Sule Skerry

Hello

I have just returned from a week on Sule Skerry, a very small island off the Caithness coastline, 25 miles out to sea and technically included within the Orkney group.

Together with eleven others, we endeavoured to ring sea-birds breeding on the low-lying skerry, the initial week of a three week expedition mounted by the British Trust for Ornithology.

Sule Skerry is only visited every couple of years as it is very isolated (six hour boat trip from Scrabster) and there are no available facilities, so it was a case of camping out and spending most of the time in the open air. Like most of Scotland recently the weather was often wet and windy but we enjoyed a successful week catching birds in this sea-bird city.

Puffins dominated with tens of thousands nesting in burrows, and this was by far the most common birds caught and ringed (over 3,000 in seven days). The only breeding passerine is Rock Pipit and a couple of pairs of Starling. The only other passerine we saw were a couple of migrant Crossbills.

Please find some Puffin images below, hopefully with further images of birds photographed on the island tomorrow...

Regards

Neil M

The charismatic Atlantic Puffin!

Purple Emperors

Yesterday (Thursday) saw me visiting the Fermyn/Souther/Lady Wood complex near Corby, an annual pilgrimage to view a stunning local speciality, the Purple Emperor butterfly.
The weather was mostly sunny, if a little cool early on and an early tree top sighting promised better views to come. 
Plenty of other butterflies were on the wing including Comma, Large Skipper, Green-veined White Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and a couple of high speed, completely unidentifiable Hairstreak's zooming about the Oak canopy.
Two other butterflies I associate with this woodland complex, White Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary, were also airborne, although the former was unusually difficult and elusive.
Back to the Purple Emperors. After the initial tree top sighting in Fermyn Wood a second was down on the track just before the open section by the footpath to Lyveden. it was extracting minerals from the track and was in no hurry to move on, even when a car came up the track, the driver having to wait until it was finished.
Into the Souther/Lady wood section and a superb Silver-washed Fritillary was feeding on brambles. A couple of others had been seen in flight, but this one was considerably more obliging, much to the delight of a gentleman trying to see all the UK butterflies this year. 
Multiple sightings of Purple Emperor's were enjoyed throughout this area and on the return walk.

                  Regards,
   
                            Neil H

Barn Owls

Chris Payne spent most of yesterday out with Paddy Jackson checking approximately a dozen Barn Owl boxes.
some of the boxes had not been used, some had been appropriated by Stock Doves and the remainder had a few owlets.

                                     Photos courtesy of Chris Payne
     Regards,

               Neil H

Pitsford CES

Another ringing session was conducted at the Scaldwell CES site on Sunday by Dave Francis. 78 birds were caught as follows:

Kingfisher 2

Long-tailed Tit 2

Blackcap 14

Blue Tit 6

Bullfinch 4

Chaffinch 2

ChiffChaff 4

Dunnock 1

Garden Warbler 3

Goldfinch 1

Blackbird 4

Wren 9

Marsh Tit 3

Reed Bunting 1

Reed Warbler 1

Robin 6

Song Thrush 1

Treecreeper 4

Whitethroat 2

Willow Tit 1

Willow Warbler 1

Great Tit 6

In addition 9 Mallard and a Canada Goose were caught in the duck trap at the Scaldwell Road feed station.

      Regards,

               Neil H.

Friday - Saturday

I took a walk down the Scaldwell bay on Friday morning in warm sunshine. A Marbled White was on the wing near to the Maytree's Hide. A little further on, a pair of well grown leverets were playing on the path, but loped off through the meadow as soon as they spotted me.
Lots of Ringlets, Meadow Browns and Skippers were also on the wing as well as a number of Black-tailed Skimmer Dragonflies.
After watching the tern rafts for a while from the Bird Club Hide a Green Sandpiper flew in and landed on the exposed mud to the left of the hide. It fed for a while on the mud before an opportunistic young Fox thought it would make a tasty lunch, incorrectly as it turned out.

On Saturday afternoon I walked around the reserve side of the reservoir with my partner Sarah, her first view of the whole reserve. Again Marbled White's were in evidence, at least 3 between the causeway and the Bird Club Hide and a further sighting beside Christie's Copse. My first Gatekeeper of the season was feeding in brambles near the feed station.
Three Red-crested Pochard drakes were spotted sitting quietly on the bund from the Scaldwell Hide, two well into eclipse.
Finally a single adult male Beautiful Demoiselle was on foliage besides the bridge over the Scaldwell Bay stream. This is the first time I have ever seen this species at Pitsford.

    Regards,

               Neil H.

Bee-eaters!

Hello

Below are some images of the Eurasian Bee-eater, surely one of the most beautiful and charismatic birds of the Mediterranean region. Robin Gossage took these images in Spain. For most birders operating in Northamptonshire, this species is a gap in their county list. There have been confirmed sightings in the last two decades, but on each occasion the birds didn't hang around long enough to be seen other than by the original observers.

The nature of the beast is that they are aerially mobile in pursuit of flying insects of all descriptions and sizes, and in a similar manner to Swallows and Swifts, are able to feed whilst on migration if there is plenty of flying food up there with them.

Surely we must now be overdue for a small flock or at least a couple of these birds to grace our land-locked county? News has come through of a Hoopoe which was well-watched in a Grendon garden last month, so it is still possible for a Mediterranean overshoot, particularly if this weather keeps up...

Keep looking up and listen out for the fabulous muffled buzzy fluting of the much sought-after Eurasian Bee-eater!

Regards

Neil M

Eurasian Bee-eater

Courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Insects!

Hello

With the recent rapid increase in both day-time and night-time temperatures, the insect populations have now gone in to overdrive! All of a sudden there are good numbers of butterflies and moths and plenty of other flying insects too.

We were spoilt at the Bird Club outdoor meeting on Wednesday with a tremendous array of beautiful moths and other mini-beasts on show for us, courtesy of Mischa, Bob Gill and others. David Arden's excellent local knowledge also paid off when he was able to show us active nests of two species of raptor on the reserve, affording excellent views of the big nestlings without causing any disturbance.

My thanks also to Sarah Gibbs for again making the premises available to us during quite a late evening, and for those who brought bat detectors along, washed up etc.

Regards

Neil M

Emperor Moth caterpillar

Brown China-Mark Moth (Lakenheath)

Both images courtesy of John Gamble

Broad-bodied Chaser dragonfly June 2015.

Disappearing Cockchafer or 'May Bug' May 2015.

Both images courtesy of Jean Dunn.
Presumably the Cockchafer was burying itself in
the ground to make preparations for the next
generation?

Weevil sp

Nettle Weevil

Both images courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Pitsford Common Terns

Tussock Moth caterpillar

Courtesy of Cathy Ryden

Hello

Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday 30th June), Dave Francis and Lynne Barnett again checked the tern rafts at Pitsford Reservoir. Although there were fears of losses through predation, the good news was that the eight Common Tern chicks ringed last week were all present and correct and an additional 16 chicks were ringed. Some thirty eggs remained unhatched so there could be plenty more to come yet. A pair or two of Pied Wagtail have also nested on the rafts this year, and a brood of four youngsters were duly ringed. And this year a pair of Swallow are nesting at the Fishing Lodge and their nestlings were also ringed so a very productive day all round!

This morning (Wednesday 1st July), and a flock of five Siskins flew south west over Hanging Houghton early morning, followed by a flock of nine Crossbills headed in the same direction at 5.10pm this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

The stunning Blue Tit

Courtesy of Robin Gossage

Six-spot Burnett Moth
Courtesy of Cathy Ryden

Stortons ringing

Hello

Ringers John Woollett, John Boland and Chris Payne were busy at Stortons Gravel Pits this morning and really found the warblers including plenty of juveniles. Some 64 birds were caught which included Cetti's, Reed and Sedge Warblers, Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat and a juvenile Grasshopper Warbler too.

Raptors active around the site included Hobby, Peregrine and Sparrowhawk.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Whitethroat

Grasshopper Warbler

All images courtesy of Chris Payne.

Pitsford am

Hello

This morning was phase one of a planned 'bio-blitz' on the reserve at Pitsford Reservoir, as managed by the Wildlife Trust wardens Sarah and Mischa. Phase two kicks in later this evening centred around the Christies Copse complex in the Walgrave Bay. 

Birds noted today included a Little Egret, a Common Sandpiper, a Kingfisher and Siskin was heard on a couple of occasions. The Muntjac Deer were out in force first thing, no doubt nosing around before it became too hot. And of course plenty of insects are taking full advantage of the very sunny and warm conditions with good numbers of common butterflies (including Painted Ladies) damselflies and a couple of Black-tailed Skimmers.

A flock of 180 Gadwall were loafing in the Walgrave Bay, and with birds elsewhere on the reserve the total must be well in excess of 200.

A Barn Owl was hunting around a cut hay field in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Muntjac munching
on willow leaves

Kingfisher

Song Thrush

All these images were taken
from the Bird Club hide in the
Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Res

Pitsford update...

Hello

Birds on show at Pitsford Reservoir today included several 'post-breeders' already on the move. They included at least 12 Siskins on the reserve, a Common Sandpiper and a few Teal now, and there were 2 adult Yellow-legged Gulls off the Sailing Club. Other birds of note included an adult Cuckoo and a Hobby. Butterflies were out in force with a particularly large hatch of Small Tortoiseshells.

Regards

Neil M

A rather 'tardy' Red Kite already having
lost some flight feathers ahead of it's annual
moult.

Week-end gliders!

Hello

A pair of Grey Partridge and a pair of Hobby at Blueberry Farm near Maidwell this morning and two Ravens nearby...

Some more images from the last two days as below...

Regards

Neil M

Scarlet Tiger moth
courtesy of Cathy Ryden

A close Common Buzzard
at Hanging Houghton - sadly
in very poor light!

Avro Vulcan
Courtesy of Eleanor

Bird Club Outdoor Meetings

Hello

On Wednesday 1st July 2015 we will be holding the first of our two summer outdoor meetings at Pitsford Reservoir. As usual we ask that we meet at the Fishing Lodge for a prompt 7.30pm start where we will quickly run through any notices and a briefing for the evening. The plan is then for us to take an evening ramble around the Holcot Bay looking at whatever wildlife is on offer. We plan to be back at the Fishing Lodge at dusk for a cuppa and biscuits. Hopefully then we will have the opportunity of trying out a bat detector to at least hear some of our flying mammals about the reserve, some of which are believed to be quite numerous.

In addition we hope to have some captured 'mini-beasts' on show from the Pitsford bio-blitz the day before and if the anticipated warm summer evening dissipates in to a wet/windy evening, Bob Bullock has kindly provided a contingency in the shape of his excellent 'Northants Birds' digital presentation.

Hot drinks and biscuits are available all evening so even if you don't fancy a walk there is an opportunity to wander around the Fishing Lodge and have a good natter! 

Non-members are most welcome.

The second outdoor meeting on Wednesday 5th August 2015 is in the process of being finalised and this will be a 7pm start in order to compensate for the shorter period of evening light. Again a nature walk is anticipated plus we hope to host a BBQ (free to NBC members) and again plan to have other activities on tap in case of unpleasant weather.

We look forward to seeing you there!'

Regards

Neil M