Harrington insects

Hello

In between admin work, I found time to visit Harrington Airfield this afternoon in warm but dull conditions and before the main body of showers materialised. Birdwise it was just the usual species on-site but did include three Grey Partridges. The orchids always look good at this time of the year but there are very few Bee Orchids this time but plenty of Common Spotted.

At least twenty-five Marbled White butterflies were on the wing and the dull, still conditions was good for photographing them and other nectaring insects. Other butterflies included plenty of Meadow Browns and Ringlets, the usual whites, Small Heath, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady and plenty of skippers, some of which were Essex Skippers. Day-flying moths included Burnet Companion, Cinnabar and Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet.

Yesterday I saw a Scarlet Tiger moth in the front garden and two days ago Fiona noted a family of Grey Partridges between Hanging Houghton and Scaldwell and an Orange-tailed Clearwing moth in her Hanging Houghton garden. Purple Hairstreak butterflies were also active in roadside trees along Mill Lane between Scaldwell and Hanging Houghton.

In the county as a whole there has ben a significant emergence of Marbled Whites (good numbers at Woodford Halse and Pitsford Reservoir), plenty of Hummingbird Hawk-moth records and the first of the Purple Emperor butterflies noted at Bucknall Wood and the Fermyn complex at Souther and Lady Wood. Silver-washed Fritillaries have been noted on the north side of Salcey Forest in recent days and the first-emerged White-letter Hairstreaks and Gatekeepers have been reported.

This evening there was a hunting Barn Owl and at least five Marbled Whites at Lamport Hall.

Regards

Neil M

Jaeger and Rouzel.

Smeagol.

Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet.

Marbled White.

Essex Skippers.

Mullein.

Marbled White.

Bee Orchid.
All images from Harrington
Airfield this afternoon.

Norway and back

Hello

I've just returned home from a week away in Norway, visiting the Lofoten and Vesteralen Archipelago as part of a short Naturetrek tour. This is the first time this tour has run since I last went there in 2018.

On this occasion the weather was much better and despite the current difficulties with flying at the moment we managed to assemble on the Lofoten Islands after two short flights and a three hour ferry crossing. After a couple of days here we motored north to the Vesteralen islands and stayed for three nights on the island of Andoy before making our way home again.

These islands are a long way north (inside the arctic circle) and the weather was cool but generally calm and pleasant. Calm seas meant we were fortunate to see a Blue Whale, Minke Whales, Harbour Porpoises and several Basking Sharks and other interesting mammals included Mountain Hare and Elk.

Sea-birds included Puffins (which are sadly declining rapidly in this part of the world), various gull species, common auks, and Fulmar and three species of diver. White-tailed Eagles are a regular sight on the west side of Andoy and other raptors seen on the tour included Golden Eagle, Merlin and a single Goshawk (with crow prey). We enjoyed a singing male Bluethroat and it was great to see good numbers of breeding Curlew, Redshank and Golden Plover.

Of course the amazing landscape is the main selling point of this trip and I will post some scenery shots in due course.

Guests from previous tours this spring have kindly been mailing me their images from Speyside, Provence and Iceland and I have created some tabs or pages on this blog specific to these tours where these images can be seen (please see the tabs underneath the main image at the top of the home page).

Regards

Neil M

Bluethroat.

Elk.

Storks and Butterflies

 Well it really has been an exceptionally quiet week for birds in the county.  At one point I thought that my phone was playing up due to the silence of the WhatsApp Northants bird groups.  Things did improve slightly this morning after 3 White Storks were seen circling over Summer Leys and even photographed by a lucky person. 

There were a  couple of ringing sessions at the end of the week.  John Woollett at Stortons GP who processed 51 birds, 17 of whom were retraps. Some of the Reed Warblers caught were returning birds from 2018,2019 and 2021.                                                                            Meanwhile Kenny Cramer caught 68 birds of 12 species at Milton Keynes.  22 of these birds were Reed Warblers including one ringed elsewhere in the UK.  It appears to be at least 6 years old but still awaiting details to come from the BTO.     Fledgling Chiffchaff and Blackcap were ringed .     There were both male and female Cuckoo in the vicinity but none caught on this occasion.   The Sand Martins have been using at least 2 of the chambers in the Sand Castle and on checking there wa a nest with 5 warm eggs and another nest with 2 well grown chicks which were subsequently ringed. 

It is the time of year when the more interesting butterflies are on the wing. There have been Wood Whites at Salcey Forest, Marbled Whites at Bradlaugh fields, Woodford Halse,  Blueberry,  and Old Sulehay.  It has been a better year for Black Hairstreak at Glapthorn Cow Pasture and Yardley Chase.  Dark Green Fritillary have been seen at Ring Haw, Tywell and Old Sulehay with Silver Wash Fritillary at Yardley Chase and Old Sulehay.  Of course plenty of the more common butterflies still about. 

Regards Eleanor 

Chiffchaff courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Pitsford Reservoir nature reserve today

Hello

A visit to Pitsford Reservoir today in warm temperatures was in order to check the nineteen viable owl boxes on the reserve. Although it is rather late in the season we found no evidence of any of the boxes being used by breeding owls, although there was a good Stock Dove take-up rate! And despite being there all day we didn't see a soul on our hike around the reserve!

The pleasant weather produced one of those days when the reserve is covered in literally thousands of damselflies skimming the water surface, festooning the waterside vegetation or flying up in the meadows. Many birds were taking advantage of the bounty with ducks, grebes, Coots, gulls and terns all consuming this massive release of food. Common Blue Damselflies were easily the most numerous but they were joined by large numbers of Large Red-eyed Damselflies and much fewer Large Red and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Other odonata included an excellent showing of some ten Hairy Hawkers, lots of Four-spotted Chasers, several Black-tailed Skimmers and a single Broad-bodied Chaser. Both Beautiful and Banded Demoiselles were present. Butterflies were out in force and included Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Common Blue, Large Skipper, Green-veined White, Large White, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. Chimney Sweeper moths were numerous and Cinnabar and a burnet sp were noted too.

Birds there included nesting Spotted Flycatchers, two Little Egrets, a hybrid female Red-crested Pochard x (maybe) a Mallard, a family of Ravens, three drake Pochard, a flock of twelve failed breeding Lapwings and good numbers of singing Garden Warblers.

Elsewhere and this evening a Barn Owl was hunting at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and another Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

Flowering Rush.

Beautiful Demoiselle.

Pitsford damselflies - 
Common Blue and
 Large Red-eyed.

Ringing recoveries

Hello

The latest ringing recoveries relate to Northants Ringing Group activity...

1.  A Sedge Warbler was ringed as a juvenile at Icklesham, Sussex on 6th August 2016 and re-trapped at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes as a six year old adult on 30th April 2022, 2093 days later;

2.  An adult Reed Warbler was ringed at Linford Lakes on 9th June 2019 and trapped again at Portland Bill, Dorset on 4th May 2022, 1060 days later;

3.  A first year male Yellowhammer was ringed at Hanging Houghton on 23rd March 2020 and found dead in the same village on 12th May 2022, 780 days later - further proof of the sedentary nature of this species;

4.  A juvenile Starling was ringed at Rushden on on 29th May 2020 and taken by a cat in Rushden on 14th May 2022, 715 days later;

5.  A  juvenile Starling was ringed as Astcote near Towcester on 19th July 2002 and was found long dead trapped in a building at Banbury on 14th May 2022, some 7239 days later and 28km away;

6.  A  juvenile Blackcap was ringed at Priory Country Park, Bedfordshire on 16th June 2021 and re-trapped as a first year male at Linford Lakes 332 days later and 25km from where first ringed;

7.  A first year male Blackcap was ringed at Brixworth on 6th September 2020 and re-trapped as an adult male at Stanford Reservoir on 14th April 2022, 585 days later and 17km from where first ringed;

8.  A first year male Blackbird was ringed at Rushen on 25th April 2021 but was taken by a cat in Rushden on 6th April 2022, 407 days later.

This morning a first year Common Tern and two Yellow-legged Gulls were visible from the dam at Pitsford Reservoir and a Hobby was noted at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell. Birds noted at Hanging Houghton included a Hobby and at least two Ravens.

At Stanford Reservoir today there was a first summer Arctic Tern, a Shelduck, a Hobby, two Cuckoos, a Barn Owl, three Cetti's Warblers, two Oystercatchers and four Ravens.

Regards

Neil M

Linnet

Skylark.

Swallow.

Swift.

All images courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Sunday ringing

Hello

A ringing session undertaken by Kenny and Keith at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes was very successful today with sixty birds processed of eleven species, thirty-seven of which were newly-ringed. Without doubt the highlight was no less than four Cuckoos caught and ringed (two males, two females) which means that twelve birds have been processed there this year (two re-traps and ten new birds). Twenty-seven Reed Warblers ensured this was the most numerous species plus a dozen Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler and a Treecreeper plus more common fare.

At the same time another ringing session was undertaken at Harrington Airfield where fifty-six birds also of eleven species were processed, of which only seven were re-traps. Willow Warblers breed on-site and today nineteen were handled which included freshly-fledged juveniles and three birds first ringed there last year (two as juveniles and one as an adult). Four new Robins were all juveniles and other birds encountered included a Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and six Common Whitethroats. Several Brown Hares were active and butterflies included Common Blue, Large Skipper, Ringlet, Small Heath, Painted Lady and Red Admiral. Day-flying moths included Cinnabar.

A Hobby and at least two Ravens were at Hanging Houghton this afternoon with a Barn Owl at Lamport Hall this morning. Two Little Owls were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and at Hollowell Reservoir the long-staying female Ruddy Shelduck turned up again. Birds noted at Stanford Reservoir included a Hobby, two Cuckoos, two Cetti's Warblers and two Oystercatchers.

Regards

Neil M

Female Cuckoo.

Blackcap.

Treecreeper.

All images courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Spotted Flycatchers, owls and butterflies!

Hello 

Another sunny and breezy day which seemed to bring in lots more Painted Lady butterflies!

A Hobby was at Hanging Houghton today and the Spotted Flycatcher remained on territory in the village.

Further singing Spotted Flycatchers were located today at New Covert, Kelmarsh, in Cottesbrooke village and next to the old Beck Dairy outside Cottesbrooke village.

Two Little Owls and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and a Barn Owl and a Hobby were at Blueberry Farm.

Butterflies at Harrington Airfield this afternoon included my first Ringlet of the season and Common Blue. There is a ringing session planned for there tomorrow and the area between the Chippings Compound and the Bunkers down to the concrete track will have restricted access during this time.

An excellent total of fifteen Black Hairstreak butterflies were noted at the Glapthorne Cow Pastures Wildlife Trust reserve this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Black Hairstreak butterfly.

Painted Lady butterfly.

Little Owl.

Day Tour at Rectory Farm, Great Easton and Eyebrook

Hello

A sunny and breezy day for the Naturetrek Day Tour at Eyebrook Wild Bird Foods situated on their farm at Great Easton was today's planned venture. With farmland designed for conservation and high yields through regenerative farming methodology, the fields and hedgerows hold plenty of wildlife, further enhanced with being right next to Eyebrook Reservoir too.

Almost from the off there were two Ospreys almost constantly on view which from their behaviour I would imagine were two non-breeding birds. Often together they spent time sauntering around the reservoir looking for fish and aimlessly soaring around and at one stage resting in a millet field. Of course the weather conditions were ideal for big raptors and they were joined by remarkably high numbers of Red Kites and the local Common Buzzards too and with two pairs of Kestrel also in the vicinity. A Hobby was over Stoke Dry village late this afternoon.

On the farm itself there were good numbers of singing Skylarks and Yellowhammers with just a few Tree Sparrows foraging and cheeping from the hedgerows. At least six Brown Hares were cavorting around the fields, sometimes the height of the crops meaning you could sometimes just see their ears! The sun brought out large numbers of fresh Small Tortoiseshell butterflies attracted to the nectar strips and in particular the just-flowering knapweed. We also saw Meadow Browns, Red Admirals and a Painted Lady and day-flying moths included Silver Y, Burnet Companion and Brimstone. The only dragonfly seen was a single Broad-bodied Chaser which posed for a little while.

Common Whitethroats sang from many of the hedges, a single Yellow Wagtail was seen a couple of times and the reservoir attracted three Little Egrets, a pair of Shoveler, a Lapwing with a half-grown chick and Common Terns nesting on rafts there.

Elsewhere and this morning there was a Barn Owl again hunting at Lamport Hall and a Spotted Flycatcher at Hanging Houghton. Birds at Stanford Reservoir included two Spotted Flycatchers, two Hobbies, two Oystercatchers and a Cuckoo and yesterday a Barn Owl.

Regards

Neil M

Eyebrook lamb.

Broad-bodied Chaser.

Brown Hare.

Osprey.

Red Kite.

All images from the Eyebrook
Wild Bird Foods Day Tour today.

Water Rails, Barn Owls and all things nice!

Hello

Yesterday evening Eleanor spent several hours scouring the fields and hedges of the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and right up to the Blueberry Farm complex, seeing three different hunting Barn Owls and two Hobbies for her effort.

The singing Spotted Flycatcher remains at Hanging Houghton today and at least four Ravens made up a family party early this morning on the outskirts of the village. An Osprey was at Hollowell Reservoir early this morning too.

At Pitsford Reservoir a pair of Spotted Flycatchers are nesting just off the reserve and the Common Terns are nesting on a new raft in the Walgrave Bay after being ousted by the Black-headed Gulls on the floating rafts in the Scaldwell Bay. Over a hundred Swifts were feeding over the reserve late this morning with quite a number of Sand Martins doing much the same thing off the Sailing Club. Three Yellow-legged Gulls were loafing not far off the dam.

Successfully-breeding Water Rails were confirmed at Stortons Pits earlier this year with the use of camera traps and today ringers operating there caught four previously ringed adults and two unringed very young birds.

A Barn Owl was hunting at Lamport Hall this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Water Rails
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Common Snipe.

Golden Plover.

The Chequered Skipper

Hello

As many will know the Chequered Skipper butterfly was re-introduced into the Rockingham Forest complex a couple of years ago and the project appears successful. The Chequered Skipper was extinct in England although there is a distinct and separate population in north west Scotland. This was the first year that details of where to find this introduced butterfly were released and people have been visiting Fineshade Wood to see it. It appears that it was quite an early flight season and there haven't been any sightings the last few days and guided tours have now been suspended until next year (the best way to see one of these distinct skippers). Congratulations go to the project organisers and many people involved, I hope to see one locally next year!

I'm still very much catching up on admin associated with the last few tours but managed to spend some time this afternoon checking nest boxes on the Kelmarsh Estate where there was evidence of Stock Doves and Tawny Owls using some of the bigger boxes. The tit box season is almost over with just some late broods still active. Lynne Barnett has worked hard at managing the small nest boxes on the Kelmarsh Estate again this year and although there have been mixed results, the productivity for Great Tits and Blue Tits appears to be up on last year. A nest box at Rabbithill Spinney successfully fledged nine juvenile Marsh Tits!

A visit to Harrington Airfield yielded just a pair of Grey Partridge as the only birds of note; Common Spotted Orchids are numerous this year but we are still looking for Bee Orchids which seem to be scarcer every year.

Three Avocets were reported at Lilbourne on the A5 pools this evening (present at 7pm) and the singing Spotted Flycatcher remains at Hanging Houghton.

Regards

Neil M

Chequered Skipper.

Dingy Skipper courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Green Tiger Beetle courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Nomada sp courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Insects to the fore

Hello

As the birds quieten down to breed and the chances of more migrants diminishes, this is the time for insects! The warmer conditions today provided an opportunity for some butterflies to show themselves and a Dark Green Fritillary was noted at Fineshade. Wood Whites and Black Hairstreaks have already been seen in the usual Northamptonshire woodlands and we seem to be experiencing a mini invasion of Painted Ladies.

Moth traps have been busy around the county and a few more unusual migrants have been recorded and the odonata are now on the hatch with the scarce and localised Variable Blue Damselflies being seen at Wicksteed Park, Kettering and both Banded and Beautiful Demoiselles are on the wing.

Here at Hanging Houghton today a singing Spotted Flycatcher was in the grounds of Lamport Grange and a couple of noisy Ravens were present this afternoon. A drake Garganey remains at Summer Leys LNR but the White Stork wasn't reportedly seen at Barnwell today.

Regards

Neil M

Grizzled Skipper
butterfly courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Median Queen Wasp
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Undertaker Sexton Beetle
 courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Spotted Flycatcher courtesy
of Bethan Clyne.

Spring came and went!

Hello

Well it is good to be back after over a month away but it seems I have missed spring in the county! I have been assisting on Naturetrek tours on the fabulous island of Mull, followed by eight days centred in Speyside and then eighteen days completing two different tours in Iceland. The washing machine has been busy since my return as I take stock of being away for so long.

I am very grateful to those volunteers who have continued to service the wild bird feeding station initiatives in my absence at Pitsford Reservoir, Brixworth, on the Kelmarsh estate and at Harrington Airfield.

I was fortunate to work with four other leaders in Mull running a festival event based in Tobermory where we ventured out to explore Iona, Mull, Staffa and the Treshnish Isles which resulted in sightings of both species of eagles, Otter, lots of Hen Harriers, sea-birds, Harbour Porpoise, Irish Hare, seals, deer, Glaucous Gull and Corncrake.

The second festival was a smaller affair and I was working with Matt Eade based at Nethybridge, Speyside. We ventured to the north Aberdeenshire coast and encountered Bottle-nosed Dolphin and Orca as well as good numbers of breeding sea-birds. Inland we scanned over an entertaining Black Grouse lek, watched Mountain and Brown Hares, Badgers and Ospreys. We found Woodcock, Common Crossbill, Goshawks, Pied Flycatchers, Common Redstarts and of course Crested Tits. A mountain foray yielded close views of endearing Ptarmigan and tame Dotterel. Breeding plumage Slavonian Grebes, Red-throated and Black-throated Divers provided more wow factor and we found both species of eagle here too.

The following day saw me flying to Iceland where I helped Dave Jackson to deliver two tours - Undiscovered Iceland and Iceland in Spring. The first tour took me to places previously unvisited and the landscape was the wow factor here with black sand beaches, glaciers, waterfalls, geotherm activity, an iceberg lagoon and brooding volcanoes. The best mammals were Humpback Whale, Blue Whale, Reindeer and Arctic Fox and the birds in their summer attire included approachable Slavonian Grebes, Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, Red-necked Phalaropes, Long-tailed Ducks, Barrow's Goldeneye and Harlequin Ducks.

The second tour started with three glorious days of sunshine and the colours on the birds came in to their own. Our cetacean list included Humpback Whale, Orca, Minke Whale and White-beaked Dolphin and additional birds species included a Grey Phalarope in breeding plumage, White-tailed Eagle, Merlin, Tundra Bean Goose and another three Arctic Foxes including a lingering animal at a sea-bird cliff.

In the meantime it seems that Northamptonshire has enjoyed another migrant-busy spring with some fantastic sightings and finds.

Today the lingering White Stork was again at the Barnwell Lock floods near Oundle (plus a Green Sandpiper) and birds at Summer Leys LNR included Little Ringed Plovers and another Green Sandpiper. An Osprey was fishing at Hollowell Reservoir this evening, a Spotted Flycatcher was at Hanging Houghton and two pairs of Grey Partridge remain at Harrington Airfield.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile male
Blackbird.

Goldfinch.

Pied Wagtail.
All images courtesy of
John Tilly.

Return from Iceland

Hello

I'm just in from completing two Naturetrek tours in Iceland supporting Dave Jackson as we circumnavigated around a fair amount of this amazing island and it's wildlife...a few images for starters!

Regards

Neil M

Glacier landscape.

Puffin.

Fulmar.

Pink-footed Goose.

Slavonian Grebe.

Ptarmigan.

Red-necked Phalarope

Cathedral at Reykjavik.