Pitsford CBC

Hello

A long and busy day, it's always a good idea to make the best of the good weather!

I started the day at Pitsford Reservoir where I completed a Common Bird Census around the reserve, concluding in the early afternoon. It takes me ages because I'm continually distracted by mammals, insects etc. Bird-wise it was pretty routine with the summering Pink-footed Goose still present, a Spotted Flycatcher on eggs and fledged young birds everywhere. Waders were confined to Oystercatcher and Lapwing.

The main spectacle were the damselflies which today must have numbered in their tens of thousands. Common Blue Damselfly were the most numerous but there were good numbers of Large Red-eyed too. Other odonata included Large Red Damselfly, lots of Beautiful Demoiselles, Four-spotted Chasers, Black-tailed Skimmers, a single Hairy Hawker, a single Southern Hawker and plenty of Blue Emperors.

Butterflies included Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Large Skipper, Common Blue, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral and it's a good year for Chimney Sweeper moths with plentiful numbers on-site.

Muntjacs were seen all the way around the reserve, a single Brown Hare showed itself and a Grass Snake was a rare treat.

Some more strimming and tree work this afternoon was required and three feed stations were visited and the birds fed. Eleanor's best sighting at Harrington Airfield were two very young Red Fox cubs playing out in the open.

This evening I checked on some of the breeding birds at Lamport Hall where there are at least twenty-two pairs of House Martins and a few pairs each of Swift and Swallow. A Barn Owl was hunting again this evening in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

The Garganey was again seen on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR today and birds at Thrapston Pits included two Cuckoos, two Hobbies and a Ring-necked Parakeet.

Regards

Neil M

Cormorant.

Large Skipper.

Black-tailed Skimmer.

Mallard ducklings.

Red Admiral.

Stinkhorn fungi.

All images taken at
Pitsford Reservoir today.

Tigers, woodpeckers and owls

Hello

Initially a grey, blustery but dry day with plenty of sunshine this afternoon ahead of what should be a pleasant day tomorrow.

Today was spent with colleagues managing ringing rides at two sites - with such a rapid growth spurt the rides had become quickly overgrown and needed cutting back, about a month earlier than normal. I think it likey that the cold earlier part of spring supressed plant growth and then the heat and the rain thereafter created a very rapid growth rate - but then I'm no gardener!

A new hatch of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies are very welcome and we had a Scarlet Tigermoth in our front garden last night (after seeing one in the village the day before).

Chris Payne has been ringing more Barn Owl chicks today in South Northants with three 5-6 week old chicks ringed in one nest box and with still a brood of eggs in another box.

A number of people are reporting family parties of Great Spotted Woodpeckers arriving on their feeders, often an adult with one or two youngsters in attendance. The juveniles exhibit a bright red crown and I have only just recently learnt (thank-you John Tilly) that it can sometiomes be possible to determine the gender of the juveniles as the males have the more extensive red crown. There are other differences too, but these might be more discernable in the hand only.

A Garganey was seen on the Summer Leys LNR today.

Regards

Neil M

Scarlet Tiger moth.

Barn Owl courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Barn Owl courtesy of
Nathan Jones.

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker
and seemingly a male due to the extensive
red crown courtesy of John Tilly.

Flowers of Harrington Airfield

Hello

The poor substrate conditions around the old Second World War and Cold War bunkers at Harrington Airfield provide ideal growing conditions for common wild flowers which in turn make it attractive to moths, butterflies and other insects. It was pretty dull and cold today for butterflies but Speckled Wood, Small Heath and Meadow Brown provided brief flutters! First broods of Common Whitethroat and Willow Warbler are out now, not far behind the first of the fledged tit broods.

An adult Gannet was in flight over Peterborough today, arrowing it's way south west towards Northamptonshire but seemingly it wasn't subsequently seen in the county despite many of us looking up and hoping!

Regards

Neil M

Common Sainfoin.

Common Spotted Orchids.

Self-heal.

Viper's Bugloss.

Bee Orchid.

Yellow Shell moth.

I am particularly weak on
botany so hopefully I have 
these all identified correctly!

The scarcer summer visitors

Hello

It looks as if we will be in for cool and grey weather conditions for the next few days with maybe a sunny interlude on Wednesday. It seems that these periods of grey, northerly airstream are now a regular feature of June and I come to expect Swifts, Swallows and martins gleaning the leaden skies in an effort to find flying insects.

The protracted cool and windy spring doesn't bode well for many of our breeding birds and already there are reports of Cuckoos, Swifts and other small birds beginning their migration south - it seems only a few days ago when they arrived! However John Hunt's excellent sustained efforts at trying to develop a colony of Swifts at Spratton are going well with four nestboxes in the village occupied this year and with young hatched in at least one of the boxes.

Spotted Flycatchers seemed to arrive in numbers in May but it appears very few have stayed to breed and presumably the majority have moved north to Scotland where they are still relatively numerous. I did see one today that was calling anxiously at Chapel Brampton, presumably one of a breeding pair.

This year there is a Turtle Dove census and observers have been advised not to publicise sites where they might be breeding. Some initial results suggest they were very late arriving (often well into May) and I know of a couple of places where they have been seen regularly in the county - I'm quite sure that the national figure will be frighteningly low for yet another summer visitor that used to be classed as common and found in a number of habitat settings. 

Cuckoos persist in the river valleys in Northamptonshire, often at gravel pit complexes and a few can be found in the bigger woods but with very few in standard agricultural/rural settings. There are still plenty in Scotland with good numbers on the moors and scattered birch/oak woodland. Preliminary data from the BTO satelite-tracking project suggests that the birds that migrate over the Mediterranean Sea via Italy (often using the Po Delta to feed up) fare better than the birds that use Iberia and France as their feeding areas before moving over the Mediterranean further west.

Interesting birds in the county today were rather limited to a pair of Garganey at Stanwick Pits and a first summer Yellow-legged Gull at Pitsford Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Common Swift.

Spotted Flycatcher.

Turtle Doves.

Juvenile Cuckoo.

Bigger garden birds

Hello

A rather dull but not unpleasant day today in the county, but not enough in the way of sunshine to inspire much insect movement. Again it was the garden birds that provided most of the entertainment for me - first brood juvenile Starlings arguing with adults at the feeders - the latter now working hard to feed second broods. Plenty of adult Jackdaws are actively seeking suitable food for their young and descend into the garden at first light making quite a racket! A few advanced youngsters are with them but the majority have yet to fledge or are in the process of doing so - a particularly vulnerable time for them when Carrion Crows and other predators take advantage.

Stock Doves, Collared Doves and Woodpigeons jostle for position on our lawn and young tits in the garden included Coal, Blue and Great this morning. The local pair of Nuthatches are working hard and it sounded like their young possibly fledged today. Anyone who watches Blackbirds will know how hard they work in trying to raise young and already some of the adults are looking pretty tired and with broken or absent feathers. We used to have large numbers of juvenile House Sparrows in the garden from mid-June onwards but the numbers are much lower now and have been since an old farm with stables etc in the village was converted into small cottages.

We are fortunate to still have Greenfinches and today about three family parties came in to feed on the sunflower hearts. Plenty of Goldfinches do likewise, the juveniles quite quickly leaving the adults once they work out how to take hearts from the portholes for themselves. A few juvenile Chaffinches have appeared but already there are individuals suffering from the horrific leg diseases so prevalent in this species and which they clearly had even before fledging.

A Rosy Starling was reported on a bird feeder at Grange Park, Northampton this morning but hasn't been since. In reality these wandering birds could be seen anywhere but they are attracted to gatherings of Starlings and also have a particular taste for soft fruit and cherries. A Caspian Gull was found on pools off the A5 near the DIRFT 3 complex not far from Lilbourne again today.

Regards

Neil M

Jackdaw.

Magpie.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Juvenile Starling already showing
signs of post-juvenile moult.

All images courtesy of John Tilly.

A very wet Friday!

Hello

Pretty much a complete day of rain probably kept most wildlife watchers inside all day. The birds in the garden have been busy with almost constant visitations from Jackdaws, Stock Doves, Blackbirds, Starlings, several Great Spotted Woodpeckers and plenty of small birds with still one pair of Yellowhammers coming for seed throughout the day. The tits have had a tough season already and this rain will wash off many of the remaining caterpillers and make it doubly difficult for the adults to sustain just-fledged broods. However the parched ground which has soaked up much of the rain will now be easier to work for the Rooks, Carrion Crows and thrushes that have found invertebrate prey hard to come by during the last week or so (many fledged Carrion Crows have been found starved to death locally).

Today the orchids and other flowers at Harringhton Airfield looked much better after the liquid refreshments - a pair of Grey Partridge were present and I surprised a buck Roe Deer in one of the rides. Even in the heavy rain, Yellowhammers and Willow Warblers continued to sing!

Regards

Neil M

Willow Warbler.

Goldfinch.

Yellowhammer.

Roe Deer.

A brood of Great Tit nestlings
 including a single Blue Tit
 nestling too!

 Image from Lamport
Hall courtesy of Bill Draper.

Owls, a Quail and an Otter.

Hello

Yesterday (Wednesday) evening provided a very vocal Quail in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton which showed well on the track near to Shrike Hedge and the field of pink campion. It's tempting to think this may be a fresh bird after three days of no sight or sound of a Quail despite plenty of coverage. A Barn Owl and a Little Owl were out hunting at the same time.

Chris Payne has been checking Barn Owl boxes in South Northants and yesterday ringed ten nestlings in three boxes. In recent years Barn Owls have regularly nested rather late, waiting for the vole poulation to recover from cold and wet winters and springs. This year looks much the same and anecdotal evidence suggest that voles are now back in reasonable numbers.

Some time at Pitsford Reservoir today confirmed the continued presence of the Pink-footed Goose in the Scaldwell Bay with two Yellow-legged Gulls on the buoys not far from Maytrees Hide. Insects in the Scaldwell Meadow included big hatches of Chimney Sweeper moths and Meadow Brown butterflies with smaller numbers of Large Skippers, Common Blues and Small Heaths and Cinnabar moths.

The below trail camera footage relates to a local Otter active at night.

Regards

Neil M

Nestling Barn Owls
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Ardnamurchan Video Clips

These video clips originate from a trail camera recently set up at the Ardnamurchan Bunkhouse in the West Highlands of Scotland and depict Pine Marten, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Jay...

Regards

Neil M

Mid-June insects and birds

Hello

There were only negative reports from Clifford Hill Pits today regarding the Rosy Starling so it may already have moved on.

Eric's visit to Thrapston Pits today was much the same as yesterday but with the addition of a fishing Osprey on Elinor Lake and a Peregrine on a pylon by the river.

A little ringing at Pitsford Reservoir this morning by Dave and Lewis provided a few more Black-headed Gull chicks, the first Common Tern chicks and Mallard, Carrion Crow and Jackdaws from the main duck trap. Black-headed Gulls have for the first time produced chicks from nests positioned on the waterside willow stumps, and a Common Tern is sitting on a nest on one of the stumps too.

Birds in the Scaldwell Bay there this evening included a Pink-footed Goose, an eclipse drake Mandarin Duck and a fly-over Peregrine. Common grassland butterflies in the Scaldwell Meadow included Common Blue, Small Heath and Large Skipper.

I saw plenty of Red Admiral butterflies today plus a couple of Painted Ladies. Broad-bodied Chaser dragonflies seem to be visiting gardens widely at the moment and very smart clearwing moths also found in gardens over the last few days locally have included Currant, Red-tipped and Red-belted.

Regards

Neil M

Black-headed Gulls
at Pitsford Reservoir.

Male Beautiful Demoiselle.

Large Skipper.

Small Heath.

Flaming June

Hello

The Rosy Starling put in irregular appearances at Clifford Hill Pits today or at least was irregularly reported!

Some good news received about a pair of Peregrines in the east of the county that have successfully fledged four young from the nest. Peregrines can be seen all year around in the county these days with regular summering birds but breeding success has to date been rather limited so it's great to see a pair doing so well. Nationally it seems that urban Peregrines that have often adopted some of the more iconic buildings in our cities and towns appear to be very successful but birds in islolated rural areas and traditional cliff sites are faring badly. Here they are more susceptible to persection from people intent on their destruction or taking the young to enhance blood lines in the falconry world. There may also be other factors at play not currently known. In any event a hunting Peregrine always makes an exciting day wherever you are.

The heat of the last few days has certainly increased the numbers of insects and by way of example there were numerous Blue Emperors and Beautiful Demoiselles whizzing around at Pitsford Reservoir.

Eric's visit to Thrapston Pits today provided sightings of a Hobby, two pairs of Oystercatchers, a Little Egret and a calling Cuckoo. A Barn Owl is still a regular feature hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

I've added some Pages or Tabs to the blog (which can be found under the blog header picture) with the intention of showcasing the recent Naturetrek tours to the West Highlands of Scotland which I was priviliged to lead.

Regards 

Neil M

Swift courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Goldfinch courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Grass Snake courtesy
of David Arden.

Lesser Whitethroat courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Rosy Starling

Hello

A very hot day so I started with a gentle walk at Harrington Airfield this morning. A Marsh Tit wasn't anticipated but otherwise the birds were as expected. It was a little early in the day for butterflies but a Small Heath was on the wing as was a Cinnabar moth. As in other recent years the Common Spotted Orchids seem to be doing well there but the Bee Orchids are very few in number.

Yesterday's Rosy Starling was again at Clifford Hill Pits today, spending much of its time in a bush adjacent to the River Nene by the northern-most sluice gates (opposite a green metal container). Super plumage on what appears to be an adult male re-growing some of it's tail feathers, the bird was pretty lethargic and when feeding in the grass was normally in company with Eurasian Starlings. This bird was found and quickly reported by Dave Smith yesterday evening and not suprisingly has been a draw to birders from further afield. Well done Dave!

Another gaudy bird reported today was a male Golden Oriole at Glapthorn Cow Pastures seen by would-be hairstreak observers. It was seen a couple of times but there have been no subsequent reports.

At Stortons Pits today ringers processed 54 birds of thirteen species which included a Sedge Warbler ringed in early May this year at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes. Other warblers included two more Sedge Warblers, twelve Reed Warblers, three Blackcaps and five Chiffchaffs. Other species included Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, Wren, Blue and Great Tits, Long-tailed Tit, Goldfinch and Reed Bunting.

Regards

Neil M

Common Spotted Orchid.

Viper's-Bugloss.

Cinnabar Moth.

Quail courtesy of
Nathan Jones.

Rosy or Rose-coloured Starling
at Clifford Hill Pits - images taken
by the original finder Dave Smith.