Snow birds

Hello

A truly beautiful day out there today with stunning sunshine bouncing off the bright, snowy landscape! It's amazing to think that only a few days ago four different species of butterfly were seen on the wing in the county and here we are now in the middle of some very cold, wintry weather.

The county gritters did an excellent job of keeping the main roads open and moving and it was a good time to tramp about and try and identify the animal footprints in the snow from overnight. Personally I managed to identify Badger, Fox, Hare, Rabbit and unidentified rodents!

Three Fieldfares were our best birds in the garden today, feeding on apples, but Steve managed a female Blackcap in his garden at Brixworth.

In the Nene Valley yesterday a huge flock of thirty-five Whooper Swans were reported from Nassington and today birds between Mary's Lake below Earls Barton and Wellingborough included a Jack Snipe, a pair of Stonechats and fifty plus Meadow Pipits. At Ecton SF and surround below Cogenhoe, Bob enjoyed some solitude watching three Little Egrets. one or two Green Sandpiper(s), a Water Rail, a Kingfisher, three Grey Wagtails, a Cetti's Warbler, two Stonechats and at least fifteen Chiffchaffs.

Further east and Steve Fisher located two White-fronted Geese at Stanwick Pits plus a Cattle Egret, two Great White Egrets, thirty Snipe and four Redshanks. A Cattle Egret and a Great White Egret were reported from the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows complex.

Two pairs of Stonechats are hanging on still in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and birds at Pitsford Reservoir comprised of a Great White Egret, a Redshank, twenty-four Snipe, a Kingfisher, two pairs of Stonechats and a Redpoll. There were four Grey Wagtails at Brixworth and a single at Scaldwell village.

Regards

Neil M

Snowy scenes at
Harrington Airfield.

Goldfinches in the snow
courtesy of John Tilly.

Super snowy Starlings
courtesy of John Tilly.

Robin -waiting to be
fed in the snow!

Garden birds in the snow

Hello

I think that most of the county experienced a reasonable snow fall today which has stirred things up a bit!

Our small garden certainly pulled in the birds once the snow began to cover the ground and we had brief visits from a Common Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk, a Redwing, a Fieldfare, a Yellowhammer plus more usual fare, with Blackbirds and Goldfinches in particularly good numbers.

Birders out and about, mostly before or during the initial snowfall saw a few things today with thirty White-fronted Geese being located by Adrian at Stanwick Pits and four Cattle Egrets being spotted there earlier by Jon Andrews. Ian found six Barnacle Geese, a Goosander and five Golden Plovers at Clifford Hill Pits and Jon Cook saw his usual gang of nine Crossbills at Hollowell Reservoir.

Three Goosanders were reported from Hardwater Lake at Earls Barton Pits and a hard weather movement of eighty Skylarks in two flocks were seen flying east over Scaldwell village. A Barn Owl and a pair of Stonechats were visible in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton just before the snow hit.

Regards

Neil M

Common Buzzard in the
garden birch tree!

Adult male Blackbird.

Blue Tit eyeing up the apple!

Male Chaffinch.

Male Nuthatch.

All these images were taken in
the garden today. Apologies for the
poor quality but snow and double-
glazing doesn't make it easy!

Almost status quo

Hello

Another pleasant wintry day with a bright afternoon perhaps better than the morning.

At Kelmarsh today there were a pair of Ravens and singles of Redpoll and Grey Wagtail. Pitsford Reservoir continued to host the Great Northern Diver (this afternoon in Stone Barn Bay), an adult Yellow-legged Gull, eight Common Snipe, a pair of Stonechats and a Redpoll.

A Mealy Redpoll was reported in Market Harborough today with a garden there attracting seven Blackcaps at a time to suet. A couple of Blackcaps have been seen in a East Hunsbury garden recently too.

Thirty Redpolls were located at Lings Wood, Northampton today, a female Merlin was seen north east of Braunston and the regular bird was again at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell today.

Birds at Hollowell Reservoir today included a Great White Egret, the long-staying female Ruddy Shelduck and one or two Chiffchaff(s). Two Crossbills were seen in flight over the north east corner of Salcey Forest this afternoon, close to Piddington Lodge.

The Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton remained home to a Barn Owl, two pairs of Stonechats and hundreds of Starlings and winter thrushes. A pair of Ravens again visited the village. The flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers remain on the top fields at Harrington Airfield.

Regards

Neil M

Redwing.

Catkins.

Robin.

Cormorant.

Dandelion.

All images taken yesterday 
at Sywell courtesy of Jim Dunkley.

Winter sunshine

Hello

The stunning sunset of yesterday evening was a precursor to a sunny and beautifully sharp winter's day today.

A Pink-footed Goose was found with Greylag Geese at Islip Meadows adjacent to Thrapston Pits and west of the sailing club today in what has proved to one of the best ever 'grey goose' winters in the county. A pair of Peregrines were on the parish church in Kettering town centre today and the numbers of Crossbills at Hollowell Reservoir could have risen to as high as forty, seen mostly in flight.

Four Little Egrets were feeding in a field south of Bradden Road, Greens Norton and birds at Pitsford Reservoir included at least one pair of Stonechats and a Redshank. 

A pair of Ravens were very vocal at Hanging Houghton today and the Brampton Valley below the village was again the venue for the female Merlin which was chasing Skylarks; both pairs of Stonechat remain.

Regards

Neil M

Pink-footed Goose.

Drake Mallard.

Mute Swan.

Today's winter sunshine at 
least provided an opportunity
to take images with colour and
shadow contrast.

Golden Plovers and Lapwings

Hello

Harrington Airfield was bright and breezy this morning and the top fields held a flock of mixed corvids, about one hundred and twenty Lapwings and two-hundred and fifty Golden Plovers. In the strong wind the plovers and lapwings careered around in mini murmurations and the finches and buntings coming down for the food again included two Bramblings.

The two pairs of Stonechats were still present in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and at least one Raven was at Cottesbrooke village.

A pair of Red-crested Pochards were at Kislingbury Pits today and the Irthlingborough Lakes section of Ditchford Pits attracted three Cattle Egrets and seven Pintail.

The Great Northern Diver was again at Pitsford Reservoir, this time about a mile south of the causeway and other birds included two Great White Egrets, a Barn Owl, four Stonechats and a Chiffchaff with three Redpoll still in nearby Scaldwell village.

Regards

Neil M

Golden Plovers and
Lapwings at Harrington
Airfield today.

Bring on the waders!

Hello

Perhaps not surprising given the weather and our lock down status, there is little in the way of bird sightings to report today. 

Yesterday (Tuesday) the Nene Valley between Cogenhoe and Whiston was productive with a Green Sandpiper, a couple of Kingfishers, a Grey Wagtail, a covey of four Grey Partridges and twenty or so wintering Chiffchaffs.

I've been particularly impressed to see how the conservation organisations have responded to the pandemic and endeavoured to provide inspiration, support and education to us all on-line. Good examples are provided by the RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts who have definitely upped their game to support wildlife initiatives and inspire those of us caught up in the lockdown. It is the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch coming up at the end of the month and at the moment it is possible to obtain a half price membership to our local Wildlife Trust. If you haven't seen some of the products and opportunities I recommend clicking on their respective websites:-

https://www.rspb.org.uk/

https://wildlifebcn.org

Wild Justice have been very busy with a variety of judicial reviews designed to test and challenge long-standing laws and direction in the control of wild birds, the rearing and release of birds for shooting purposes and the environmental issues associated with heather burn, discharge of shotgun cartridges and a variety of other issues. You can learn more of their efforts and objectives here:- 

https://wildjustice.org.uk/

Locally the Northants Bird Club has been experimenting with Zoom and have so far projected a quiz created by local naturalist Jeff Blincow and also a presentation by Peter Holden MBE. Next month is the club annual photographic competition which will be managed by Zoom too, with subsequent presentations in March on the Birds and Animals of Cambodia and in April on the Birds of South Africa. Until it is possible and safe to do so, all monthly meetings will be on-line utilising the Zoom opportunities which provides connectivity with a number of personal devices such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones. The NBC blogsite can be reached by entering the following details:-

https://northantsbirdclub.blogspot.co.uk/

And of course this week sees the beginning of BBC 2's Winterwatch, which seeks to portray the best of the wildlife that the UK has on offer and will be running for two weeks. Generally it is on at 8pm and will be available on the BBC iPlayer in due course too.

As we look to the future, there are many groups and families of birds that are firm favourites with birders, and one of these is the large group which in Europe we call waders and in the USA they tend to refer to as shorebirds. So in recognition of past experiences and looking forward to seeing more of them once we are all out of lock-down and restrictions relax, here are some images of waders as captured digitally by Robin Gossage...

Regards

Neil M

Bar-tailed Godwit.

Black-tailed Godwits.

Dunlin.

Little Stint.

Sanderling.

Greenshanks.

Spotted Redshank.

Wood Sandpiper.

Turnstone...although
it's not a stone!

Mild and blustery

Hello

A blustery and mild day provided an opportunity to ventilate the house and even a little gardening and I think has been the first relatively mild day this year after quite a sustained cold period.

A water-logged Harrington Airfield produced a modest flock of twenty-five Golden Plovers and two mobile Bramblings with two Ravens paying a visit to Hanging Houghton village as they patrol their large territory.

The Greenland White-fronted Goose was still present at Summer Leys LNR today together with four hundred Golden Plovers and Abington Park, Northampton attracted a flock of five Goosanders and the usual Ring-necked Parakeets.

Fourteen Redpolls were in Scaldwell village today and at Pitsford Reservoir the Great Northern Diver showed up again, this time between the Pintail Bay and the Sailing Club. An adult Mediterranean Gull flew south through there this afternoon with other gulls.

Regards

Neil M

Lapwing. There seemed to be
an increase in Lapwings locally
today, perhaps the mild southerly
winds have funnelled them through
from elsewhere?

Drake Goosander courtesy
of Robin Gossage. Abington
Park is the place locally to
enjoy close views of these
spectacular ducks and often
provides photographic
 opportunities too - mornings
tend to be best.

Adult winter plumage
Mediterranean Gull.

Rain on the way?

Hello

Heavy rain is predicted for the county during the next three days, possibly to the point that flooding may occur again, all courtesy of Storm Christoph.

The Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton was busy with birds again today, nothing unusual but good numbers of a nice mix of species which included about four hundred Starlings, winter thrushes and plenty of finches and buntings. All four species of common birds of prey were there too.

Several Siskins were still at Kelmarsh today and birds at Pitsford Reservoir amounted to the Great Northern Diver (off the Gorse Bushes), a Great White Egret, three Pintail and a pair of Stonechats.

Seven Goosanders were at Ransome Road Pits (or Hardingstone Pits if you like) today, the male Bearded Tit was seen at Stortons Pits this morning and a Peregrine was on Kettering Parish church.

The single White-fronted Goose at Summer Leys LNR was identified by Mike as a Greenland, and is presumably the bird initially found by Nick Parker at Wicksteed Park earlier in the month. Other birds on-site included three or four Great White Egrets and a flock of between 160 - 200 Golden Plovers.

Regards

Neil M

Starling in winter plumage.

Male Bearded Tit.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker caught
and ringed at Hanging Houghton today
showed some features of the continental
race, exhibiting red crown feathers and 
sporting a long wing length (not
 the bird in the image above).

Most common raptors in Northants

Hello

A pleasant winter's day with broken sunshine, a little breezier and cooler this afternoon.

The two Bearded Tits were confirmed as still being present at Stortons Pits this morning and there seems to be a strong likelihood they will remain there all winter. Nearby there was a female Red-crested Pochard and a Goosander at Sixfields Lake and seven Goosanders and a pair of Stonechats were at the Nene Barrage section of Clifford Hill Pits. 

Two pairs of Stonechats were also at Thrapston Pits and a male Blackcap was seen in a Brixworth garden today. The female Merlin remains in the NN6 area this morning, this time seen at Blueberry Farm where there were plenty of small birds for her to chase. Two pairs of Stonechats in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton have been present for a few months now and there are clearly good numbers wintering in the county.

A male Brambling was in Hanging Houghton village this morning, there was at least one Raven and a Redpoll at Kelmarsh and Harrington Airfield supported two more Ravens, a Woodcock and Golden Plovers were heard calling.

The female Ruddy Shelduck was reported at Hollowell Reservoir today, two Golden Plovers were seen in flight over Scaldwell village and the White-fronted Goose flock at Stanwick Pits was still at least nineteen strong this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Kestrel courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Red Kite courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Common Buzzard.

Female Sparrowhawk
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

The above four species are now
easily the most common birds of
prey in Northamptonshire. The Kestrel
was traditionally the most common raptor
but now trails Common Buzzard and
 possibly Sparrowhawk too.

A little snow for a little while!

Hello

A wet and for a while a snowy morning gave way this afternoon to dryer and milder conditions.

Ravens were seen again today at Scaldwell and Hanging Houghton and the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton was good for two pairs of Stonechats and four Bramblings. A freshly-predated Barn Owl was found dead at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

An adult Yellow-legged Gull was at the south end of Pitsford Reservoir today and an adult Caspian Gull, a Great White Egret and five Stonechats were all seen at Hollowell Reservoir.

A single White-fronted Goose was seen at Summer Leys LNR today with Greylag Geese and there were two Great White Egrets present too.

A map of Deene Lake has now been completed and added to the Birdwatching Sites Map tab and Neil H is working on other county locations.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Black-backed Gull -
adult in winter plumage.

Cormorant in nuptial plumage - 
reflecting the early breeding of
this species. Image courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Female Green Woodpecker - 
note the defective upper mandible. I'm
not sure if this follows an injury or
whether this bird was hatched with this
defect. Image courtesy of Robin
Gossage.

Ring-necked Parakeet.
 Media reports suggest that DEFRA are
 planning to destroy satellite populations
 of this species outside London, as it is 
considered by some to be an invasive,
pest species. Image courtesy of Robin
Gossage.

Bramblings, Golden Plovers and Ravens.

Hello

A cold but still day with a little early morning mist and frost, with rain and possible wintry showers tomorrow.

The best of the bunch at Harrington Airfield today were two male Bramblings coming down with other birds on to the supplied seed and approximately one hundred and twenty Golden Plovers in fields opposite the concrete track entrance.

Nearby eleven Golden Plovers were noticed near Scaldwell with a Redpoll and three Siskins in village gardens. Ravens were seen at Harlestone Lake and just south of Great Oxendon and a Barn Owl and a pair of Stonechats were still in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Other birds reported today included a Stonechat at Sywell Country Park, the nine Crossbills again at Hollowell Reservoir and at least twenty-four White-fronted Geese and two Cattle Egrets at Stanwick Pits.

We seem to be just on the edge of a potential snowfall tomorrow with several centimetres predicted for counties east of us.

Regards

Neil M

Golden Plover.

Raven.

A bathing Jay!

Projects last year and this...

Hello

Yesterday's birds included a single Crossbill at Hollowell Reservoir and thirty Redpolls in Greens Norton and a Hawfinch was reported at Weldon, near Corby in the afternoon.

With rainfall yesterday, overnight and today we are again a county with significant flooding associated with the river valleys.

A noisy male Brambling at Harrington Airfield this morning was with other finches and buntings attracted to the broadcast seed and other foodstuffs which during this cold weather is also pulling in a regular flock of Starlings, corvids and others. The sodden fields prove attractive to the nomadic flock of Golden Plovers which completely forsake the site when there are hard frosts, but today they were back with about two hundred and thirty birds present.

Our garden is still attracting reasonable numbers of Goldfinches, Blackbirds and other common birds but nothing unusual. A pair of Stonechats remains in the Brampton Valley below the village.

Some preliminary work on the Northants Ringing Group 2020 data by our group secretary Nick Wood indicates that our small group was responsible for the monitoring of nearly nine thousand birds ringed and over two thousand re-traps and re-sightings. Considering the really significant restrictions imposed on us during the Covid-dominated year this is an excellent result. However most of our long-running projects had to be suspended due to the restrictions - which included most of the nest box schemes, Constant Effort Sites, Swift and House Martin projects, owl box monitoring and tern rafts. We are planning further work to enhance the colonial breeding of Swifts, Sand Martins and Tree Sparrows in 2021 but there is a danger that the on-going pandemic may adversely affect these initiatives too - time will tell!

Regards

Neil M

Swift.

Sand Martin courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Tree Sparrow courtesy
of Robin Gossage.