Saturday selection

Hello

Despite the very welcome weather today, I was tempted to stay at home and watch the birds in the garden. A singing male Siskin, a smart male Great Spotted Woodpecker and singles of Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer made it all quite compelling.

Nevertheless there were duties to perform with more wild bird feeding stations to be maintained.  A couple of Siskins were present around the feeders at Kelmarsh Hall where there were also good numbers of common finches too.  The regularity of our visits ensure that some birds now come to greet us!  Some of the Pheasants trail behind us and all the local Robins have tamed-up to the degree that a couple of them sit just a couple of feet away whilst we are filling up the feeders and sing to us!

Harrington Airfield attracted up to about 12 Bramblings today plus a Raven, a pair of Grey Partridge, the usual raptors and the Green Sandpiper still.

This afternoon a female Peregrine was in pursuit of about twenty Golden Plovers in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Approximately sixty Snipe were still in residence at Pitsford Res this afternoon and a pair of displaying Sparrowhawks in the Scaldwell Bay put on a good performance.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Goldeneye in flight, the duck

endeavouring to catch her drake!

Pitsford Reservoir

'Tis the Brimstone season

Hello

Another very spring-like day today with plenty of insects on the wing including bumble-bees and a Brimstone butterfly or two.  I always think that a vivid yellow male Brimstone looks particularly stunning this time of the year, probably because normally the back-drop is dull and uninspiring before the buds and leaves emerge in profusion.

Birds on the move today included winter thrushes, Linnets, wagtails and Meadow Pipits.  A Grey Wagtail at Hanging Houghton was part of this northward movement.

A quick wander around at Harrington Airfield failed in an effort to find an early Wheatear, and I had to make do with a Raven, several common raptors and at least one Brambling.

Regards

Neil M

Thursday's Tales !

There is nothing better than starting the day with a run !!!!! This morning I ran around the big side of Pitsford Reservoir with our new boy Tor attached to my waist. This was a new experience as he is a "scent hound type" so I expected to be dragged all over the place, but after the initial excitement he settled down into his stride, and it was actually quite a pleasurable experience !!!.  The big side looked quite devoid of birds, but I managed to notch up 4 Smew, Great Northern Diver, Great White Egret, 2 Little Egret, Grey Wagtail and the Ross' type Goose.
Although I didn't see it myself, NH, saw the Scaup half way down the bigside, near the gorse bushes.
A late morning meander around Blueberry saw double figures of Common Buzzard, circling and meewing overhead. There were at least 4 Red Kites, pair of Grey Partridge and 5 Golden Plover over.
Whilst gardening this afternoon there were several Siskins flying about, more Common Buzzards, 2 Red Kite and a Raven .


Last night it was the AGM of the Northants Bird Club and discussion and decisions needed to take place over some important issues facing the club. Sadly the turnout of members was so poor, a total of 15, of which 8 were committee members, making it impossible to proceed with making any decisions. The club may have to move venue and we wanted imput from the members as to possible suitable halls etc, and to share our thoughts about using the Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir as a possible new meeting place. If you have any thoughts, opposition to using the Lodge or ideas of suitable venue's, please let us know.  Thanks.
The evening was not all "business" as we finished with a light hearted quiz and pictures of Tanzania.......it was worth coming along just for that !!!


On another note, the road at Hardwater Crossing is now open which makes it easier to get to Summer Leys, where I understand the Long Tailed Duck on Mary's lake has been showing well and worth a visit as the plumage is quite striking.




Regards  Eleanor

Pied Wagtail portfolio

Hello

The Pied Wagtail may be a familiar bird to many of us.  It is very much the British race of the nominate species White Wagtail which has a large European distribution.  This species and all races are renown for their variation in plumage.  Adult males tend to be the blackest and the young females tend to be the palest, but there are a significant number of plumage types in between that provide a challenge to those of us that try to ascertain their age and sex.  All the below images taken today relate to Pied Wagtails.  If you fancy having a go at ageing and sexing them, be my guest!

Neil M

Classic spring day

Hello

A beautiful spring day with almost warm temperatures, a gentle breeze and plenty of sunshine.

A couple of Siskins were present at both Kelmarsh Hall and Scotland Wood this morning and c6 Bramblings were feeding at Harrington Airfield.  Two Grey Wagtails remained at Brixworth Sewer Works.

At Pitsford Res this afternoon the Great Northern Diver was still present (in the mouth of the Pintail Bay) and the gull roost included two adult Mediterranean Gulls (one a stunning full summer plumage bird).

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Harrington

Hello

Eleanor managed a visit to Harrington Airfield this afternoon and noted ten Bramblings on the seed by the concrete track entrance, and the Green Sandpiper was again near to the road on the shallow pool just opposite the entrance.

Regards

Neil M

Bird Club AGM

Hello

Plenty of tasks and meetings ensured that we had little time for birding today.  However there were still 10 Brambings on the feed-stuffs at Harrington Airfield at 1pm this afternoon.

A reminder to Northants Bird Club members that our next meeting is this coming Wednesday evening at our normal venue of Moulton Village Hall.  This month it is the Annual General Meeting which is generally a rather short affair.  As always there will be the election of committee members and other business such as the financial state of the club to be discussed.  This year the membership will be asked to comment and vote on a couple of proposals from the existing committee in order to take us forward through 2014/2015.

Robin Gossage and Bob Gill will host a light-hearted quiz immediately after the AGM.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Different month, same weather!

Hello

A grey dull day with a strengthening wind then giving way to persistent and heavy rain.  Obviously we are paying for yesterday's decent weather.

Fifteen Bramblings and a Green Sandpiper remained at Harrington Airfield this morning and two Golden Plovers flew over.  Red Kites have become a regular sighting at this site during the last year and the numbers locally are at their most significant, to the point where we will stop routinely reporting their presence. Hopefully this regularity of sightings will be a precursor to breeding.

Pied Wagtails were much in evidence today, there clearly being an increase in numbers as migrants move north through the county. Gulls and Linnets were the other more obvious diurnal migrants on the move today.

Two Woodcock were flushed at Scotland Wood (Kelmarsh Estate) but probably the bird of the day was a Chiffchaff that moved through our garden here at Hanging Houghton this morning.

A walk around Welford Reservoir, a scan over Naseby Reservoir and checking through the gulls at the Pitsford roost all failed to find anything different.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

March is here!

Hello

At last the weather conditions today permitted some wild bird ringing locally at three sites, with about 118 birds being caught. Species included Tree Sparrow, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail and Siskin.

At Pitsford Res this afternoon, local birder David Sharp located the Great Northern Diver north of the dam and also saw a juvenile Glaucous Gull which flew a couple laps of the reservoir as seen from near the Holly Tree, and was then associating with some Great Black-backed Gulls.

Andrew Tyrrell in the meantime spent some time at Thrapston GP this afternoon and located the two Firecrests - again in scrub and brambles next to the River Nene by the footbridge that connects Town Lake with the northern section of the Titchmarsh Reserve. He also espied the Long-tailed Duck and the drake Scaup on Town Lake.

Fifteen Bramblings were feeding on the seed in the fog at Harrington Airfield this morning and Kelmarsh Hall attracted two Siskins and two or three Ravens.  Birds in the vicinity of Brixworth Sewer Works included two Snipe, one or two Water Rail (s), two Siskins and two Grey Wagtails.

Local birder Jacob Spinks was lucky to have a Willow Tit visiting feeders in his Scaldwell village garden today.

Regards

Neil M

Cool and wet!

Hello

A planned ringing session at Kelmarsh Hall this morning was partly compromised due to the wet and cool weather, but we managed to catch 67 birds between the showers.  Perhaps surprisingly 43 of these were new birds and there is clearly a good number of new birds on-site.  

Only nine species were represented but number-wise it included two Great Spotted Woodpeckers and ten Goldfinches.  Considering the number of Goldfinches caught and ringed in the county these days, we seem to have a rather poor rate of follow-up reports.  In most winters it is assumed that we support both local and birds from elsewhere, but the data so far is rather limited. 

A couple of Siskins were also noted at Kelmarsh Hall and nearby there were twelve or so Bramblings on the scattered seed at Harrington Airfield.

Regards

Neil M

A quiet day...

Hello

Today was one of those "quiet times" at Harrington, with the fields being devoid of the winter thrushes and Skylarks. It was indeed eerily quiet !!  

The only birds of note were at least 10 Bramblings and 2 Red Kites. But there was lovely blue skies and sunshine.

There was a single Raven over Scotland Wood and at nearby Blueberry my little "helpers" found 2 Woodcock, and a Barn Owl was out hunting, which looked very ghostly in the late afternoon sunshine.

Regards

Eleanor

Fulmar!

Hello

A walk at Harrington Airfield this morning was very pleasant but the birds were restricted to a Raven, several Red Kites, a Green Sandpiper and just four Bramblings. One or two Grey Wagtail(s) were present at Brixworth Sewer Works.

A Fulmar was found at Ravensthorpe Res today by local birder Mark Piper.  I popped over there this afternoon and saw it by the island near to the dam at 4.20pm.  Eleanor went over later and walked around the reservoir.  The Fulmar was still by the island at 5.45pm and looks in good health.  Other birds noted included six Smew (three drakes) and 42 Goldeneye, both species displaying well.

I examined a long-dead Goshawk today which had been found on the Kelmarsh Estate.  This bird was an escaped captive bird and unfortunately it looks as if died after the devices on its legs becoming entangled in a bush.

Regards

Neil M

Grey Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Pitsford Glaucous Gull

Hello

Eleanor's midday excursion to Harrington Airfield today provided further views of the female Merlin, the Green Sandpiper still, at least two Red Kites and twenty Bramblings (the latter at SP 755799) as well as a Roe Deer at the north-west end of the concrete track.

The gull roost at Pitsford Res this afternoon gave the impression of new birds passing through and the large gulls included a pale juvenile Glaucous Gull, the first one to be seen in the gull roost there for a good few years.

Regards

Neil M

Tor and his disabled

companions Bobsey

and Theo enjoying

Harrington Airfield!

Tor, seemingly a Harrier Hound

and the latest addition to the family!

Pitsford WeBs

Hello

Today was spent at Pitsford Reservoir, completing the monthly WeBs count.  Birds noted included the Great Northern Diver (near the Holly Tree), a Great White Egret (Moulton Grange Bay), a Little Egret, an adult male Peregrine, an Oystercatcher, 67 Snipe, a Jack Snipe, a Green Sandpiper, the immature drake Scaup (Holly Tree area), a Ross's Goose, a Bar-headed Goose, 9 Goosanders, 1-2 Raven(s), 2 Nuthatches, 2 Chiffchaffs, 3 Grey Wagtails, 6 Bramblings, 2 redpoll sp and 20 Siskins.

Four Bramblings were present at Harrington Airfield this afternoon and a Green Sandpiper was present yesterday.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Black-headed Gull

Pitsford Res

Drake Goldeneye

Pitsford Res

A day trip to Norfolk

Hello

Eleanor visited Harrington Airfield this morning and again saw a female Merlin, two Red Kites and at least 12 Bramblings.

In the meantime I visited Norfolk with a small crew.  It seemed that no matter where you were today the wind was very strong and sometimes made birding difficult.  A probing Woodcock on a roadside verge near Wolferton was a little unexpected.

Our first venue was mature conifer plantations near to Holt Country Park, a site that is currently attracting a flock of Parrot Crossbills. Initially we saw a splendid adult male, and then up to five, which then grew to nine, then eleven and finally fifteen or sixteen birds. At least two Common Crossbills were present in the trees too. Unfortunately the windy conditions prevented a close approach and no decent images are available.  A couple of Woodlarks were a pleasant surprise.

By noon we had finally arrived at the sea and saw the first of several large flocks of Brent Geese.  A flighty Richard's Pipit showed in flight at Granborough Hill, Salthouse.  A walk around Stiffkey Fen and scanning in to Blakeney Harbour produced some extra birds in the shape of many common waders which included both species of godwit and a decent flock of Avocet.  Plenty of wildfowl included Pintail, Red-breasted Merganser, Goldeneye and Long-tailed Duck and a calling Mediterranean Gull graced the freshwater pools there.  Six Great Northern Divers were fishing the shallows in the harbour mouth and a slow-flying Sparrowhawk attempted to catch waders in the creeks of the saltmarsh.

Our last venue was Holkham Freshmarsh which normally at this time of the year hosts vasts numbers of geese, particularly Pinkfeet. However, the huge skeins of Pink-footed were absent, presumably due to the very mild conditions.  Small numbers of Pinkfeet associated with good numbers of White-fronted Geese and Egyptian, Canada, Brent and Greylag were dotted about in twos or small flocks.  We failed to connect with the rather elusive Rough-legged Buzzard which is currently in residence, the three Common Buzzards, six or so Marsh Harriers and a Peregrine were the best we could do!

Regards

Neil M

Turnstone

Dark-bellied Brent Geese

Quality passerines

Hello

After morning chores (more feed stations), I picked up Neil H and we went off to complete some birding in the county.  A dozen Bramblings were on the seed at Harrington Airfield and 13 Grey Herons flew up from the heronry at Pitsford Res when a couple of Common Buzzards strayed too close.  Hopefully this means that there are at least half a dozen pairs breeding in the dense conifers.

A rare visit to Stanwick Gravel Pits was made in an effort to see the Marbled Duck, but despite scanning from a variety of angles the bird couldn't be located on the main pit.  Waders included c130 Golden Plovers, 9 Redshank and 2 Oystercatchers.   A couple of Cetti's Warblers included one showing rather well and singles of Siskin and redpoll sp flew over.

We decided to have a look for the normally rather elusive Great Grey Shrike near Lowick.  This bird hadn't been reported for a couple of weeks, but it soon showed itself in trees and hedges along the footpath that runs between the village and the Greenside Wood complex.  In the strong wind this bird was prone to Kestrel-like hovering and at one stage seemed to have a bumble-bee in it's bill. In the strong sunlight it was possible to determine a weak pinkish flush to the underside, presumably indicating it is a male bird.

Next was a wander around Fermyn Wood Country Park where there were plenty of people but not much in the way of birds, apart from a Siskin or two. A single Great Crested Newt showed itself a couple of times in one of the ponds and the cafe paninis were very good!

Our final destination was Thrapston GP and we noted a Little Egret, three Goosanders, two Oystercatchers, the Long-tailed Duck on Town Lake and a Chiffchaff.  However the best birds were two Firecrests which were reasonably vocal but quite secretive in the bushes and brambles alongside the River Nene and Willowbrook Lake, close to the footbridge that leads from Town lake on to the Titchmarsh Reserve.

Regards

Neil M

Kestrel
Lowick

Flying-away shot of the
Great Grey Shrike!

Firecrest
Thrapston GP

Ditchford WeBs

Hello

This morning the Nordic-type Jackdaw was noticed again at Hanging Houghton, there were a couple of Siskins at Scotland Wood and at least four Bramblings were on the seed at Harrington Airfield.

Then it was time to drive over to Ditchford Gravel Pits and complete the monthly Wetlands Birds Count.

A strong cool wind created an edge to what would have been a bright and pleasant day, some of the gusts making birding west of Ditchford Lane quite difficult.  Birds of note in this section of the complex included the drake Scaup still, a pair of Smew, an adult female Peregrine and an Oystercatcher.  The older pits were quieter but did attract three Goosanders and a Water Rail.

The planned bird ringing demonstration for Stanwick GP this Sunday (23rd) has been cancelled due to the weather forecast indicating strong winds and powerful gusts.

Regards

Neil M

More stirrings of Spring?

Hello

Garden birds here at Hanging Houghton this morning included three Reed Buntings and a Brambling.

This afternoon and a foray around the Harrington Airfield complex provided views of a female Merlin, a couple of Red Kites and 20 Bramblings.  Skylarks had either increased in number or were simply more obvious both visually and vocally today, there perhaps being no coincidence that a Merlin was there too!

The Great Northern Diver was again visible from the dam at Pitsford Reservoir late this afternoon.

Regards

Eleanor and Neil

Ancient Great Tit

Hello

Yesterday (Tuesday), and Eleanor saw two Otters again at Market Harborough on the River Welland next to Sainsbury's.

A mid-week ringing session at Pitsford Res at two sites (Old Scaldwell Road and Christies Copse) provided an opportunity of catching and assessing 124 birds.  The weather conditions have meant it has been impossible for sustained ringing operations but the relatively still and dull conditions today provided an opportunity to utilise mist nets.  There were no surprising species, but the catch included five Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 11 Tree Sparrows, 5 Reed Buntings and common tits and finches.

For me, the most interesting bird was a re-trap Great Tit.  This bird was first ringed at the reservoir by The Lodge in December 2007 when it was aged as a bird hatched that year.  Today it was located at Christies Copse - this bird now being six and a half years old.

A couple of Siskins were around Christies Copse and a rabbit-sized Muntjac confirmed that they breed all-year-round on site.

The Great Northern Diver was visible off the dam at Pitsford this afternoon, as was a Kingfisher and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.  A Grey Wagtail was again at Brixworth Sewer Works and Harrington Airfield hosted 20 Bramblings, 2 Ravens and a pair of Grey Partridge this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Not long 'til Spring now!

Hello


A day of consolidation was required with plenty of odd-jobs around the house this morning.  A furtive Goldcrest inspected the now three still-live potted Christmas trees that adorn the garden and three Common Buzzards in the field behind us were very noisy and seemed to be involved in a bit of a 'domestic dispute'.


A brief visit to feed the birds at Harrington Airfield was sufficient to witness a big hike in the Brambling numbers, with 25 birds counted just after 2pm.


A single Red Kite sauntered over Maidwell village, half a dozen flighty redpoll sp were in Brixworth Country Park and a Barn Owl and two Ravens were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.


Finally the Great Northern Diver at Pitsford Res was viewed off the Holly Bush late this afternoon but my efforts at finding a storm-driven pelagic gull in the roost drew a blank!


Regards


Neil M