More witnessed migration

Hello

A dull start and end to the day with sunshine and cloud in between, a change of wind direction and showers too! These conditions have provided quite a fall of interesting passerines on the east coast, particularly Pied Flycatchers, and Black Terns seemed to have moved right across the nation.

However locally it has been more or less more of the same of the last few weeks and at Stanford Reservoir the Marsh Harrier showed again, a Ruff flew through and singles of Common Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher were caught and ringed. Other birds included an adult Yellow-legged Gull and four Common Sandpipers.

At Hollowell Reservoir today there was an adult Caspian Gull, a fly-through Turnstone and seven Ringed Plovers, two Common Sandpipers, two Green Sandpipers and two Whinchats.

At Pitsford Reservoir a Marsh Harrier flew south from the Walgrave Bay, at least three Great White Egrets were present as was a Red-crested Pochard, a Raven and Common Sandpiper and Ringed Plover were heard calling. A Raven was also on the outskirts of Brixworth.

Two Cattle Egrets flew through individually at Stanwick Pits early this morning and the bird at Summer Leys LNR was still in situ this afternoon. Four Black Terns and a juvenile Arctic Tern and a Barnacle Goose were at Clifford Hill Pits this afternoon.

An Osprey was over Titchmarsh Reserve, Thrapston Pits this afternoon and two Spotted Flycatchers were on the edge of the copse on the Brampton Valley Way below Hanging Houghton this afternoon, feeding on the southern (leeward) side.

Regards

Neil M

Grey Heron courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Great Crested Grebe 
with apparent Tench prey
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Comma butterfly.

Burnished Brass moth.

Typical county birds for August

Hello

A breezy day in the county with cloud initially but then some brighter and warmer spells.

A Marsh Harrier was at Stanford Reservoir both yesterday and today and at Hollowell Reservoir birds seen today included two Ospreys, a Garganey, a Greenshank, a Redshank, a Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper and a Tree Pipit. Two adult Yellow-legged Gulls and a Kingfisher were visible from the dam at Pitsford Reservoir this evening.

Single Ospreys were noted over Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows late morning and at Thrapston Pits in the early afternoon.

Two Common Redstarts were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning and two Wheatears and a juvenile Marsh Harrier were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton early this afternoon. Nearby Lamport Hall continued to host up to ten Spotted Flycatchers, a Common Redstart and a Hobby.

At Harrington Airfield three Tree Pipits and a male Common Redstart were caught and ringed this morning. Two Ravens were also present and a Grey Partridge was heard calling briefly.

The Cattle Egret was reported on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR late morning.

Regards

Neil M

Bufftip moth.

Drinker moth.

Little Egret courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Common Buzzard courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

This first year male Common
Redstart caught and ringed at
Harrington Airfield last year
closely resembled the bird caught
and ringed today, both being
first year males.

Sunset at Harrington Airfield.

Migrant passerines on the move

Hello

A period of ringing at Pitsford Reservoir this morning coincided with a 'fall' of acrocephalus warblers which really boosted the numbers. One hundred and sixty-seven birds were processed which only contained three re-trapped birds and a bird ringed from elsewhere. Reed Warblers were the most common bird handled with forty-seven birds with Sedge Warblers coming in second with forty birds processed. These are unprecedented numbers for Pitsford and adds evidence to the fact that this autumn there are huge numbers of migrant passerines moving down through central England with seemingly relatively few on the coasts. Other warblers included eleven Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, two Garden Warblers, six Blackcaps, ten Willow Warblers, four Chiffchaffs and a Grasshopper Warbler.

Two Tree Pipits were present and one was caught and ringed and four Tree Sparrows were caught and ringed too.

Other birds at Pitsford during the morning north of the causeway included an Osprey, four Great White Egrets, three Red-crested Pochard and an adult Yellow-legged Gull. Neil Hasdell located two different Lesser Emperor dragonflies (one at the Scaldwell Bay end of the causeway and another in front of the Bird Club hide).

The Cattle Egret was seen again at Summer Leys LNR and two Common Redstarts were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell with a Common Redstart, two Whinchats and a Wheatear in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning.

This afternoon there were at least four Common Redstarts dotted about at Harrington Airfield and two Wheatears on Bunker Three. One of the Wheatears was still present this evening with two Ravens just off the main track. A ringing session will be taking place there tomorrow morning so there will be restricted access around the bunkers and scrubby areas but the concrete track is unaffected.

The ringing team at Stanford Reservoir also fared very well today with an incredible twelve Common Redstarts caught and ringed as well as catching and ringing five Grasshopper Warblers and controlling a Jersey-ringed Willow Warbler.

Helen Franklin and her small team were ringing at Woodford Halse today where they processed an excellent one hundred and twenty-seven birds made up of sixty-one Blue Tits, forty-one Great Tits, a Willow Warbler, a Wren, a Coal Tit, six Blackcaps, six Robins, a Chaffinch, a Common Whitethroat, six Dunnocks, a Nuthatch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

This evening at least ten Spotted Flycatchers were  still at Lamport Hall and the Common Redstart was still present too and at Hollowell Reservoir there was an Osprey and three Great White Egrets.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Tree Pipit at
Pitsford today.

Grasshopper Warbler at
Pitsford today.

Common Whitethroat courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Pitsford WeBs Count

Hello

The early part of the day was taken up today completing the wetland bird survey at Pitsford Reservoir in very nice weather conditions. Some fourteen Little Egrets were dotted about the reservoir and three Great White Egrets were in the Scaldwell Bay. Most of the geese were absent, busy gleaning the cut cereal fields on the west side of the reservoir. The customary late breeding efforts of Great Crested Grebes at Pitsford seems to be bearing fruits of success with many family parties north of the causeway. An Otter gave the briefest of sightings in the Walgrave Bay.

Waterside vegetation held plenty of warblers and tits and a male Common Redstart was by the spillway at the dam end of the reservoir. Waders were in short supply but included Lapwings concentrated along the causeway, a Redshank and four Common Sandpipers. Two eclipse drake Red-crested Pochard were in the Scaldwell Bay nestled into the margins and the slow autumn build-up of Wigeon has so far only reached eleven birds. Begging juvenile Sparrowhawks and Common Buzzards were calling from the plantations and Muntjacs skipped along the mown rides. A Grey Partridge with five youngsters in tow were on the Old Walgrave Road this morning.

Insects included a variety of common odonata plus a Lesser Emperor grappling with a Blue Emperor in front of the Bird Club hide. Roesel's Bush-crickets were in good numbers and the best of the butterflies included both Common and Holly Blues, Comma and Small Copper.

A Common Redstart was calling in the field hedge between Maytrees and the Bird Club hides this evening plus an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a Kingfisher were in the Scaldwell Bay.

In the meantime Chris Payne and team conducted some ringing at Greens Norton where they succeeded in catching a number of birds the undoubted highlight being two Kingfishers! Other birds included Bullfinch and numbers of Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers and a juvenile Goldcrest. A Sparrowhawk had obviously bounced out of one of the nets and left the remnants of it's pigeon prey in the net!

Over at Stanford Reservoir a juvenile Shag was discovered today and other birds included a Great White Egret, two Shelducks, a Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper and four Spotted Flycatchers.

A Wasp Spider was found and photographed at Bozeat today, one of the first of it's kind to be found in the county as this distinctive species moves up from the south east.

The Cattle Egret was still at Summer Leys LNR this morning but then flew off. Two Ospreys were seen at Hollowell Reservoir this afternoon before flying off east. A Common Sandpiper was at Clifford Hill Pits this morning and an Osprey was at Thrapston Pits at 11.15am.

Two Common Redstarts remained at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning where there was an assembly of common warblers and two Spotted Flycatchers. A family party of Spotted Flycatchers were along the beech avenue in Harlestone Heath at lunchtime and Lamport Hall hosted at least ten Spotted Flycatchers, common warblers and a Common Redstart along the traditional spot off the footpath that runs along the southern aspect of the park and reached off the A508 south of the Lamport Hall entrance.

Regards

Neil M

Common Emerald damselfly.

Roesel's Bush-cricket.

Holly Blue.

Small Copper.

Starling enjoying the blackberries!

Blue Emperor.

Common Toadlet.

All above images from
Pitsford Reservoir today.

Kingfishers courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Juvenile Goldcrest
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Ringing at Linford Lakes

Hello

A ringing session at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes yesterday produced an excellent tally of birds with one hundred and ten birds processed, the majority being warblers. There were only twelve re-trap birds amongst the fourteen species handled. The most common species encountered was Chiffchaff with thirty-four birds assessed but other warblers in high numbers included twenty-one Reed Warblers and nineteen Blackcaps. There were seven Garden Warblers, a Sedge Warbler, six Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat and five Willow Warblers. Two juvenile Song Thrushes and two juvenile Treecreepers were noteworthy.

Today (Monday) and it was another blustery affair with some rain early on.

Birds at Stanford Reservoir included a Tree Pipit flying over calling this morning plus four Shelduck and a Common Sandpiper. A Greenshank and three Common Sandpipers were on the dam at Pitsford Reservoir this morning plus a Kingfisher, three Yellow-legged Gulls and a Grey Wagtail. A Red-crested Pochard was in the Scaldwell Bay this afternoon.

The female Ruddy Shelduck had befriended some Canada Geese at Crick this morning and some good birds at Hollowell Reservoir this morning included an adult Caspian Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Garganey, two Great White Egrets, a Green Sandpiper and a Golden Plover flying over.

The Cattle Egret re-appeared at Summer Leys LNR today and also present was a Great White Egret and four Black-tailed Godwits.

Two Common Redstarts remain at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and another with a Wheatear were at Shrike Hedge in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Two Ravens spent time on and off in the village during the day and fifty House Sparrows in our garden is a good number for us.

Other birds nearby included two Spotted Flycatchers at Lamport Hall and a Common Redstart and one or two Whinchat(s) in nectar cover/hedging between Lamport and Scaldwell. Two Spotted Flycatchers were on the reserve at Woodford Halse and three Grey Wagtails and at least one Raven were in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth.

Regards

Neil M 

Song Thrush courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Greenfinch courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Lesser Whitethroat
courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

Sand Martins courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Green-veined White
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Kingfisher courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

August wildlife

Hello

Few fresh birds noticeable today in the county but Harrington Airfield this morning yielded a juvenile Marsh Harrier, two Common Redstarts and a Wheatear. In the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton later what was probably the same juvenile Marsh Harrier appeared and there were two Whinchats close to the large barn. Two Common Redstarts were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning.

At Summer Leys LNR today there was a Great White Egret, a Black-tailed Godwit and a Common Redstart with a Whinchat still nearby near Great Doddington Sewer Works. The drake Common Scoter remained at Eyebrook Reservoir today and the female Ruddy Shelduck was seen at Winwick Pools.

Four Shelduck and a Hobby were noted at Stanford Reservoir today and birds visible in the dam area at Pitsford Reservoir this evening included nine Yellow-legged Gulls (three juveniles), a juvenile Raven, a Kingfisher, a Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper.

Regards

Neil M

Gatekeeper courtesy
 of Tony Stanford.

Toadlet courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Broad-bordered
 Yellow Underwing.

Herring Gull.

Ruddy Darter.

Autumn bluster

Hello

A quiet, blustery day in the county with many small birds deep in cover during the strong autumnal winds.

The ringers at Stanford Reservoir were busy again today and caught and ringed three more Common Redstarts (that is seven already this autumn) plus their third Grasshopper Warbler. Other birds seen at Stanford included a Peregrine, a Hobby, two Shelducks and a Common Sandpiper.

At Eyebrook Reservoir a drake Common Scoter was near the island this afternoon and at Hollowell Reservoir there was an Osprey, the female Ruddy Shelduck, the Pink-footed Goose and a Great White Egret.

At Summer Leys LNR the Cattle Egret was again present today plus a Black-tailed Godwit and a Common Sandpiper and a Peregrine was near Stortons Pits yesterday and two Hobbies were at Lamport Hall in the evening.

A few ringing recoveries have been received as follows:

1. A juvenile Starling was caught and ringed at Hanging Houghton on 10th June 2023 and caught again by a ringer on 4th August but this time in Corby, 21km north-east and fifty-five days later. Starlings are renowned for their post-juvenile wanderings in search of food;

2. A juvenile Chiffchaff was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 17th August 2022 and re-trapped at Stanford Reservoir on 1st July 2023, 318 days later when probably a breeding male;

3. A juvenile Reed Warbler was ringed at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 30th July 2020 and caught again at Stanford Reservoir on 4th July 2023, 1069 days later and after six journeys to or from Africa;

4. A juvenile Great Tit was ringed at Woodford Halse on 18th August 2021 but sadly was caught by a cat on or about 31st July 2023 still in the village of Woodford Halse, 712 days later.

Regards

Neil M

Speckled Wood butterfly
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Tufted Duck with ducklings
at Pineham courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Juvenile Green Woodpecker
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Marbled Green moth.

Willow Emerald damselfly.

Tor at the seaside

Hello

Stanford Reservoir continues to be productive - yesterday another 174 birds were ringed which included the fourth Common Redstart of the autumn and the second Grasshopper Warbler. Other birds noted on-site were twelve Yellow Wagtails, three Shelducks, a Cetti's Warbler and a Common Sandpiper.

Today and a Dunlin was seen to fly through there and other birds were a Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper and still the three Shelduck.

Ravensthorpe Reservoir produced some interesting sightings today with a juvenile Caspian Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a lingering Lesser Emperor dragonfly on the west bank (first confirmed record for the location).

At Pitsford Reservoir three adult and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull were off the dam this afternoon plus a Kingfisher and a Common Sandpiper. A Great White Egret was in the Scaldwell Bay.

At Summer Leys LNR today there was a Cattle Egret, a Marsh Harrier, a Great White Egret and three Black-tailed Godwits. The long-staying Common Redstart was still at Woodford Halse reserve today.

Three Common Redstarts were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning and there was still one bird at Harrington Airfield between the Chippings Compound and Bunker One with a Grey Partridge also present and two adult Yellow-legged Gulls were on fields next to Bunker Three.

Regards

Neil M

Tor had a day out at 
the seaside yesterday!

Lapwing.

Canary-shouldered Thorn (moth).

Elephant Hawk-moth.

Warblers galore

Hello

A busy team of four ringers operating at Stortons Pits today processed 111 birds comprising of 108 new birds and just three re-traps. One of these re-traps was a male Sparrowhawk first encountered in 2022. Warblers dominated with twelve Garden Warblers, thirty-six Blackcaps, nine Reed Warblers, ten Common Whitethroats, a Lesser Whitethroat, four Willow Warblers and three Chiffchaffs.

Two Sandwich Terns spent a short time at Hollowell Reservoir today before departing north-west early this morning. Later in the day there were two Ospreys present, plus the Pink-footed Goose, a Common Snipe, four Green Sandpipers, two Common Sandpipers and a Spotted Flycatcher.

Two Wheatears were noted at Clifford Hill Pits this morning and a Marsh Harrier was at Summer Leys LNR this evening.

Three Common Redstarts were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell again this morning and two Common Redstarts were at Harrington Airfield between the Chipping Compound and Bunker One.

A Marsh Harrier flew over the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning and other birds included three Great White Egrets and a Green Sandpiper. A Lesser Emperor dragonfly was found patrolling the water's edge next to the fishing boats in the Holcot Bay this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Emperor at
Pitsford Reservoir today
courtesy of Mark Tyrrell.

Adult male Barn Owl
caught and ringed yesterday
plus Nick Wood the Northants
Ringing Group Secretary.
Images courtesy of Chris Payne.

Sparrowhawk at Stortons
Pits today, first ringed 
there last year.
Images courtesy of
Chris Payne.