Yet more rain and gale force winds!

Hello

Eric Graham enjoyed himself at Thrapston GP this morning seeing two Great White Egrets, a hunting Peregrine, five Goosanders and a couple of Lesser Redpolls.

Ian Dobson also did well with a visit to Ravensthorpe Reservoir this morning, seeing 3-4 Otters before 9.30am...

Two Ravens were vocal this morning as they flew over Hanging Houghton, upsetting the local Carrion Crows. I visited Market Harborough this morning but didn't see any Otters on the swollen River Welland. A few Siskins and a Grey Wagtail were about but perhaps the more interesting nature observations were of a Moorhen gobbling up a huge lob-worm (I didn't know they did that!) and a pair of Blackbirds feeding their nestlings in a nest in some ivy! A particularly photogenic Robin kept me entertained for quite a while...

Colin Hewitt witnessed a Common Buzzard flushing up about a dozen Snipe from one of the top fields at Harrington Airfield this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Female Sparrowhawk
Market Harborough

Robin at Welland Park
Market Harborough

Apparently it is possible
to eat too much cake...!

Woodpigeon at Welland Park,
Market Harborough.

Northants Bird Club Photographic Competition.

Hello

The annual Northants Bird Club Photographic Competition took place on Wednesday and as always the quality of the submitted images was extremely high.

The overall winning image was of a Western Red Colobus monkey as taken by Dave Jackson. Dave is the first ever recipient of the Graham Soden Shield. However it was a close-run thing with many members struggling to identify a clear winner, such was the quality of the top photographs.

The images below are some of the winners which have kindly been forwarded to me by committee member John Showers...

I think I might have to sell my camera, or at least receive some lessons!

Neil M

Western Red Colobus monkey
Courtesy of  Dave Jackson.

American Kestrel with prey
Courtesy of Clive Bowley.

Eurasian Kestrel

Iberian Magpie

Rock Martin

Chameleon sp.

Images courtesy of  Dave Thomas

Good weather for Otters!

Hello

Sadly the forecast was accurate for today with very strong winds and plenty of rain, but perhaps not the deluge we were expecting!

Birding opportunities were minimal today but both an adult Mediterranean Gull and the regular adult Caspian Gull were in the roost at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon.

Eleanor saw the Great White Egret and about a dozen Siskins at Ravensthorpe Reservoir this afternoon, and three Otters were visible on the 'small side' at about 12.45pm.

Rather belated news suggests that the Otters are still present on the River Welland at Market Harborough, the latest report and photographs available on the Internet are dated 26th January 2016.

Regards

Neil M

A well-marked female Blackbird.
The females can show quite a variation
in plumage colouration and markings,
particularly in their first year.

Images courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

And this is winter?

Hello

With heavy rain forecast for tomorrow all day, I decided to visit most of my wild bird feeding stations today but I encountered few birds on my travels - a single Raven at Kelmarsh, a pair of Grey Partridge at Harrington Airfield and a Green Sandpiper on the pools below the dam at Pitsford Reservoir.

I forgot to mention that yesterday evening I saw a Pipistrelle Bat of some kind flying after insects just outside the village at Hanging Houghton. Not normally a common sight in February!

Robin Gossage spent some time at Pitsford Reservoir today with his camera and nice lens (please see his images below)...

Regards

Neil M

Displaying Common Buzzard

Drake Goldeneye (displaying)
...well it is nearly Spring!

All images courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Graham's montage

Hello

Well today was pretty bright and very mild for the most part and this weather at this time of the year rarely produces much in the way of new birds locally.

Hanging Houghton hosted a Raven, and a couple of Bramblings in the garden first thing. I had a quick walk at Harrington Airfield but saw nothing any different and Eleanor jogged around Harlestone Heath with much the same result apart from a handful of Siskins.

I spent a short time checking the hedgerow that borders Brixworth Sewer Treatment Works this afternoon and located the same Firecrest which had been first seen and ringed there last month.

There were four Ravens on the southern outskirts of Brixworth village and the dam area at Pitsford Reservoir attracted a Green Sandpiper and a Grey Wagtail. Finally a Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this evening.

Over the last couple of days Cathy Ryden has been watching five Goosanders which are spending periods of time fishing at Guilsborough Fishponds, this being close to Hollowell Reservoir.

The following pictures sums up an alternative photographic record of some time spent at Pitsford and Ravensthorpe Reservoirs and Stortons GP by Graham Bentley, with a propensity of focusing on beaks and feet!

Regards

Neil M

Foot and head of a
Greylag Goose
from feral origins...

Foot and heads of
Black-headed Gulls

Adult Grey Heron

The lovely Otters!

More images from Cathy Ryden...

Hello

Well I'm very pleased that some of our wildlife photographers are out and about in the county during the 'winter' in order to enliven the blog! Here are some more seasonal shots from Cathy...

Regards

Neil M

Robin

Sunset at Pitsford Reservoir

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Greenfinches

Sunrise at Guilsborough.

All images courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Bright and blustery Tuesday!

Hello

My morning tramp through the woods on the Kelmarsh Estate didn't provide a great deal of avian excitement this morning, but the muddy conditions allowed me to locate plenty of slots from both Muntjac and Roe Deer. It seems like they have hardly stopped all winter, but the Great Tits were in particular good song, the winter sunshine stimulating them to sing their regular 'teacher teacher' song among others. A singing Grey Wagtail was proclaiming it's territory at Kelmarsh Hall and at least one male Brambling was in the garden again this morning.

Eleanor's wander in to the Brampton Valley and up to Blueberry Farm this morning provided views of the adult male Merlin again, a female Peregrine, a Barn Owl and two pairs of Stonechat. The number of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits in the same habitat might be just cause for the Merlin to remain for a little longer yet...

Regards

Neil M

'Brown water' Pitsford Reservoir

Hello

Much of the day saw Neil Hasdell and myself checking and clearing out about twenty large tree-mounted nest-boxes on the reserve at Pitsford Reservoir. These boxes have been erected to provide nesting opportunities for the local owl population, particularly Tawny Owls. Other birds such as Jackdaw and Stock Dove often breed in them too and in recent years Hornets have taken a liking too!

However today it was mostly Grey Squirrels and their dreys that we encountered, and they were all evicted in an effort to give the owls a fighting chance. One box housed five adult squirrels and another four (plus their fleas), these dens providing far more comfort than the traditional mass of sticks and leaves.

The water level at Pitsford is currently high and the water on the reserve section is very brown from the field run-off and sediment-loaded input from the brooks. Plenty of Muntjac were on show around many of the plantations and lots of evidence of Badger activity too, although we did find a new sett that was completely flooded.

The birds were fairly unremarkable but a Green Sandpiper was again present on the flood-water below the dam this afternoon.

Chris Payne spent some time watching the Little Egret gathering on the outskirts of Greens Norton today and counted a remarkable 14 birds...

Regards

Neil M

Mr Hasdell, his trusty (and muddy)
steed and some of the nest-box
inspection equipment!

'Brown water' Pitsford Reservoir

The challenges of a modern-day Barn Owl

Hello

I forgot to mention that early yesterday morning a Barn Owl was seen alongside the road between Creaton and Brixworth. I hope it fares better than the Barn Owl I picked up dead this morning alongside the busy A508 between Hanging Houghton and Brixworth. The bird was fresh and had been killed this morning; it was also ringed so I await details of where it originated.

The male Brambling graced the garden again this morning, arguing over the sunflower hearts with the local Greenfinches, and a couple of Reed Buntings came in for seed this afternoon. A visit to Brixworth Sewer Works confirmed the continued presence of a couple of Grey Wagtails and a Chiffchaff.

The gull roost at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon was mostly uneventful but the adult Caspian Gull showed up again.

Regards

Neil M

Nuthatch

Treecreeper

It's not just water-birds
on show in Abington Park
(Northampton), as these
images from John Gamble prove.

Bird Club Photographic Competition

Hello

This is a reminder to members and an invitation to non-members that this coming Wednesday (3rd February 2016) sees the next indoor meeting of the Northants Bird Club at the Pitsford Reservoir Fishing Lodge (NN6 9SJ) .

This will be the annual photographic competition and the first time that the prestigious Graham Soden shield will be awarded to the overall winner. The doors open at 7.30pm and tea and coffee and biscuits will be available. 

Please come along and enjoy your evening!

Neil M

Kelmarsh Hall ringing

Hello

Eric Graham was out on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston GP this morning and again saw the Great White Egret plus five Goosanders and eight Lesser Redpolls at the feeding station there.

Eleanor was out Staverton way this morning and saw the regular pair of Raven. A subsequent visit to Ravensthorpe Reservoir successfully coincided with two Otters active on the 'small side' of the reservoir at 1pm, and of course the Great White Egret was present too.

A ringing session at Kelmarsh Hall today yielded 105 captures made up of 56 new birds and 49 re-traps which amounted to 40 Blue Tits, 17 Great Tits, 4 Coal Tits, 7 Long-tailed Tits, a Goldcrest, a Wren, 3 Dunnocks, 2 Robins, 2 Blackbirds, a Redwing, 15 Chaffinches, 3 Greenfinches, a Siskin, 3 Goldfinches, 4 Nuthatches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Other birds noted included a Raven, a redpoll sp and at least one other Siskin.

A soggy Blueberry Farm this afternoon seemed mostly devoid of birds, a single male Stonechat being the only bird of note.

Regards

Neil M

Coal Tit

Image courtesy
of Cathy Ryden.

Kestrel at
Blueberry Farm, Maidwell

Ringing Recoveries

Hello

Little in the way of birds to report today - I did notice a Willow Tit at Scotland Wood and a Raven at Kelmarsh whilst trundling between feeding stations...

A couple of international ringing recoveries have been received of birds first caught and ringed at Stortons Gravel Pits...

The first relates to a Reed Warbler hatched in 2015 and caught and ringed initially on 29th August 2015. Whether this was a bird reared at Stortons or a bird already on passage migration is difficult to ascertain. This bird was caught again by ringers in Saint-Clement-des-Baleines, Charente-Maritime which is on the Atlantic seaboard in South West France 22 days later on 20th September 2015. In that time this young bird had flown 668km due south.

The second is a rather belated report referring to an adult male Blackbird first caught and ringed on 18th October 2009. This migrant thrush was found freshly dead on 1st March 2011 on the southern tip of Norway at a place called Farsund, some 449 days and 813km north-east from where it had first been processed. Presumably this Scandanavian-origin bird had over-wintered successfully in the UK during the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 winters and was returning to its breeding grounds when it met its fate.

Regards

Neil M

Reed Warbler

Adult male Blackbird

Both images courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Atmospheric images

Hello

No birding opportunities today but Lisa Morris visited Ravensthorpe Reservoir this morning and enjoyed just a single view of her first ever Otter!

The atmospheric images posted below are offered by Cathy Ryden, capturing the riot of colours and opportunities that this time of the year sometimes provides...

Regards

Neil M

Long-tailed Tit

Male Lesser Redpoll


All images courtesy of
Cathy Ryden

Limited birding today...

Hello

The male Brambling put in a brief garden appearance this morning but dirty double-glazing isn't good for photos!

I paid Ravensthorpe Reservoir a visit late morning but didn't see any Otter activity. Birds visible from the causeway included the Great White Egret still plus a Little Egret and a Grey Wagtail.

Regards

Neil M

Male Brambling

Drake Goldeneye

Long-tailed Tit