Images from Iceland

Hello

Eleanor's run around Pitsford Reservoir between the dam and the causeway this morning provided two Common Sandpipers, several Kingfishers in the Catwalk Bay with two others elsewhere and up to six Little Egrets. This evening there was also a Grey Wagtail, a Yellow-legged Gull and a female Common Redstart below the dam in isolated bushes along the nearest fence line. In due course the Redstart flew to the bushes nearer to the track leading down to the dam from Brixworth where it was less breezy.

Tomorrow evening members of the Northants Bird Club will meet at Kelmarsh Hall for a walk around the gardens, grounds and alongside the lake. This will be the first club outdoor meeting for a couple of years due to the pandemic restrictions. I walked the route this morning in breezy conditions and a few things on show included a female Gadwall with three ducklings, a Kingfisher, a Spotted Flycatcher and plenty of insects including Azure Damselfly and Southern Hawker.

This afternoon a Black-tailed Godwit was seen at Summer Leys LNR in Wader Bay and at Stanwick Pits there was a Cattle Egret and an adult Yellow-legged Gull. The third summer Caspian Gull again put in an appearance at the A5 pools between Lilbourne and DIRFT3.

Regards

Neil M

Red-necked Phalarope.

Red-throated Diver.

Slavonian Grebe.

Above three images courtesy of
Dave Jackson who is currently
leading a Naturetrek tour in
Iceland and has kindly sent these
photos through.

Lesser Stag Beetle.

Summer highlights

Hello

After three consecutive days of ringing and associated activity today was more of an admin day and catch up on other things. Because mist-netting is so weather-dependent and our weather seems to be so volatile and unsettled it's a case of exploiting opportunities when the conditions permit.

Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon and a Siskin paid a brief visit to our garden. This species is well known for rapid juvenile dispersal from the breeding areas.

Today (Monday) and a trundle around Harrington Airfield didn't provide much for me this morning but the assorted flowers along the strip between the chippings compound and Bunker One in particular look superb. Butterflies on the wing included unidentified skippers, Small Tortoiseshell, Ringlet, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Butterflies elsewhere included the first Purple Emperor of the year with one seen at Fermyn Woods this morning and Andrew Cook had a good session at Salcey Forest where there was Silver-washed Fritillary, White Admiral, Wood White, other common butterflies and a couple of Beautiful Demoiselles which seem to be having an excellent year. Marbled Whites were on the wing at Stortons Pits today.

Two Yellow-legged Gulls were off the dam at Pitsford Reservoir this evening, a third summer Caspian Gull was off the A5 on pools near Lilbourne this afternoon and a juvenile Marsh Harrier was well photographed at Thrapston Pits on the Titchmarsh reserve today.

Regards

Neil M

Osprey nestling.

Purple Emperor
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Brown Hare courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Grey Heron courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Sunday's sightings

Hello

Despite the mixture of weather, Stanford Reservoir was the venue for a ringing session this morning which provided good numbers of common warblers such as Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroat and general birds such as tits, Treecreeper and thrushes. Other birds on-site included a Great White Egret, a Hobby and a Grey Wagtail.

Three Grey Wagtails and a Hobby were near Brixworth and at Pitsford Reservoir the Pink-footed Goose was seen again in the mouth of the Scaldwell Bay.

Elsewhere an Oystercatcher was an unusual but not unprecedented fly-over record for Harrington Airfield where several Marbled White butterflies were on the wing. Two Mandarin Ducks were at Kinewell Lake, Ringstead Pits and a Great White Egret and a Black-tailed Godwit were at Summer Leys LNR.

Regards

Neil M

Grey Wagtail courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Hobby courtesy of
Nathan Jones.

Blackcap courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Bird Ringing Demonstration

Hello

Yesterday evening (Friday) there were three Common Sandpipers on the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir, a Yellow-legged Gull near the dam and about four hundred Starlings and six Little Egrets roosted north of the causeway.

Today (Saturday) there was a Parks Trust Nature Day at Howe Park Wood in Milton Keynes where the staff and volunteers endeavoured to showcase nature within this SSSI urban woodland. Members of the Northants Ringing Group led by Kenny Cramer provided a bird ringing demonstration which resulted in fifty-seven birds being processed. It was great to see good numbers of children and adults wowing over the opportunity of seeing wild birds nice and close and to appreciate their beauty and finesse. 

Over half the catch were adult and juvenile Blue Tits but other species encountered included Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

Four Black-tailed Godwits were showing on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR today.

Eleanor discovered a colony of Marbled White butterflies today at the Old Grammarians sportsfield at Wellingborough  (wild flower strips around the edge) and others were active on the roadside bypass verges at West Haddon and Crick.

This afternoon two first summer Caspian Gulls were again on the pools off the A5 between Lilbourne and the DIRFT3 site.

Regards

Neil M

Marbled White
courtesy of David Arden.

Black-tailed Godwits
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Treecreeper courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Starlings, weevils and butterflies

Hello

A ringing session took place at Brixworth Water Treatment Works today and provided 68 captures of seventeen species. The total included a nice sprinkling of both adult and fledged youngsters made up of a single Magpie, twenty-four Starlings, two Robins, three Wrens, a Dunnock, two Great Tits, two Blue Tits, five Chiffchaffs, six Blackcaps, five Common Whitethroats, two Sedge Warblers, two Reed Warblers, three Reed Buntings, three Pied Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail, three Great Spotted Woodpeckers and three Swallows.

A Common Redstart was reported at Stanford Reservoir today and a Kingfisher and a Cuckoo remained at Thrapston Pits.

Interesting butterflies emerging in the county include White Admiral (Fermyn Wood today), Purple Hairstreak (Fermyn Wood yesterday), Dark Green Fritillary (Twywell Hills and Dales today) and Silver-washed Fritillary (Harry's Park Wood and Bucknell Wood yesterday).

Regards

Neil M

A rather unusual colour
variant in a juvenile Starling
courtesy of John Tilly.

A more typical plumage
associated with a juvenile
Starling also courtesy of
John Tilly.

Fungus Weevil courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Apple-Fruit Weevil courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Silver-washed Fritillary.

Robin's Pond Life!

Hello

A much brighter and warmer day was altogether more seasonal as were the few birds reported in the county today.

Spotted Flycatchers were calling in Maidwell village this morning, the Cattle Egret was seen again at Stanwick Pits and a Great White Egret turned up on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR.

Elsewhere and a juvenile Little Ringed Plover and an Osprey were at Hollowell Reservoir, Grey Wagtails and a Hobby were near Brixworth and just before 9pm this evening a Curlew was heard calling over Hanging Houghton.

We now have Scarlet Tiger moths daily in our garden, the Green Alkanet appears to be their favoured foodplant which we have plenty of.

Robin has sent some images through of aquatic life which is probably a first for this blog!

Regards

Neil M

Frog tadpole

Hawker dragonfly nymph.

Lesser Diving Beetle
larva.

A juvenile Great Spotted
Woodpecker courtesy of
John Tilly.

Black-browed Albatross

Hello

Apologies for no blog post yesterday - I took the risky decision to travel up to Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire in the afternoon with Neil Hasdell to try and see the returning Black-browed Albatross at the sea-bird city there. Sitting on the M1 in a two hour delay in Notts and we were beginning to regret our decision! Thankfully we managed to eventually pass through this bottleneck and arrived just after 6pm. In reality our timing was perfect as the albatross had been sitting on the sea drifting north and almost reached Filey Brigg before flying back towards Bempton and perching on the blowy and very dramatic cliffs just as we pitched up! This amazing beast spent time trying to sit alongside Gannets which weren't happy to see it - bill touching with some individuals - and it flew up and swirled around several times, each time perched back at a different place.

Some photographers had been there for much of the day and attached are some fantastic shots from Bethan Clyne who certainly enjoyed much better views than us!

In the county yesterday (Tuesday) an Osprey was seen in flight over Blatherwycke Lake and at nearby Deene Lake there was an impressive count of six Green Sandpipers. An Osprey was also seen at Daventry Country Park yesterday with one espied at Naseby Reservoir the day before.

Today (Wednesday) and a Black-tailed Godwit was noted at Summer Leys LNR and a Cattle Egret was reported from Stanwick Pits.

The second brood Starlings are on the wing now and our local male Sparrowhawk is taking them constantly and no doubt plucking them and taking them back to hungry youngsters of his own. Today he successfully caught and killed one of our female Yellowhammers which is one of about half a dozen still coming for seed on the back lawn - no doubt the Yellowhammer was feeding young too. It's tough but that's nature!

Regards

Neil M

Black-browed Albatross 
courtesy of Bethan Clyne.

Dorset delights

Hello

A dark, dank day with low cloud and light rain persisting throughout didn't make it very inspiring to be out!

Eric was out at Thrapston Pits though and saw typical birds of the season which included three Cuckoos (two calling), three Oystercatchers and still a Ring-necked Parakeet.

A Wood Sandpiper was reported at Stanwick Pits this evening, present at 6.40pm on the main lake.

Regards

Neil M

Otter caught on nocturnal
trail camera locally.

Rock Pipit.

Linnet.

Little Owl

Mediterranean Gull.

Fulmar.

Above five images from an
excursion to Dorset courtesy
of John Gamble.

Ringing at Linford Lakes.

Hello

Kenny and a sizeable team operated equipment at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes today to process well over a hundred birds, the majority of them this year's youngsters and newly ringed.

The total included five Sand Martin nestlings, three Wrens, four Robins, six Dunnocks, eight Great Tits, twenty-six Blue Tits, seven Long-tailed Tits, a Treecreeper, six Reed Warblers, two Sedge Warblers, twenty-three Blackcaps, two Garden Warblers, seven Willow Warblers, eight Chiffchaffs, two Whitethroats, two Cetti's Warblers, a Woodpigeon, a Greenfinch and a feisty male Sparrowhawk which was probably terrorising all of them!

A sizeable Grass Snake was seen and a calling Cuckoo was heard.

An Osprey was seen at Hollowell Reservoir at lunchtime and a Cattle Egret was seen at Stanwick Pits with a Great White Egret and a Mediterrranean Gull seen at Earls Barton Pits yesterday.

Two Peregrines were adorning the church spire in the town centre at Market Harborough this morning with two juvenile Grey Wagtails along the River Welland there.

A Caspian Gull was off the A5 between Lilbourne and the DIRFT3 site this afternoon and a pair of Grey Partridge and an adult male Peregrine were at Harrington Airfield this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Sand Martin nestling.

Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler.

Juvenile Robin.

Sparrowhawk.

Grass Snake.

All images courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

More Pitsford images...

Hello

Little in the way of fresh bird news for today, apart from a Cattle Egret at Stanwick Pits, so some more images from the PItsford CBC on Wednesday...

Regards

Neil M

Great Crested Grebe.

Two sets of proud
Greylag Goose parents!

Juvenile Cormorant attempting
to gain food from the gullet of
it's parent, much to the disgust
of the local Coot!

A field including Poppies
(Brampton Valley near Draughton).

Freshly-emerged Small
Tortoiseshell butterfly.

Ringing recoveries

Hello

A few more Northants Ringing Group ringing recoveries have come through as follows:-

1.  A juvenile Blackbird was ringed at Stortons Pits on 6th August 2017 and on the 15th June 2021 this bird (then identified as a male), was killed by a cat at Briar Hill, Northampton, some 1409 days later (only about 2km distance);

2.  An adult female Goldfinch was caught and ringed at Wasps Nest, Nocton Fen, near Lincoln on 10th November 2020 and caught again in a mist net at Hanging Houghton on 19th June this year. On this latter date she was heavy and exhibiting a brood patch suggesting she was breeding locally. The distance between the two localities is 98km and she travelled SSW to reach Hanging Houghton;

4.  A juvenile Reed Warbler was caught and ringed at Baden Dow Farm, Wiltshire on 27th August 2020 and this year was re-captured at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 5th June when assessed as a male. The distance between the two sites is 113km but of course in the intervening time this bird has been to Africa  and back!

5.  An adult Reed Warbler was caught and ringed at Marston Vale Millenium Country Park, Bedfordshire on 16th April 2017 and re-captured at Linford Lakes also on 5th June 2021 when assessed as an adult male. This bird which is at least five years old will have travelled to Africa on at least five occasions; 1511 days elapsed between the two captures.

A wander at Harrington Airfield this afternoon proved quiet for birds, one or two pair(s) of Grey Partridge are believed to part of a contingent of three pairs on-site - and so far no young have been seen this year. A couple of new flowers found there during the last couple of days include Common Twayblade (a green orchid) and the tall and rangey Yellow Sweet Clover.

A gaggle of gulls off the A5 near Lilbourne by the DIRFT3 site this morning included two first summer Caspian Gulls and five Yellow-legged Gulls.

A Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton early this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Male Blackbird.

Goldfinch.

Reed Warbler courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Creatures of the summer

Hello

The overnight trail camera successfully captured two Foxes and an Otter last night but the subjects were too far away to enjoy properly so we will be attempting to place the camera in a different position for nocturnal activity to the future!

Two Yellow-legged Gulls and a Kingfisher were at Pitsford Reservoir north of the dam early this afternoon and a wander along the Brampton Valley Way was sufficient to map two Spotted Flycatcher territories, one just north of Draughton Crossng and the other just south of the Kelmarsh Tunnels.

Two Avocets were found at Clifford Hill Pits this evening, continuing an excellent flow of records of this species in the county over the last few years.

Under the excellent stewardship of the county recorder David James, local butterfly recording is definitely in full flow now as many of the regular and common species are being reported and catalogued. Northamptonshire has an enviable reputation for excellent woodland butterflies and we are now seeing the first of the Black Hairstreaks, Dark Green Fritillaries and some of the other scarce species beginning to emerge and it won't be long hopefully before our more significant woods play host to such beauties as Silver-washed Fritillaries, White Admirals and Purple Emperors.

Regards

Neil M

Black Hairstreak.

Dark Green Fritillary.

Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Yellow-legged Gull.