February birds of the sunshine

Hello

A cold day but plenty of weak sunshine and dry!

At Pitsford Reservoir the Great Northern Diver was in The Narrows this afternoon and at least one Tree Sparrow was at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station with Ravens at the Fishing Lodge and west of the causeway.

Four drake Smew and the first year male Scaup were still at Eyebrook Reservoir today.

Two White-fronted Geese and a showy Otter were the highlights at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this morning followed up with a Caspian Gull, two Jack Snipes, eleven Common Snipes and a Stonechat all at Hollowell Reservoir courtesy of Mark.

Summer Leys LNR recorded a Bittern and fourteen Common Snipe and a Marsh Harrier was again at Titchmarsh LNR at Thrapston Pits.

The Whiston Wetlands/Cogenhoe area in the Nene Valley provided six White-fronted Geese, twenty-seven Golden Plovers, two Barn Owls, two Green Sandpipers, a Common Snipe, three Shelducks, two Stonechats and at least one Siberian Chiffchaff was amongst fifty Chiffchaffs.

Evening Starling murmurations prior to roost are currently centred around the villages of Pattishall and Spratton.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Little Egret courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Stonechat courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Kestrel courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Nene Valley birding

Hello

A grey but dryer day of late but still cool.

At Pitsford Reservoir the Great Northern Diver was still present in the vicinity of Catwalk Bay this afternoon and two Great White Egrets were at Stanford Reservoir where there were also five Goosanders, two Pintail, an Oystercatcher, a Stonechat and a Cetti's Warbler.

Eyebrook Reservoir hosted four drake Smew and a Scaup and Blatherwycke Lake still attracted a Cattle Egret and a Scaup.

The Nene Valley continues to dominate local birding and Summer Leys LNR provided the Glossy Ibis, seven Great White Egrets, three Oystercatchers and a pair of Goosanders and Clifford Hill Pits was still the only place in the county to see a drake Smew. 

In the general area below Cogenhoe and Whiston the meadows were the feeding areas for geese including five White-fronted Geese seen in flight, a Pink-footed Goose, a Barn Owl, a Peregrine, a Great White Egret and a pair of Stonechats. Twenty or so Chiffchaffs feeding along the edges of the sewer outflow by bridge K121 contained two Siberian Chiffchaffs.

In a winter with few Bramblings locally, three were in a large, mixed finch flock in a field between Wakerley Wood and the A43.

Fifty Yellowhammers, three Grey Wagtails and two Ravens were in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth, two Ravens were at Lamport Hall, a Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and a single Short-eared Owl remains on private land near Maidwell.

Regards

Neil M

Kestrel courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Mute Swan courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

North American Mink
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Robin courtesy
of John Tilly.

Long-tailed Tits courtesy
of John Gamble.

A wet Saturday

Hello

Well that was definitely a day of rain, but the forecast suggests next week should be better weather!

A flock of White-fronted Geese, at least seven, with the Greylag flock in the Nene Valley in the Cogenhoe Lock/Whiston Wetlands was interesting. The Glossy Ibis popped up again at Summer Leys LNR and other birds noted were a first year Yellow-legged Gull, in excess of thirty Common Snipe, about eighty Golden Plovers and an Oystercatcher.

Also in the Nene Valley the drake Smew was located again at Clifford Hill Pits but despite more efforts the Ring-necked Duck wasn't located at Ringstead or Thrapston Pits, but the Marsh Harrier was still on the Titchmarsh Reserve.

Away from the Nene Valley and Stanford Reservoir attracted a Great White Egret, an Oystercatcher and two Goosanders and Pitsford Reservoir managed two Great White Egrets, about fifty Common Snipe, a Golden Plover and a couple of Tree Sparrows all north of the causeway.

Three Redpolls were at the attenuation pond at New Sandy Lane, Duston with Nigel putting some food down regularly to attract them. Steve enjoyed two Redpolls and a Blackcap in his Brixworth garden today and two Grey Wagtails and a Raven were in the Brampton Valley below the village.

Birds to the west included a drake Pintail at Lilbourne Meadows and five Stonechats at Borough Hill Country Park, Daventry. Twenty Golden Plovers and a pair of Stonechats were at Harrington Airfield this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Mute Swan courtesy
of Jonathan Pitt.

Cormorant.

Pied Wagtail.

Red Fox.

Sunshine!

Hello

Yes there was some sunshine this afternoon, yahoo!

Efforts at finding the Ring-necked Duck in the gravel pit complexes of the eastern Nene Valley failed to locate him today.

However the drake Red-breasted Merganser was seen at Blatherwycke Lake today and it's likely that the Glossy Ibis is still probably at Summer Leys LNR somewhere.

Three Cattle Egrets were at North Lake, Stanwick Pits early this afternoon and a Marsh Harrier was at Titchmarsh reserve, Thrapston Pits this afternoon.

The Great Northern Diver was still at Pitsford Reservoir today, still in the vicinity of the Pintail Bay and birds north of the causeway included two Great White Egrets, about fifty Common Snipe, a Jack Snipe, a Water Rail and a couple of Tree Sparrows.

The drake Smew was still on the Nene Barrage at Clifford Hill Pits this afternoon and five more drakes were still at Eyebrook Reservoir together with the long-staying Scaup.

Stanford Reservoir hosted two Great White Egrets, ten Goosanders and a Cetti's Warbler and a Grey Wagtail was in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth.

A Raven was at Hanging Houghton this morning and there was a Barn Owl in the Brampton Valley below the village. A single Short-eared Owl was again on private land near Maidwell this afternoon and two Barn Owls were at Althorp.

Chris Payne completed some ringing in his garden at Greens Norton today and processed thirty-eight Goldfinches, twenty Greenfinches and five other species including a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Ring-necked Duck
at Ringstead Pits yesterday
courtesy of Nick Parker.

Great Northern Diver
at Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Drake Teal courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Cloudy, grey Thursday

Hello

The grey, cool weather continues with a seemingly never-ending amount of cloud overhead, but a dry day.

A meander at Harrington Airfield this morning provided views of a male Peregrine, two Ravens and a hunting Barn Owl. Later a Raven and a Grey Wagtail were in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth and a Redpoll was on garden feeders in Brixworth village.

Today the drake Ring-necked Duck fooled everyone and turned up at Kinewell Lake at Ringstead Pits, found again by that man Nick Parker! A drake Smew remained on the Nene Barrage at Clifford Hill Pits and four Great White Egrets and an Oystercatcher remain at Summer Leys LNR.

Two Great White Egrets were at Stanford Reservoir today and Eyebrook Reservoir hosted four drake Smew and a Scaup still.

Regards

Neil M

Robin courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Coot.

Barn Owl.

Oystercatcher and Wigeon
Summer Leys LNR courtesy
of Jonathan Pitt.

Pitsford WeBS Count.

Hello

A grey day with some rain and even an attempt at some milky sunshine this afternoon! Out of the cold easterly breeze it was actually not too bad (honest)!

Perhaps not surprisingly the drake Ring-necked Duck turned back up on the Heronry Lake on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits as found by the original finder Nick Parker. Wildfowl look at their best at this time of the year just ahead of the breeding season.

The drake Smew clearly finds Clifford Hill Pits to it's liking and was still present on the main barrage lake today. At least two other Smew and the drake Scaup were also still at Eyebrook Reservoir and the handsome drake Red-breasted Merganser was seen again at Blatherwycke Lake.

At least seven Great White Egrets and over two hundred Golden Plovers were noted at Summer Leys LNR today, three Woodcock were at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh estate, a Short-eared Owl was again on private land near Maidwell and a Barn Owl and two Green Sandpipers were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Four Ravens were seen yesterday in Scaldwell village.

The Pitsford Reservoir WeBS count was completed today with the Great Northern Diver, a Redshank and four Egyptian Geese between the causeway and the dam. North of the causeway there were seven active Grey Heron nests on the reserve section, ahead of the Cormorants it seems this year. Four Great White Egrets were also present, the pair of breeding Ravens were noisy and other birds were an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Peregrine, two or three Jack Snipe and a minimum of seventy Common Snipe. Three Tree Sparrows were at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station and a pair of Sparrowhawks were displaying over the reserve.

Back in November 2024 a colour-ringed adult Black-headed Gull was found dead at Pitsford Reservoir and it transpires that this bird was first ringed in Poland in June 2015 with 3439 days having passed between the two records with the sites being 1213km apart. This is part of an established pattern of breeding Black-headed Gulls from Poland wintering in the UK and locally to us.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Ring-necked Duck
today at Titchmarsh Reserve
courtesy of Nick Parker.

Cormorant in breeding plumage
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Goosander courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Another cool February day

Hello

This morning the Great Northern Diver and a Great White Egret were again at Pitsford Reservoir, between the causeway and the dam, the diver close to the Brixworth bank near Pintail Bay and towards The Narrows.

Stanford Reservoir attracted a Caspian Gull, a Yellow-legged Gull, two Great White Egrets, three Pintail, eleven Goosanders, a Kingfisher and a Cetti's Warbler. Hollowell Reservoir provided two Caspian Gulls, four Jack Snipe, thirteen Common Snipe and a pair of Stonechats.

A Grey Wagtail was in the Brampton Valley below Brixworth, a Peregrine was at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and a single Short-eared Owl was on private land nearby this afternoon.

The Glossy Ibis was again at Summer Leys LNR and the supporting cast was three Great White Egrets, an Oystercatcher and two hundred and fifty Golden Plovers. A Smew was again at Clifford Hill Pits this morning on the Nene Barrage Lake.

Regards

Neil M

Two new Tawny Owl
boxes were erected at
Pitsford Reservoir
 yesterday.

Goosanders courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Second calendar year Herring Gull.

Cormorant courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Cold, grey and wet!

Hello

Another raw and wet day out there but with a few birds on offer.

The Glossy Ibis was again at Summer Leys LNR and Blatherwycke Lake was still a hotspot today with the drake Red-breasted Merganser present plus the Cattle Egret and wintering Scaup.

Not too far away at Eyebrook Reservoir there was still another wintering Scaup and five drake Smew.

Another Cattle Egret was at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadow LNR this morning and a Kingfisher was at Market Harborough.

An adult Yellow-legged Gull was in the gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir where there was also a colour-ringed Common Gull from the Norwegian scheme (exact details awaited).

Details of the original ringing details of a Blue Tit caught at Woodford Halse on Wednesday 5th February have now come through and this bird was originally ringed at Rainsbrook Valley, Rugby on 13th January 2024, some twenty kilometres away from where encountered 389 days later.

Regards

Neil M

Common Gull.

Black-headed Gull.

Little Egret courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Meadow Pipit courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Red-breasted Merganser

Hello

Despite the less than salubrious weather conditions today some new birds were found in the county with the most enjoyed bird probably being a handsome drake Red-breasted Merganser that showed very well at Blatherwycke Lake. Other birds there included a Goosander, a Cattle Egret and a Scaup.

The Glossy Ibis again topped the bill at Summer Leys LNR plus five Great White Egrets and about a hundred Golden Plovers. A Great White Egret was at Kinewell Lake, Ringstead Pits.

Three Common Scoters on the Nene Barrage at Clifford Hill Pits were the other new birds and a Yellow-legged Gull and four Goosanders were also present.

Just outside the county a drake Green-winged Teal was south of Ardley, in flooded fields just inside Oxfordshire.

A little more sedentary, the Ruddy Shelduck was at Winwick Pools today and Stanford Reservoir was the site for a Jack Snipe, two Great White Egrets, six Goosanders and a Kingfisher.

Eyebrook Reservoir continued to host a Scaup and five drake Smew and Hollowell Reservoir managed a Jack Snipe, three Common Snipe and a Pintail. Two Great White Egrets were north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir and there were three Tree Sparrows in the bushes at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station.

One of the Short-eared Owls re-appeared on private land near Maidwell today and a Raven was near Kelmarsh.

Regards

Neil M

Drake Red-breasted Merganser
courtesy of Neil Hasdell.

Drake Red-breasted Merganser
courtesy of Nick Parker.

Grimy Saturday

Hello

Looks like the grimy and dull weather might be with us for a while yet looking at the forecast ahead!

The weather failed to inspire much in the way of new sightings locally today and we were to rely on long-stayers once again.

Five drake Smew were at Eyebrook Reservoir today, the adult White-fronted Goose was with Greylags east of Cogenhoe Mill in the Nene Valley late this morning and this afternoon a Hawfinch was again reported at Cottesbrooke village in a cedar just west of the churchyard.

The drake Ring-necked Duck was not reported at the Titchmarsh reserve today but the Marsh Harrier was still there early afternoon. The Glossy Ibis was photographed at Summer Leys LNR again today.

A Siskin and a Grey Wagtail were again at Kelmarsh Hall, three Woodcock were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell, a Chiffchaff was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton, a Redpoll was again on feeders at Brixworth and twenty-five Golden Plovers were over Harrington Airfield.

Regards

Neil M

Great White Egret
courtesy of Neil Hasdell.

Reed Bunting courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Common Buzzard courtesy
of Beth Clyne.

Yellowhammer courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Grey birds of a grey day

Hello

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today on a cold, breezy and dull day included a Great White Egret and a Shelduck north of the causeway with an adult Yellow-legged Gull in the roost off the dam.

Stanford Reservoir managed two Great White Egrets today plus two Goosanders and the Ruddy Shelduck was seen at Winwick Pools.

Five drake Smew were still at Eyebrook Reservoir where the Scaup remained and a Red-necked Grebe was reported. Other birds included a first year Caspian Gull at Daventry Country Park and two White-fronted Geese were still at Ravensthorpe Reservoir early this morning.

In the Nene valley the drake Ring-necked Duck drew admirers despite the muddy conditions walking to the Heronry Lake on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston. Other birds included a Marsh Harrier again, two Goosanders, somewhere between eight and twelve Great White Egrets, two Cetti's Warblers and a Chiffchaff. Another Marsh Harrier was at Earls Barton Pits this afternoon.

Two Jack Snipe were at Barnes Meadow LNR, a drake Smew was reported on the main barrage lake at Clifford Hill Pits this afternoon and a Chiffchaff and two Oystercatchers were at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows LNR.

A Redpoll and a Blackcap visited garden feeders in a Brixworth garden and a Grey Wagtail was in the Brampton Valley below the village. The Short-eared Owls were again absent from private land near Maidwell.

Regards

Neil M

Second calendar year Common Gull.

Third calendar year Common Gull.

Adult Common Gull, this bird missing a foot.

Adult Common Gull, this a ringed bird.

All images taken at Pitsford Reservoir
in dull conditions this afternoon.
 Grey birds of a grey day!

February songsters

Hello

At Pitsford Reservoir today the Great Northern Diver was still between the causeway and Pintail Bay, crunching up crayfish near the Gorse Bushes off the Holcot bank. A Barn Owl and two Stonechats were nearby. North of the causeway and the Scaldwell Bay held a Great White Egret, fifty-one Common Snipe, two Ravens and at least one Tree Sparrow at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station.

Stanford Reservoir hosted an Egyptian Goose and nine Goosanders with four drake Smew at Eyebrook Reservoir.

The two White-fronted Geese were at Ravensthorpe Reservoir, on the water near the Fishing Lodge late morning with two Jack Snipe found at nearby Hollowell Reservoir.

In the Nene Valley the drake Ring-necked Duck was again on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits, spending much of its time on Heronry Lake. A hunting Marsh Harrier there was seen to catch a Moorhen. Three Pintail were seen at Clifford Hill Pits and four Egyptian Geese were in a field near Cogenhoe Lock. A Marsh Harrier and an Oystercatcher were at Summer Leys LNR this morning.

A pair of Stonechat were at Towcester, a Grey Wagtail and a Siskin were at Kelmarsh Hall and the bright cool weather brought forth a chorus of songsters with Mistle and Song Thrushes perhaps being the loudest. Catkins, aconites and tits checking out nest boxes are all indicators that spring isn't too far away but I think we have plenty of wintry weather to endure yet!

A Short-eared Owl, a Barn Owl, two Woodcock, a Brambling and at least two Siskins were at Harrington Airfield this afternoon but interestingly there was no sign of the Short-eared Owls near Maidwell - this and the fact that one of the birds has a distinctive wing marking confirms that (as suspected) at least one of the birds moves freely between the two sites.

The Summer Leys LNR map on the Birdwatching Site Maps page has kindly been updated by Neil Hasdell (the last map as you scroll down).

Regards

Neil M

Little Grebe courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

British White Cattle, one of the oldest
 cattle breeds, at Kelmarsh courtesy of
 Jane Neill.

Male Nuthatch courtesy
 of Jane Neill.