Repeats - but quality repeats!

Hello

It seemed to be a bit of a re-run of yesterday today with many birds still in situ -  like the weather!

Harrington Airfield was popular with birders this morning and birds included at least one male Ring Ouzel, two or three Common Redstarts, a brief Short-eared Owl, three Wheatears, about thirty-five Golden Plovers, still an unknown number of Bramblings (certainly double figures) and a Redpoll. A ringing session is planned for this site on Monday when access to the private land of the old airstrip and bunkers will be restricted - the concrete track and other footpaths will be open as usual.

Nearby the Draughton Crossing Ring Ouzel was looked for on three occasions with no sightings - a Redwing and a Grey Wagtail lingered there.

Another Redpoll was at Scotland Wood today and a flock of forty-five Golden Plovers were the only noteworthy birds after a walk around Desborough Airfield.

The birds at Pitsford Reservoir included the Great Northern Diver in Pintail Bay, the pair of Common Scoters in The Narrows, a Yellow-legged Gull, the drake Scaup off the dam and a pair of Garganey were flushed from the bank near Moulton Grange Bay and flew towards the causeway. About nine Yellow Wagtails were also present.

At Summer Leys LNR two pairs of Garganey were present and a Blue-headed Wagtail was in with the Yellows again and the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve at Ditchford Pits attracted a Cattle Egret, a Black-tailed Godwit and a Greenshank all courtesy of Tony. Stanwick served up the Glossy Ibis in flight again plus a high-flying Osprey and a Curlew. A dozen Yellow Wagtails were at nearby Raunds Water Treatment Works.

Down at Hinton Airfield, quality passerines included a male Common Redstart, a female Wheatear and more Yellow Wagtails, a Wheatear was on the dam at Hollowell Reservoir this morning and Ian saw a male Common Redstart at Fawsley Park, again at the top of the track past the Fawsley Granary. A pair of Peregrine were at a potential breeding site in the west of the county.

Regards

Neil M

Garganey at Summer Leys LNR
courtesy of John Gamble.

Common Snipe courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Common Buzzard courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Great Crested Grebe courtesy
of David Arden.

Ring Ouzels, Redstarts and more

Hello

Harrington Airfield was the initial venue this morning which paid off with the birds from yesterday still being present in the shape of a Ring Ouzel, two male Common Redstarts, two Wheatears, sixty Golden Plovers, at least a dozen wheezing Bramblings and a pair of Grey Partridges. Just down the road at Draughton Crossing, another male Ring Ouzel showed in the pony field by the car park together with other thrushes.

Blueberry Farm near Maidwell still hung on to about a hundred Fieldfares and at least one and probably two Common Redstarts were in hedging near to the empty house. A predated female Sparrowhawk was found dead near the obelisk at Naseby today. 

Our garden continues to attract plenty of Reed Buntings and several Yellowhammers and the local Swallows are back too!

Yesterday there were three drake Mandarin Ducks at Ravensthorpe Reservoir but it is likely these are free-flying birds from nearby Coton Gardens.

Richard found the pair of Garganey in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning and the Osprey put in an appearance too. This afternoon and a meander south of the causeway provided a party of eight Yellow Wagtails and a cracking male Wheatear in a field between the reservoir and the Brixworth to Holcot road. Scanning further south and some interesting looking birds in the Pintail Bay required a quick walk that way to confirm the presence of a first year Great Northern Diver and a pair of Common Scoter. A Yellow-legged Gull was there too and the drake Scaup was viewed distantly in the Moulton Grange Bay.

Elsewhere and Earls Barton Pits provided a pair of Garganey on the Summer Leys scrape and viewable from the Paul Britten hide plus seventeen Snipe, two Mediterranean Gulls and a Great White Egret but apparently there was no sign of the Ring Ouzel there today.

Southwick Wood was the venue for a calling Cuckoo this morning and a Nightingale trapped there today is a returning male first ringed in the spring of 2019.

The Glossy Ibis was seen in flight over Stanwick Pits again this morning and the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve provided for three Redshanks, two Little Ringed Plovers and a Common Tern.

An Osprey was seen in flight over Sixfields, Northampton at lunchtime and a ringing session at nearby Stortons Pits provided thirty-three captures with perhaps the most interesting birds being a Sedge Warbler first encountered in May 2019, two Willow Warblers, two Chiffchaffs, two Whitethroats, three Blackcaps, three Cetti's Warblers and a host of resident birds.

Birds at Hollowell Reservoir this afternoon included a White Wagtail, a couple of Yellow Wagtails and a Common Sandpiper.

Regards

Neil M

Adult Grey Heron
courtesy of John Tilly.

Tree Sparrow courtesy
of Lewis Aaron.

Reed Bunting courtesy
of Lewis Aaron.

Yellowhammer courtesy
of Lewis Aaron.

 These images come from a modest
ringing session at Pitsford Reservoir
 yesterday concentrating on the reserve
 priority species of Tree Sparrow and
 Yellowhammer.

Sedge Warbler at Stortons Pits
today courtesy of Chris Payne.
This bird was first ringed in May
2019 and not encountered last year.

Juvenile Woodpigeon - this species
 breeds virtually all year round and this
 individual will have been hatched and
reared during some very cold weather.
Image courtesy of Lynne Barnett.

Sunny Tuesday.

Hello

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir this morning included the pair of Garganey again - initially by the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station and then deeper into the Scaldwell Bay. An Osprey cruised over before heading south and other birds included an Egyptian Goose, three Shelducks, a Green Sandpiper, about ten Common Snipe, a Great White Egret, two Little Egrets and a pair of Oystercatchers.

Harrington Airfield was the location for a male Ring Ouzel which was initially between the Chippings Compound and Bunker One and then being seen briefly by the shooting wall. There were two male Common Redstarts, a Wheatear, a Peregrine, about one hundred and fifty Golden Plovers, at least twenty Bramblings plus Ravens and Grey Partridges.

Earls Barton Pits attracted another male Ring Ouzel in a field off Mary's Lane with probably two Blue-headed Wagtails in the neighbouring field for a time, and an interesting bright yellow Yellow Wagtail which resembles the rarely encountered 'lutea' race. Two pairs of Garganey were on the Summer Leys scrape and other birds on the overall Earls Barton complex included a Mediterranean Gull, a White Wagtail, a Common Sandpiper, four Little Ringed Plovers and a Common Tern. Stanwick Pits provided a White Wagtail and a Reed Warbler and the Glossy Ibis was on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston this afternoon.

Clifford Hill Pits again hosted the drake Ring-necked Duck, a Channel Wagtail, a White Wagtail, a Redshank, a Common Sandpiper, four Ringed Plovers, two Little Ringed Plovers and an Egyptian Goose.

At Hinton Airfield today there was a Curlew, one or two Common Redstart(s), a Whitethroat and a Wheatear and a Black Redstart was seen at Long Buckby this morning in a sheep paddock at the bottom of The Banks. An Osprey was seen flying north over Manton Road, Corby at about 2pm with a couple of gulls in pursuit!

Regards

Neil M

Osprey courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Sand Martins courtesy
of John Gamble.

Great Crested Grebe 
with a Perch courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Quackers!

Hello

The usual morning foray to Harrington Airfield to feed the birds was bright and sunny in cool temperatures. The flock of Golden Plovers was about two hundred and fifty strong and they were quite confiding, a fair proportion of them now moulted into summer plumage denoting them to be of the northern form with the extensive black undersides and face. A male Common Redstart was on the concrete track near to the trackside bunker and shooting wall and feeding finches included about a dozen Bramblings.

More feeding station maintenance at the Old Scaldwell Road at Pitsford Reservoir and the distinctive dry creaking call of a drake Garganey could be heard from the margins - a pair subsequently appeared and made their way into the Scaldwell Bay. A Yellow-legged Gull was the only other bird of note seen from there.

There was plenty of birding action at Earls Barton Pits and adjacent areas today with three pairs of Garganey, two Mediterranean Gulls, a Great White Egret, a Ring Ouzel discovered this afternoon, a Blue-headed Wagtail, a 'Channel' Wagtail, a White Wagtail. a Peregrine chasing a Redshank, a Whimbrel briefly, a Common Sandpiper and eighteen Snipe.

Clifford Hill Pits hung on to the drake Ring-necked Duck plus four Ringed Plovers and three White Wagtails, fifty-four Meadow Pipits, a flock of sixty-two Carrion Crows and a Wheatear. A male Common Redstart and two Wheatears were good finds at Hinton Airfield and a Green Sandpiper was seen at Kislingbury Pits/Upton Mill CP.

A/the drake Smew was on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits this morning and sightings at Hollowell Reservoir included an Osprey, a Jack Snipe, a Common Sandpiper and a flock of thirty-two Common Gulls moving north.

Regards

Neil M

Yesterday's snow on 
the Kelmarsh Estate
courtesy of Lynne Barnett.

Teal courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Gadwall courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Garganey courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Garganey courtesy of
Dave Jackson.

Drake Ring-necked Duck
courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Tufted Duck courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Interesting weather and birds

Hello

Another day of erratic weather, with perhaps the orange/red sunrise warning us of wintry weather later in the day!

More ringing today, this time at Kelmarsh Hall where one hundred and eleven common birds were processed, perhaps the most noteworthy being a Chiffchaff, six Blackcaps, ten Goldfinches and three Nuthatches. A Grey Wagtail, a Siskin and a couple of Ravens were noted.

Birds in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir included a pair of Garganey and both Great White and Little Egrets, plenty of hirundines plus an Otter!

The Glossy Ibis flew over Stanwick Pits early this morning and other birds included two Little Ringed Plovers, and this evening a Nightingale was near the underpass on North Lake.

The Earls Barton Pits complex provided views of two or three pairs of Garganey, plenty of Yellow Wagtails, four White Wagtails, a Marsh Harrier, an Egyptian Goose, a male Common Redstart, two Ringed Plovers, a Little Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper and two Common Terns.

Three Great White Egrets were seen on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits today and birds at Harrington Airfield included an early Garden Warbler with a Common Whitethroat along the Brampton Valley Way by the Great Oxendon tunnels.

The juvenile Glaucous Gull was seen again off the A5 DIRFT 3 complex near Lilbourne late morning and an Osprey was seen flying over Ditchford Pits at about 12 noon. The drake Ring-necked Duck was showing nicely at Clifford Hill Pits again today.

Regards

Neil M

Otter at Pitsford Reservoir
today courtesy of David Arden.

Sunrise at Kelmarsh Hall.

Blackcap courtesy
of Bethan Clyne.

Goldfinch courtesy
of Lewis Aaron.

Cold start...Redstart!

Hello

A ringing session at Harrington Airfield today provided only thirty-five birds - the adverse weather conditions in stark contrast to the given forecast! A Hawfinch was heard calling from bushes just after dawn but wasn't subsequently seen and numbers of Bramblings present were estimated at about twenty-five birds, seven of which were caught and ringed. Linnets are there in good numbers and fourteen were caught and processed and an adult male Common Redstart also found a mist net and was duly ringed. A re-trap Willow Warbler was first ringed there in 2019.

Other birds on-site included two hundred and fifty Golden Plovers, a Common Whitethroat, a few Siskins and seventy-two Meadow Pipits headed north.

Over at Stanford Reservoir another Common Redstart was caught and ringed and a Common Whitethroat and Tree Pipit were seen and at Linford Lake ringers there processed forty-two birds which included a male Fieldfare, eleven Blackcaps (including three re-traps from 2019 and 2020), seven Reed Buntings (including one ringed as a fledgling in 2018), three Chiffchaffs and a pair of Bullfinches.

There was no sign of the Ring Ouzel at Blueberry Farm this afternoon but Fieldfares and Redwings were still present. A Wheatear was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and this afternoon a female-type Marsh Harrier flew south there towards Brixworth.

Hollowell Reservoir attracted an Osprey today plus a Common Sandpiper and a Crossbill and an Osprey was perched in a roadside tree alongside the A5199 near Chapel Brampton at 11.50am. Another Osprey with a fish was seen at Clifford Hill Pits this morning and the Ring-necked Duck was still present as was a Common Sandpiper, five Ringed and two Little Ringed Plovers, eighteen Yellow Wagtails, two White Wagtails and a Wheatear.

The day list for Stanwick Pits included the Glossy Ibis, four Cattle Egrets, a Great White Egret and a male Blue-headed Wagtail and birds in the Earls Barton Pits complex included a Blue-headed Wagtail with twenty-five Yellows and ten White Wagtails, a Mediterranean Gull, two Common Terns, Green and Common Sandpiper and at least one pair of Garganey.

Birds at Thrapston Pits included a drake Smew on Town Lake, a Goosander, three Great White Egrets and two Kingfishers.

Other sightings included an adult Mediterranean Gull in a sheep field at Chelveston Airfield plus four Wheatears and forty-two Yellowhammers coming to a snow-affected feed station at Woodford Halse.

Regards

Neil M

Linnet courtesy of
Lewis Aaron.

Male Brambling courtesy
of Lewis Aaron.

Male Brambling
courtesy of Jacob Spinks.

Adult male Common Redstart
courtesy of Lewis Aaron.

The Spoonbills again and a Ring Ouzel at last!

Hello

Ditchford Pits was in vogue today with local birders expertly tracking down the two Spoonbills in trees on Delta Pit where the drake Smew was still swimming around - and earlier a Sandwich Tern was on the Watersport Pit just west of Ditchford Lane, with a Peregrine later. The Spoonbills flew off in due course but are likely to still be in the Nene Valley somewhere - and at times perhaps visiting the heron/egret/Cormorant breeding colonies at Ditchford, Earls Barton and Ringstead.

Pitsford Reservoir again attracted a fishing Osprey this morning where there was also a Great White Egret and two Yellow-legged Gulls.

At Summer Leys LNR the pair of Garganey shared the reserve with another pair of Garganey! It's tempting to think that these are the four birds that first appeared at Clifford Hill Pits some days ago but these nomadic ducks roam great distances so they might be different birds altogether! Other birds seen within the Earls Barton Pits complex included a Great White Egret, a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper, seven Little Ringed Plovers, a Ringed Plover, a White Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail. Yellow Wagtails have arrived in small numbers at many localities now.

Stanwick Pits has been good recently and this morning birds noted included the Glossy Ibis, a Pink-footed Goose, two Mediterranean Gulls and a Pintail.

Quality stretches right along the Nene Valley with the drake Ring-necked Duck again on the main barrage lake at Clifford Hill Pits plus twenty-nine Golden Plovers, five Ringed Plovers, a Little Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper.

Further single Common Sandpipers were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and in a flooded field off the A605 at Barnwell. An Osprey visited Ravensthorpe Reservoir in the afternoon and a Hobby was seen at Stanford Reservoir this morning.

At last a Ring Ouzel has been found, a smart male was in a grass paddock close to Blueberry Farm (near Maidwell) this afternoon in company with about a hundred Fieldfares but it wasn't seen later in the afternoon (but very likely is still present as this is a regular spot). Also this afternoon some diurnal movement saw eight Wheatears drop in to fields in the Brampton Valley and on Blueberry Hill between Hanging Houghton and Haselbech and where only an hour or two earlier there had been none!

Possibly still up to twenty Bramblings were still present at Harrington Airfield this afternoon, but they were mostly audible rather than visual with wonderful wheezy song notes permeating from the leaf-bursting hawthorns. A pair of Grey Partridges and fourteen Golden Plovers and a mobile Siskin were  the only other birds of note. The areas around the bunkers and old airstrips will have restricted access tomorrow for ringing purposes but the official footpaths and access along the concrete track remain open for public use.

A Little Owl was spotted near Deenethorpe and three Siskins were at Kelmarsh Hall.

A map depicting Harlestone Heath and Harlestone Lake has been added to the Birdwatching Site Maps tab courtesy of Neil Hasdell.

Regards

Neil M

Hobby courtesy of
Robin Gossage. There
have been several records
of early birds in the county
 this spring

Marsh Tit courtesy
of Nathan Jones.

Pied Wagtail. At this time of the year
migrant White Wagtails are passing through
and sometimes take some sorting out
from pale grey mantled Pied Wagtails!

Pitsford Naturetrek Tour

Hello

A Naturetrek Day Tour around the reserve at Pitsford Reservoir was blessed with sunshine during the morning into early afternoon which ensured a few insects in addition to the expected birds. The bird highlights included a Great White Egret, a Goosander, a Yellow-legged Gull, about eight Snipe, the pair of Oystercatchers, a Little Ringed Plover, four Kingfishers, a Grey Wagtail, three stunning male Yellow Wagtails, all three hirindines, two each of Siskin and Redpoll and Marsh Tits seemingly at every turn. The best of the insects were Ashy mining-Bee, Dark-edged Bee-fly and Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Comma butterflies. Before our walk Mischa kindly showed us the contents of the reserve moth traps which incuded Early Grey, Hebrew Character, Common Quaker, Small Quaker and Powdered Quaker. There were plenty of Muntjacs moving around in the undergrowth and very good numbers of Bumblebees!

An excursion to Harrington Airfield provided views of over twenty Bramblings, three singing Willow Warblers and two Wheatears with a flock of about a hundred Fieldfares moving over north.

Birds at Thrapston Pits included two Green Sandpipers and two Oystercatchers with a Common Sandpiper by the Sailing Club and birds at Stortons Pits included an Osprey over at 9.50am, two Water Rails and warblers including three Cetti's, two Sedge and Willow, Chiffchaff and Blackcap. The Glossy Ibis was at Stanwick Pits first thing but flew off east and wasn't seen anywhere in the Nene Valley afterwards.

The pair of Garganey were again at Summer Leys LNR today and the Common Sandpiper was at Earls Barton new workings. Two Spoonbills overflew the complex today and were then seen twice in flight over Stanwick Pits - I wonder where they are now?

The Ring-necked Duck was again at Clifford Hill Pits together with four Little Ringed Plovers, three Ringed Plovers, a Yellow Wagtail, a White Wagtail, a Sedge Warbler and two singing Willow Warblers.

An excellent larid session over at Lilbourne on the pool off the A5 by DIRFT3 initiated by Gary Pullan included a juvenile Glaucous Gull, a juvenile Iceland Gull, a Caspian Gull and two Yellow-legged Gulls.

Other birds seen in the county today included an Osprey over Harlestone Lake towards Althorp this evening and two White Wagtails on the dam at Ravensthorpe Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Ashy-mining Bee.

Song Thrush.

...and the nest of a
Song Thrush courtesy
of Lynne Barnett.

The first of the Bluebells
courtesy of Lynne Barnett.

Fledged juvenile
Blackbird courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Fledgling Robin
courtesy of Chris
Payne.

A cold Wednesday!

Hello

Patchwork birder Eric was very pleased to find two Avocets at Thrapston Pits on the Titchmarsh Reserve this morning, other birds there being a very early Garden Warbler, three Great White Egrets, three Oystercatchers and plenty of hirundines.

The Glossy Ibis was seen on the Main Lake at Stanwick Pits this morning and an adult Kittiwake flew north-east from the Layby Pit at about 8.20am.

The pair of Garganey were still at Summer Leys LNR today and three Mediterranean Gulls were seen there too.

Ian found a male Common Redstart at the traditional autumn stop-over site along the track past Fawsley Granary at Fawsley Park and John found a Common Sandpiper on one of the new workings sites at Earls Barton Pits.

About twenty Bramblings were feeding on seed at Harrington Airfield this morning and other birds included three Grey Partridges and about a hundred Golden Plovers. There is likely to be some ringing at this site on Saturday when access will be restricted but this doesn't affect the concrete track and other footpaths.

Despite the temperatures I found Scarlet Tiger caterpillars feeding on our garden Green Alkanet so hopefully we will see the stunning adults later in the year! We are fortunate to have at least three Hedgehogs coming to the garden most nights now (they love dried mealworms).

Regards

Neil M

Colour-ringed Black-headed
Gull 2BAA courtesy of Dave Jackson.

 This gull was ringed as a nestling at Rutland
 Water on 20th June 2019 and seen again on 9th
July 2019. This bird has been seen and reported
at Pitsford Reservoir five times between 13th
December 2020 and 17th March 2021.

Bee-flies, Garganey and snow!

Hello 

For many today the birding highlight was a close pair of Garganey at Summer Leys LNR, a scarce duck which are perhaps more frequent in the late summer and autumn but they definitely look at their best in the spring.

Today's somewhat extreme weather conditions provided me with the view of a flock of Swallows and Sand Martins feeding low over the water at Welford Reservoir in driving snow, and then a flock of Fieldfares and Redwings flying over them!

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included the drake Scaup and the hybrid female, a pair of Oystercatchers, a Yellow-legged Gull, all three species of hirundines, two Grey Wagtails, thirteen Golden Plovers, two Siskins and a Brambling. Harrington Airfield played host to a pair of Grey Partridge and sixteen Golden Plovers this morning.

In a good spring for Sand Martins there were about a hundred at Kinewell Lake at Ringstead Pits today plus fifteen singing Blackcaps (I think it's going to be a bumper year for them too)!

At Thrapston Pits today three Great White Egrets were seen plus three Little Egrets, a drake Goosander plus hundreds of hirundines.

At least two Crossbills were with Siskins and a Redpoll at Hollowell Reservoir today and also where Jim Dunkley found a Dotted Bee-fly, a species currently colonising Northamptonshire. Three Little Ringed Plovers and two Yellow Wagtails were on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve.

Regards

Neil M

Dark-edged Bee-fly
courtesy of Jim Dunkley.

Spotted Bee-fly
courtesy of Jim Dunkley.

Egyptian Geese courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

The Summer Leys
pair of Garganey
courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Where are the Ring Ouzels?

Hello

Overnight sound recordings confirmed migrating Common Scoters over the villages of Scaldwell and Islip last night, with also a Curlew, two Moorhens, a Coot and two Redwings passing over Scaldwell.

The spring at Pitsford Reservoir has so far been about as uneventful as the winter preceeding it but birds seen today included the drake Scaup and hybrid female, two Great White Egrets, a Yellow-legged Gull, a House Martin among Swallows and Sand Martins but also a Hobby seen over the Scaldwell Bay.

The drake Smew was at Stanwick Pits again first thing before flying off and there were two Black-tailed Godwits on Main Lake. Thrapston Pits birds included the Glossy Ibis for a time in the horse field off the A605 layby, an adult Kittiwake was a morning only bird on the Titchmarsh reserve and there were three Bramblings between North Hide and the River Nene.

The Ring-necked Duck was still at Clifford Hill Pits today, as were singles of Ringed Plover and Little Ringed Plover. A Mediterranean Gull was again seen at Summer Leys LNR.

Another Hobby was seen flying over the A43 between Brackley and Silverstone early this morning and three Wheatears were at Chelveston Airfield.

Yet another Black Redstart, or possibly an elusive one from two days ago, was again at Borough Hill Country Park, this time the bird sheltering around the summit buildings.

An Osprey and a Wheatear were seen at Hollowell Reservoir today and birds at Harrington Airfield included ninety-five Golden Plovers and at least two Bramblings.

Nationally it seems that there have been plenty of Ring Ouzels found at a variety of sites both inland and coastal and it seems strange that none have so far been located in Northamptonshire.

Regards

Neil M

Garden Reed Bunting
courtesy of Bethan Clyne.

Birds of Easter Sunday

Hello

A good frost and cold temperatures last night soon gave way to a westerly breeze and sunshine.

And it was another fine spring day for seeing migration in action including plenty of 'redstarts'!

Desborough Airfield this morning provided for one hundred and forty-two Golden Plovers and fourteen Common Snipe. Chelveston Airfield was another venue for a Black Redstart on the county border with Beds plus four Wheatears and a Yellow Wagtail. Harrington Airfield continues to host plenty of finches of buntings which included at least four Bramblings - one of which was virtually a summer plumage male. Five Golden Plovers and a Grey Partridge were also present.

Birds at Stanwick Pits this morning included the Glossy Ibis and the drake Smew but interestingly the Glossy Ibis was back on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits at 10am this morning, where there were also four Great White Egrets and a further influx of warblers.

The Ring-necked Duck was seen again at Clifford Hill Pits together with a Ringed Plover and a Little Ringed Plover. Three Black-tailed Godwits and a Mediterranean Gull were on the Summer Leys LNR this evening.

A Black Redstart was again seen in a Wellingborough garden today and the Black Redstart and a male Common Redstart were again between Shutlanger and Alderton alongside the River Tove. This afternoon another Black Redstart was found in a field half a mile west of Kentle Wood, Daventry at SP5463. This is from a footpath that leads from Kentle Wood and a Wheatear and a Yellow Wagtail were in the same field. An Osprey overflew the wood towards Daventry town centre and at least ten Ravens were present with warblers in the wood including Willow Warbler.

Whitethroats turned up at Hardingstone Lake, Lamport and Harrington Airfield today and probably represent the first spring records for the county. An Osprey flew north through Hollowell Reservoir this morning and a Jack Snipe remained. A Hobby was seen east of Brockhall at midday and a Peregrine was again at Higham Ferrers. A Hen Harrier was reported in flight at Kettering over the A14/A43 junction at lunchtime.

The drake Scaup was off the Sailing Club at Pitsford Reservoir early this morning and a Brambling was noted in the trees there later. Late this afternoon two adult Little Gulls flew through at Daventry Country Park and there were at least one hundred and fifty Lesser Black-backed Gulls present.

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl.

Lesser Redpoll.

Siskin.

All images courtesy of
Nathan Jones.