Pitsford & Harrington

Hi

A WeBS census was completed at Pitsford Res today in increasingly windy conditions, but at least the rain held off!

It seemed quiet with only modest numbers of waterbirds and little that was out of the ordinary.  The Black-necked Grebe was sheltering in the yacht bay at dusk, a few Crossbills and a Nuthatch were heard calling in the Walgrave Bay early this morning and a Little Egret flew over the causeway.  Other birds included eleven unidentified and flighty redpolls, forty Snipe and there were three drake Pintail in the Scaldwell Bay.

At Harrington Airfield this morning the female Merlin was present with prey and up to seven Bramblings were feeding on the seed by the concrete track entrance.

Regards

E & N

What weather!

Hi

With the somewhat challenging weather conditions today it wasn't a day that was easy to go birdwatching!  So a day of chores and restocking the wild bird feeding stations which meant we both managed to become drenched a couple of times!

At the gull roost at Pitsford Res this afternoon, there were two Mediterranean Gulls on show - an adult and a 1st Winter.

Regards

N & E

Mediterranean Gull

Hi

The only bird of note today was a Mediterranean Gull in the gull roost at Pitsford Res this afternoon.  It was either a second winter or adult bird.

Regards

Neil M

Kingfisher tab

Hi

I recommend a look at the above Kingfisher at Work tab, courtesy of John Boland...

Our thanks to John's skill and patience!

Regards

Neil M

Waxwings and friends!

Hi

A visit to Sywell Country Park this morning provided a flock of six Waxwings briefly by the main car park at about 10.30am.  There were also at least 12 Lesser Redpolls present and I had a poor view of a larger and paler 'redpoll' with them but the light was awful and the whole flock was typically flighty.  Siskins seem to be everywhere at the minute and there were a good 100+ present.  A couple of Grey Wagtails were also there.

John Woollett and his ringing team enjoyed a good session at Stortons Gravel Pits yesterday, catching 80 birds of which 45 were new.  Highlights included a new Water Rail, a Brambling and 6 Lesser Redpolls.  No Waxwing though!

Regards

Eleanor

Classic November birds

Hi

Birding at Harrington Airfield this morning provided the female Merlin again, a Peregrine, a Short-eared Owl and 6 Bramblings and at least 12 Grey Partridges.

Also this morning the Black-necked Grebe was still present at Pitsford Res just off the dam and at 1pm the Great White Egret was on show between the Holcot and Walgrave Bays.  A flock of 50+ Siskins were present at Brixworth Country Park.

A ringing session at Sunderland Wood (Kelmarsh Estate) produced 62 captures which included a Great Spotted Woodpecker and 4 Nuthatches but with the majority of bird being tits.  Interestingly of 23 Great Tits caught only 3 were birds born this year, another indicator of the very poor breeding season for this and allied species.  Another interesting capture was of an adult Blue Tit which was ringed in our garden at Hanging Houghton in September. Clearly it has decided that our many garden feeders were not to it's satisfaction and moved on up to Kelmarsh!

Regards

N & E

Just a few sightings today...

Hi

This morning a single Brambling was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton, and at 11.25am a Crossbill flew east over Sunderland Wood (Kelmarsh Estate).

This afternoon there were 2 Barn Owls hunting in the northern-most field at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

Regards

Neil M

Owls about!

Hi

Despite standing around for over an hour at lunchtime today, I failed to see the Waxwings at the Homebase depot, on the Weedon Road, Northampton.  Others on site reported that they hadn't shown since 9am.  Some Starlings were consuming the rather sparse Rowan berries in the car park so I'm not sure there will be many left for the Waxwings!

The Black-necked Grebe was present off the yacht club at Pitsford Res this afternoon.

A hike around Blueberry Farm this afternoon was sufficient to locate a Short-eared Owl, 2 Barn Owls and a Woodcock.

Other Barn Owls noticed during the last few evenings have been by the dam at Pitsford Res and at the roadside between the villages of Old and Lamport.

Regards

Neil M

Harrington

Hi

A wander around Harrington Airfield in very grey conditions this morning was worth it with plenty of birds around the bushes.  Thrushes and finches dominated.  The best birds included a brief view of a/the female Merlin, 1-2 Woodcock, 40-50 Golden Plovers, 4 Bramblings and 9 Siskins.

Regards

N & E

Foggy Pitsford!

Hi

Yesterday afternoon and this morning Dave Francis completed another ringing session at the Pitsford Res feeding station on the old Scaldwell Road.  Amongst 58 captures there were 45 new birds.  Species totals included 12 Greenfinches, 11 Goldfinches, 4 Chaffinches, a Brambling, 6 Tree Sparrows, 6 Yellowhammers, a Jay, a Redwing and a Fieldfare.

This morning Eleanor ran around the reservoir to the south of the causeway.  Visibility was virtually nil in the fog but she did hear Crossbills, Brambling, Siskins, redpolls, Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail!

Neil M

Feed Stations

Hi

I spent most of the day today visiting and replenishing the eight wild bird feed stations that we manage with the support of colleagues.  These stations include suspended feeders as well as broadcast seed in an effort to try and support the species associated with the habitat.  Like yesterday it was remarkably mild out for the time of the year with large numbers of insects active in the sunshine!

At Harrington Airfield (one of the feeding stations) I met 'Dave' and 'Robin' who had been watching 3 Bramblings and 15 Grey Partridges enjoying the feast!  Robin had seen 2 Waxwings briefly in the top of a tree earlier today at Orlingbury Hall.

Regards

Neil M

Pitsford and Blueberry

Hi

This morning the Great White Egret was visible at Pitsford Res from the causeway from about 9.20am to 10am at least.  It was perched in waterside bushes with Grey Herons between the Holcot and Walgrave Bays.

A good circuit of the Blueberry Farm area near Maidwell this morning was mostly uneventful with just a Red Kite, 2 Ravens and small numbers of Siskins and redpoll sp to show for a couple of hours of wandering.

Sad news was received today of an Otter that was killed on the road causeway at Pitsford Res last week.  An examination of the corpse today suggested it was an adult female animal.

Regards

E & N

Finches and things

Hi

A visit to Hollowell Reservoir today failed to find any particular birds of note.  Ravensthorpe Reservoir provided a female Red-crested Pochard and 3 Mandarin Ducks (2 drakes) which were visible from the causeway.

At Harlestone Heath this afternoon there were 100+ Siskins roaming around the trees with small numbers of unidentified redpolls.  Two Ring-necked Parakeets flew from the Lodge Farm area and overflew the rough area between Harlestone Heath and Kings Heath.

Three Bramblings were present at Harrington Airfield this morning.

Ringing at Kelmarsh Hall produced over 60 captures which included 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 3 Treecreepers, a Marsh Tit, a Willow Tit, a Brambling, 3 Lesser Redpolls and 11 Siskins.

Regards

E & N

Great White Egret

Hi

At about 9am this morning the Great White Egret was seen again at Pitsford Res in the Holcot Bay (Neil Hasdell and Sarah Gibbs were the observers), about 100 yards in to the bay from the Goosander Hide...

E & N

Pitsford birds

Hi

At Harrington Airfield this morning there were at least 10 Bramblings on the seed just inside the concrete track entrance.

At Pitsford Res there were at least 2 Bramblings and a couple of Lesser Redpolls at the feeding station plus lots of thrushes in the hedges.  South of the causeway the Dark-bellied Brent Goose, the Black-necked Grebe and a drake Smew were all situated between the dam and Yacht Bay.

Regards

Eleanor