Goldfinch bonanza!

Hello

Time spent at Pitsford Reservoir today provided further views of the first winter Grey Phalarope which was still in the Pintail Bay at 4.30pm. Other birds present included a Green Sandpiper, a Black Swan, the pair of Ruddy Shelduck still, a Great White Egret, a Rock Pipit and a Wheatear.

At least one male Brambling remained at Hanging Houghton today.

Yesterday morning (Thursday) and Chris Payne experienced an influx of Goldfinches at his Greens Norton ringing site, catching a whopping 47 birds! He processed a total of 90 birds which in addition to the Goldfinches included a couple of Collared Doves, a Woodpigeon, a Great Spotted Woodpecker as well as Long-tailed Tits, House Sparrows, Greenfinches etc.

Regards

Neil M

Grey Phalarope
Pitsford Res

Wood Duck

Hello

John Gamble has kindly forwarded some images of a female Wood Duck present on the River Nene near Morrisons Supermarket at Northampton on Tuesday (14th Oct) at about 11am. Presumably the same individual as that further up-river near the Carlsberg premises earlier in the year...?

Regards

Neil  M

Wood Duck
Courtesy of John Gamble

Pitsford Birding

Today most of my birding was confined to the big side of Pitsford Reservoir. As it was a lovely Autumn day I thought that I would walk the whole circuit which I believe is just over seven miles which took me and my canine companions four hours.
Plenty of birds to look at including at least 6 Little Egrets, 1 Great White Egret, Green Sandpiper, Wheatear, Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, 1 Siskin, and 8 Brambling.
The Grey Phalarope was still present just north of Moulton Grange Bay, but it was quite flighty today giving most birders the run around.
As I walked across the causeway I noted the 2 Ruddy Shelduck sitting at the waters edge in front of the Lodge.

Regards  Eleanor

Grey Phalarope

Hello

At Harrington Airfield this morning birds included large numbers of Redwings and a couple of Fieldfares, plus a Woodcock, a Brambling and a redpoll sp flew over. At Hanging Houghton there was a male Brambling present.

At Pitsford Reservoir today a first year Grey Phalarope was located by Bob Bullock near to the Moulton Grange Bay and this lingered in to the afternoon. Other birds included a Rock Pipit on the dam, a Wheatear, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and two Greenshank flew through.

Regards

Neil M

Yesterday's juvenile Gannet
at Pitsford Res. Courtesy of
Dave Jackson. 

Grey Phalarope

The forgotten birder!

Hello

In Eleanor's excitement she forgot to mention that I managed a short time scanning on the dam at Pitsford Res during the late afternoon of Tuesday (14th October), and picked out a first winter Mediterranean Gull and three adult Yellow-legged Gulls among the pre-roost gathering of gulls.

Regards

Neil M

Spotshank and Owls !

After the excitement of the morning I was expecting a quiet afternoon as a friend and I took our dogs to Sywell Reservoir.  For the size of the water there were plenty of common waterfowl including 2 stunning drake Goldeneye.  But the best bird was a Spotted Redshank which flew round and round giving good views and it was calling continually as it looked for somewhere to land before flying off over the dam. 

In the carpark area were Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher, Nuthatch, Tawny Owl and a few Siskins.

I spent early evening [6pm] at the southern end of Blueberry Farm area. There were quite a few Redwings and Jays on the move. 
The light went very quickly and I had given up any hope of seeing anything else when I realised that one of the dogs was gazing intently at something.  I followed his gaze and saw a Short-eared Owl hunting very low a few metres in front of me[ 18.40hrs]. Not a good view as poor light.

As I turned the car round to drive home I picked out a Barn Owl in the headlights and then when I was nearly back to the village , again through the headlights I saw another Barn Owl perched on a bench.

Regards Eleanor

Gannet at Pitsford Reservoir !!

Morning
Just thought I'd pop to Pitsford to look for any lingering Kittiwakes but all seemed quiet as I scanned round, so I moved onto my next task........walking the dogs !.  
I walked around the country park and inbetween  playing ball with the dogs I scanned the reservoir.  I had such a shock when I saw an immature Gannet cruising low over the water.
Games were abandoned as I watched in awe as the bird slowly circled around the Pintail Bay and headed off towards the causeway before reappearing and proceeded to dive into the water in front of me. 
It was with shaking hands that I tried to contact folk but getting the news out was also hampered by the fact I've got a new phone which I cannot use and I haven't managed to put any contact numbers in yet, sorry.
When I left at 10.30 it was sitting on the water between the Pintail Bay and gorse bushes.

Regards   Eleanor

Kittiwakes!

Hello

A day of heavy rain and strong northerly winds made it a difficult day for birding away from immediate cover.

In the swirling wet weather this morning a flock of about sixty Fieldfares were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton, the first ones we have noted this autumn.

This afternoon  a flock of 15 Kittiwakes were near the dam at Pitsford Res. One of these birds quickly flew off leaving the 14 birds with other gulls on the water. At about 5pm more birds arrived and the total went up to 17, followed by a succession of others. The most I was able to count at any one time was 20 birds, but with the difficult weather conditions and the commencement of the gull roost, it is likely there were more birds than this. When I left at about 5.55pm there were still at least 10 birds present. Examples of all three age groups were represented within this inland gathering.

Regards

Neil M

County Bird Ringing

Hello

A busy ringing session at Stortons GP this morning provided an opportunity of examining and ringing 97 new birds and processing 27 birds ringed there before. The highlights for the team led by John Woollett was probably two Jays, a Blackcap, two Chiffchaffs, 37 Greenfinches, 12 Goldfinches, 9 Chaffinches, 6 Long-tailed Tits and 6 Reed Buntings.

Also today a period of ringing took place at Pitsford Reservoir, working at two sub-sites in the Scaldwell Bay and at the main feeding station. The feed station provided sixty birds, the main birds of interest being 27 Tree Sparrows (19 new), 3 Reed Buntings and singles of Pied Wagtail, Blackcap, Meadow Pipit and Goldcrest. The Scaldwell Bay produced sixty-five birds but with rather a high proportion of re-traps as opposed to new birds. The highlights were a new Kingfisher, two previously ringed Willow Tits, 3 Goldcrests, a new Chiffchaff, a total of 17 Long-tailed Tits, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Treecreeper and a Yellowhammer.

A third Willow Tit was present near the nets but remained un-trapped and other birds noted included 2-3 fly-over Grey Wagtails and a Green Sandpiper.

Eleanor visited the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton on a couple of occasions, straying up to the Blueberry Farm complex. Two Short-eared Owls were present today, spending most of their time in the southern-most field. A pair of Stonechat were present in the same field. A juvenile Ring Ouzel was seen in hedging at lunch-time and other birds included a pair of Grey Partridge and ten fly-over Golden Plovers.

Regards

Neil M

Jays at Stortons GP
Courtesy of Chris Payne

Saturday pm

Hello

Preparatory work for the winter wild bird feed stations on the Kelmarsh Estate continued today, although I was caught out in one particularly heavy shower!

It seems that small numbers of Chiffchaffs are still dotted about in our hedges and copses, and frequently mixed in with tit flocks. No other noteworthy birds were seen on the estate and I spent the last hour of daylight in to dusk at Blueberry Farm which provided views of a Barn Owl, a different pair of Stonechat to that seen this morning (two pairs on-site today) and hearing vocal Tawny and Little Owls.

Eleanor saw a different hunting Barn Owl in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening and earlier in the afternoon paid a visit to Harrington Airfield which produced 3 Grey Partridges, c200 Golden Plovers, the regular Little Owl and a Wheatear.

Regards

Neil M

Pitsford a.m.

Hello

A visit to Brixworth Sewer Works this morning confirmed the continued presence of at least one Grey Wagtail.

At Pitsford Res a Green Sandpiper was in the vicinity of Yacht Bay in the morning mist. In clearer conditions north of the causeway, at least two Great White Egrets were present with two singles on view at the same time in both the Scaldwell and Walgrave Bays. Six or more Little Egrets were present and the Scaldwell Bay retained 18 Red-crested Pochard (two leucistic birds) and 15 Pintail.
Passerines included a Grey Wagtail and several Chiffchaffs.

Blueberry Farm (Maidwell) hosted a pair of Stonechat and 2-3 Bramblings this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Sunny Northants!

Hello

A little county birding commenced with a visit to Harrington Airfield this morning. Light visible migration mostly amounting to Linnet and Meadow Pipit flocks heading south. Reed Bunting, Dunnock and Yellowhammer were probably the most obvious passerines on the scrubby areas, other passerine migrants included small numbers of Blackbirds plus singles of Wheatear, Chiffchaff and Blackcap. Golden Plovers amounted to little more than twenty birds present and five Red Kites were late risers.

At Pitsford Res this afternoon the two Great White Egrets and about six Little Egrets were visible north of the causeway and there were thirteen Red-crested Pochard, two Black Swans and at least two Willow Tits in the Scaldwell Bay. The GWEs were visible from the Bird Club Hide - the viewing from this hide, and to a certain extent the habitat has now been completely transformed with the removal of very large Crack Willow trees.

This afternoon a wander around the Blueberry Farm complex near Maidwell yielded three Stonechats and a Short-eared Owl.

Regards

Neil M

Fair Isle Day 10 (Thursday)

Hello

A short period of ringing and birding this morning and then we left Fair Isle for the long journey home to sunny Northants!

Not surprisingly the trap round results were made up of incoming Robins and thrushes plus a Brambling or two. Birding opportunities were minimal but before we made our way to the airstrip, an Olive-backed Pipit showed itself near to the Bird Observatory, finally giving itself up to us and others departing the island at literally the eleventh hour!

The Siberian Rubythroat, which had been present at Levenwick on the Shetland mainland for about a week, seemingly left overnight during clear conditions and disappointed many birders up here who had travelled especially to see it.

Regards

Neil M

Fair Isle Day 9

Hello

This morning on Fair Isle started with the morning trap round which amongst other things succeeded in catching a splendid female Sparrowhawk.

In excellent weather conditions today, the island was absolutely dripping in birds. Species of the day was again the Song Thrush, the daily census coming up with a figure of about 1,900 individuals - not bad for a three mile by one and half mile island! Over 800 Redwings, over a hundred Blackbirds and increases in many other species meant it was difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff. Patches of feathers indicated that the island raptors were preying on the Song Thrushes amongst others and a few casualties included yesterday's Barn Owl picked up dead. The rigours of migration are simply too much for some individuals.

On our walk up towards the North Lighthouse from the observatory we counted between 17 and 20 Ring Ouzels including nine together. Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Rock Pipits and Snipe were seemingly everywhere as we worked the cliffs and geos. Small numbers of wagtails, Robins, Wheatears and common warblers added variety. Four Snow Buntings and a Lapland Bunting were by North Light and a splendid drake Long-tailed Duck was a nice find. With small flocks of thrushes flying up in front of us wherever we walked, we ascended Ward Hill and found a Dotterel waiting for us.  More thrushes, a Hen Harrier, the usual Peregrine and a couple of  Merlins hurtled around us, and we flushed several Jack Snipe and a couple of Woodcock.

A quick look round for an earlier reported Olive-backed Pipit failed to locate the bird, but we were rewarded with a confiding Little Bunting.

We then began to work the south of the island, every field alive with common thrushes and many with flocks of geese which apparently included some Bean Geese, but we failed to connect with these. A Great Grey Shrike was seen by a few observers as it roamed the island and two Dotterel flew over us heading north. The pleasant conditions meant that birds like Stonechat, Whinchat, Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, lots of Blackcaps, a Yellow-browed Warbler and a North-West-type Redpoll gave themselves up readily. Finches included still plenty of Bramblings and Twite and with more Siskin today. A Common Buzzard and a Jackdaw were seen - these are barely annual visitors to Fair Isle - and a rarity in the shape of a Blue Tit was seen briefly by a couple of observers! Although skilfully avoided by us, quite a number of Short-eared Owls were located today.

The South Harbour area provided views of Purple Sandpiper and other waders plus plenty of Wheatears and a couple of White Wagtails. A Tree/Olive-backed Pipit flew over us calling as we began the slow dawdle back to the observatory and supper!

Regards

Neil M

Ring Ouzels

Song Thrush - the most
conspicuous migrant on
Fair Isle currently.

Drake Long-tailed Duck

Little Bunting

Fair Isle Days 7 & 8 (Monday and Tuesday)

Hello

The Northern Isles are renown for being windswept but the last two days have seen the Shetlands well and truly battered with very high winds and heavy rain. This has made birding very difficult, but interestingly much of this weather is generally coming from the east. This means that it should be bringing birds with it!

Yesterday (Monday) and the gales in the morning were without rain and mostly from the south-east. Early afternoon saw the direction change more to the east and the rain arrived. Storm-force winds and heavy rain continued over-night and this morning. The first band of rain petered out at lunch-time today and with the winds veering to the north-east and becoming slightly less strong, there is a sense of expectancy tomorrow (Wednesday) about what we may find on the island.

Yesterday was interesting as a fall of thrushes from early morning continued right through the day with more birds arriving all the time. By dusk there were well in excess of five hundred Song Thrushes on the island, supported by over three hundred Redwing and the first major fall of Robins of the autumn. Goldcrests fell from the skies like wind-driven leaves, one even landing on my head! We disturbed a Water Rail sheltering behind a building half way up Ward Hill and many of the thrushes were taking refuge behind any structure of significance including disused buildings, walls etc. With the heavy pulses of rain we frequently joined them! The raptors on the island picked off birds at their leisure.

Other birds present included at least five Snow Buntings, three Whooper Swans, hundreds of wild geese of the Pink-footed, Greylag and Barnacle variety and a strong influx of Common Gulls. Other birders located a couple of Little Buntings and a rather late Dotterel. We notched up several Jack Snipe and a Ring Ouzel and a drake Scaup was sheltering in the Havens. The boot room at the obs contained many pairs of soaking walking boots and dripping coats, thus creating an interesting aroma!

Today (Tuesday) and the morning was quite frankly unbirdable! A few stalwarts strayed out for a few brief excursions and reported an arrival of Woodpigeons plus a Purple Sandpiper in the sheep-pens! During the afternoon we scooted around the south-end of the island and encountered a very obliging Little Bunting near to South Harbour. Snipe and Jack Snipe were everywhere and a couple of Woodcock too. The thrush numbers had multiplied again, the Song Thrush being the most numerous. Up to five Ring Ouzels were present. Snow Bunting, Lapland Bunting, Brambling, Siskin, Twite and Skylark flew around in mixed flocks and tired Meadow Pipits littered the fields. An Olive-backed Pipit was seen briefly by the warden before it was blown away along the cliffs. The geese remained and plenty of ducks were visible around the island. Waders were in all sorts of strange places trying to shelter from the gales and three Purple Sandpipers showed well. The rarest bird for Fair Isle was a Barn Owl flushed from a road-side ditch, last seen perched on the cliffs (only about the sixth ever record and the first since 1958)!

Regards

Neil M

The ever-present Fulmar