Some cold weather coming - and maybe snow!

Hello

Jacob's efforts at Pitsford Reservoir today provided him with sightings of just one Great White Egret, a Shelduck, 9 Pintail, a Ruff, 3 Redshank, at least 33 Golden Plovers (in flight), a Green Sandpiper, 2 Stonechats, a Grey Wagtail and a mobile adult Caspian Gull around the afternoon gull roost.

A Grey Wagtail and a single Lesser Redpoll were on view at Brixworth Water Treatment Works.

Birds in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon included two fly-through Curlews, about a hundred Golden Plovers and a Barn Owl.

A couple of ringing recoveries have been reported as follows:-

On 26th November 2017 Kenny and his team caught an adult male Blackbird bearing ring number LC11583 at Linford Lakes on the outskirts of Milton Keynes. It transpires that this bird was first ringed at Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory on the Lincolnshire coast way back on 21st October 2011 (2218 days before) when it was aged as a bird hatched that year. All this suggests that this bird originates from the continent and potentially has wintered successfully in the UK during the last six winters. No doubt this is a well-travelled bird and he has a few tales to tell!

On 25th August this year, the usual band of ringers operating at Stortons Pits on the outskirts of Northampton ringed a young female Cetti's Warbler. On 3rd December this bird turned up in a ringer's mist net 34km to the south-east in Bedfordshire at the Forest of Marston Vale. Although not a recognised true migrant, the number of recoveries of Cetti's Warblers emanating from Stortons in recent years indicates that successfully raised offspring from this reserve range widely around suitable sites in the UK.

Regards

Neil M

Male Blackbird.

Cetti's Warbler.
Image courtesy of
Chris Payne.

Blustery Wednesday

Hello

A calling Snow Bunting flushed up in the Brampton Valley at 7.45am this morning, from a 'scuffed' field between Hanging Houghton and Gamboro' Plantation.

A visit to Harrington Airfield at lunchtime provided only a handful of thrushes but three Hawfinches were in bushes by the third bunker and a Woodcock flushed up from between the second and third bunkers.

The reserve section of Pitsford Reservoir continued to provide a haven for two Great White Egrets and a 'redhead' Smew, these Pitsford sightings courtesy of Neil Hasdell.

Finally a Barn Owl was in roadside hedging this evening between Brixworth and Scaldwell villages.

Regards

Neil M

'Redhead' Smew.

Snow Bunting.

Ringing at Bradden

Hello

Chris Payne and Sam Betts spent much of the day ringing birds at Bradden today, processing 113 birds of 11 species made up of 50 Blue Tits, a Coal Tit, 15 Great Tits, a Blackbird, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 6 Dunnocks, a Wren, a Siskin, a Greenfinch, 8 Chaffinches and 28 Goldfinches. Birds in the immediate area included Raven.

Regards

Neil M

Male Siskin.

Portrait of a Woodcock.

Hello

Yesterday (Sunday) and John Woollett caught and ringed a female Blackcap in his Astcote garden. The bird was heavy and carrying fat so was presumably still on migration.

Today (Monday) and a solitary south-bound Hawfinch was the only bird of note at Harrington Airfield; the bushes were pretty-much devoid of the usual thrushes. A flock of (presumed migrant) Chaffinches on the outskirts of Old village numbered about a hundred birds and included a female Brambling.

A relatively short ringing session at Christies Copse in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning provided 75 captures which included a Goldcrest, 5 Long-tailed Tits, 35 Blue Tits, 6 Coal Tits, 16 Great Tits, a Willow Tit, 2 Robins, 5 Chaffinches and 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers. However star of the show was a stunning Woodcock flushed into a mist net, providing an excellent opportunity to study this sensational bird. At least seven of these birds were present on-site.

Birds noted included a Great White Egret and a pair of Ravens and a second Willow Tit was around the copse too. However there was some significant migration on-going all morning over the Walgrave Bay with a good passage of Bramblings heading west and constant flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares, a Siskin and a couple of Redpolls doing much the same thing. A single Hawfinch was going the same way at 10am but then pitched down in trees and bushes near to the copse (but wasn't seen again). At 1.40pm, as we were walking away, a vocal Snow Bunting flew over us heading south west but also dropping and may have landed in nearby fields.

Regards

Neil M

Adult male Great Spotted Woodpecker.

The Woodcock. A bird generally seen
in flight at dawn or dusk or flushed from
undergrowth during the day. It isn't often
you see one well enough to truly appreciate
these very special birds. Superbly camouflaged,
fast and strong flyers, and an amazing head shape
with the eyes high on the side of the head
provide for excellent all-round vision. Now a very
scarce breeding bird in the county, the vast
majority of the ones we see in the winter months
are from Russia and eastern and northern Europe.

Ringing at Kelmarsh Hall

Hello

Today was the first ringing session of the season at Kelmarsh Hall and a rise in the temperature made being out and about more comfortable than a couple of days ago! A small team of ringers managed to catch and process some 173 birds of 18 species. A Kingfisher is always a bonus bird and other birds included 7 Blackbirds some of which provided biometrics suggesting they were not local birds.

We also managed to catch and ring 2 Redwings and a Great Spotted Woodpecker and monitored 33 Great Tits, 69 Blue Tits, 4 Coal Tits, 3 Marsh Tits, 5 Nuthatches, 3 Dunnocks, 5 Robins, 3 Wrens, a single Goldcrest, 3 Greenfinches, 25 Goldfinches, a Siskin, 6 Chaffinches and a Grey Wagtail.

The Goldcrest was interesting, an adult male bird which was first ringed there in February 2015 when it was also aged as an adult male. Goldcrests rarely live longer than two years (the oldest known bird was only five years old), but this bird is at least four years old.

Other birds seen included a couple of Ravens, at least one other Grey Wagtail and thirty or so Siskins.

Three Little Egrets and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today and the Pitsford Reservoir gull roost provided views of an adult Mediterranean Gull and a third year Caspian Gull. A Barn Owl was also present at Staverton early this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Kingfisher.
Always a privilege!

Female Blackbird.

Female Siskin.

Northants Bird Club Meeting 6th Dec

Hello

On Wednesday 6th December it is the last 2017 indoor meeting of the Northants Bird Club at the usual venue of the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir.

Chris Ward, a professional presenter and regular visitor to the club will provide us with an insight into the birds and other wildlife of Australia. This will be Part One of a two part presentation with Chris returning in April 2018 to complete Part Two.

The meeting commences promptly at 7.30pm, hot drinks and biscuits are available and everyone is welcome!

Neil M

Grafton Regis birding

Hello

Some seasonal images from John Tilly of birds out and about near the canal at Grafton Regis...

Neil M

Robin.

Fieldfare.

Mistle Thrush.

Redwing.

Starlings.

More birds from the north

Hello

Clearly there were more migrants on the move again today, almost tempting to think it may be in response to the wintery weather in northern Britain. Large numbers of Redwings, Fieldfares and clearly new arrivals of Blackbirds and Song Thrushes were particularly evident at Harrington Airfield this morning and with lots of roadside Blackbirds elsewhere in NN6. Starlings and large gulls were also moving south west over the old airfield complex.

Jacob's efforts at Pitsford Reservoir today provided views of a Caspian Gull, a Shelduck, ten plus Pintail, two Great White Egrets, three Dunlin, four Redshank and a Woodcock He also committed to a little ringing at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station catching eleven species which included a Fieldfare, two Blackbirds, a Redwing, a Song Thrush and three Tree Sparrows. One of these Tree Sparrows bore a ring indicating that it is not a local bird but we will have to wait awhile to see where it came from.

Eric Graham's trip out to the Titchmarsh Reserve near Thrapston this afternoon yielded a Great White Egret, six Little Egrets and seven Redpolls.

Regards

Neil M

A Water Rail out in
the open, courtesy of
John Gamble.

Tree Sparrow, one of the
star small bird attractions
at Pitsford Reservoir.
Images courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Abington Park Goosanders

Hello

Birds were few and far between today with a couple of Ravens, several Siskins and a Grey Wagtail at Kelmarsh and a Raven between Maidwell and Lamport. Eleanor saw a Barn Owl hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Goosanders, two of a
group of twenty at Abington
Park, Northampton earlier this
week as photographed by John
Gamble.

Last of the November birds

Hello

Chris Payne and Sam Betts were ringing at Bradden today, catching 85 birds made up of 39 Blue Tits, 15 Great Tits, 2 Coal Tits, a Long-tailed Tit, 5 Chaffinches, 15 Goldfinches, 3 Robins, 2 Wrens, a Dunnock, a Blackbird and a Song Thrush. Interestingly a Hawfinch sat in the trees above them but elected not to enter the nets, at least not today!

Hawfinch at Bradden
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Jacob was at Pitsford Reservoir today and saw two Great White Egrets, a Yellow-legged Gull, a Shelduck, 21 Pintails, 5 Dunlin, a Grey Wagtail, a Nuthatch and 3 Siskins. He also saw 2 Ravens and a Woodcock at Moulton College, a Siskin and a Nuthatch at Scaldwell and a Barn Owl between Scaldwell and Brixworth.

Images of birds from the Scotland Wood ringing session

yesterday, courtesy of John Tilly (Wren, Great Spotted

Woodpecker, Nuthatch and Treecreeper).

        Neil M

Scotland Wood ringing

Hello

A ringing session took place at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate today netting 99 birds. This is the first time any ringing has been attempted at this location since last winter so it was good to process 40 previously ringed birds suggesting reasonable survival rates. Of these re-traps, one was a Blue Tit that was first ringed as a juvenile at Harrington Airfield on 13th June 2017 and two of the Coal Tits are at least four years old.

One Blue Tit carrying ring number X671142 was first ringed as an adult at Scotland Wood on 2nd October 2010 which means that this long-lived individual is at least eight years old - very old for a Blue Tit!

Fourteen species trapped were made up of a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 16 Goldcrests, a Wren, 2 Treecreepers, 5 Long-tailed Tits, 3 Dunnocks, 2 Robins, 19 Great Tits, 24 Blue Tits, 16 Coal Tits, 4 Marsh Tits, 4 Chaffinches, a Bullfinch and a Nuthatch.

Other birds noted included a Hawfinch briefly, several Siskins and probably three different Woodcocks. A male Brambling was at nearby Kelmarsh Hall this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Marsh Tit.
Image courtesy of
Chris Payne.

Blue Tits.

Coal Tit.

Still more Hawfinches!

Hello

No birding for me today but Eleanor was up at Harrington Airfield this morning and there were still plenty of thrushes depleting the berries. Three Hawfinches were all perched in bushes and consuming hawthorn berries, two not far from the chippings compound and a bright male by the second bunker. An adult male Peregrine was in hunting mode and seemed to be targeting the Fieldfares.

Another Hawfinch was circulating around the village here at Hanging Houghton this morning, possibly spending time in the grounds of Lamport Grange, and it or another was heard calling this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Sorry for the recent repeat of
this image but I don't have
many pictures of Hawfinch!

166 and counting!

Hello

Harrington Airfield this morning still hosted plenty of thrushes, but those berries won't last forever! A single Brambling was with thirty or so Chaffinches on seed at the concrete track entrance.

A Raven was at Cottesbrooke and two more were over the A5199 near Hollowell Reservoir. A visit to Ravensthorpe Reservoir in the rain this afternoon was worth it to see the juvenile Whooper Swan socialising with the Mute Swans, and there were three Great White Egrets, ten Little Egrets, four Green Sandpipers and three Grey Wagtails present too.

Jacob's efforts at Pitsford Reservoir today provided a Shelduck, 10 Pintail, a Scaup, a Black Swan, 2 Great White Egrets, 3 Redshank, a Dunlin, a Woodcock, a Kingfisher, a Raven, 2 Stonechats, a Brambling, 3 Redpolls and 7 Siskins. The Woodcock was number 166 bird species seen at Pitsford this year by Jacob, a very impressive total!

Regards

Neil M

Long-tailed Tit.
Keeping close to thorn
bushes is an important
strategy for these little
birds in the winter as the
foliage disappears and they
are vulnerable to attack.

Juvenile Whooper Swan
at Ravensthorpe Reservoir.
This young bird has become
separated from its parents and
has now sought the company of
Mute Swans, which are not
 always that friendly!

Frosty November birds

Hello

An early morning visit to East Carlton Country Park provided views of three Hawfinches which were vocal and quite mobile. Other birds included about nine Siskins and small numbers of Marsh Tits and Nuthatches.

A little later and another Hawfinch was located in Rushton village, perched in an ash tree in the grounds of the Old Rectory opposite the churchyard. A Raven flew past. There were a number of large gulls at the nearby landfill site but they were distant and in conflicting light.

Kelmarsh Hall hosted a gang of noisy Siskins and a Grey Wagtail and Eleanor's afternoon visit to Ravensthorpe Reservoir provided views of the juvenile Whooper Swan again, three Great White Egrets, a drake Pintail, a Scaup and two Green Sandpipers and two Grey Wagtails.

Ringing at Stortons GP today resulted in 52 birds which were mostly Blue and Great Tits and Sarah and Kenny at Linford Lakes caught another 24 birds, 22 of which were new. They included a Moorhen (the first one caught and ringed here), a Chiffchaff, 11 Redwings, 4 Blackbirds, 2 Wrens, 2 Blue Tits and singles of Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Robin.

Regards

Neil M

Moorhen.
Courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

Chiffchaff.
Courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Male Reed Bunting.
Courtesy of John Tilly.