Birds of a wet and mild December day

Hello

Steady rain for most of the night and the morning was hitting already drenched ground but as it was relatively light there seems to be little in the way of flooding. However Pitsford Reservoir is at full capacity and further rain will ensure the spillway will soon be in action.

The Great Northern Diver was at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon but the small gull roost failed to attract a gull of note. A male Merlin was probably attracted to some Linnets feeding on the wild bird plots on Lamport Hall land between Hanging Houghton and Scaldwell villages this afternoon and a pair of Stonechats were present too.

Blackcaps were reported from a couple of gardens in the county today and a Grey Wagtail and a Siskin were near Kelmarsh this afternoon.

This afternoon a Hen Harrier was seen again around Neville's Lodge south of Finedon off the A6 and a small flock of about five or six Siskins were in Mears Ashby village.

The Cattle Egret was at Wicksteed Park Water Meadows LNR again this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Chiffchaff courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Starling courtesy of
John Tilly.

Woodpigeon courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Red Kite.

Ditchford WebS count

Hello

Some initial light but persistent showers put a bit of a dampener on the early hours of the WeBs count at Ditchford Pits today. Birds west of Ditchford Lane included a female Merlin briefly, a Great White Egret in flight, a Little Egret, a Grey Wagtail, a pair of Stonechats, a Siskin, three Cetti's Warblers and a Chiffchaff. Birds east of Ditchford Lane included a Great White Egret, two Little Egrets, a Jack Snipe, eleven Common Snipe, a Water Rail, three Goosanders, just one Cetti's Warbler, a Chiffchaff, at least one Siskin, two Grey Wagtails and another pair of Stonechats. A Marsh Harrier was seen at the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve a little further east this morning. 

En-route to complete the count a single Cattle Egret flew over the A45 by Whitworths on the edge of Wellingborough this morning.

Staying east of Wellingborough, we visited the area around Neville's Lodge between Finedon and Irthlingborough and east of the old Sidegate Lane Landfill site and spent a couple of hours here in company with local guru Steve Fisher. A female Hen Harrier showed particularly well, particularly to David Sharp with it practically right in front of him! A second bird was seen briefly actually over the more distant landfill area. Some thirty Golden Plovers, a male Peregrine and about eight Grey Partridges were here too.

At Earls Barton Pits today a Peregrine was seen over Mary's Lake and there were four Goosanders on Summer Leys LNR. The juvenile Great Northern Diver was again reported at Pitsford Reservoir, this time in the Pintail Bay at about noon. The Cattle Egret remained at Wicksteed Park Water Meadows this morning and there were as many as seven Smew (five drakes) at Eyebrook Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Reed Bunting courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Magpie courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Buck Muntjac courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

A quiet Sunday

Hello

Another rather dull and breezy day with odd periods of brightness on a generally mild day.

A visit to Pitsford Reservoir this morning successfully located the unidentified diver from yesterday and confirmed it as a Great Northern Diver. This bird is a juvenile, the same age as the last bird on the reservoir, whether it is the same returning bird or another I'm afraid I don't know! An adult Yellow-legged Gull was present mid-morning and this afternoon there were two first year Yellow-legged Gulls present before they flew south plus a Kingfisher and the first year drake Scaup also this afternoon. All these birds were in the vicinity of the dam.

A 'ringtail' Hen Harrier was seen on the east side of the old Sidegate Lane Landfill site this afternoon and later nearer Neville's Lodge between Finedon and Wellingborough off the A6.

A Kingfisher showed well at Abington Park, Northampton today and five Grey Partridges were the best on offer at Harrington Airfield late morning.

Two Goosanders were at Kinewell Lake, Ringstead Pits today where there was also a a Pintail and a Great White Egret with two Great White Egrets and five Egyptian Geese in the Nene Valley near Woodford.

The Upper Thames Curlew Recovery Project have provided a film highlighting the work to try and stabilise breeding Curlews in lowland river valleys and this can be seen by clicking the below link.

The second link provides an opportunity to donate to the project as there is a need to educate, provide equipment and record the project outcomes of the work completed. Critical engagement with farmers and other landowners requires funding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6nL4ZI2cac

https://app.donorfy.com/donate/41MQ0BR8G5/UpperThamesCurlewRecovery

Regards

Neil M

Drake and female Goldeneye
at Pitsford Reservoir today.

A Red Kite against
a very dull sky
 just drains the warm
colours of the plumage!

Eventful ringing sessions

Hello

A mild and dull day with a brisk breeze at times.

Some ringing at Stanwick Pits yesterday (Friday) resulted in a mixture of birds and included a female Sparrowhawk. Some more bird ringing took place at Stortons Pits resulted in nearly a hundred birds being caught and processed which included large numbers of Blue and Great Tits but also a Great Spotted Woodpecker, three Goldfinches, seven Reed Buntings, six Robins, a Blackbird and two Water Rails.

Today (Saturday) and a ringing session at Linford Lakes yielded an excellent thirty-five Redwings, six Fieldfares, seven Chiffchaffs including an apparent Siberian Chiffchaff, four Goldcrests, a Song Thrush and a Blackbird. Other birds noted on-site included a Woodcock, a Great White Egret, a flock of Siskins and a flock of over a hundred Lapwings.

We still have several Hedgehogs coming for food each night, and were still coming when it was much colder.

The two Cattle Egrets were still in the vicinity of Stanford Hall today, at one stage at SP593791 before roosting in riverside trees. At Stanford Reservoir today the gull roost contained a first winter Mediterranean Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and 147 Great Black-backed Gulls. Three Great White Egrets were seen in flight at dusk and two drake Goosanders were present too.

Stanwick Pits again hosted seven Cattle Egrets on Roadside Pit and four Redshanks were present too. An injured Barn Owl found there sadly died from it's injuries.

Two 'ringtail' Hen Harriers around Neville's Lodge (off the A6 between Finedon and Wellingborough) this afternoon were good records with some five hundred Fieldfares noted in the general area.

A Great White Egret and a pair of Stonechats were at Summer Leys LNR and twenty-five Siskins were at Kelmarsh Hall.

At Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon there was a Woodcock, two Siskins and a Redpoll at Christies Copse, a Great White Egret was in the Walgrave Bay and at the south end of the reservoir an unidentified diver was seen briefly swimming in to The Narrows, a first winter drake Scaup was in the mouth of the Moulton Grange Bay, an adult Yellow-legged Gull was loafing in the general area and other birds included Ravens, a Kingfisher, a pre-roost gathering of sixty Linnets and a pair of Stonechats on the fence below the dam.

Regards

Neil M

Fieldfare.

Apparent Siberian Chiffchaff.

Images courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

Birds of mid-December

Hello

A relatively mild if dull day nevertheless stayed dry with a light breeze.

Two Ravens have been in the village here at Hanging Houghton for the last couple of days. Each year they have a long hard look at the conifers in the village for nesting but tend to opt for a large cedar in Lamport village instead.

A ringing session at Harrington Airfield aimed at migrant thrushes caused the capture and processing of four Fieldfares, a Song Thrush and seventeen Redwings, only a fraction of the birds still inhabiting the berry bushes there. Bonus birds were a Green Woodpecker, a Goldcrest and several Blue Tits and a Great Tit. Fly-over birds included singles of Brambling, Siskin and Redpoll and three Ravens were particularly noisy. A Stoat was seen there too.

There was little of note to be seen north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir today with even higher and very brown water levels. A Chiffchaff was at the Old Scaldwell Road bushes and a Common Buzzard there was seen with a large Brown Rat this afternoon.

A drake Red-crested Pochard was noted at Clifford Hill Pits this morning, at the SW end of the main lake.

A 'ringtail' Hen Harrier was again seen in the Nene Valley between Irthlingborough and Wellingborough this afternoon and at Stanwick Pits there were seven Cattle Egrets on the Roadside Lake this morning.

Two more Cattle Egrets were in a field north of Home Farm near Stanford Hall and at Stanford Reservoir there were at least 1800 Common Gulls, about seventy Great Black-backed Gulls and two first winter Mediterranean Gulls in the gull roost. Fifteen Siskins were noted there too.

At Ravensthorpe Reservoir this morning there was an adult Caspian Gull and Siskin and Lesser Redpoll on-site. Nearby Hollowell Reservoir hosted a Jack Snipe, a Pink-footed Goose, an adult Caspian Gull and four Stonechats.

Four Woodcock and two Barn Owls were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Wigeon.

Goldcrest.

Pheasant.

All images from Pitsford
Reservoir today courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Female Green Woodpecker 
at Harrington Airfield today
 courtesy of Michelle Spinks.

Birds of a waterlogged county!

Hello

A much better day's weather today although we still have hordes of tits and other birds consuming everything in their path in the garden currently - they all seem very hungry!

Some ringing at Stanford Reservoir today accounted for 136 captures, mostly of Blue and Great Tits but also of six Chaffinches and other species too and Brambling were heard calling. The Stanford Ringing Group have so far ringed 13,423 new birds this year which is a record amount.

This afternoon at Harrington Airfield a Crossbill flew over heading west and a Peregrine was hunting over the old airfield a little later. Golden Plovers and Grey Partridges were heard calling. Tomorrow (Friday) there is a planned ringing session around the bunkers and scrubby areas which will restrict access to these areas. The footpath along the concrete track is unaffected.

The Cattle Egret remains in the area of Wicksteed Park Water Meadows and the Marsh Harrier was again around North Lake, Stanwick Pits today.

A Stonechat was noted at Kings Sutton station but there was no sign of the Waxwings in their favoured bush from a couple of days ago. A 'redhead' Smew was at Eyebrook Reservoir today.

A Barn Owl and a Green Sandpiper were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon and birds for the Blueberry Farm area near Maidwell included the trio of a Woodcock, a Jack Snipe and fifteen Common Snipe.

Regards

Neil M

Woodcock courtesy of
Cathy Ryden.

Jack Snipe.

Common Snipe.

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.