Mild and breezy

Hello

Another mild but very breezy day which is steadily drying out the topsoil and more spring flowers are now emerging.

The Great Northern Diver, a Great White Egret and a Water Rail were all in the vicinity of Catwalk Bay at Pitsford Reservoir today with a Grey Wagtail at the dam. Another Grey Wagtail and a Raven were the most note-worthy birds at Welford Reservoir and a visit to Harrington Airfield this afternoon provided views of the female Merlin again, one or two Brambling(s) and between three hundred and four hundred Golden Plovers.

Over at Thrapston Pits the Glossy Ibis was on the Titchmarsh Reserve and a little later a 'redhead' Smew materialised too. Other birds on the reserve included six Great White Egrets, a pair of Redshank, a Curlew and a drake Goosander. Not far away nine Barnacle Geese were in fields near Stanwick Pits and at Ditchford Pits a pair of Smew were on the eastern end of Main (Higham) Lake.

Fifteen Crossbills were still investigating the conifers at Hollowell Reservoir today and the juvenile Iceland Gull was in fields south of Rushton Landfill this afternoon.

A pair of Stonechats were visible in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Iceland Gull.

'Redhead' Smew courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Robin courtesy of
Robin Gossage.
Some resident pairs are
already nesting, some are
on the move through the county
 and others currently south of us
 wintering in the south of the UK
and in Portugal and Spain have yet
to arrive!

Early spring spoils

Hello

It might be mild conditions but for seed-eating birds there isn't a great deal of food out there at this time of the year so I spent much of my day walking around and dispensing lots of food both on the ground and from suspended feeders.

Harrington Airfield was first and the flock of fifty or so Chaffinches still included a couple of male Bramblings plus the usual Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers, just a few Tree Sparrows and other regulars. There were about a hundred Golden Plovers hiding on the top fields making counting them difficult.

Kelmarsh Hall always has large numbers of birds coming for the food with tits, common finches and woodland birds dominating and a further three feeding stations corralled a mixture of amber and red-listed species.

It seems that the winter thrushes took centre stage at diurnal migration today - Jacob clocked up 443 Fieldfares and 1505 Starling moving north east over Scaldwell village and Chris down at Greens Norton counted over five hundred Fieldfares and over one hundred and seventy-five Redwings on the move. Gulls are moving over steadily and it's the return of passage adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls moving north - probably filtering back from Iberia - that has been most noticeable. Common Gulls are coming through in small groups now, often lingering to feed on wet fields with nomadic Black-headed Gulls. Larid fans will be checking these wanderers for something good from now through until early May!

At Pitsford Reservoir today the Yellow-legged Gull was again off the Sailing Club and birds north of the causeway included a Great White Egret, a few Snipe and an Oystercatcher.

The Glossy Ibis spent some time this afternoon on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits but at one stage was feeding with many wildfowl on the flooded meadows between Wadenhoe and Aldwincle. Other birds at Thrapston Pits included six Great White Egrets, a couple of Little Egrets, six Cetti's Warblers, five Chiffchaffs, two Grey Wagtails, three Kingfishers, a pair of Stonechats, two Oystercatchers and a drake Goosander. About thirty Siskins were in the alders at Wadenhoe Church where there was also a Grey Wagtail.

The juvenile Iceland Gull was showing distantly at Rushton Landfill late this morning and Ken did well to locate a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Stortons Pits today plus a Stonechat and a male Blackcap.

Two Ravens passed through Hanging Houghton on their territorial patrol and two pairs of Stonechats remained in the valley below the village and at Stanwick Pits the Bar-tailed Godwit was still there and two Cattle Egrets were also present.

Regards

Neil M

Nuthatch courtesy of
Robin Gossage. A charismatic
bird with a wonderful extensive
range of calls and songs, and they are
noisy now as we count down to the 
breeding season!

Great Crested Grebe which appears
to be consuming a small Tench. This
is probably an unusual fish to eat - Tench
have a distasteful slime which sometimes
causes a bird to regurgitate and abandon
their prey. Image courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Bar-tailed Godwit. A very
scarce and often difficult bird
to see in the county, the current
bird at Stanwick Pits is certainly
very long-staying for the time of
the year.

Sunday's county birds

Hello

I spent the early part of today checking local Raven territories with mixed results but at least there were pairs in the right areas and most of the nests were intact from previous years.

The singing Blackcap remained in the village at Hanging Houghton, it's very simple dialect suggests it's not a breeding bird from around here or perhaps a first year bird which has yet to develop a distinctive flourish!

Below the village in the Brampton Valley the Barn Owl was hunting both this morning and late this afternoon with another at nearby Blueberry Farm. Two pairs of Stonechats remained in the valley and this afternoon there was a passage of Fieldfares and Meadow Pipits moving north along the valley.

Pied Wagtails and gulls were the other visible movers of the day as the spring momentum continues and Redwings and Fieldfares were seen moving east over Scaldwell village with eight Siskins going south west.

Local rarities hanging on in the county included the Glossy Ibis seen again at Islip Meadows (Thrapston Pits) and the drake Ring-necked Duck was with a small flock of Tufted Ducks on the Big Lake at Ditchford Pits. The juvenile Iceland Gull was at Rushton Landfill this morning and there was a pair of Stonechats in the afternoon.

A White-tailed Eagle was reported flying over the Boughton Estate north of Kettering today but seemingly isn't one of the satellite-tracked Isle of Wight released birds.

The Great Northern Diver was seen again at Pitsford Reservoir today, south of the causeway and near the Catwalk Bay and there was a Great White Egret in the Scaldwell Bay plus two Stonechats, a Yellow-legged Gull and an Oystercatcher.

Stanwick Pits hosted two Great White Egrets, a Bar-tailed Godwit, the Ferruginous Duck hybrid and two Dunlin and other birds at Thrapston Pits included a fly-over Cattle Egret, two Great White Egrets, four Little Egrets, a Water Rail and four Goosanders.

Single Peregrines remained at St Mary's church, Higham Ferrers and on the mast at St Peter's Way, Northampton, and a Black-tailed Godwit and a Shelduck were at Summer Leys LNR and a female Blackcap was seen in a Wollaston garden. At Hollowell Reservoir a Crossbill was still present and a large flock of seven hundred Common Gulls were resting on the water.

Regards

Neil M

Male Stonechat at
Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Male Siskin courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Kestrel courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Early spring migration.

Hello

A little bit of passage evident today with a few Meadow Pipits, Pied Wagtails, finches and thrushes on the move overhead, mostly going north or north-west.

Birds in the general Hanging Houghton area today included two Ravens, a singing Blackcap, a Woodcock, three Barn Owls and four Stonechats and nearby Harrington Airfield sported two Ravens, two hundred and fifty Golden Plovers, a female Brambling and three male Stonechats which were fresh in.

In the Nene Valley the Glossy Ibis was seemingly hidden for much of the day at Thrapston Pits but there was a lunchtime sighting of it in flight. Easier to find were a group of seven Great White Egrets on the Titchmarsh Reserve and another three on the Summer Leys LNR.

A Pink-footed Goose was still at Ringstead Pits near Woodford Mill and Stanwick Pits supported another Pink-footed Goose, the Bar-tailed Godwit still, six Redshanks and seven hundred Lapwings including a leucistic bird which if the same one has been doing the rounds along the Nene Valley and Pitsford Reservoir.

Adrian had a look for the Ring-necked Duck on the Main Pits (Higham Pit) at Ditchford Pits but with no joy (just a Goosander of note), but did bump into an adult Yellow-legged Gull on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve. The juvenile Iceland Gull was reported at Rushton Landfill again this morning (sadly it is limited and awkward viewing and parking opportunities at this spot alongside a busy road).

In some sheltered places today the weak sunshine and relatively high temperatures brought forth quite a number of Brimstone butterflies. Already in the UK there have been sightings of Swallow, Sand Martin and Wheatear and with more southerly winds there will no doubt be more soon!

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl at Hanging Houghton
courtesy of Nathan Jones.

Redwing courtesy of
Robin Gossage. Plenty of
these birds were moving north
today.

Shoveler courtesy of
Robin Gossage. A much
scarcer bird in the county
these days with now just
a couple of focused areas
in the Nene Valley where they
still occur in some numbers.

Tree Sparrow. Another scarce
and declining bird in the county
with recent absences in most parts of South
Northants, once the regional 
stronghold in the county. The supported
colonies at Pitsford and Stanford
Reservoirs are now even more
important if we are to keep this
as a breeding species in Northamptonshire.
Image courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Birds of the mild and bluster

Hello

Early morning birds at Harrington Airfield today included the Short-eared Owl again plus a flock of about one hundred and fifty Golden Plovers and at least three Bramblings. Pitsford Reservoir has had a quiet winter and this continues with the only birds of note today being three Oystercatchers, the long-staying Yellow-legged Gull and a pair of Stonechats.

The Glossy Ibis showed well on and off this morning at Islip Meadows adjacent to Thrapston Pits but apparently it went missing after 1pm with no subsequent reported sightings. Titchmarsh Reserve held plenty of birds with a Bittern flying off from a reedbed next to the Palmer Hide at about 1.30pm, five Great White Egrets, six Little Egrets, a drake Goosander, a couple of Cetti's Warblers, four or five Chiffchaffs, a Peregrine, two Oystercatchers, three Kingfishers, two Grey Wagtails, a Water Rail, a few Siskins and a pair of Stonechats.

At Stanwick Pits the Bar-tailed Godwit was seen again as were five White-fronted Geese and at Ringstead Pits a Pink-footed Goose was in a field between the old railway line and Woodford Mill, and there was also a Great White Egret and three Pintail.

The Scaup remained at Hollowell Reservoir and there were three Snipe and six Stonechats. Two Ravens visited Hanging Houghton again today, a Grey Wagtail was at Kelmarsh and a Great White Egret flew SE over the Brampton Valley Way near Brixworth this afternoon heading towards the village. This afternoon the Barn Owl and a pair of Stonechats were again in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Badby Woods/Fawsley Park has been added to the Birdwatching Sites Map tab.

Regards

Neil M

That's another Kestrel
box up and ready! Chris
Payne is pictured up the
ladder, image courtesy
of John Boland.

Cock Linnet courtesy
of Nathan Jones.

Bearded Tit.

Water Rail. This image and
the Bearded Tit were taken
by Laurence Arnold at
Stortons Pits.

A quieter day in February

Hello 

The Glossy Ibis has remained at Islip Meadows, Thrapston today, showing on and off and delighting observers as it sometimes fed at close range.

Down the road at Stanwick Pits the flock of about thirty-one White-fronted Geese and the Bar-tailed Godwit were still present. The Earls Barton Pits complex including the nearby valley provided sightings of three Great White Egrets, three Dunlin, twelve Golden Plovers, a pair of Stonechats and a Kingfisher.

At Pitsford Reservoir today sightings included a Peregrine, two drake Pintails, an Oystercatcher and a Dunlin. Four Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley again below Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

It's a tough life being
a fish! Even a large Perch
is no match for a hungry
Cormorant. Images courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

A view of woodland
at Kelmarsh Hall

Male Reed Bunting
courtesy of Nathan Jones.

Glossy Ibis

Hello 

With a couple of brief views over the last few days, the favoured feeding area for the Glossy Ibis was successfully identified and this bird was watched on and off during the day at Islip Meadows alongside Thrapston Pits. This species has been seen quite a few times in the county during the last decade but has been notoriously difficult to catch up with as all the previous individuals haven't stayed long. Feeding on the saturated and close-cropped meadow the ibis was pulling out lobworms with great gusto!

Other birds there included two drake Goosanders on the river, a few Golden Plovers, three Shelducks and a Chiffchaff and a Grey Wagtail were at Islip Treatment Works.

Elsewhere and a Peregrine was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton where one of the pair of Stonechats was visible and the village itself continued to host a singing Blackcap and a pair of Ravens.  Another Peregrine was seen again at St Mary's Church, Higham Ferrers and Stanwick Pits continued to nurture thirty-three White-fronted Geese, the Pink-footed Goose, the Bar-tailed Godwit, three Pintail and four Dunlin.

Two Pink-footed Geese were a new find in the Nene Valley east of Ringstead Pits near Woodford Mill. The paltry gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir included the regular adult Yellow-legged Gull with a singing Chiffchaff in waterside bushes. Birds at Harrington Airfield included at least two Bramblings and thirty-plus Golden Plovers.

With relatively high temperatures forecast and a southerly weather flow from North Africa, the conditions seem good for some very early summer migrants and early nesting attempts by our resident birds!

Neil Hasdell has been busy again and we have now added three more maps to the Birdwatching Sites Map Tab for Boddington Reservoir, Sywell Country Park and the Fermyn Wood complex.

Regards

Neil M

Glossy Ibis at Islip
Meadows courtesy
of Bob Bullock.

Kingfisher courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Lingering winterers

Hello

The singing Blackcap and two Ravens remained at Hanging Houghton today and the Barn Owl and two pairs of Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below the village. All the Fieldfares in our garden abandoned us as soon as the milder conditions dominated and we are back to just our regular visitors.

A single 'redhead' Smew remained at Ravensthorpe Reservoir today, hiding well against the west bank south of the causeway and the female Scaup was still at Hollowell Reservoir together with a Crossbill and three pairs of Stonechats. A few Siskins were noted at the dam-end of Pitsford Reservoir and the regular adult Yellow-legged Gull was on a buoy there.

Yesterday (Monday) evening and a Great White Egret and a hunting Barn Owl were by the marina at Ringstead Pits. Today (Tuesday) and Stanwick Pits remains good with the Pink-footed Goose, about thirty White-fronted Geese, a Bar-tailed Godwit, three Pintail, four Dunlin and a possible Australian Shoveler all being present! A female Stonechat was on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve just down the road and further west the Summer Leys reserve hosted two Great White Egrets, three Pintail, forty Golden Plovers and eleven Snipe.

Elsewhere and Wicksteed Water Meadows proved profitable with a Woodcock, three Jack Snipe and a Stonechat all seen during the WeBS count. Nearby there were three Stonechats in a rough field off Cranford Road, Kettering together with thirty Skylarks and thirty Linnets. At Lings Wood, Northampton a flock of fifteen Redpolls were discovered and there is a report that the Glossy Ibis has been seen again late this afternoon - briefly on Islip Water Meadows which is adjacent to Thrapston Pits...

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl at Hanging
Houghton courtesy of
Nathan Jones.

Female Blackcaps.

Male Blackcap.

Fieldfare. This image and
the Blackcaps are courtesy
of Laurence Arnold.

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

Yesterday (Sunday) and the drake Ring-necked Duck was located on the Higham (Main) Lake between Higham Ferrers and Irthlingborough. This is east of the Rushden Lakes complex not west as quoted on a national network.

With a change in guidance from the British Trust for Ornithology in relation to conducting surveys during this current lockdown, the monthly WeBS count was completed at Pitsford Reservoir today. Waterfowl numbers were very low and it is concerning how the numbers in general have been on a slide for a couple of years now. More drastically the numbers of gulls on-site really have tumbled and are now present in unprecedented very small numbers.

Waders today included two Jack Snipe, fifty-eight Snipe and three Woodcock north of the causeway and a walk around the whole of the reserve totting up some of the passerines after the cold period of weather included a Cetti's Warbler, a Chiffchaff, twenty Treecreepers, at least eleven Goldcrests, seven Great Spotted Woodpeckers, five Green Woodpeckers, fifty-nine Blackbirds, sixteen Skylarks heading north and another twelve in full song! There were several Siskins, two Ravens, a Redpoll and a Kingfisher and the best of the mammals included a Stoat and a Brown Hare. Up to four Peacock butterflies were on the wing in the Scaldwell Bay.

South of the causeway there was a pair of Stonechats, five Chiffchaffs, two Ravens and two Grey Wagtails, several Siskins and a drake Mandarin Duck which was grazing with the geese.

The singing Blackcap and a pair of Ravens were still at Hanging Houghton with a Barn Owl and a female Stonechat in the Brampton Valley below the village.

At Harrington Airfield today the Short-eared Owl was again by Bunker Three and other birds included two male Bramblings, seventy Golden Plovers and four Ravens.

The female Scaup and a Great White Egret was seen again at Hollowell Reservoir and the three 'redhead' Smew and a Great White Egret were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir again.

Stanwick Pits again hosted about thirty White-fronted Geese and a Pink-footed Goose and the Bar-tailed Godwit had changed location to the Roadside Pit. Single Great White Egrets were at Grendon Lakes and on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows Reserve at Ditchford Pits (where there was also a Stonechat).

A Peregrine was seen circling St Mary's church in Wellingborough today.

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl Hanging Houghton
courtesy of Nathan Jones.

Common Buzzard Hanging Houghton
courtesy of Nathan Jones.

Female Stonechat Hanging Houghton
courtesy of Nathan Jones.

Male Stonechat at
Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Birds of mid February

Hello

Still cold and windy but an imminent change in the weather it seems!

The Short-eared Owl re-appeared at Harrington Airfield this morning where there were also two Ravens, a Woodcock and at least three Bramblings. Two Ravens and a singing Blackcap were in Hanging Houghton village and the Brampton Valley below the village was good for a hunting Short-eared Owl, a Barn Owl and two Stonechats. Another Barn Owl was hunting at nearby Blueberry Farm and six Siskins were near Haselbech.

Birds at Sywell Country Park today included a small flock of Redpolls, a Water Rail, a Grey Wagtail and a pair of Stonechats.

In the Nene Valley two Green Sandpipers and just seven Chiffchaffs were in the vicinity of Ecton Sewage Farm and at Ditchford Pits there was a drake Smew on the Skew Bridge Lake and a Great White Egret on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve.

Stanwick Pits continues to be the place for the wintering White-fronted Goose flock with thirty-three individuals today plus a Pink-footed Goose, four Dunlin and three Pintail. A female Scaup was found off the south-east shore at Hollowell Reservoir today and five Redpolls continue to visit garden feeders in Greens Norton village.

A ringing encounter with an adult female Blue Tit at Hanging Houghton was pretty special as she was first ringed as a nestling on 31st May 2013 - which means she is over seven years old!

Regards

Neil M

Snowy scene on the
Kelmarsh Estate

Lapwing.

Wren.

Robin.

Lots of birds about!

Hello

With the continuation of this very cold weather I spent pretty much the whole day feeding birds! The weather forecast suggests that there should be a change beginning tomorrow with a much milder and damper new week in store.

Today's birding in the garden was again dominated by the fabulous Fieldfares with at least fifty birds feeding in the garden but not all at the same time. In fact they are so argumentative that the back lawn has numerous grey feathers where scuffles are almost constant! Like most garden birds it seems that individuals have different tastes - some of the Fieldfares stick rigidly to apple and ignore everything else; others love the dried mealworms and just a few will take cheese, suet pellets and other broadcast fare. Dodging around them are good numbers of Blackbirds and up to four Redwings at a time - they also have a taste for the dried mealworms. A few Reed Buntings and Pied Wagtails were joined by a male Blackcap this afternoon which even sang briefly.

At Harrington Airfield this morning the wintering female Merlin showed up and there were still four Bramblings coming down for the food. A couple of south-bound Lapwing flocks were the first of several seen during the day. Yesterday (Friday) afternoon the Iceland Gull was again seen at Rushton Landfill site.

The wintering Great Northern Diver at Pitsford Reservoir was between the Catwalk Bay and the causeway this morning and a Barn Owl was hunting below the dam. This evening the diver was off the Sailing Club as was an adult Yellow-legged Gull. A Woodcock was flushed near Brixworth and the Barn Owl was seen to successfully catch a vole at Blueberry Farm this afternoon where four Snipe were flushed from a ditch.

Nick Parker found the best bird of the day with a single Glossy Ibis flying south over Thrapston Pits at about 11.35am but so far it hasn't been re-located. Nick also saw a Knot with Lapwings at Islip Water  Meadows. Other Nene Valley birds included seven Great White Egrets at Summer Leys LNR first thing with Stanwick Pits returning totals of thirty-three White-fronted Geese, a Pink-footed Goose, two Cattle Egrets, a Great White Egret, four Pintail and two Dunlin.

Clifford Hill Pits provided some sightings with two Jack Snipe, two Snipe, four Dunlin, at least fourteen Golden Plovers and two Stonechats. Single Goosanders were noted on the River Nene at Thrapston and Higham Ferrers, three 'redhead' Smew and a Great White Egret were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and birds at Hollowell Reservoir included a Jack Snipe, ten Snipe, a Great White Egret and eight or nine Crossbills.

A Peregrine was on a church again at Higham Ferrers, a lonely Siskin was on the Kelmarsh Estate and a pair of Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Several Redpolls were feeding from a suspended feeder at Greens Norton today and a Polish ringed first year Caspian Gull was on the ice at Stanford Reservoir this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit on tree sap
icicle courtesy of
Trevor Wilson.

Male Starling in winter
sunshine courtesy of
John Tilly.

Garden birding

Hello

With the very cold weather continuing our small garden has been very busy with birds again today including an invasion of Fieldfares - on several occasions I counted over twenty individuals attacking apples and each other, or feeding on dried mealworms/suet pellets and the last of the guelder rose berries.

Double-glazed windows isn't great for photography but I spent a little while this morning trying to digitally capture the mini invasion.

At least two Bramblings were still at Harrington Airfield this morning, an adult Peregrine was north of Kelmarsh, a Barn Owl was again at Blueberry Farm and the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton continued to host two more Barn Owls and a pair of Stonechats.

Elsewhere and again the Nene Valley dominated proceedings with three Great White Egrets at Summer Leys and Stanwick Pits continued to attract the Bar-tailed Godwit, two Dunlin, two Oystercatchers, two Redshanks, nine Snipe and seven Pintails.

This morning the Ring-necked Duck showed on the Large Lake at Ditchford Pits (plus two Oystercatchers flying over) but couldn't be found on a search this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Feisty Fieldfares!

Mistle Thrush.

Pied Wagtail.

Redwing.