Hail storms stop play

Hello

Lean times for new birds in the county today, the strong winds not helping. Some powerful weather out there with some brief but fierce hail storms and regular showers.

Birds located at Pitsford Reservoir at the south end today included the drake Mandarin Duck again, two Yellow-legged Gulls, the drake Scaup and hybrid female, twenty-six Golden Plovers flying over moving north, a singing Chiffchaff and a Siskin.

Two Siskins were in a Maidwell garden today, a Peregrine was successfully hunting Starlings at Summer Leys LNR this evening and a pair of Blackcap were again in Clive's garden in Woolaston. Over at Woodford Halse, Ian had a male Blackcap coming to a sunflower hearts feeder in his garden and a female Brambling was at a feeding station that he maintains.

Eric's efforts at Thrapston Pits provided sightings of six Great White Egrets, a pair of Oystercatchers and a Water Rail.

Adrian confirmed the continuing presence of the drake Ring-necked Duck on Big lake, Ditchford Pits today and a Great White Egret was on the Dragonfly Lakes section of the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve.

A pair of adult Mediterranean Gulls were at Stanwick Pits this morning and a pair of Peregrines were on high at St Mary's Church, Higham Ferrers.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Mandarin Duck
at Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Beth Clyne.

Tree Sparrow courtesy
of Laurence Arnold.

Sparrowhawk courtesy
of Laurence Arnold.

Birds of the swirl and showers

Hello

An early morning wander around Harrington Airfield in a stiff south westerly wind provided two Crossbills battling their way into the headwind at about 8.20am, about one hundred and twenty Golden Plovers, at least two Bramblings and a pair of Grey Partridges. A Woodcock was on-site yesterday.

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir remained scant but the drake Scaup was still off the dam with his female friend and there was a particularly aggressive second calendar year Yellow-legged Gull there this evening that tore into a couple of Common Gulls. A flock of one hundred and thirty-nine Golden Plovers were in flight and presumably what will prove to be the regular pair of Oystercatchers were again north of the causeway.

Starlings, Fieldfares and Redwings were still in evidence locally with swirling flocks in the strong breeze; a pure flock of about two hundred Redwings in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton was noteworthy. Many of these birds will be steadily gaining weight whilst foraging the county fields and hedgerows, waiting for the strong winds to abate before moving on steadily east and north towards their own breeding grounds.

A Cattle Egret was a good record for the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston this morning, a Peregrine was again on St Mary's church at Higham Ferrers and a White Wagtail was found by Adrian in a pony field next to the A14 near junction 12.

A male Blackcap was eating from a fatball feeder at Brixworth today and Summer Leys LNR attracted a Peregrine and also a flock of six Siskins feeding in alders.

Regards

Neil M

Redwings (these birds of
the slightly larger Icelandic
race).

Common Snipe.

Treecreeper. These birds are
very vocal at the moment.

Scaup and friend

Hello

More wind and gusts and some sharp showers today too!

The drake Scaup remains off the dam at Pitsford Reservoir and an apparent hybrid female (Scaup x Tufted Duck) is with it too. The regular Yellow-legged Gull is also in the same place and showed itself to be an adept fisher by plucking a sizeable Roach (or similar silver fish) from just under the surface! Two Oystercatchers and the two Barnacle Geese remained north of the causeway.

Four Redshanks, a Dunlin and a Snipe were seen at Stanwick Pits today and birds visible at Hanging Houghton were a Barn Owl, two Ravens and two Peregrines playing in the wind at 1.30pm.

Eric's efforts at Thrapston Pits in strong winds provided views of five or six Great White Egrets, two Oystercatchers and a Ring-necked Parakeet. The best birds at Welford Reservoir this afternoon were a single Stonechat, a pair of Grey Wagtails and a flying flock of about forty Golden Plovers.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Scaup and attendant
female that appears to be a
Scaup x Tufted Duck hybrid
Pitsford Reservoir - images
courtesy of Beth Clyne.

Birds of the bluster and rain

Hello

Windy and wet so it's perhaps not surprising that there weren't many reported sightings in the county today!

The drake Scaup was again off the dam at Pitsford Reservoir today and two Oystercatchers were seen north of the causeway with the two Barnacle Geese in fields next to the Old Scaldwell Road. A pair of Grey Partridge was the only sighting of note at Harrington Airfield this afternoon in very blustery conditions.

A pair of Blackcaps were again in a Wollaston garden today and there were two Dunlin and a Redshank noted at Summer Leys LNR this evening.

Birds recorded audibly over Scaldwell last night included Teal, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Black-headed Gull, Rook, Fieldfare and Redwing.

Three recently received ringing recoveries are as follows:-

1. A young male Blackbird was ringed at Greens Norton on 21st September 2012 and found freshly dead in the village on 24th February this year - an eight and half year old Blackbird is a very good age (3078 days between the two dates);

2. A young Reed Bunting was ringed at Linford Lakes Nature Reserve on 22nd September 2020 and caught again at an undisclosed site in Hertfordshire on 28th February this year, this bird moving 57km in a south-easterly direction;

3. A first year female Goldfinch was ringed at Hanging Houghton on 27th November 2018 and was found recently dead in Naseby village this month, 832 days after apparently colliding with a glass greenhouse.

Regards

Neil M

Male Blackbird courtesy
of John Tilly.

Reed Bunting courtesy 
of Robin Gossage.

Goldfinch courtesy
of John Tilly.

Waders, ducks, early Swallows and the Ibis still.

Hello

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir north of the causeway included four Goosanders flying over north-west, two Barnacle Geese, twenty to thirty Snipe, a Jack Snipe, two Oystercatchers, a Black-tailed Godwit, two Kingfishers, five Siskins, a Redpoll and two thousand Jackdaws left the roost this morning. A drake Scaup appeared near the Sailing Club today and the usual Yellow-legged Gull was there too.

At Harrington Airfield this morning the Short-eared Owl was again at Bunker Three, there were perhaps no more than about thirty Golden Plovers present and there were at least three Bramblings coming down to mixed seed. There was a singing Chiffchaff and a pair of Ravens by the museum.

Creatures around Hanging Houghton and the valley below today included a singing Chiffchaff at Lamport Hall, two Ravens and two fighting Weasels that pretty much ignored everything around them! There was a roadkill Polecat near Lamport, four Roe Deer out in the fields and a pair of Grey Partridges and a hunting Barn Owl in the valley.

The birds on show at Thrapston Pits at different times of the day included the Glossy Ibis and Mediterranean Gull on the Titchmarsh Reserve plus four Great White Egrets, a pair of Kingfishers, large numbers of Red Kites again, a pair of Oystercatchers and a Chiffchaff.

Terry saw two Swallows at Clifford Hill Pits today and these are apparently the earliest ever in the county. Stanwick Pits today provided a Black-tailed Godwit, nine Redshanks and a Dunlin. Another Black-tailed Godwit was seen and heard flying east over Ecton Brook, Northampton this morning.

Hollowell Reservoir's contribution included nine or so Crossbills and a White Wagtail with a flock of Pieds and a Peregrine was again on St Mary's church at Higham Ferrers.

Stortons Pits and Sixfields Lake has been added to the Birdwatching Site Maps tab courtesy of Neil Hasdell.

Regards

Neil M

Chris Payne has two
pairs of Robin nesting
in his garden, both with
eggs and this nest with five.

Water Rails courtesy
of Cathy Ryden.

Drake Scaup at Pitsford
Reservoir courtesy of
Bethan Clyne.

Sywell Buzzards

Hello

Another rather still, grey day but the hint of spring was still in the air!

A few new birds in at Pitsford Reservoir today included two unringed Barnacle Geese and three Shelduck in the Scaldwell Bay, with a Black-tailed Godwit spending a short time there too. Other birds included a pair of Oystercatchers, a Great White Egret, a Kingfisher, over eighty Snipe and four Jack Snipe. The Yellow-legged Gull was again off the Sailing Club and an Otter showed briefly in the Holcot Bay with a Stoat at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station.

Two Grey Wagtails flew low over the garden here at Hanging Houghton this morning and there was a flurry of thrush movement including two Mistle Thrushes moving over north. Jacob's sound recording equipment picked up vocalising Little Grebe and Redwing over Scaldwell village during the night.

Over at Ditchford Pits the drake Ring-necked Duck continued to entertain, moving between the Skew Bridge Pit and Big Lake, and the drake Smew was still on Delta Lake.

The Glossy Ibis was again on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston this morning and there was a 'kettle' of raptors overhead which contained twenty-nine Red Kites and two Common Buzzards. 

A Great White Egret was noted heading west over Clifford Hill Pits and Stanwick Pits hosted a Black-tailed Godwit and the Ferruginous x Pochard hybrid. A Peregrine again showed on the National Grid communications tower at Northampton and a pair of Stonechats were still at Wicksteed Water Meadows with a Grey Wagtail on the stream between the new lodges.

Regards

Neil M

Two different Common Buzzards
posing at Sywell courtesy of
Jim Dunkley.

Early spring migrants

Hello

The cloud of today finally gave way to some blue sky and sunshine this afternoon but still the air temperature was cool. For many birdwatchers keen to see spring commence this period is a bit of a void between the end of winter and the slow start to the next season. Wintering birds are on the move but still very much in evidence and the much-awaited classic spring migrants are still to arrive in any numbers.

The Nene Valley dominated proceedings today - Thrapston Pits continued to host the Glossy Ibis and a White Wagtail was found within a flock of Pied Wagtails, four Cattle Egrets were on show at Stanwick Pits and Summer Leys LNR scored with a Bittern dropping in to reeds this afternoon plus four Pintail and a Shelduck.

The drake Ring-necked Duck was still on Big Lake and the drake Smew was on Delta Pit at Ditchford Pits this morning.

A White-fronted Goose was at Priors Hall Quarry, Corby this afternoon, a Ring-necked Parakeet was at Sywell this morning and a Little Ringed Plover was sound-recorded flying over Scaldwell village at 0003hrs this morning!

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included four hundred flying Golden Plovers, two Oystercatchers and a Great White Egret and Hollowell Reservoir was good for about fifteen Crossbills, two Jack Snipe and two to four Snipe. Two Blackcaps were in a garden at Wollaston, there were two Ravens at Hanging Houghton, there were about one hundred and sixty Golden Plovers at Harrington Airfield this afternoon and a Barn Owl was seen at Hellidon early this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Redpoll.

Coal Tit.

Siskins.

All these excellent images were
 taken at Wakerley Wood by
 Jess Jones.

Birds of woodland, gravel pit and reservoir

Hello

At Harrington Airfield this morning the Short-eared Owl was again at Bunker Three and there was a male Brambling with a Peregrine chasing the two hundred or so Golden Plovers. Two Ravens were at Cottesbrooke with another couple at Haselbech. 

A drake Ring-necked Duck was on Big Lake at Ditchford Pits today with a pair of Smew on nearby Delta Pit. The Mediterranean Gull was again on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits today and other birds on the reserve included three Great White Egrets, four Little Egrets, a drake Goosander and a Water Rail. Five Cattle Egrets were on North Lake, Stanwick Pits this morning.

A 'ringtail' Hen Harrier was seen over the road between Deenethorpe and Benefield this afternoon, three Crossbills were in the spruce plantation below the dam at Hollowell Reservoir and two Crossbills were at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate.

Some more ringing at Scotland Wood today netted another seventy-four birds which included a Nuthatch, two Redwings, a new Marsh Tit and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

At Pitsford Reservoir a Great White Egret and a Chiffchaff were north of the causeway and there was a female Brambling in a Scaldwell garden.

Regards

Neil M

Jay courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Starling courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Marsh Tit courtesy
of Nathan Jones.

County birds for Friday

Hello

More Black-headed Gulls and smaller numbers of Common Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gulls were pushing through the county today, perhaps most evident this afternoon with some big flocks around.

The adult Mediterranean Gull was still on the Titchmarsh Reserve this morning and other birds in the Nene Valley included four Cattle Egrets at Stanwick Pits around North Lake and the drake Ring-necked Duck still on Big Lake, Ditchford Pits this afternoon.

Fineshade Wood attracted a handful of Siskins and two Ravens and a good walk around at Wakerley Wood notched up fifteen Crossbills in the car park including some very bright males, about twenty-five Siskins, eight Redpolls, a Chiffchaff and at least two Ravens.

In the Welland Valley the two Oystercatchers remain below Cottingham and a Barn Owl was perched on a post near Gretton. There were plenty of gulls, Wigeon and Teal close to Harringworth village.

At Blatherwycke Lake there was just one pair of Mandarin Ducks, two Egyptian Geese, a Little Egret and a Water Rail with twelve Shelducks again at nearby Deene Lake.

At Pitsford Reservoir today the Yellow-legged Gull was off the Sailing Club and north of the causeway there were two Kingfishers, an Oystercatcher, two Siskins and a Redpoll but otherwise it seemed very quiet.

A limited ringing session took place at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate today which netted sixty birds - all common species with perhaps the highlights being two Nuthatches, a Treecreeper, three Marsh Tits and a Song Thrush. Other birds on-site included at least half a dozen Siskins and a Raven.

Regards

Neil M

Male Nuthatch at
Scotland Wood today.

Treecreeper at
Scotland Wood today.

Below...Badger on the patio!

Video and images courtesy
of Lynne Barnett.

Spring movers

Hello

Limited birding opportunities for me today although I did flush up a Woodcock in Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate. Large numbers of Black-headed and Common Gulls invaded the county today, many of them moving on in a north and east direction.

Bethan and Jacob's efforts at Pitsford Reservoir north of the causeway provided sightings of a Great White Egret, at least four Oystercatchers. eighteen Snipe, a Kingfisher, an adult male Peregrine and two Siskins.

Eight Crossbills were at Hollowell Reservoir this morning and birds visible/audible from the causeway at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this afternoon included a Raven, a Water Rail, a Kingfisher and a Chiffchaff.

The adult Mediterranean Gull was seen on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits this morning and birds at Cifford Hill Pits included a drake Red-crested Pochard, four Goosanders, three Oystercatchers, two Redshanks and a Dunlin. At Stanwick Pits there was an adult Mediterranean Gull on the Layby Pit with nine Redshanks, a Dunlin and a Pintail all on Main Lake.

A Little Owl was on show at Delapre Park today, Clive had two Blackcaps in his Wollaston garden today and a Peregrine was again showing on the National Grid communications tower at Northampton.

A Starling murmuration of some thousands is an evening spectacle in the Linden Avenue/St Mary's Road area of Kettering with attendant raptors in the shape of Sparrowhawks and Peregrine.

Some garden ringing today completed by Dave Francis on the outskirts of Northampton provided nine Reed Buntings, a Siskin, three Goldcrests and other common birds including a six year old Blue Tit.

The rural South Northants birding site map of Edgcote has been added to the Birdwatching Site Maps tab.

Regards

Neil M

Black-headed Gull.

Common Gull.

Male Reed Bunting. This species
moves around a great deal in the
early spring as they seek out feeding
opportunities prior to settling down 
for breeding. They exploit gardens
looking for seed and tend to prefer
millet (particularly red millet) and 
other small seeds, but will occasionally
peck at fat products and other feedstuffs
too.

A grey spring day

Hello

A change of scenery today with a walk around the Nene Barrage section of Clifford Hill Pits which held large numbers of birds including an excellent array of gulls and wildfowl. Parking in Riverside Retail Park and a noisy Ring-necked Parakeet flew over. Other birds attracted to the wetlands included a pair of Pintail, seven Goosanders, a single Golden Plover, a pair of Oystercatchers, a couple of Siskins and a Cetti's Warbler.

A ringing session at the main feeding station at Pitsford Reservoir this morning began with a Chiffchaff being the first bird caught. Others included twelve new Reed Buntings, seven Tree Sparrows, five Great Tits, seven Blue Tits, two Dunnocks, a Robin, a Greenfinch, a Yellowhammer, a Starling and two Blackbirds.

Other birds on-site in the Scaldwell Bay included a pair of Oystercatchers, thirty Snipe, two Jack Snipe and a hunting female Merlin which caught a Starling over fields to the west of the reserve.

A Sand Martin was seen at Summer Leys LNR this morning and there was also a 'redhead' Smew there plus an Oystercatcher, a Siskin and a Redpoll.

The Short-eared Owl flushed up again from Bunker Three at Harrington Airfield this afternoon and there were about two hundred mobile Golden Plovers on-site.

Adrian located an adult Mediterranean Gull on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits this afternoon, a Peregrine was on the usual communications tower at St Peter's Way, Northampton and Clive again saw a Blackcap in his Wollaston garden.

Regards

Neil M

A rather tame Grey
Heron at Weston Mill,
Northampton today.

Female Goldeneye courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Goldfinch courtesy of
John Tilly.

Tuesday's tidings!

Hello 

Another grey day but perhaps not quite so raw as I listened to a singing Siskin in my neighbour's garden first thing and watched a female Sparrowhawk speed across the field behind the garden. Still reasonable numbers of birds in the garden with plenty of Goldfinches, small numbers of Chaffinches and Greenfinches and a few Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers. One of our Great Spotted Woodpeckers has a liking for sunflower hearts and the finches have to move over or off the feeder when he turns up.

Two Grey Partridges and two Grey Wagtails were near Brixworth and an afternoon walk at Harrington Airfield provided views of twenty Golden Plovers, a pair of Grey Partridge and at least three Bramblings.

Birds south of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir today included the regular Yellow-legged Gull, a Raven, a pair of Stonechats and two Grey Wagtails. North of the causeway and there were views of a Great White Egret, a Peregrine, two Snipe, two Oystercatchers, a Kingfisher, a Siskin and a Chiffchaff.

The drake Smew was reported at Skew Bridge Lake at Ditchford Pits again today and there were five Cattle Egrets and seven Redshanks at Stanwick Pits. A Peregrine was visible on the church at Higham Ferrers and another was again near the top of the communications tower at St Peter's Way, Northampton.

Jon found about eight of the Crossbills at Hollowell Reservoir on the north side of the Sailing Club bay.

Ringstead Pits has been added to the Birdwatching Sites Maps tab courtesy of Neil Hasdell.

Regards

Neil M

Cock Pheasants come
in a variety of colours
and markings, this one
sporting a blue head and 
collar with no white 
neck ring.

Fourth calendar year
Yellow-legged Gull, 
almost certainly the 
 same individual seen as
an advanced first year
bird in the autumn of 
2018, and has rarely strayed
from Pitsford Reservoir since.
Yellow-legged Gulls generally
exhibit a much more rapid age
 moult strategy than say the 
average Herring Gull.

Raw first day of March

Hello 

A raw, grey and initially murky day felt quite different to the lovely sunny weather from last week!

A walk in the morning mist at Harrington Airfield first thing proved quite challenging to see anything but the Short-eared Owl flushed up at Bunker Three again and about a hundred Golden Plovers came wheeling out of the mist on a couple of occasions. At least one Raven could be heard calling and there are still a few Grey Partridges on-site.

In the Welland Valley this afternoon there was a Little Egret and two Oystercatchers below Cottingham and a young male Merlin showed twice in the valley between Rockingham and Gretton.

The cold day brought a resurgence of birds back in to the garden which included a couple of Reed Buntings and three Yellowhammers.

The drake Ring-necked Duck was reported at Big Lake, Ditchford Pits today and the drake Smew was apparently on the Skew Bridge Pit again too. Late news from yesterday was of a sighting of the male Bearded Tit again at Stortons Pits.

Geoff saw another Merlin between Upper Benefield and Deene today where there was also a Little Owl on show. Two Peregrines were over Barnes Meadow LNR today and probably the same two birds were also seen perched on the National Grid communications tower off St Peter's Way, Northampton.

Four Cattle Egrets were at Stanwick Pits this morning and birds in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir included a Great White Egret, a Woodcock, an Oystercatcher, five Snipe and a gathering of 73 Stock Doves. A Barn Owl was at Scaldwell village this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Stock Dove.

Barn Owl by
Nathan Jones.

Kestrel courtesy
of Robin Gossage.