Cattle Egrets and harriers.

Hello

Another wet and miserable day with a cooling wind too clearly didn't inspire many people to get out there!

Yesterday a family of Otters were showing well on the River Welland on the outskirts of Market Harborough towards Little Bowden.

Today (Wednesday) and birds at Stanford Reservoir included a brief Caspian Gull, two Little Egrets and a Siskin with two Cattle Egrets still in the grounds of Stanford Hall.

Two Cattle Egrets were at North Lake, Stanwick Pits this morning and a Marsh Harrier was seen hunting there too. Steve went on to see a 'ringtail' Hen Harrier, a Merlin and three Ravens in the Nene Valley between Irthlingborough and Wellingborough with the harrier over fields near to Whitworths.

Another Cattle Egret was with cattle in a field alongside Wicksteed Park Water Meadows and a Great White Egret was at Summer Leys LNR.

Six Waxwings were seen in flight over Towcester Road, Greens Norton early this morning but were not seen subsequently.

Regards

Neil M

Chaffinch courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Goldfinch courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Blue Tit courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Greenfinch courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Fieldfare courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Elusive Waxwings

Hello

A relatively quiet day in the county enlightened with some more Waxwings being found but remaining elusive.

The two Cattle Egrets were again at Stanford Hall today and birds at Stanford Reservoir included a first winter Mediterranean Gull and ninety-four Great Black-backed Gulls in the gull roost, two Little Egrets and seventeen Lesser Redpolls.

A Cattle Egret was also at Wicksteed Park Water Meadows (Kettering) this morning and a Marsh Harrier was around the Main Lake at Stanwick Pits this afternoon.

Approximately six Waxwings were encountered in Greens Norton village this morning but they remained elusive but were still heard calling late morning and again at about 3pm this afternoon. At one stage they were close to the village church.

A male Blackcap was attracted to apples in a Woodford Halse garden this morning and at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh estate there were seven Redpolls with a Siskin nearby at Kelmarsh Hall. Two Grey Wagtails were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

At Pitsford Reservoir it seemed very quiet around the dam area this afternoon with just an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a Grey Wagtail of any note. In comparison to Stanford there was just one Great Black-backed Gull in the roost!

Regards

Neil M

Grey Wagtail courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Reed Buntings at Stortons Pits
today courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Barn Owl caught, ringed and
 released on the Courteenhall
Estate today, an estate that has
created Wildlife Conservation
 Areas where there once used
 to be pheasant shooting.

 Images courtesy of
Chris Payne.

Pitsford WebS count.

Hello

After an extremely windy night, today dawned fair and pleasant which was useful for the Pitsford Reservoir WebS count!

The Great Northern Diver wasn't seen today but other birds located included a drake Smew just off the causeway car park, a female Red-crested Pochard was in the Catwalk Bay and the first year drake Scaup was off the Old Scaldwell Road. Other birds included two pairs of Stonechats, two Jack Snipe, seventy-three Common Snipe, three Grey Wagtails, two Ravens, about thirteen Siskins, six Redpolls, a Chiffchaff and an adult Caspian Gull flew through going north.

A Barn Owl and a Woodcock were the only birds of note at Harrington Airfield this afternoon.

Three Waxwings were found today visiting a garden in Kings Sutton in the south of the county but seemingly flew off at about 1.15pm.

Two Cattle Egrets were still in the grounds of Stanford Hall today (medieval village site) and Stanford Reservoir hosted a first winter Mediterranean Gull, an adult Caspian Gull and ten Goosanders.

A Marsh Harrier flew north-east through Stanwick Pits this afternoon and the Common Scoter couldn't be seen at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this morning. Four Stonechats were at Upton Country Park today.

Regards

Neil M

Goldcrest.

Little Egret.

Stonechats.

Above images courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

The drake Smew at
Pitsford Reservoir today.

Great Northern Diver on the move?

 Hello

A wet middle of the day but okay again by mid-afternoon and still fairly mild for the time of the year.

Two Cattle Egrets were again at Stanford Hall today with a Brambling noted at the nearby Stanford Reservoir where the ringers processed sixty-seven birds which included an excellent forty-nine Redwings.

At Summer Leys LNR today there were one or two Marsh Harrier(s), three Great White Egrets and a pair of Stonechats. 

The female/immature Common Scoter was still at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this morning and at Pitsford Reservoir the Great Northern Diver was present between the dam and the Moulton Grange Bay early in the afternoon. Later in the afternoon there were large numbers of water craft on the water at the south end of the reservoir and the Great Northern Diver was both vocal and mobile and was last seen flying high to the north over the causeway. Time will tell if it has actually gone.

Other birds at Pitsford Reservoir included a Chiffchaff just south of the causeway plus an adult and a third winter Yellow-legged Gull around the mouth of the Catwalk Bay.

A Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and a Grey Wagtail was in the village.

Regards

Neil M

Another victim of fishing line
caught up in waterside vegetation,
this Magpie stood no chance with the
sheer amount of killing nylon all 
over the trees at Boddington Reservoir.

Drake Goldeneye at
Pitsford Reservoir today.

Egrets, a scoter and some Smew

Hello

Yet another drenching today began before 5am and kept on for the majority of the morning, but with a dryer and brighter afternoon. The temperature has gone up and the wind strength has too!

Not surprisingly there were few reports of sightings this morning but a few things were seen during the afternoon.

At Stanford Reservoir there was a Great White Egret and a Little Egret and nearby there were two Cattle Egrets in the grounds of Stanford Hall.

The female/immature Common Scoter remained off the dam at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon a drake Smew was with a few Goldeneye just south of the Old Scaldwell Road and in the bay between the Maytrees and Bird Club hides there was a 'redhead' Smew consorting with approximately fifty Goldeneye and rafts of Tufted Ducks.

Six Redpoll, a Siskin and a Grey Wagtail were near to New Covert on the Kelmarsh Estate.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Smew courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

'Redhead' Smew courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Cattle Egret courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Lapwing courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Gulls, thrushes and Ravens

Hello

A thoroughly miserable day's weather yesterday (Thursday) made for difficult birding conditions. A Great White Egret was noted at Stanford Reservoir and the juvenile Great Northern Diver and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were north of the dam at Pitsford Reservoir in the afternoon.

Today (Friday) and there were two Ravens at Hanging Houghton and still hundreds of winter thrushes at Harrington Airfield plus a Redpoll with a Siskin in Scaldwell village.

Birds at Borough Hill Country Park, Daventry this afternoon included two Ravens, two Redpoll and a pair of Stonechat and there were still four Stonechats at Upton Country Park plus the Barnacle Goose and a few Ravens.

A Little Gull at Lilbourne near to the DIRFT complex was a good winter record and the gull roost at Boddington Reservoir contained an adult Caspian Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull with other birds there being five Goosanders, a Kingfisher, two vocal but unseen Water Rails and a Grey Wagtail.

The Common Scoter was again near the dam at Ravensthorpe Reservoir and rather static birds at Hollowell Reservoir included the Pink-footed Goose, two adult Caspian Gulls, the pair of Mandarin Ducks and four Stonechats.

A Pintail and a pair of Stonechats were noted in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir today and Stanwick Pits hosted six Cattle Egrets and five Redshanks. Another Cattle Egret was seen at Wicksteed Water Meadows Nature Reserve this morning.

At Stanford Reservoir there was a first winter Mediterranean Gull in the gull roost plus a Great White Egret and two Goosanders and the ringers processed sixty-seven Redwings, twelve Blackbirds, five Fieldfares and two Chiffchaffs during a ringing session there.

Some ringing recoveries associated with Northants Ringing Group activities are as follows:-

1. A second year Mute Swan ringed at Linford Lakes on 27th August 2022 was seen at Furzton Lake, Milton Keynes just 10km away on 23rd October 2023, 422 days elapsing between the two records;

2. A first year female Sparrowhawk was ringed at Harrington Airfield on 10th September 2023 and unfortunately then found freshly dead at Earls Barton on or about 11th November, 62 days later and 19km in a SSE direction from where originally ringed;

3. A first year male Goldfinch was ringed at Cropwell Bishop, Nottinghamshire on 19th October 2023 and caught again at Greens Norton on 11th November, 23 days later and having travelled 84km in a southerly direction;

4. A Blue Tit ringed as a nestling in a nest box at Stortons Pits, Northampton on 6th May 2022 turned up in a mist net at Stanford Reservoir on 22nd October 2023, 24km away and 534 days later;

5. A juvenile male Blackcap was ringed at Wilstone Reservoir, Tring, Hertfordshire on 3rd September 2023 and was caught again at Pitsford Reservoir on 10th October, 37 days later and having travelled 61km north;

6. A belated report of an adult Reed Warbler first ringed at Noyant, Soulaire-et-Bourg, Maine-et-Loire, France on 14th August 2017 was caught again at Stortons Pits on 14th July 2019 when judged to be an adult female and probably breeding on-site. Some 699 days had elapsed between the two records with Stortons Pits being 522km north of the original ringing site;

7. A first year Chiffchaff ringed at Big Waters, Seaton Burn, Tyne & Wear on 11th September 2023 was caught again at Linford Lakes, Milton Keynes on 7th October having travelled 335km south in 26 days;

8. An adult female Green Woodpecker was ringed at Brixworth on 19th July 2019 and found injured with collision injuries from which it did not survive at Brixworth on about 27th June this year, 1439 days after being first ringed.

Regards

Neil M

Raven.

Kestrel.

Lapwing.

Red-crested Pochards.

All images courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Cold winter birding

Hello

A cold night and day ensured there were plenty of birds on the garden feeders and on the feeders at the outlying feeding stations dotted around locally.

The female/immature Common Scoter was again at Ravensthorpe Reservoir today, it's tempting to think it's the bird originally at Pitsford.

At Hollowell Reservoir today there was a Pink-footed Goose, the female Ruddy Shelduck, two adult Caspian Gulls, a pair of Mandarin Ducks, six Stonechats and excellent counts of 347 Teal and 405 Mallard.

A Blackcap was noted at Bucknell Woods and at Pitsford Reservoir there were two Yellow-legged Gulls (adult and first year), three Red-crested Pochard (two drakes), four Common Snipe and two Bramblings at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station. Twenty Redpolls were in Scaldwell village gardens and a Siskin was at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate with at least one Redpoll at Hanging Houghton.

Four Smew were at Eyebrook Reservoir today (one adult drake).

I have just returned from a five day Naturetrek tour to the Camargue in search of Wallcreepers and other wildlife of the region. We only saw one Wallcreeper but it provided very good sustained views and the other birds were excellent including Moustached Warbler, Penduline Tits, Eurasian Eagle Owl and plenty more. Some images from the trip are on the page/tab Wallcreepers & the Camargue Nov/Dec 2023.

Regards

Neil M

Great Black-backed Gull.

Sparrowhawk courtesy of
John Tilly.

Male Chaffinch in winter
plumage courtesy of Claire
Nuttall.

Wet today, cold tomorrow

Hello

A wet night and morning with some reprieve this afternoon but a cold night ahead of us.

Two Redpoll, four Ravens and a Grey Wagtail were in the vicinity of New Covert, Kelmarsh this morning. A Barn Owl and a Woodcock were at Harrington Airfield today with a flock of twenty-five Wigeon and two Woodcock located at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this afternoon.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker caught in Scaldwell village today was first ringed at nearby Pitsford Reservoir seven and a half years ago, a very good age for this species.

A female/immature Common Scoter was at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this afternoon, visible off the east end of the dam.

Two Egyptian Geese were at The Embankment, Wellingborough yesterday afternoon and today ten Goosanders were on the main lake at Abington Park, Northampton at lunchtime.

At Pitsford Reservoir the juvenile Great Northern Diver was off the dam this afternoon and was repeatedly calling, a sound rarely heard locally. Other birds included two Yellow-legged Gulls (an adult and a first year), a Grey Wagtail and at least one Siskin.

Regards

Neil M

Great Northern Diver
at Pitsford Reservoir today.

Stonechats.

Reed Bunting.

Above four images
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

More of the same !!

Well the weather might have changed but the birds have not and the long stayers remain.  The Great Northern Diver and female type Common Scotor can still be  found between the dam and pines at Pitsford Reservoir.  Close by at Hollowell Reservoir the Pink Footed Goose,  Stonechats,  Caspian and Yellow Legged Gull can be found.       Two Glossy Ibis and several Cattle Egrets appear settled at Stanwick GP although today there was a sighting of a single Glossy Ibis at Summer Leys.  I'm not sure whether it is a 3rd bird which would be pretty amazing or one of the Stanwick birds having a fly round the Nene Valley.                 Other birds of note around are 3 Red Crested Pochards in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir and 4 Stonechats and a Barnacle Goose at Upton Country Park.                                       There are several Stonechats at Summer Leys which are showing well and delighting the photographers.  Some amazing pictures of them on social media.  Just across the county boundary in Market Harborough the Otters have been seen and filmed swimming and playing in the river in the middle of the town.  Well worth a slow walk along the river if you visit Market Harborough,  although of course with wildlife nothing is guaranteed. 

I have been out and about around Blueberry and Harrington Airfield and I've just bumped into the same 2 Woodcocks and hundreds of Redwings/Fieldfares.   

Hopefully with more folk being able to get out and about over the weekend a few different birds may be found. Birding can be difficult at this time of year with less hours of daylight and family commitments in the run up to Christmas.    But enjoy your time out birding whether it be 10 minutes or 2 hours, but please remember to feed and water the birds now that the weather is decidedly wintery. 

Regards Eleanor 

International travels of a Redwing.

Hello

A cold but sunny day with little new found in the county today.

At Pitsford Reservoir both the Great Northern Diver and the Common Scoter were north of the dam this morning with a Grey Wagtail north of the causeway.

At Stanwick Pits today the two Glossy Ibis were braving the cold temperatures as were two Cattle Egrets, nine Goosanders and a Pintail. Summer Leys LNR hosted two Stonechats, a Siskin and a hundred Golden Plovers. A Goosander was at Kinewell Lake, Ringstead Pits

At Eyebrook Reservoir the Smew number went up again with five birds present including three drakes.

Two Woodcock were seen at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and a Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. A Brambling flew over Scotland Wood, Kelmarsh this morning and a Siskin was at New Covert.

A first year Redwing mist-netted at Harrington Airfield on 17th November was bearing a Dutch-scheme ring and was first ringed in Holland on 17th October 2023. In thirty-one days this migrant thrush had travelled a minimum of 487km from Reddingsweg, Schiermonnikoog, Holland in a SSW direction to reach the hawthorn bushes at Harrington.

Regards

Neil M

Stonechat.

Song Thrush.

Blue Tit.

Wren.

All above images taken at
Summer Leys LNR today
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

The Dutch-ringed Redwing
at Harrington Airfield courtesy
of Jane Neill.

A basic map depicting
the two locations where
the Redwing was initially
 ringed and then re-captured.

Birding the north of the county

Hello

In stark contrast to yesterday it was a sunny, bright day with plenty of sun although it seemed very cold once the sun went down!

Eleanor had a day out to the north of the county starting with a long run around the Fineshade Wood complex with her collies and hound, then a walk around Top Lodge. Then it was over to Wakerley Wood on the opposite side of the A43 where she walked around the car park and pretty much the whole complex to the south. Then it was a quick revisit to Top Lodge to re-check for Waxwings before moving on to Blatherwycke and Deene Lakes. The last part of her day out was to check the Welland Valley and finish at East Carlton Country Park.

The Fineshade Wood complex including Westhay Wood hosted plenty of birds with about fifty Siskins, nine Bramblings, eight Crossbills, about eight Redpolls, a Chiffchaff, a Woodcock, two Ravens and a fly-through male Merlin. Again there was no sign of the Waxwings.

At Wakerley there were about ten Crossbills in the larches in the car park with a flock of at least twenty-five Bramblings feeding on beech mast deep in the south part of the wood. A few Siskins were there too but it was much quieter than Fineshade.

At Blatherwycke Lake there were at least forty-eight active Mandarin Ducks, two Egyptian Geese, a Black Swan, two Kingfishers, two Little Egrets and a Green Sandpiper. A mostly drained Deene Lake hosted a Shelduck, three Black Swans, two Green Sandpipers and a pair of Stonechat. A Peregrine was at Harringworth Viaduct in the Welland Valley and there were two Grey Wagtails at East Carlton Country Park.

Stanwick Pits was the continued venue for two Glossy Ibis, six Cattle Egrets, eight Goosanders, a Grey Plover over, thirty Golden Plovers and four Stonechats and a Marsh Harrier was at Summer Leys LNR.

Harrington Airfield was still full of Fieldfares and Redwings today and the only other birds of note included a single Siskin and two Ravens.

Hollowell Reservoir attracted a Pink-footed Goose, a pair of Mandarin Ducks, one hundred and nineteen Cormorants, a Green Sandpiper, two adult Caspian Gulls and two adult Yellow-legged Gulls. Three Smew (two adult drakes) were at Eyebrook Reservoir today.

At Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon birds north of the dam included the Great Northern Diver and female/immature Common Scoter still, a mobile first year drake Scaup, an adult Caspian Gull and singles of Redpoll and Siskin.

Regards

Neil M

Muntjac.

Dunnock.

Blackbird.

Above images courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Great Crested Grebe.

Great Black-backed Gull.

First year drake Scaup (distant)!

Water Rail colour ring project

Hello

A thoroughly miserable, wet and cold day but our wildlife still has to cope out there!

This month sees the start of a colour-ringing programme of Water Rails in the Nene Valley with the first four birds now having colour rings on their legs. Although not a bird regularly seen out in the open for long, there are places in the Nene Valley where it is possible to obtain reasonable views of these secretive birds. 

The key purpose of this project is to enable recognition of individual birds using cameras or observer sightings with a view to determining movements around sites, monitor nesting behaviour and to perhaps discover post-breeding dispersal, without the need to trap them again. Being so secretive, very little is known about Water Rails during the breeding season, and hopefully this project will shed some light on their behaviour and requirements.

The birds are initially trapped, aged where possible and their gender established with the measurement of tarsus, bill and wing. Each bird is affixed with a metal ring and a colour ring with a number, a white coloured ring denotes a male and yellow a female.

This project will initially run for three years with  birds being trapped and marked during this time and is managed by members of the Northants Ringing Group. Anyone seeing a Water Rail so marked is asked to photograph and report it.

A few stoic observers out there today reported the two Glossy Ibis still at Stanwick Pits and a Bewick's Swan was photographed at Summer Leys LNR this morning. Birds in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today included hundreds of Fieldfares, a Great White Egret standing in a field and just two Common Snipe at nearby Blueberry Farm. A quick visit to Fineshade Top Lodge in the rain this afternoon to check on the whitebeam and rowan trees failed to locate any Waxwings (a flock of 47 reported yesterday there).

Regards

Neil M

Water Rails courtesy
of Chris Payne.