Pitsford Day Tour

Hello

The reserve of Pitsford Reservoir today was the venue for a Naturetrek Day Tour plus a volunteer work party and several birders working the site. A successfully fishing Osprey was probably the highlight but two moulting adult Black Terns were much appreciated too. The drake Red-crested Pochard was still to be located in the Scaldwell Bay and there were at least two Great White Egrets north of the causeway. The results from three successful Sparrowhawk nests were vocal as the juveniles tumbled around the plantations but most of the passerines kept a low profile in the heavily vegetated margins. At least one adult Yellow-legged Gull was present.

At least fifteen species of moth were on show from the moth traps with perhaps the Poplar Hawk-moth  being the most spectacular. Plenty of butterflies included Painted Lady and Purple Hairstreak. A couple of species of longhorn beetle and plenty of the large Roesel's Bush-crickets were about. We watched several Hornets inspecting a large nest box either to make a nest of their own inside or perhaps were simply masticating the wood.

Odonata were out in force with plenty of Brown Hawkers, Blue Emperors and Migrant Hawkers and several Southern Hawkers. A couple of end-of-the-season Four Spotted Chasers were on the wing and Black-tailed Skimmer, Ruddy Darter and Common Darter were whizzing about.

Elsewhere and two Ospreys were seen high up over Hollowell Reservoir and birds at Stanford Reservoir included a female Red-crested Pochard, a female Common Redstart, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Common Sandpiper and a Hobby.

At least three Common Redstarts and two Spotted Flycatchers were at Blueberry Farm today and a juvenile Marsh Harrier was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning heading towards Brixworth. This afternoon and what may have been the same harrier flew from Lamport Hall towards Pitsford Reservoir and the concentration of Spotted Flycatchers at the southern side of Lamport Hall has now reached twenty-five birds (plus two Ravens over).

A Wheatear and a Little Ringed Plover were at Welford Reservoir this afternoon and a Whinchat and a Wheatear were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton late this afternoon.

Early this morning there was a Wood Sandpiper and a Garganey on the Main Lake at Stanwick Pits.

Regards

Neil M

Southern Hawker.

Roesel's Bush-cricket.

Poplar Hawk-moth.

Brown Hawker.

Ruddy Darter.

Migrant Hawker.

All images from Pitsford
Reservoir today.

Autumn momentum

Hello

At Pitsford Reservoir this morning there was a modest ringing session in the Walgrave Bay which provided captures of seven Goldcrests, a Nuthatch and a handful of resident birds and warblers which included a confirmed six year old female Garden Warbler, first encountered in 2016. Other birds noted on-site included three or four Great White Egrets, a drake Red-crested Pochard (in the Scaldwell Bay) and an eclipse drake Mandarin Duck. At 5.30pm this afternoon a Marsh Harrier was again hunting the reserve north of the causeway and this evening there were two Common Sandpipers in Yacht Bay.

Yesterday (Tuesday) birds at Thrapston Pits included an Osprey and a Yellow-legged Gull, a Kingfisher and a Lesser Whitethroat.

Both yesterday evening and this morning a Marsh Harrier was seen at Summer Leys LNR and other birds on the Earls Barton Pits complex today included two Common Sandpipers and two Green Sandpipers. A Garganey was still at Stanwick Pits this evening.

Stanford Reservoir moved up a couple of gears today with a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker being seen and the ringers there handled over three hundred birds which included a Willow Tit and 67 Willow Warblers. Other birds on-site included the female Red-crested Pochard, a Kingfisher, a Peregrine, two Common Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper.

Regards

Neil M

A first year male
Nuthatch in post-
juvenile moult.

A Red Kite also moulting, 
however this is an adult
bird with the majority of 
the moult process concentrating
on the tail and flight feathers.

A juvenile female
Green Woodpecker
which visited our
garden this afternoon.

Blueberry Farm and 
Blueberry Hill.

Pitsford WeBs count

Hello

The WeBs count was completed at Pitsford Reservoir today - most of the waterbirds were north of the causeway with the biggest concentration in the Scaldwell Bay. The hundreds of geese present include up to eight Greylag x Canada hybrids, a Bar-headed x Canada hybrid, a hybrid individual I have difficulty in ascertaining it's parentage and small numbers of white and off-white feral Greylags.

Seven species of raptor were noted (I'm sure there must have been a Hobby there somewhere to make it eight) which included two Ospreys successfully fishing south of the causeway, a juvenile Marsh Harrier hunting north of the causeway (including attempted mid-water foraging) and a juvenile female Peregrine which was bravely escorted from the premises by two irate Common Terns.

Waders were represented by Lapwings and three Common Sandpipers and a Turnstone was seen a couple of times, at one stage landing on the causeway. Little Egrets seem to have thinned out somewhat, there were two Great White Egrets north of the causeway and the only ducks of note were two Wigeon, a Mandarin Duck and a Goldeneye. A new brood of Tufted Ducks are probably only the second brood there this year and a female Gadwall was with three half-grown youngsters. An adult Yellow-legged Gull was present but what has happened to the juvenile Mediterranean Gulls this year? Two Kingfishers, a Wheatear, a Common Redstart (hedge near Moulton Grange) and two Whinchats were the best of the smaller birds.

Butterflies included a Clouded Yellow seen by the dam, lots of Peacocks and Red Admirals on the buddleias by the Fishing Lodge plus Comma and Small Copper.

Elsewhere and the Lilbourne/DIRFT3 area provided views of a Wood Sandpiper, five Green Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers, a Curlew, a Ringed Plover, a Little Ringed Plover, three Snipe, a Caspian Gull, four Yellow-legged Gulls and two Common Redstarts. An Osprey was seen in flight at Stanford Reservoir this morning and other birds included a Great White Egret and a female Red-crested Pochard.

Two Dunlin, two Little Ringed Plovers and a Common Sandpiper were at Clifford Hill Pits early morning and three Common Redstarts at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell included two males.

This evening there was a splended treat with about twenty Spotted Flycatchers feeding in hedging and trees on the south side of Lamport Hall and visible from the bordering footpath reached off the A508. A big hatch of insects in the lee of the trees also attracted good numbers of Migrant Hawkers and many common birds were copying the flycatchers with tits, Nuthatch and a variety of warblers fly-catching from the hedges and bushes. Two or three Purple Hairstreaks were noted in an ash tree there too.

Regards

Neil M

Little Egret.

Female Gadwall with three ducklings.

Small Copper.

Red Admiral.

Peacock butterfly.

All images from Pitsford
Reservoir today.

Ditchford WeBs count

Hello

I completed an early WeBs count at Ditchford Pits today with Jaeger the collie for company. I split the count up into three sections, the first was grey and pretty quiet, the second was very wet and the third was sunny and breezy but pleasant! The birds were generally very quiet but reasonable numbers of warblers were moving through the bushes and taking advantage of the very first of the elderberries. The Cetti's Warblers were generally very quiet and unobtrusive. The first section provided a couple of Kingfishers, a Common Sandpiper, ten Egyptian Geese and a brood of Sparrowhawks. Two more Kingfishers were in the second section and of five Little Egrets four were juveniles.

The odonata revealed themselves in the third section and the River Nene is an excellent place for large numbers of Banded Demoiselles. Two broods of Tufted Duck and two broods of Gadwall and many broods of Great Crested Grebes indicated some good breeding success. A couple more Kingfishers, common warblers, another vocal brood of Sparrowhawks and a juvenile Cuckoo plus a reasonable showing of common butterflies was all rather pleasing.

Two Common Redstarts were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning and a list of birds for Harrington Airfield by three different observers included a Wheatear, four Common Redstarts, three Ravens and the best was an early autumn Merlin racing past Bunker Three.

At Stanwick Pits this morning a near adult Caspian Gull was present early this morning as were two Garganey on the Main Lake. A Greenshank was found at Summer Leys LNR late this afternoon and Deene Lake attracted seven Green Sandpipers and two Black Swans.

Pitsford Reservoir this evening yielded a second summer Caspian Gull, three Yellow-legged Gulls (one a begging juvenile) and two/three Common Sandpipers all from the Sailing Club.

Regards

Neil M

Adult Sedge Warbler (with
diseased legs).

Himalayan Balsam is a beautiful
plant and the flowers attract plenty
of insects, particularly bees. However
it is classed as an invasive species as 
it chokes waterways.

Common Darter.

Female Banded Demoiselle.

All images from Ditchford Pits today.

Gulls, Marsh Harriers and Redstarts still

Hello

A morning wander around Welford Reservoir caused me to bump into the adult Caspian Gull again. A Hobby flew over and released ducks on adjacent Sulby Reservoir included a leucistic Fulvous Whistling Duck and a southern hemisphere pintail species or hybrid.

A Marsh Harrier was seen at Pitsford Reservoir today and this evening a Redshank and a Common Sandpiper were on the causeway. Another Marsh Harrier was seen at Summer Leys LNR and other birds there included a Black-tailed Godwit and a Common Sandpiper.

Stanwick Pits hosted a Czec Rep ringed juvenile Caspian Gull plus a near-adult bird and with a Garganey still there too.

The Lilbourne Meadows reserve and the DIRFT site provided a female Common Redstart, four Snipe, four Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, a Ringed Plover and a Little Ringed Plover. Two Common Redstarts were still at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell today.

They seem scarce this year but a single Clouded Yellow butterfly was active in a brief show of sunshine near Blueberry Farm early this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Red Kite.

Oystercatcher courtesy
of John Tilly.

Kestrel courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Great Tachinid fly
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Hornet courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Traits of autumn

Hello

Very much an autumnal feel to the day with cooler temperatures, a lively breeze and sunshine, cloud and the odd shower.

A juvenile Peregrine and a Common Sandpiper were the only birds of note I saw at Pitsford Reservoir whilst filling up the bird feeders; a couple of Ravens were noisy at Hanging Houghton.

A visit to Harlestone Lake during periods of sunshine brought out the odonata with several Blue Emperors, Common Darters, a Beautiful Demoiselle (they seem to be everywhere this year) and plenty of damselflies which included Common Blue and Large Red-eyed. However also on the mat of floating vegetation were a couple of Small Red-eyed Damselflies which are a more localised species. Birds here were unremarkable but included Kingfisher and Little Egret.

Lilbourne Meadows/the dwindling DIRFT3 site is still proving attractive to birds with two Common Redstarts, five Green Sandpipers and three Snipe present today. A Black-tailed Godwit was on the south side of Clifford Hill Pits this morning.

Stanwick is also still pulling in the birds with two Caspian Gulls plus twenty Yellow-legged Gulls and a Garganey late afternoon. At Harrington Airfield this evening there was a Common Redstart by the Shooting Wall next to the concrete track and six Yellow-legged Gulls with two hundred Lesser Black-backs on fields there.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Common Buzzard.

Large Red-eyed Damselfly.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Blue Emperor.

Pike.

A quiet Friday

Hello

Not a great deal of wildlife reported of note today as the weather has been quite blustery with sunshine and a few showers.

A morning stint at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning located two Common Redstarts and a Spotted Flycatcher and birds at Harrington Airfield today included a vocal Common Redstart and still the Wheatear at Bunker One. Two Yellow-legged Gulls at Pitsford Reservoir again included a begging juvenile and a colour-ringed Black-headed Gull is likely to be a foreign-ringed individual (details submitted).

As the butterfly season begins to subside the local specialities ebb away but two Silver-washed Fritillaries were on the wing at Salcey Forest this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Flecked General Soldierfly
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Rubytail hedychrum niemelai
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Comma butterfly.

An eclipse drake Mallard.

Red Kite.

A wonderful image of
Pitsford Reservoir courtesy
of Magda Toruj.

More ringing at Harrington Airfield.

Hello

Some more ringing at Harrington Airfield took place this morning which provided a modest catch before the change in the weather. A Sparrowhawk is always an exciting catch and a second year male hit one of the mist nets and was duly ringed and released. There was a small influx of Willow Warblers which included freshly-moulted adults as well as the bright juveniles and other birds processed included a Garden Warbler, two Reed Warblers and a couple of Common Whitethroats. Two adult Long-tailed Tits were first ringed there in November 2017 and July 2015 and they were caught with ten juveniles which I would assume was their impressive brood for this year! The first brood Yellowhammers didn't seem to come to anything on-site this year but we are now seeing second brood youngsters appearing and even this late in the season the territorial adult males are still singing strongly.

Other birds noted on-site included a first year Wheatear and two Ravens.

Not too far away and two Redstarts were noted in hedging at Lamport Hall, visible from the footpath that runs along the southern boundary of the park and Blueberry Farm near Maidwell boasted three Common Redstarts in hedging between Maidwell Lodge and Blueberry Hill and a Wheatear and a Whinchat on the summit of Blueberry Hill.

Eric's visit to Blatherwycke Lake today provided views of a Great White Egret, five Little Egrets, a Kingfisher, a pair of Raven and a summer flock collection of twenty-seven Mistle Thrushes. At Deene Lake sightings included an Osprey, a Raven, two Green Sandpipers, a pair of Black Swans and a large flock of Lapwings.

An Osprey was noted at Hollowell Reservoir this morning and birds at Stanwick Pits this afternoon included two Caspian Gulls, thirty-two Yellow-legged Gulls and a Garganey.

A Clouded Yellow butterfly was again on a nectar strip in fields between Cottesbrooke and Blueberry Farm today.

Regards

Neil M

Sunrise at Harrington Airfield
this morning.

Male Sparrowhawk.

A Hummingbird Hawk-moth
was at Hanging Houghton today.

More Ragwort insects

Hello

A stunning sunny and warm day but with bubbling cloud too, a typical day to see gulls and other birds sailing around in circles picking off flying ants.

This morning there were still three Common Redstarts at Blueberry Farm and birds at Harrington Airfield included another two Common Redstarts and a Wheatear - more ringing will be taking place tomorrow (Thursday) morning prior to the onset of more showery weather for the next three or four days. General access to the bunkers and old airstrip will be restricted during the morning but available in the afternoon.

There were also still two Common Redstarts in hedges along the bridle track leading from Bridle Road, Old village and traversing the fields between Cherry Hill and Walgrave and Pitsford Reservoir.

Over at Lilbourne Meadows and the DIRFT3 site, the long-staying female Common Redstart is still there plus four Green Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper, a Ruff and a Little Ringed Plover.

Eric's visit to Thrapston Pits started of quietly but he witnessed a juvenile Marsh Harrier moving through the reserve towards Oundle and saw six Little Egrets and singles of Common Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper.

Two Whinchats, a Wheatear and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon and evening.

At Pitsford Reservoir this morning there were two Great White Egrets and an adult Yellow-legged Gull in the Scaldwell Bay and later in the day a Goldeneye and two Common Sandpipers were seen north of the causeway too.

Regards

Neil M

Hoverfly Sritta pipens.

 Fly Eriothrix rufomaculata.

All Ragwort insect images courtesy
of David Arden.

Small Skipper.

Juvenile Tree Sparrow. There are still
small numbers coming to the Pitsford
Reservoir Feeding Station at the Old
Scaldwell Road. Breeding productivity
 appears much lower than last year.

The Ravens are still 
visiting Hanging Houghton
most days...

Ragwort

Hello

Ragwort, a great-looking plant and the bright yellow flowers are particularly noticeable in summer into autumn. The plant can be hazardous to livestock, particularly horses, so it is perhaps little surprise that it is often pulled from the earth where such animals may come in to contact with it, and expunged from hay crops too. The toxin attacks the liver of horses in particular.

Ragwort though is a great plant for insects, particularly nectar-loving insects as well as the foodplant for Cinnabar moths and others. David Arden has been photographing insects at Spratton attracted to the golden almost feathery flowers.

A couple of ringing sessions took place locally in ideal conditions for mist nets. At Stortons Pits John Woollett and John Boland caught forty-one birds which included four Common Whitethroats, three Garden Warblers, seven Blackcaps, eleven Reed Warblers, a Cetti's Warbler and small numbers of Goldfinch, Robin, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Great Tit, Dunnock and Wren. One of the Garden Warblers was first encountered in June 2017 and was caught twice again in 2019 so presumably is a local breeding bird and possibly on the Stortons Pits reserve itself.

The other ringing operation was at Brixworth Water Treatment Works which yielded seventy-one birds of twenty-two species. This total included five Magpies which are very common on-site, six Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, six Blackcaps, a Reed Warbler, seven Sedge Warblers, five Chiffchaffs, two Willow Warblers, a Yellow Wagtail, two Grey Wagtails and eight Pied Wagtails. A Hobby and a Little Egret were seen there too.

Birds located elsewhere in the county today included three Common Redstarts and three Wheatears at Harrington Airfield, two Common Redstarts at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and two Spotted Flycatchers at Lamport Hall. A juvenile Marsh Harrier was at Hollowell Reservoir this morning and at Lilborurne Meadows and the A5 pools birds included a Common Redstart, a Green Sandpiper, a Little Ringed Plover, two Curlews, an adult Caspian Gull and ten Yellow-legged Gulls.

Stanwick Pits again attracted a near-adult Caspian Gull plus six Yellow-legged Gulls, a Cattle Egret and a Garganey.

Regards

Neil M

Small Copper butterfly.

Brown Argus butterfly.

Brown Argus butterfly.

Gatekeeper butterfly.

Gatekeeper butterfly
and Cinnabar moth caterpillars.

All Ragwort images courtesy
of David Arden.

First year Yellow
Wagtail courtesy of
Lewis Aaron.