Shelducks and Redstarts on the move.

Hello

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included the Black-necked Grebe in the Scaldwell Bay, a Goldeneye and five Shelducks and with a Kingfisher, a Common Sandpiper and two Yellow-legged Gulls also present. An adult male Common Redstart was in a field hedge off the Old Scaldwell Road this evening, paralleling the footpath on the left hand side coming down the hill.

At Hollowell Reservoir the female Ruddy Shelduck was still present as were two Redshanks, four Green Sandpipers and three Common Sandpipers, and a female Common Redstart was in the feeder stream car park.

Stanford Reservoir hosted two Whinchats, two Hobbies, eight Shelduck and four Common Sandpipers and a female Common Redstart was at Summer Leys LNR off the footpath between the car park and Pioneer Hide.

A Wheatear was noted at Clifford Hill Pits and the juvenile Common Redstart was still at Woodford Halse nature reserve. Thrapston Pits hosted an Osprey, a Hobby and a site record of seventeen Shelduck.

Two Hobbies were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening and at least two Common Redstarts remained at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

An apparent second batch of Marbled Whites were on the wing at Lamport Hall yesterday and at Harrington Airfield today.

Tomorrow evening it is hoped to run a ringing session at Lamport Hall again targeting Swifts and House Martins as part of an on-going project. Should you wish to come along to watch please let me know!

Regards

Neil M

Male Common Redstart.

Shelduck courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Summer into Autumn

Nestling Common Swifts
at Spratton, image courtesy
of Pete Ramsey.

Hello

Southerly air flows over the last few weeks has caused a large influx of migrant lepidoptera with perhaps the Red Admiral butterflies being the most obvious. The extreme heat on the continent has probably fueled further movements north and our garden buddleias are attracting good numbers of Red Admiral and Large White butterflies, the evening shift seeing lots of migrant Silver Y moths and the occasional Hummingbird Hawk-moth.

A probable Caspian Tern touched down for about a minute at Summer Leys LNR today at about 11am but flew off east with no further reports. A Marsh Harrier was briefly at Summer Leys this afternoon and a Bittern put in an appearance late this afternoon. Elsewhere and the Black-necked Grebe was still present near to the Maytrees Hide at Pitsford Reservoir at lunchtime.

Two Common Redstarts were still at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning and a Spotted Flycatcher was noted at Kelmarsh village. Two Whinchats this evening at Stanford Reservoir are probably the first of the 'autumn' and other birds there included four Spotted Flycatchers, five Common Sandpipers, an Oystercatcher, seven Shelducks, a Hobby and four Ravens.

Other blogs by local naturalists that I recommend having a look at are 'Wild Northamptonshire' by James Underwood:-

http://wildnorthants.blogspot.com/

and 'Daft Mumblings' by Pete Ramsey:-

https://daftmumblings.com/

Regards

Neil M

Water Rail courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Common Sandpiper with a Sand
Martin in tow courtesy of Robin
 Gossage.

Pike for supper? The young
Great Crested Grebe managed it!

Red Admiral on the
Kelmarsh Estate today.

Southern Hawker on the
Kelmarsh Estate today.

Rain , Swifts and ringing recoveries

Hello

A wet day produced a limited supply of sightings in the county today but birding stalwarts at Stanwick located a passing Whimbrel, an adult Caspian Gull and eleven Yellow-legged Gulls this morning. A Yellow-legged Gull was also on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits.

At Pitsford Reservoir today the smart summer plumage Black-necked Grebe was again seen close to the Maytrees Hide in the Scaldwell Bay and other birds included a Goldeneye, a Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher.

Birds at Stanford Reservoir included an arrival of three juvenile Goosanders which is certainly a surprise in July, eight Common Sandpipers and eight Shelducks.

Checking Common Swift nest boxes in Spratton village this morning proved that five have been used successfully this year with broods of 3, 3, 2, 1 and 1. With likely other nesting pairs in the village this is something of a success story where one villager in particular (John Hunt), has made it his personal aim to bring back this species to the village and nurture a recovery of numbers. John was brought up in Spratton but left for work purposes but when he returned to the village he found no evidence of Swifts nesting in the village. With the provision of Swift nest boxes and the use of Swift sound recordings the birds have returned and re-colonised.

Some nocturnal listening in Hanging Houghton yesterday evening confirmed the presence of breeding Barn Owls and the presence of Little Owls too (the latter species has kept a low profile in recent years from a previous high of three pairs around the village some ten years ago).

A few ringing recoveries received recently includes an adult Goldfinch that was ringed near Overstone Park on 27th January this year and found dead after being taken by a cat on 9th July at Portpatrick, Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. This is yet another example of a Goldfinch probably breeding in Scotland but wintering in middle England. One hundred and sixty-three days had elapsed between the two records and the sites are 403km apart.

A juvenile Chiffchaff was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 17th August 2022 and turned up in a mist net at Stanford Reservoir on 17th June 2023, 304 days later. This is one of many warbler records but particularly Chiffchaffs that have been proven to move to and fro between these two sites which are only 21km apart.

An adult male Blackcap was ringed at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 3rd September 2022 and was caught again on 19th April 2023 at Lyste Buorren Summarreheide, Friesland, The Netherlands, 228 days later with a distance of 473km between the two sites. It seems likely that this is a continental/north European breeding bird that was on passage through Milton Keynes last autumn.

A nestling Goldfinch was ringed at Wigsthorpe, East Northants on 1st August 2022 and was caught in a mist net at Barnwell on 15th April 2023 when deemed to be a male. The distance between the two sites is just 4km.

Regards

Neil M

Southern Hawker courtesy
of Eleanor.

Goldfinch courtesy
of Beth Clyne.

Chiffchaff courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Male Blackcap courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Ringing at Stortons Pits

Hello

A ringing session at Stortons Pits this morning provided some forty-five captures mostly of young warblers including Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Chiffchaff. A Treecreeper hit the nets first thing and the remainder were common birds and with a couple each of Goldfinch and Greenfinch. A Common Sandpiper flew over heading for Sixfields Lake, three Peregrines were nearby and both Water Rails and Cetti's Warblers could be heard calling from the cover of reeds. Odonata included Blue Emperor and Brown Hawker.

At Pitsford Reservoir today there were two Yellow-legged Gulls off the dam and the Black-necked Grebe and Great White Egret remained in the Scaldwell Bay, north of the causeway. At Hollowell Reservoir the female Ruddy Shelduck was still present plus a Dunlin, a Greenshank, three Green Sandpipers and four Common Sandpipers.

Blueberry Farm near Maidwell pulled in at least three Common Redstarts this morning plus a mixture of warblers, a family group of five Spotted Flycatchers and a just-emerged Southern Hawker dragonfly. At Harrington Airfield this afternoon there were two more Common Redstarts (chipping compound and Bunker Three) and a cream-crown Marsh Harrier flew south. Two Hobbies were noted on the bridletrack between Little Brington and Brockhall.

Twelve Brown Hares were visible at Lamport Hall this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Hedgehog.

Black and yellow Longhorn Beetle and
Red Soldier Beetles courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Brimstone butterfly courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Juvenile Pied Wagtail 
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Stortons Pits interpretative board.

Hebrides and back

Hello

Fresh birds in the county today included a Garganey at Daventry Country Park, a Quail heard calling near Stanford Reservoir and a summer plumage Black-necked Grebe in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir. A Marsh Harrier was also seen at Summer Leys LNR and other birds at Stanford Reservoir included seven Common Sandpipers, an Oystercatcher and a Yellow Wagtail caught and ringed.

Other birds on the reserve north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir included a drake Red-crested Pochard, a Great White Egret, up to six Little Egrets and two Oystercatchers. A Raven was at Hanging Houghton. Birds at Hollowell Reservoir this morning included a Greenshank, a Common Sandpiper and three Green Sandpipers.

Yesterday evening a quick visit to the causeway at Ravensthorpe Reservoir yielded a brood of Tufted Ducks, a pair of Great Crested Grebes with a chick that was induced to consume a small Pike and there were several Purple Hairstreaks in small oaks actually on the causeway. A family of Little Owls (two adults and two juveniles) were located on the outskirts of Scaldwell village, feasting on chafers.

This evening there was a Barn Owl and a Hobby at Maidwell and a Barn Owl and two Hobbies at Hanging Houghton.

I'm just back from a Naturetrek cruise tour of the Hebrides where we encountered cetaceans, Otters, seals and plenty of sea-birds and some of the photos from the trip can be found on the Page or Tab entitled 'Hebridean Cruise July 2023'.

Regards

Neil M

Sand Martin courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

First year female Sparrowhawk in

our garden this afternoon.

Red Admiral.

A Wild Weekend!!

Weather wise it has been a wild and stormy weekend,  a bit like my two young collies who were competing at agilty with some success!!.  As I was competing at Peterborough I intended to pop into Titchmarsh LNR in the hope of catching up with the Black Necked Grebes.  When I arrived there late yesterday afternoon so did a storm. It thundered, lightened and rained heavily.  Needless to say I continued on my journey home where the sun was shining. I took advantage of this and headed off across the fields towards Blueberry.  A Common Redstart was still flitting about in one of the favourite hedgerows.  En route I disturbed 4 Little Egrets, 2 Grey Wagtails and a Kingfisher in the stream below Hanging Houghton and nearby an adult Grey Partridge with 2 small young. These are the first youngsters I have seen.                                                                                                                  Today on my way back from Peterborough the weather was more favourable when I arrived at Titchmarsh LNR.  Plenty of birds to look at and it did take me a while to locate the target species.  After a while an adult and juvenile Black Necked Grebe showed very well.  There was barely any size difference between the two birds, just subtle differences in plumage defining their ages. I'm not sure where the other two juveniles have gone although a juvenile has turned up  at Stanford Reservoir which may be one of them ??

An unsettled week of weather is forecast which may or may not produce some different birds.  Keep those ears and eyes open.

Regards Eleanor 

Intriguing Record !!!

 I think that it is fair to say that July tends to be a quiet month. Birds tend to be busy with breeding and looking after their offspring and migration doesn't tend to get started for another few weeks. However we shouldn't be complacent as you never know what will show up. Today over at Titchmarsh LNR  an adult Black Necked Grebe with 3 fully fledged juveniles capable of flight were discovered!!!! This is certainly an amazing record.  It is not known whether they somehow managed to breed here undetected or have flown in from elsewhere.   Best viewed from North hide they were still present late afternoon.          Very few birds reported from elsewhere.  Female Red Crested Pochard,  Redshank and Common Sandpipers at Stanford Reservoir.  At Hollowell Reservoir Ruddy Shelduck,  Greenshank,  Green and Common Sandpiper. 

On my early morning wander around Blueberry I came across a Common Redstart in one of their favourite hedgerows and in the afternoon I found another Common Redstart, this time at Harrington Airfield.  These birds seem to get earlier and earlier coming back but remain loyal to these favourite areas.  Harrington has been extremely quiet for birds. I regularly bump into Grey Partridge but they are all adult birds.  I haven't found any youngsters so far which is quite concerning.  The only other bird of note was a Hobby.

It will be interesting to see whether this family of Black Necked Grebes stay around for a bit longer,  I hope so as it will give me and anyone else a chance to catch up with this rather remarkable record.   And who knows what else could be found?

Regards Eleanor 

Fabulous Fermyn Woods

 Following a busy weekend of competing with the collies I thought that they could have an easy day and do something completely different.  As it was a nice sunny morning I took them and the hound into the woods.  My quest was to  see the Purple Emperor butterflies which are now out and about. I started out at Fermyn Country Park and slowly meandered through the park itself,  Fermyn Wood and into Lady Wood and beyond.  We spent 5 hours meandering around enjoying the weather and feast of Butterflies.  During this time I only came face to face with one other person and saw a couple more in the distance.  It really felt as if myself and dogs had the whole woods to ourselves.

Although I didn't see large numbers of Purple Emperors,  they gave amazing and ridiculously close views. One landed on my shoe seemingly oblivious to the dogs sitting next to me. I  wore a purple t-shirt which I thought was quite bright but this paled into insignificance against the vibrant purple sheen on these butterflies when the sunshine caught their wings.  It was well worth the visit. 

There were so many different species of butterflies on the wing, sometimes it was difficult to know where to look.  It really was a feast for the eyes. There were good numbers of Silver Washed Fritillary's whizzing around and perched up especially on the Blackberry flowers.  I counted 8 together on one small bramble.                                                Other species seen  were Purple Hairstreak,  White and Red  Admiral , Small and Large Skipper,  Brimstone,  Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock,  Comma,  Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Meadow Brown,  Ringlet and Gatekeeper.   Phew, but I'm sure that I missed some.  There were also plenty of Dragonflies,  Damselflies , Bees and other flying insects but I really didn't do these justice as I only gave them a cursory look.

Other wildlife seen were fox, hare ,Muntjac and Roe Deer. Tor the hound alerted me to the presence of a couple of Grass Snakes. I always know when he has found one as he literally jumps a mile.      Of course my ears were alert to the birds around.  Birds of note were 2 Siskins and 6+ Crossbills.   Plenty of vocal Jays,  Great  Spotted Woodpeckers and Nuthatches.                                                   

I literally had to drag myself away but I had other things that I needed to do,plus the dogs needed a rest!!   On my way home I popped in at Pitsford Reservoir and was surprised to hear and see the male Bearded Tit still present below the Lodge near to the moth trap.

A few other birds reported today include Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Little Ringed Plovers, Black Tailed and Common Sandpiper at Summer Leys.  Mediterranean Gull and Black Tailed Godwits at Stanwick GP and Garganey at both Daventry CP and Thrapston GP. 

On a different note,  yesterday I was up early and out with the dogs before 05.30. It was a stunning morning but already it had a real "autumnal feeling " as the mist hung in the valley.  Later in the day a Common Redstart was reported from the county border at Stanford on Avon.  Is this a sign that Autumn with all its amazing migration is starting already???!!!!

Regards Eleanor 

Sunshine and showers

Hello

The last few days has seen an increase in the number of migrant waders passing through the county, the majority being at Earls Barton Pits, Hollowell Reservoir and Stanford Reservoir in the shape of Black-tailed Godwits and a few Greenshank, Green Sandpipers and Common Sandpipers.

Today there were two Ospreys at Hollowell Reservoir and the female Ruddy Shelduck that has made the county it's home for the last few years has been sighted there too. A Turtle Dove seen today near Mary's Lake at Earls Barton - a rare sight in the county this year.

On Thursday a family party of Spotted Flycatchers was discovered in Hanging Houghton village and where yesterday a Siskin was present for a short time early in the morning. Ravens have been regular again in the village and at nearby Lamport and a group of thirteen Brown Hares were seen at Lamport Hall on Thursday.

The warmth and conducive conditions of the last few days has been super for the insects with great numbers of butterflies and odonata on the wing - most common species have been logged now. Despite the national picture for butterflies being reportedly bleak, it seems to me that we are bucking the trend here in Northamptonshire with many scarce species colonising new areas, particularly our woodlands.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Tree Sparrow.

Ringlet.

Comma.

Drinker moth.

Black-tailed Godwit courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Ringing at Lamport Hall

Hello

An evening ringing session took place at Lamport Hall today where the venue, species and methods employed tends to attract ringers and interested parties to converge on the site to see Swifts and House Martins close to. Often the views of these aerial gleaners are brief or over the open water so it is a rare treat. Over the years we have built up quite a data set associated with the breeding efforts of these summer visitors which breed in and on the buildings at Lamport Hall.

Sadly on this occasion we couldn't find any breeding Swallows, very much a sign of the times! Up to about twenty Swifts were seen screaming around at any one time and although this seems a low number we actually caught and processed eighteen Swifts which is more than normal. Eight of these birds were newly ringed and not encountered before and ten were birds caught in previous years, mostly in 2022. One however was first ringed way back as a breeding female on 20th July 2016. All the Swifts encountered today were adults and probably breeding at the Hall.

Forty-four House Martins were caught and processed with seven birds from previous years, the oldest being an adult ringed on 12th July 2021. The House Martins included flying young from this year as well as breeding adults. A single House Sparrow, a juvenile Pied Wagtail and two Collared Dove squabs are also in receipt of a shiny new ring after our combined efforts!

Regards

Neil M

House Martin courtesy of Jane Neil.

Collared Dove nestling
courtesy of Jane Neil.

Common Swift.

Naturetrek Day Tour Pitsford Reservoir

Hello

Today saw a Naturetrek day tour concentrating on the wildlife trust reserve at Pitsford Reservoir.

After meeting up just before 9am and with the formalities out of the way, senior reserve warden Mischa Cross provided some live examples of moth catching on the reserve with fifteen species potted up and available to look at and release - Light Arches, Dark Arches, Double-lobed, Heart and Dart, Coronet, Herald, Scalloped Oak, Peppered Moth, Lesser Underwing. Large Underwing, Broad-bordered Underwing, Bufftip, Pine Hawk-moth, Elephant Hawk-moth and the very impressive Privet Hawk-moth.

A few birds were singing around us and a male House Sparrow foraging for invertebrates is a rare visitor to the reserve these days. One of several Scarlet Tiger moths during the day flew around us and settled and the first of many butterflies were on the wing including the first of many hundreds of Meadow Brown.

Down at the shoreline we saw the first waterbirds and the first of several thousand Common Blue Damselflies on our wander. Lapwings were dotted along the causeway and distant Tufted Ducks and Great Crested Grebes were to show better later. We checked out the phragmites bed near to one of the static moth traps but there was no sight or sound of the long-staying Bearded Tit. Reed Warblers were both busy singing and feeding young and juvenile Chiffchaffs and Blue Tits were in the reeds and bushes.

Bramble patches further along the path supported large numbers of butterflies which included Comma, Large and Green-veined White and a few Ringlets and we enjoyed close views of both Common and Ruddy Darters amongst the clouds of damselflies. A pair of Common Terns had young on the raft in front of Goosander Hide and they chased off a couple of Common Buzzards that loomed overhead. Three thermaling Ravens were probably nearly a mile away and small birds around us included Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Garden Warbler and Blackcap.

As we progressed down the Holcot Bay we encountered a pair of Little Grebes in full summer plumage, a Nuthatch and the first of many mixed tit flocks. A Hobby showed well and a Sparrowhawk flitted over carrying prey, much to the annoyance of the local Swallows and House Martins. Red Kites remained high up and most of the small birds well-hidden with calling Great Spotted Woodpecker and Treecreeper electing not to give themselves up! On the opposite side of the bay we found the first of many just-hatched Gatekeepers - looking pristine in the morning sunshine. An earlier Marbled White was followed by two more in the Holcot Meadow. Blackcaps continued to sing at us from cover and alarming Blackbirds alerted us to probable Tawny Owls in the plantations but the owls declined to show themselves. A male Kestrel flew past closely.

Insects were to the fore with longhorn beetles, soldier beetles, Roesel's Bush-cricket and Nursery Web Spiders working the grasses and flowers below the butterflies and Silver Y moths. By this time we had espied big dragonflies in the shape of Brown Hawker, Blue Emperor and my personal favourite the Southern Hawker. Robins and Blackbirds warbled from the sidelines as we mooched further on and reached the Lagoon Hide for a rather late coffee stop! Another Reed Warbler chuntered from the grazed reeds, both Moorhen and Coot paraded their young and a female Gadwall was the proud mother presiding over her five small ducklings. We glimpsed Black-tailed Skimmer and Blue Emperor over the lagoon in front of the hide and an assembly of Large White butterflies were attracted to the exposed damp mud.

The next section of the walk took us into the Walgrave Bay and Purple Hairstreaks stayed aloft and whizzed around the canopy of oak trees along the waterfront. A Common Toadlet crawled across the mowed path and a Muntjac barked from the trees behind. Sharp eyes picked out a couple of distant drake Pochard and the young Black-headed Gulls were floating around in the water with their attendant parents alongside them. Cormorant nests were mostly already empty of young Cormorants and both adult and young birds were loafing in the trees.

Aircraft activity overhead from nearby Sywell Airfield provided us with the noise and sight of a Spitfire, a Mustang and a Messerschmitt 109 (all iconic craft from WW2) flying around.

At the square pond we enjoyed great views of Four-spotted Chasers and Common Emerald Damselflies as well as arguing Blue Emperors and huge numbers of Ruddy Darters and Common Blue Damsels. Common Whitethroat and Garden Warbler were fidgeting in waterside vegetation and the Flowering Rush looked stunning with its pink flowers. Chiffchaffs were another constant singing bird on our way around but the lack of singing Chaffinches was frankly depressing. The second of four broods of Mute Swans on the reserve watched us nonchalantly from the waterside! We had heard Kingfishers all the way around but none put in an appearance for us. Another Raven and a Jay were seen briefly in the bay as we walked the section up to Christies Copse where a Willow Warbler showed nicely for us and a Hobby flashed over. By this time we had seen multiple examples of our more showy insects and we took lunch at the Christies Copse picnic bench. Twin-lobed Deer Flies had made their presence known by this time and even a few Mosquitoes showed up! A few Common Swifts flew over.

After lunch we upped the pace to reach the Scaldwell Bay but enjoyed great views of hunting Southern Hawker and resting odonata including male and female Black-tailed Skimmers, and a Brown Hare in an adjacent cut barley field. Large Skippers were in good numbers and Small/Essex Skippers photographed in an effort to identify later. A White Plume moth showed well and another Nuthatch inhabited a roving tit flock which simply melted into the foliage. Another drake Pochard was in the back of the Scaldwell Bay where a Great White Egret disappeared into cover and three Little Egrets stood around despondently. Two juvenile Cormorants besieged an adult in the water to the point where it flew off. Large Red-eyed Damselflies were picked out in front of the Bird Club hide and a super Grass Snake glided past slowly. Great Crested Grebes came in fairly close and more juvenile Black-headed Gulls were dotted around the bay. A deformed Purple Hairstreak on the ground and unable to fly was sad but provided great views.

The Scaldwell Meadows section yielded more Marbled Whites, quick-moving Common Blues and Small Heaths, a Sedge Warbler singing briefly, singing Reed Buntings, a Teal and a few Lapwings. Loafing rafts of Tufted Ducks and Gadwall were well in eclipse plumage. Up to ten Tree Sparrows were around the Old Scaldwell Road, more Black-tailed Skimmers queued for attention and we saw brief views of Pied Wagtail as we progressed to the causeway. Two examples of Pyramidal Orchid had gone over and the Ragwort there sported the yellow and black stripes of Cinnabar Moth caterpillars. The Lapwings were still there and a Grey Wagtail danced off around the bushes. A further effort to see/hear the Bearded Tit proved negative. It was a long but fulfilling day with wildlife, particularly the insects, providing a memorable walk around Pitsford Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Elephant Hawk-moth.

Privet Hawk-moth.

Pine Hawk-moth.

Bufftip.

Marbled White.

Comma.

Gatekeeper.

Large Red-eyed Damselfly.

Large Skipper.

Gadwall with ducklings.

Gatekeeper.

Ruddy Darter.

Four-spotted Chaser.

Large Skipper.

Common Emerald Damselfly.

Large and Small Skippers.

Grass Snake.