blue Tits plus 39 Great Tits, 6 Coal Tits, 2 Marsh Tits and 14 Long-tailed Tits. Other birds encountered in mist nets included a single Fieldfare, 5 Blackbirds, 29 Redwings, 6 Goldcrests, a Chiffchaff, a Treecreeper, 3 Bullfinches and 4 Chaffinches. Other birds noted included a Great White Egret, two Bramblings, a Redpoll and at least one other Chiffchaff.

White-fronted Geese are still out there and on the move too with a flock of twenty-three flying over Summer Leys LNR today and still with two adults at Clifford Hill Pits. Also at Summer Leys early this afternoon there was an excellent gathering of 400 - 500 Golden Plovers with two Great White Egrets present late morning.

The mobile female Merlin was today in the Blueberry Farm area as were the two regular Woodcock plus a pair of Stonechats. Four more Stonechats were still in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Harrington Airfield was quiet today with barely thirty Golden Plovers still present.

Stuart went looking for the Firecrests at Stortons Pits today but didn't find them, but he did hear a Bearded Tit calling from 'the southern bench' area.

Hollowell Reservoir's birds still included the juvenile Great Northern Diver which showed well at the inlet end of the reservoir early this afternoon, a Great White Egret, the Ruddy Shelduck and ten Pink-footed Geese.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit.

Canada Goose courtesy
of Phillip Davies.

Common Buzzard courtesy
of Phillip Davies.

Wren courtesy of
Phillip Davies.

Owls, a Merlin and creatures of the water!

Hello

Harrington Airfield was alive with birds today with large numbers of passerines including common finches, buntings, thrushes and Starlings and Skylarks. A female Merlin was chasing them and even had a go at the two hundred Golden Plovers too! Two high-up owls flying over proved to be Short-eareds - they weren't lingering and flew purposefully south. Other birds included two Woodcock.

At Thrapston Pits there were five Great White Egrets and a pair of lingering Stonechats and at Clifford Hill Pits there were still two White-fronted Geese, twenty-five Golden Plovers and two Stonechats. Summer Leys LNR provided a view of a flying Bittern.

A Peregrine was harassing the corvids at Boddington Reservoir and Hollowell Reservoir still supported the Great Northern Diver and ten Pink-footed Geese. There was a significant passage of Herring Gulls over Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon and there were two Chiffchaffs and a Raven on the west side of the Walgrave Bay. 

Over twenty Crossbills were watched in larches in the car park at Wakerley Wood and a Cetti's Warbler and a Water Rail were near Brixworth. Two Ravens were noisy at Hanging Houghton.

Stanford Reservoir continues to host two Bearded Tits and four Black-necked Grebes.

Regards

Neil M

Short-eared Owl.

Great Crested Grebe
with a Ruff or Pope,

Little Grebes.

Otter!

All images courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Birds of the wet and bluster

Hello 

A mild but blustery and wet day didn't produce many fresh sightings of interest in the county today.

The two White-fronted Geese were still present at Clifford Hill Pits yesterday (Thursday) and were seen again today. Also yesterday there was an impressive gathering of eight hundred Golden Plovers at Summer Leys LNR in the afternoon.

Today and the seven White-fronted Geese were still at the north-east end of Stanwick Pits and Summer Leys LNR attracted two Great White Egrets and also seven Ravens in sheep meadows between there and Wellingborough.

A flock of up to fifty Redpolls have been witnessed gathering in a paddock in the centre of Rothersthorpe village, generally in the afternoon. Four Black-necked Grebes were at Stanford Reservoir again today.

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included a Great White Egret and a Grey Partridge in the Scaldwell Bay where Bethan and Jacob also caught and ringed a Mallard and a Coot!

Regards

Neil M

Drake Mallard.

Coot,

Images courtesy
of Bethan Clyne.

Pitsford WeBS count.

Hello

It was time for the Pitsford Reservoir WeBS count today in pleasant conditions. The morning sunshine incited lots of the Goldcrests to sing and a Cormorant was even sitting on a nest!

However it was a cool start with a ground frost and there were plenty of common wildfowl on-site. Three or four Great White Egrets moved around the reserve north of the causeway and there were two Little Egrets, the leucistic drake Red-crested Pochard, two drake Pintail, a Woodcock, forty-five Snipe, six Kingfishers, a Cetti's Warbler, five Chiffchaffs, a pair of Stonechat, a Grey Wagtail, a Redpoll and a handful of Siskins. A Peacock butterfly was flying in the sunshine!

At Harlestone Heath today there were six Crossbills by the A428 entrance with a further twenty or so near the sawmills - other birds included three Bramblings, two Redpoll and fifty plus Siskins.

Lingering birds at Hollowell Reservoir included the Great Northern Diver, eleven Pink-footed Geese and eleven Crossbills, the seven White-fronted Geese were still at the NE section of Stanwick Pits and three Black-necked Grebes were again seen at Stanford Reservoir. A Great White Egret was reported from the fishing lakes at Ecton today and two Firecrests were reported from Stortons Pits this morning - seemingly showing in the tree line by the viewing area at the north end of the reedbed.

Regards

Neil M

One of seventy Goldeneye
present at Pitsford today.

Green Woodpecker.

Greylag Geese.

Cob Mute Swan.

The leucistic drake
Red-crested Pochard.

All images from Pitsford
Reservoir today.

Winter birding

Hello

An hour's visible migration scanning this morning at Harrington Airfield by Jacob confirmed the continuation of a huge Redwing migration still underway with a count of 482 heading west. When the rain hit this afternoon over two hundred Fieldfares and a hundred Starlings sought shelter in the airstrip bushes.

My first venue today was Kelmarsh Hall as part of my feeding station regime and half a dozen Siskins were very vocal in the alders there. A drive out to Sulby Airfield provided a flock of about a hundred aerial Golden Plovers and nearby Welford Reservoir held a Goosander, a Grey Wagtail and two Ravens.

Hollowell Reservoir has plenty of birds with eleven Pink-footed Geese still, the Great Northern Diver off the dam, two Great White Egrets, the Ruddy Shelduck with the Canada Geese flock, a super adult Caspian Gull, a second winter Yellow-legged Gull and at least three Stonechats. Nearby Ravensthorpe Reservoir was much quieter with two Ravens, a Chiffchaff, a Siskin and a Grey Wagtail.

A Cattle Egret was seen in a horse field near Grendon today before flying off west and the seven White-fronted Geese remained at the north east end of Stanwick Pits (plus a Great White Egret). Three Black-necked Grebes were still present at Stanford Reservoir today.

Regards

Neil M

Kingfisher.

Goldcrest.

First year Common Gull.

Redwings and more

Hello

The first couple of hours at Harrington Airfield this morning saw a remarkable passage of Redwings with about 700 moving SW and a further 181 a little later. A few hundred Fieldfares were caught up in the same movement. Other birds included about seventy Golden Plovers, good numbers of Yellowhammers and five Ravens.

Birds at Hanging Houghton included a Raven a Siskin and a Grey Wagtail with two pairs of Stonechat and a Barn Owl in the valley below the village in the afternoon. There were several Siskins and a Redpoll at Scotland Wood.

Elsewhere and the Hollowell Reservoir Great Northern Diver remained on view today plus the Ruddy Shelduck, ten Pink-footed Geese, two Great White Egrets and four Crossbills. Stanford Reservoir continued to host at least one Black-necked Grebe plus a 'redhead' Smew today.

In the Nene Valley the influx of White-fronted Geese continues with nine opposite to the entrance to the Summer Leys LNR and seven on the north-east pit of Stanwick Pits (plus one Great White Egret).

Regards

Neil M

Great White Egret.

Great Crested Grebe
with a Perch.

Male Stonechat.

Ravens.

A gallery of local images
courtesy of Bethan Clyne.

Birds of Scotland Wood

Hello

The day began with a pre-dawn visit to Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate where we were watching plenty of shooting stars and a passing satellite as well as trying to count the in-coming Woodcock as they flew in from their nocturnal feeding. With some birds flying around for some time we could only deduce that there were 'several'! 

The subsequent ringing session in the wood provided one hundred and fifty-five birds processed of thirteen species. There was plenty of evidence of a significant passage of winter thrushes and forty-eight Redwings were caught and ringed.

More typical woodland birds were made up of nineteen Great Tits, fifty-one Blue Tits, eighteen Coal Tits, three Marsh Tits, two Long-tailed Tits, five Goldcrests, three Chaffinches. a Nuthatch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Other birds noted there included a pair of Raven, half a dozen Siskins and three Redpolls.

Not too far away the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton was good today with a 'ringtail' Hen Harrier flying north, a female Merlin chasing passerines, two pairs of Stonechats and a Barn Owl (all this afternoon).

At Pitsford Reservoir today there were three Great White Egrets, a Red-crested Pochard and two pairs of Stonechat and Blatherwycke Lake hosted over forty Mandarin Ducks, a pair of Egyptian Geese, a Black Swan and two Kingfishers. Two female Blackcaps have been visiting David Arden's garden recently at Spratton.

Wildfowl were well represented in the Nene Valley today - two White-fronted Geese were at the eastern end of Clifford Hill Pits, six Goosanders were on Kinewell Lake at Ringstead Pits, seven White-fronted Geese were at the east end of Stanwick Pits (looking NW from a black bridge) and Thrapston Pits supported two Barnacle Geese between Aldwincle and North Lake and four Great White Egrets. Summer Leys LNR had three Great White Egrets today and there were two Ravens at Walgrave village.

Regards

Neil M

Redwing.

Drake Goosander.

Coal Tit.

A rainy day!

Hello

A quite awful day's weather today with rain for much of it but the weather forecast tomorrow looks quite different with breeze and sunshine.

A Barn Owl again hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton first thing this morning was a nice surprise, with a pair of Stonechats there again this afternoon.

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today showed little change with two Great White Egrets, the leucistic drake Red-crested Pochard and a pair of Stonechat in the Scaldwell Bay and six Marsh Tits between the Scaldwell and Maytrees Hides. A first year Yellow-legged Gull was off the dam this afternoon.

Three Marsh Tits, including the one legged bird are visiting John Hunt's garden at Spratton together with a pair of Blackcaps.

A Cetti's Warbler, a Water Rail and up to thirty Magpies were at Brixworth Treatment Works this afternoon with neighbouring fields attracting good numbers of Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers and common finches.

Regards

Neil M

Marsh Tit.

First year Yellow-legged Gull.

Great Crested Grebe
consuming a small
Bream courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

A Cormorant with a large
Perch courtesy of Robin Gossage.