Birding pm

Hello

The pleasant weather of this afternoon incited a few raptors over the garden, the best being a couple of Hobbies.  A couple of Nuthatches were the only other birds of note in the village.

A quick walk around Welford Res this evening was pleasant but quiet, although there was a family party of Spotted Flycatchers nearby.

Scanning from the dam at Pitsford Res this evening provided views of 4 Yellow-legged Gulls and 3 Common Sandpipers.

Regards

Neil M

Great Crested Grebe
Pitsford Res

Peering through the heat haze

Hello

A visit to the Summer Leys reserve at Earls Barton GP this morning provided views of a Wood Sandpiper, a Greenshank, a Dunlin, 4 Little Ringed Plovers, 3 Snipe and a Little Egret.

A scan from the Old Scaldwell Road at Pitsford Res early afternoon was difficult with a strong heat haze. Birds noted included an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Goldeneye and a Common Sandpiper.

Regards

Neil M

Summer in to Autumn

Hello

This morning an Osprey appeared again in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and one or two Hobby were about too.

This afternoon a visit to the west end of the Nene Barrage/Clifford Hill GP provided good views of the Great White Egret (present for its third day), and was still present at 5pm.  Other birds included a Little Egret, a Wigeon and 2 Common Sandpipers.

This evening a Hobby and 2 Grey Partridges were noted at Harrington Airfield.  An evening visit to Hollowell Res provided little that was new due to an increase in the water level.  Birds seen included a Kingfisher, a Wigeon, a Snipe and a Common Sandpiper and now four broods of Tufted Ducks. Ravensthorpe Res attracted a Kingfisher and the Mandarin Duck was still present.  A single brood of Tufted Duck was present here too.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Adult and juvenile
Great Crested Grebe
Ravensthorpe Reservoir

Visible migration

Hello

Although autumn migration has been going on for some weeks now, today was noteworthy inasmuch that quite a few species were visually easy to see on migration.  Gulls were drifting south over the county all day, in the main Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed, with smaller numbers of other species.  Other birds on the move today included Swift, hirundines with Sand Martins in particular, and small numbers of wagtails.  At Pitsford Res this morning, birds south of the causeway included the Bar-headed Goose, a Little Egret and a Dunlin.  The first returning adult Great Black-backed Gull was by the dam this evening, and there were two Grey Wagtails at Hanging Houghton.

Many adult birds, particularly the larger birds, will now be in the process or just starting to moult their flight feathers.  Many of the gulls overhead are clearly moulting primaries and secondaries, the stark gaps in the trailing edges of the wings often denote this.  This process often leaves ducks and geese temporarily flightless as they often tend to drop their major flight feathers all in one go. However, most birds sequentially moult these larger feathers so that they can continue flying and even migrate whilst undergoing the process, and frequently both wings mirror each other to stay on an even keel! Just a few birds actually undergo primary and secondary wing moult whilst still feeding young (Sparrowhawk is probably the best local example).  Many juvenile birds at this time of the year undergo a body moult, where they begin to replace their first 'nest' feathers with more substantial attire.  In the main though, most juveniles will retain their flight feathers.  It is these processes that sometimes helps us to age the birds we are looking at.

Regards

Eleanor & Neil

Lesser Black-backed Gull
Pitsford Reservoir

If I hide behind this board
at Pitsford you won't be able
to see me!

Greylag Goose in flight
Pitsford Reservoir

Garden butterflies

Hello

Sometimes there is no need to go any further than the garden for a stunning splash of summer colour...!

Neil M

Small Tortoiseshell butterfly

Peacock butterfly

Comma butterfly

Birds before the rain...

Hello

A walk around the Blueberry Farm complex near Maidwell this morning provided views of Barn Owl and Hobby, and a Grasshopper Warbler was singing from an oil seed rape field between Brixworth and Hanging Houghton.

A ringing session at Stortons GP this morning was busy with 95 birds caught and processed, 79 of which were new birds.  Highlights were 4 juvenile Cetti's Warblers, 8 Chiffchaffs, 36 Reed Warblers, Linnet and 4 Reed Buntings.

A ringing session in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Res this morning was much quieter with only about 40 birds being caught.  However it did include three juvenile Kingfishers and a few each of Garden Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff.  Two Mallard, a Coal Tit and a Marsh Tit added a bit of variety.

A Hobby was seen and two parties of Crossbills flew south-west over the reservoir during the morning, the first flock was only heard and probably numbered 4-5 birds and the second flock contained at least 5 birds.

A walk around Harrington Airfield this afternoon before the change in the weather failed to locate anything specifically of interest.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Pitsford gull roost

Male Brimstone butterfly

Hello

A visit to Pitsford Res this evening confirmed the presence of a very small gull roost off the yacht club containing five species. This included three Yellow-legged Gulls and three summering Great Black-backed Gulls.  There were six Common Sandpipers flying around and two Green Sandpipers were heard calling but not seen as they flew over.  A Bar-headed Goose with the Canadas is probably the same individual that has been an occasional visitor for a few years now.

A Hobby was the only bird of note at Harrington Airfield this evening.

Regards

E & N

Juvenile Whitethroat

Bar-headed Goose

Frustrating observations!

Hello

Some computer problems are affecting our ability to post blogs currently but hopefully we will fix this soon.

Yesterday (Wednesday) and a Barn Owl was hunting at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell in the morning.

A visit to Harrington Airfield in the afternoon was eventful with a Red Fox vixen out in the open with her two well-grown cubs.  And I didn't have my camera!  A further frustration was witnessing an unidentified and interesting dark raptor moving north over the airfield.  Another one to add to the list of ones that got away!

This evening, and there were one or two Barn Owl(s) again hunting at Blueberry Farm.

Regards

Eleanor

Summer Leys N.R.

Hello

A short scanning session from the The Pioneer Hide at the Summer Leys Nature Reserve (Earls Barton) this evening provided views of 5 Little Ringed Plovers (2 adults), 2 Common Sandpipers, 4 Snipe, 3 Little Egrets, a juvenile Shelduck and five broods of Tufted Duck with one brood of 14 ducklings!

Regards

E & N

Humid Highs

Hello

This morning a family of Spotted Flycatchers was visible at Lamport Hall, and Harrington Airfield provided views of a pair of Grey Partridge with three young, a Hobby and a Red Kite.

Hollowell Res this afternoon hosted 2 Little Ringed Plovers, a Wigeon, 20 Common Terns, three broods of Tufted Duck and a Grasshopper Warbler.  Dragonflies included Emperor, Brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer and both Ruddy and Common Darter.  An eclipse drake Mandarin Duck was again at Ravensthorpe Res and a Hobby was successfully hunting dragonflies around the causeway.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Sultry birds

Hello

Yesterday evening (Sunday) provided a Kingfisher at Welford Res and a Little Egret at adjacent Sulby Res, with families of Great Crested Grebes on both waters.

A walk around Harlestone Heath this morning (Monday) produced small numbers of very mobile Crossbills.  They were only ever seen in flight and there may have been just up to half-a-dozen birds involved.  A family of Spotted Flycatchers were also present near the A428 entrance.

A Hobby and the family of Little Owls were again present on the outskirts of Hanging Houghton this evening and four Crossbills flew south west over the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Res at 8.10pm.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Raptors and ringing

Hi

This morning there was a ringing session held at Stortons GP under the leadership of John Woollett. Reasonable numbers of birds were dominated with catches of both adult and juvenile Reed and Sedge Warblers.  However, there were also plenty of juvenile Whitethroats about plus a couple of Blackcap and Willow Warbler. Other birds trapped and ringed included Linnet, Song Thrush and a male Sparrowhawk that was already in heavy wing moult.  Birds flying about included a couple of Kingfishers, a Grey Wagtail and 2 Little Egrets.  Water Rails and Cetti's Warblers could be heard calling from the reeds.

At or just before 8.30am this morning, an Osprey carrying a very large fish laboured over the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.  He/she finally landed in a tree to try and subdue the wriggly monster which was eventually accomplished!  Other birds in the immediate vicinity included a Red Kite and a Hobby, with a pair of Grey Partridge near Beck Dairy, Cottesbrooke.  Another Red Kite was at Walgrave, where there have been regular sightings all summer.

At lunch-time today, a Common Buzzard was found in a bewildered state in the carriageway of the A508 Brixworth bypass, presumably having been clipped by a vehicle.  It was picked up and briefly rehabilitated before being released at Pitsford Reservoir where it flew off strongly.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Sparrowhawk

Common Buzzard

Look out for 'crossbills'

Hi

Well it's looking interesting at the moment if you like Crossbills! Five Two-barred Crossbills have been found in Norfolk/Suffolk today and it looks like the southern half of the UK is experiencing visits from flocks of immigrant Common Crossbills including sites today in Northants.  

However, we didn't come across any ourselves and in fact the only birds of note were a single Red Kite at Harrington Airfield this morning and singles of Red Kite and Hobby in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening.

Regards

E & N

Little to report...

Hi

This morning there was a first summer Yellow-legged Gull off the dam at Pitsford Res and this evening a Hobby was seen at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

Regards

E & N

Redstart

Hi 

This evening there was a juvenile Redstart on the old airstrip at Harrington Airfield, in the general vicinity of the second bunker.  It was quite vocal and as Redstarts go, quite easy to track down.  A single adult Grey Partridge was the only other bird of note.

Regards

Eleanor

Pitsford Ringing

Hi

Ringers at Pitsford Res operating in the Scaldwell Bay were busy this morning in very warm conditions. Some 95 birds were caught and included nearly 30 warblers and many juvenile tits, which is something of a relief after last year's poor breeding season.  A juvenile Grasshopper Warbler was probably the bird of the session, and with no regular singing birds on site this year it is likely to be an early migrant passing through.

My thanks to Dave Francis for providing this update.

Regards

Neil M

Purple Emperors and supporting cast

Hi  

This morning was spent in the Fermyn Wood CP/Fermyn Wood/ Lady Wood and Souther Wood complex east of Corby looking at interesting insects.

The star of the show was the Purple Emperor butterfly which is currently showing very well in this warm weather.  The majority were males but one larger female was on the wing today.  These extraordinary insects can show very well and regularly spend long periods on the ground taking minerals, and it is quite common for them to land on delighted observers in search of salt!

Plenty of other butterflies were on the wing including White Admiral, Silver-washed Fritillary, Purple Hairstreak and White-letter Hairstreak.  

The country park ponds attracted Brown Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly, Four Spot Chaser, Ruddy Darter, Large Red Damselfly and Emerald Damselfly.  The Long Pond still contained plenty of Great Crested Newts showing well.

A Moorhen family included two adults, three first brood youngsters and three second brood youngsters.  Surprisingly the adults were feeding youngsters of both broods even though the first brood birds were easily capable of feeding themselves!

Plenty of common birds in the woods included good numbers of Nuthatch and Marsh Tit.  A Crossbill flew over Fermyn Wood and a Siskin was also present.  A small party of Crossbills were heard calling in Lady/Souther Wood.

Scanning over Blatherwycke Lake produced a Wigeon, two Black Swans and a Tufted Duck brood.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Small Tortoiseshell

Moorhen

Purple Emperor

Large Skipper

Emerald Damselfly

Ruddy Darter

Evening flights

Hi

This evening a warm walk around Harrington Airfield was fairly uneventful, albeit that the bushes held plenty of juvenile warblers and finches.  A Hobby hurtled past as it began to cool.

Later this evening a Barn Owl was hunting the outskirts of Cottesbrooke village and the Little Owl family was again present just below Hanging Houghton, the juveniles being quite comical as they bobbed and tilted their heads trying to work out what a Border Collie and a birder on a bike was!

Regards

Eleanor