Lingering Siskins

Hello

A pleasant spring morning even if a little cool first thing, then a cloudier afternoon and rain this evening. Chiffchaffs have now moved into the county in plentiful numbers with birds being seen and heard in a variety of locations.

Evidence that at least some of the Siskins from this spring's influx are still with us and that many are lingering where there is a qualitative food supply before moving on again.

At Kelmarsh Hall today some ringing assessment and training resulted in one hundred and seven birds being processed, sixty-seven of them being re-trapped birds with forty newly-ringed. Of five Siskins processed, two of them were re-traps from previous sessions locally. Of fifteen Goldfinches processed, ten were re-traps from earlier in the year or the previous winter of 2022/2023. Of ten Chaffinches encountered only one was fit enough to be ringed, the remainder all suffering from the awful disease that affects their legs and feet, and these birds were released straightaway once extracted from mist nets. Two new male Nuthatches added some more style to the proceedings! A re-trapped male Great Spotted Woodpecker was initially ringed in March 2017 and so will be at least eight years old this year. It was also re-trapped at the same site in March and November 2021 suggesting Kelmarsh Hall is very much it's home! Two Ravens were noisy there today.

At Greens Norton today Chris Payne caught and processed thirty Goldfinches and six Siskins.

David enjoyed watching a male Brambling on his garden feeder at Spratton today and repeats of birds in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton included a Barn Owl, two Grey Wagtails and two Green Sandpipers. The lingering Peregrine remains at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and two Short-eared Owls remain on private land west of Lamport.

At Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon there was a Kingfisher in the Scaldwell Bay and an immature male Merlin arrived in the Walgrave Bay after pursuing a Pied Wagtail low over fields, then had a quick go at an unknown passerine at the boundary fence and then made a particularly sustained attack on a Sand Martin with the little hirundine being able to keep out of the way of the talons until the Merlin gave up and moved on. Two Sand Martins were also seen at the dam at Pitsford Reservoir in the morning.

At Ditchford Pits there was a Cattle Egret at Chester House Lake and a first year Caspian Gull was present at Summer Leys LNR this morning with a male Marsh Harrier at Quarry Walk.

Two Mealy Redpolls were still present with Lesser Redpolls at New Sandy Lane attenuation pond in Duston this morning with a belated report from yesterday of nine Waxwings in Northampton by the River Nene off the Southern Approach Retail Park south west of Smyths Toy Superstore.

Clifford Hill Pits today attracted three Shelduck, seven Goosanders and two Oystercatchers and a pair of Grey Partridges were seen in a field between Woodford village and the old A604 this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Male Siskin at Kelmarsh
Hall today courtesy of
Bethan Clyne.

Male Siskin at Greens Norton
today courtesy of Chris Payne.

Great Tit courtesy
of Bethan Clyne.

Kestrel courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Nene Valley birding

Hello

Very mild today but some short snappy showers kept me looking up!

During the spring the Nene Valley with its succession of gravel pits, wet meadows and remnant river system tends to dominate the county in providing the most interesting birds and the reservoirs (often with high water levels) struggle to compete.

An immature male Merlin was the best bird seen at Harrington Airfield this morning as it hunted over the top fields - the singing Skylarks well above it ignored it completely! Other birds included a flock of about one hundred and thirty-two Golden Plovers, a pair of Grey Partridge and a Raven. Two Green Sandpipers remain in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. The repetitive phrases of a singing Blackcap in the village sounds unlike a British breeder and reminds me of the birds I've heard singing in the Pyrenees and south France.

An Osprey and a 'redhead' Smew were at Eyebrook Reservoir today and five Sand Martins were feeding over the feeder stream end of Hollowell Reservoir.

Summer Leys LNR provided views of two Cattle Egrets, two Black-tailed Godwits, a Pintail and a fly-through Peregrine with a Little Ringed Plover and three Green Sandpipers at Earls Barton New Workings and a Barn Owl at Mary's Lake. Over at Ditchford Pits the female Ring-necked Duck was still at Higham Lake/Main Pit at lunchtime and a Marsh Harrier flew south west through Stanwick Pits early this morning.

Thrapston Pits including the Titchmarsh reserve held plenty of birds with initial sightings of a Ruff and two Redshanks and two Sand Martins on Titchmarsh by Nick and followed up by Eleanor who pretty much walked the whole complex in the afternoon with two adult Little Gulls on Town Lake, two Cattle Egrets with a mass of birds on flooded meadows between Thorpe Waterville and Aldwincle, four Great White Egrets, four Egyptian Geese, at least two Oystercatchers, four Cetti's Warblers and at least six Chiffchaffs.

Nine Waxwings were reported at Priors Hall Walk, Corby today in much the same place where birds were showing so well earlier in the year. A few Siskins were again at Scotland Wood and Kelmarsh Hall.

Regards

Neil M

Great Spotted Woodpecker
with a height advantage
 courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Common Buzzard courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Goldfinch courtesy
 of John Tilly.

Brown Hare at
Harrington Airfield.

The slow journey into Spring!

Hello

Mild temperatures and pleasant spring weather this morning with the odd light shower gave way to cloudier and wetter conditions this afternoon.

Brimstone butterflies and other insects were on show today and there was a Red Admiral butterfly on the wing in the Holcot Bay, Pitsford Reservoir. It is only in recent years that adult Red Admirals have been able to overwinter in the UK successfully.

At Pitsford Reservoir it remains pretty quiet with high water levels and the best birds noted north of the causeway only amounted to a Kingfisher, a Grey Wagtail, a singing Siskin and a couple of Chiffchaffs. A drake Mandarin Duck flew south over the dam this afternoon.

Birds still in situ in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton included the two Grey Wagtails, two Green Sandpipers and Chiffchaff with still the female Peregrine at Blueberry Farm near Maidwell. A singing Chiffchaff was in our Hanging Houghton garden today and a singing Blackcap was nearby.

A first winter Caspian Gull was at Daventry Country Park this morning and a Little Ringed Plover was on floodwater next to the canal at Braunston.

An adult Mediterranean Gull was at Stanwick Pits this morning and Summer Leys LNR attracted at least two Cattle Egrets, a Great White Egret, two Black-tailed Godwits, three Oystercatchers, at least five Redshanks, over sixty Golden Plovers, a Common Snipe, seven Siskins and a Lesser Redpoll. Yesterday there was a drake Red-crested Pochard, a Goosander, a Green Sandpiper and Shelduck at Quarry Walk.

A pair of Peregrines were in the Duston area of Northampton this morning and noticeable movers over the county in good numbers today included Common Gulls and Fieldfares.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Redpoll courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Goldfinch courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Great White Egrets
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Little Ringed Plover
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Chiffchaffs, finches and gulls on the move

Hello

A mild, dry and breezy day was welcome after all the rain!

Today and it was the turn of Clifford Hill Pits to shine with the 'redhead' Smew still present but also a Knot (a scarce wader at any time of the year), a Little Gull and a Kingfisher. The Ditchford Pits complex still retained the female Ring-necked Duck on the main pit and the drake Garganey on a flooded field next to Otter Lake on the Irhlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve. At Earls Barton Pits two Cattle Egrets were in a field next to Mary's Lake and two Black-tailed Godwits were with Golden Plovers on the Summer Leys reserve..

The gull roost at Stanford Reservoir accounted for eight hundred Common Gulls which have very much been on the move the last two days, plus a Caspian Gull.

A Cattle Egret was located at Wicksteed Park Lake this afternoon and at least one Mealy Redpoll was still at the attenuation pond off New Sandy Lane, Duston early this afternoon.

In the Brampton Valley today there were still two Bramblings with Goldfinches between Brixworth and Hanging Houghton and two Grey Wagtails and two Green Sandpipers in the valley below Hanging Houghton. The Peregrine was present for it's third day at nearby Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and two Short-eared Owls made a brief appearance west of the Brampton Valley Way below Lamport. A few incoming Chiffchaffs are present in a variety of locations as they begin to make their presence felt.

With two Ospreys back already at Rutland Water, the nest cam is in operation with a bird arrived at it's nest in Scotland way back on the 8th March so heads up for some of our local birds returning!

A modest ringing session at Kelmarsh Hall mostly just utilising a single mist net provided sixty-nine captures made up of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, six Great Tits, twenty-seven Blue Tits, a Long-tailed Tit, six Goldcrests, two Treecreepers, a Chaffinch, six Greenfinches, seven Siskins and twelve Goldfinches. Other birds present were two Ravens, a Chiffchaff and a Grey Wagtail.  

Regards

Neil M

Treecreeper at Kelmarsh
today courtesy of Jane
Neill.

  

Female and male Siskins
at Kelmarsh today courtesy
of Jane Neill.

Drake Tufted Duck.

Cob Mute Swan.

Spring migrants pushing through

Hello

Yesterday (Monday) and Ditchford Pits remained a focal point for interesting birds with the Garganey still on Otter Lake, Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows with a Marsh Harrier flying east there and the female Ring-necked Duck was on the main pit (also known as Higham Pit). A Cattle Egret was a little further west by Ditchford Lane and the container yard.

On the Earls Barton complex the Scaup was still on Grendon Lakes and two Black-tailed Godwits and a Ringed Plover and two Goosanders were at Summer Leys. The four White-fronted Geese re-appeared at Thrapston Pits, some of the time on Big Meadow on the Titchmarsh LNR and the usual Marsh Harrier was seen at Stanwick Pits.

A Grey Wagtail and a Raven were north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir and Siskins included a single on a Moulton garden feeder, thirty in Nether Heyford, large numbers on Sharon's garden feeders at Creaton, four at Harlestone Lake and small numbers at both Scotland Wood and Kelmarsh Hall.

A Brambling was in Hanging Houghton village and two Green Sandpipers were in the Brampton Valley below the village. A Peregrine was eating prey at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell in the afternoon and became very vocal when two Common Buzzards thought they would muscle in but then backed off! Birds seen at Stanford Reservoir included a Water Rail, two Oystercatchers, three Goosanders and three Siskins.

Some garden ringing near Overstone provided fifty-two captures with finches dominating including two Greenfinches, nineteen Goldfinches and five Siskins.

Some nocturnal surveying in the Brampton Valley last night in very calm conditions yielded four species of owl and quite a number of calling migrants the best of which were an early Whimbrel, a Black-tailed Godwit and at least one but probably a flock of Common Scoters. More typical fare included three fly-over Coots, two Moorhens, two Common Snipe, Lapwing, Teal, Grey Heron but interestingly no discernable passerines.

Today (Tuesday) and a wet morning with yet more rain but then milder temperatures.

A flock of sixteen Dark-bellied Brent Geese were seen at Clifford Hill Pits at 7am this morning but it seems they didn't linger. The 'redhead' Smew was still there this morning as was a Curlew and Oystercatchers.

At Summer Leys LNR a classic spring migrant turned up in the shape of a Sand Martin and other birds included two Cattle Egrets, a Marsh Harrier, four Great White Egrets, two Goosanders, fifteen Common Snipe, two Dunlin and three Black-tailed Godwits. A Green Sandpiper was at Quarry Walk. Stanwick Pits continues to attract it's own Marsh Harrier, ten Goosanders, eight Redshanks and three Ringed Plovers. A Goosander was at Stortons Pits today.

A Cattle Egret and two Kingfishers were present at Rushden Lakes, Ditchford Pits, two Green Sandpipers remained in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and a/the Peregrine was at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell again this afternoon. A Blackcap was singing at Hanging Houghton and a Raven was near Lamport.

 At Harrington Airfield today there were one hundred and twenty Golden Plovers, three Common Snipe, two pairs of Grey Partridges, about seven hundred Starlings feeding on the fields and a Barn Owl.

At least one Smew was hanging on at Eyebrook Reservoir and Ian's Woodford Halse garden hosted a Mealy (Common) Redpoll and a female Blackcap.

Regards

Neil M

Greenfinch courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Winter plumage Linnet.

Goosander courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Cormorant in it's
striking spring plumage.

Siskin bonanza

Hello

Kenny Cramer and team returned to Linford Lakes on Saturday to complete some more ringing and in the hope of connecting with some more migrant finches. 

With a rather large team Kenny felt a little under pressure to ensure there were sufficient birds to ring and in addition to mist nets he deployed some traps too. He needn't have worried as there were plenty of birds to go around with one hundred and twenty-six captures of fifteen species, ninety-six of which were newly-ringed. And those gorgeous little yellow finches the Siskins dominated proceedings with seventy-five being caught and processed, sixty-eight of which were new, six of which were re-traps from the previous week-end and a bird bearing a ring from elsewhere.

This spring has seen a major movement of these stunning and charismatic finches with speculation that the inflated numbers may be continental birds. However we now have details of the bird found with a ring on already - it was a female first ringed in The Highlands in Scotland on 23rd May 2023 - and this ringing date and location suggests it is a breeding bird from Scotland rather than from elsewhere. So it seems that at least some of these yellow perils are Scottish birds simply moving up the country and raiding garden bird feeders along the way!

Kenny reported that there were plenty of other Siskins there that they didn't catch but other finches processed included a Lesser Redpoll, six Goldfinches, three Chaffinches and four Greenfinches.

Two Black-headed Gulls were caught in traps, adults not regularly caught and ringed locally. Other birds encountered included four Chiffchaffs, a Goldcrest, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Song Thrush and a Reed Bunting.

Other birds noted on-site included a Great White Egret, a Water Rail, Common Snipe and Oystercatcher.

Regards

Neil M

Map depicting the rough
location of the ringed Siskin
in May last year and the location
(Linford Lakes) where it was
subsequently encountered on
Saturday.

Courtesy of Nick Wood.

Siskins on the feeders
at Linford Lakes - Kenny
spoils them with sunflower
 hearts!

Black-headed Gull.

Images courtesy of
Kenny Cramer.

A wet Sunday

Hello

Sadly the weather forecast was accurate and today has been very wet. 

One of the birds of the moment is the Siskin and several were at Kelmarsh Hall today and a few were by the dam at Pitsford Reservoir where there was also a Grey Wagtail. Frank witnessed over twenty Siskins feeding on his garden silver birch at Nether Heyford and twenty were looking for food at the Summer Leys LNR Feeding Station. Two Redpolls were also with the Siskins at Summer Leys and the Redpoll flock remained at the Duston attenuation pond.

Sixty Yellowhammers and two Grey Partridges were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and our garden attracted lots of hungry birds which included singles of Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer.

At Stanford Reservoir there was no sign of the cracking Firecrest of yesterday but birds seen there included a Curlew, a Cetti's Warbler and a Kingfisher. The drake Garganey and three Black-tailed Godwits were still present on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve at Ditchford Pits this morning. The 'redhead' Smew and a Black-tailed Godwit were at Clifford Hill Pits and Summer Leys LNR attracted another Little Gull, three Great White Egrets, five Dunlin, over three hundred Golden Plovers, about fifteen Common Snipe and two Black-tailed Godwits.

The impressive Starling murmuration and roost was still present at Stortons Pits this afternoon/evening.

Regards

Neil M

Siskin courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

Muntjac courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Robin courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

One of the species that
is providing us with the
early spring dawn chorus
even if they have been
singing all winter!

Saturday spring birds

Hello

In the Nene Valley the Ring-necked Duck re-appeared on the main pit at Ditchford Pits today and the drake Scaup was present too with three Black-tailed Godwits on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve. The first year drake Scaup was also at Grendon Lakes, Earls Barton this morning and other birds on the complex included a mobile Marsh Harrier with two Black-tailed Godwits and three Dunlin on the Summer Leys LNR. The long staying 'redhead' Smew remained at Clifford Hill Pits and a Marsh Harrier and three Pintail were at Stanwick Pits.

At Stanford Reservoir the star bird was a Firecrest right on the Leicestershire/Northants border off the Welford Road car park and seen in both counties. Other birds included eight Pintail, a fly-over Dunlin and two Cetti's Warblers.

A female Merlin was in action at Harrington Airfield on the top fields today chasing down Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. Also present were at least two Bramblings, eight Grey Partridges, two Common Snipe and with twelve Siskins over. Two Bramblings and a singing Chiffchaff were along the Brampton Valley Way between Brixworth and Hanging Houghton and three Reed Buntings were in our Hanging Houghton garden briefly. Two Grey Wagtails were in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth.

A small flock of Redpolls and two Siskins were at the attenuation pond at Duston today with a report of the Mealy Redpoll being present early this morning. Three Woodcock were disturbed from a small copse east of Cottesbrooke this morning and Siskins were on the move wherever I was today with many attracted to the bud bursts on deciduous trees such as poplars.

Two drake Smew and a Little Gull were at Eyebrook Reservoir today...rain tomorrow!

Regards

Neil M

Common Buzzard courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Wren courtesy of
John Tilly.

Female Siskin courtesy
of John Tilly.

Rook.

Godwits on the move

Hello

Some local surveying close to home provided thirty Siskins at Drummerboy, Brixworth with seventy Common Snipe, a Woodcock, two Grey Wagtails, a Kingfisher and a fly-over Raven in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth village. Two Crossbills were briefly in woodland east of Creaton (plus a singing Chiffchaff) and a singing Grey Wagtail was at the village sewer works with over one hundred and fifty Redwings spread over the area. Two Green Sandpipers and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

An adult Yellow-legged Gull at Pitsford Reservoir today appeared to be paired with a Lesser Black-backed Gull and birds at Hollowell Reservoir included a second calendar year Mediterranean Gull, two adult Caspian Gulls and a Jack Snipe. An adult Mediterranean Gull was again in the Stanford Reservoir gull roost with the Goosander still present too. Five Smew and a Little Gull were at Eyebrook Reservoir today. Half a dozen Siskins were at a very quiet Sywell Country Park today.

Another Little Gull was reported at the unusual location of Wicksteed Park today and at Ditchford Pits the drake Scaup was seen on the main pit (but the female Ring-necked Duck wasn't seen) and the drake Garganey was still on Otter Lake on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadow reserve with five Black-tailed Godwits on the reserve too. Two Cattle Egrets and two Oystercatchers weren't far away on flood water east of The Embankment at Wellingborough.

A Scaup was still at Grendon Lakes at Earls Barton Pits and Summer Leys LNR attracted a Marsh Harrier, a Dunlin, a Redshank, a Pintail, a Great White Egret and a Black-tailed Godwit. Two Oystercatchers and a Shelduck were at Earls Barton quarry. Ten more Black-tailed Godwits were on floods off the A605 at Barnwell Lock and one flew over the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits. A Redshank and two Oystercatchers were at Clifford Hill Pits.

Following a number in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, Nigel found one or two Mealy Redpoll(s) with Lesser Redpolls at New Sandy Lane, Duston - the What3words location is reach.lung.shiny.

Regards

Neil M

Redshank and Common
Snipe at Summer Leys LNR.

Yesterday's Avocets at
Summer Leys LNR.

Redshank.

Above images courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Woodpigeon.

March migration

Hello

There has been evidence of early spring passage for a couple of weeks now and with a shift in wind direction and weather today it went up a gear. Pipits, Reed Buntings, winter thrushes, wagtails, finches and gulls have been on the move and gaining momentum as we push in towards a new season but a couple of visitors to the county today helped emphasize the migration period.

An adult Little Gull was discovered at Summer Leys LNR today and subsequently three Avocets dropped in. Other birds on the reserve included four Great White Egrets, twenty Common Snipe, three Ruff and over a hundred Golden Plovers plus a Curlew flew through.

By early afternoon two more adult Little Gulls were on the Main Lake at Stanwick Pits and by late afternoon two adult Little Gulls had made it to the Holcot Bay at Pitsford Reservoir. A Barn Owl was also seen somewhere on-site at Pitsford.

At Ditchford Pits today the female Ring-necked Duck and drake Scaup were on the main pit between Higham Ferrers and Irthlingborough, a Curlew flew through and a small flock of Siskins and Redpoll and a singing Blackcap were at the end of Wharf Road, Higham Ferrers by the access point to the pits complex. This afternoon seven Cattle Egrets were in flooded fields off Ditchford Lane near to the container yard and earlier two had been at nearby Rushden Lakes. The drake Garganey was still on Otter Lake, Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows this morning.

At Hollowell Reservoir today there was an adult Caspian Gull, a Jack Snipe, a Stonechat, about a hundred Redwings and six Siskins. At Stanford Reservoir an adult Mediterranean Gull roosted and a Goosander was present.

About ninety Redwings were on fields immediately south of Harlestone Heath this morning with about ten Siskins in the plantations and a single Raven in Harlestone village. The garden influx of Siskins continues with two on a Moulton garden feeder, three in a Woodford Halse garden, two in a Brixworth garden, two more in a Mears Ashby garden (plus five Reed Buntings), six Siskins and eight Redpolls in a Grange Park, Northampton garden, a single in a Duston garden and an impressive thirty plus in Sharon's garden at Creaton!

Regards

Neil M

Little Gull at Summer Leys
LNR today courtesy of Neil
Hasdell.

Male Siskin courtesy
of John Tilly.

Female Siskin courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Muntjac enjoying a scratch
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Ringing at Linford Lakes

Hello

A male House Sparrow from
the ringing session the previous
week and only the second individual
of this species to be ringed at Linford.

Last Sunday (3rd March), Kenny Cramer and team completed some more ringing at Linford Lakes on the edge of Milton Keynes close to the Northants border. This followed a successful session the week before where migrating finches showed up attracted to the feeders. Kenny reports that on Sunday the session started cold with ice-locked nets and freezing fog and finished in spring-like sunshine with accompanying bumblebees and singing Chiffchaffs! 

Once the sun burned through the cold fog and the temperatures rose the birds began to move around and the catch went up after a very slow start with one hundred and nine captures of eighteen species, of which sixty-three birds were newly-ringed.

Again the finches provided the colour and variety with fourteen Goldfinches processed plus eight Greenfinches, a Chaffinch, three Lesser Redpolls and an excellent total of twenty Siskins. Winter thrushes are difficult to catch at this time of the year but three Redwings were duly caught and processed as were six Blackbirds. Other birds included two Chiffchaffs, two Cetti's Warblers, a Treecreeper, a Great Spotted Woodpecker and two Reed Buntings.

Other birds noted on-site included a Water Rail, four Oystercatchers and three Great White Egrets.

Regards

Neil M

Stunning rainbow captured on
Saturday 2nd March during the 
course of setting up the site for
the ringing the following day.

Reed Bunting.

Male Lesser Redpoll.

Female Chaffinch.

All images courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

Early March sightings

Hello

An interesting trio of ducks at Ditchford Pits today included the drake Garganey still at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows and a drake Scaup and a female Ring-necked Duck on the main lake of the complex.

A Hawfinch was reported in flight over Islip Working Men's Club at lunchtime today and at Stanwick Pits a Bittern was seen in flight over the lake at the western end of the site which then landed in reeds early afternoon.

Birds at Summer Leys LNR today included five Great White Egrets, at least eighteen Common Snipe, about three hundred Golden Plovers, eight Redshanks and four Oystercatchers. Three Oystercatchers were also at Hardwater Lake opposite Summer Leys.

A pair of Peregrines are in residence at Higham Ferrers church at this time and a live-link camera is now available to view.

This morning four Short-eared Owls and two Barn Owls were encountered in a field on Lamport Hall Estate with no public access, the field acting as a day-time roost site for the Short-eareds. Grey Partridges were heard calling at Blueberry Farm this morning and eight were located at Harrington Airfield this afternoon.

A Raven was over the Kelmarsh estate, at least one Siskin was at Kelmarsh Hall and at least two Siskins and a Woodcock were noted at Scotland Wood. At Pitsford Reservoir two female Bramblings were at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station  and a possible Jack Snipe and thirty to forty Common Snipe were present too.

The video below is a clip of the exodus of Starlings from the Stortons Pits roost at 6.20am this morning courtesy of Graham Bentley.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Redpoll courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Female Brambling at 
Pitsford Reservoir today
courtesy of Neil Hasdell.

A brief encounter with White Fronted Geese

Yesterday Nick Parker found 4 Adult White Fronted Geese over at Titchmarsh NR where they remained for a couple of hours before disappearing.   A great rewarding find for Nick who regularly visits this site.                                                The drake Garganey was again at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows plus  a Black Tailed Godwit.  Cattle Egrets were present near Aldwinkle and Ditchford Lane.                   Away from the Nene Valley,  an adult Mediterranean Gull and Stonechats at Hollowell Reservoir and pr Stonechats,  2 Green Sandpipers and Barn Owl below Hanging Houghton. 

Today most of the news is  from the Nene Valley.  At Clifford Hill 2 Oystercatchers and a Red head Smew, 3 Great White Egrets,  2 Dunlin and 8 Redshank at Summer Leys, drake Scaup and female Ring Necked Duck on the main lake at Ditchford and Marsh Harrier at Stanwick GP. 

It's not too late to catch the fabulous mesmerising spectacle of the Starling murmuration.  Still huge numbers gathering at Summer Leys and Stortons GP. Well worth a trip out at about 17.00hrs-18.00hrs.

Tomorrow evening at 19.30hrs the Northamptonshire Bird Club will be meeting at the Lodge, Pitsford Water.  It is the AGM but don't be put off as the business part of the meeting is a short affair.  This will be followed by a talk from local naturalist John Friendship-Taylor on the virtues of " local patch birding".  I'm sure that this will be a very interesting talk and one that strikes a chord with many of us who regularly watch/visit the same area.      A local patch can be any type of habitat but it is quite enlightening to watch the same area during the year and monitor the changes in the wildlife which may be due to the weather or land management.  I suppose that my local patch is  split between Blueberry and Harrington Airfield.  I know that Mark watches Hollowell Reservoir,  Nigel the attenuation pond at Duston where currently there are 20+ Redpolls, Steve at Stanwick,  Nick at Titchmarsh and the many more stalwarts in the county watching "their patch". 

Regards Eleanor 

A Sparse Weekend!!

It has been a quiet weekend in the county with birds seemingly playing hide and seek. The Green Winged Teal remains at Stanwick GP tucked away on the back pools viewed from the tree house hide. Just down the road at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows the drake Garganey has been elusive at times hiding away on Dragonfly Lake and Otter Lake.  Also in the Nene Valley several Cattle Egrets at Ditchford Lane and Summer Leys,  plus drake Scaup at Grendon Lakes.                                                                  Several Short Eared Owls remain around the Blueberry complex but these too are becoming more elusive and it can be quite dark before they show.

Whilst some birds have been difficult others have been quite obvious.  Lots of sightings of Blackcaps,  Siskins and Redpolls in gardens.  We have had several Reed Buntings and a Yellowhammer today visiting.  Whilst out topping up the feeding stations at Kelmarsh I had the company of several Bramblings,  Siskins and a Woodcock.                           Whilst out and about today I came across so many signs of Spring,  colourful Coltsfoot,  Celandines,  Violets and Daisies plus new shoots and blossom on the seemingly bare hedgerows.  I'm just hoping for a lengthy period of dry weather to give the saturated ground time to recover,  meaning an end to wet muddy dogs.

Regards Eleanor 

Garden birding

Hello

Another particularly wet morning didn't stop the Green-winged Teal being spotted at Stanwick Pits first thing although it wasn't seen when searched for later.

Two Short-eared Owls were on the edge of the Blueberry Farm complex this morning and one was seen this afternoon. The two Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton where there were also two Green Sandpipers and two Grey Wagtails. This afternoon a female Merlin and another pair of Stonechats were seen from the footpath leading from Hanging Houghton to Scaldwell. A male Siskin was in our Hanging Houghton garden this morning where there was also an influx of up to a dozen Greenfinches. Yesterday two Blackcaps and two Siskins fed in a Weston Favell garden.

Birds at Summer Leys LNR today included two Cattle Egrets, a showy Barn Owl, three Great White Egrets and  six Common Snipe.

Regards

Neil M

Garden birds courtesy of
Dave Jackson with a male and
female Blackcap and male and
female Siskin as photographed
yesterday.

The below videos depict the 
impressive Starling murmuration
yesterday evening at Stortons
Pits courtesy of Graham Bentley
and also a short clip from an owl
box courtesy of Suzy Boys with a
Tawny Owl taking out a Barn Owl.