More images from Norfolk...

Hello

Yesterday (Sunday) and the ringing session at Stortons Gravel Pits was somewhat curtailed due to this unpredictable June weather. However 22 birds were captured before rain and wind stopped play and included juvenile Whitethroats and a juvenile Sedge Warbler. A Reed Bunting bearing ring number Z310185 was netted - this bird was first caught and ringed at Harrington Airfield in September 2014.

Today (Monday) and a single Turtle Dove was the only bird of note located at Harrington Airfield with Blueberry Farm hosting now three 'reeling' Grasshopper Warblers and a Barn Owl this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Common Tern

Sandwich Tern

Bearded Tits

Mallard duckling

Avocet

Avocet chick

All images from the
RSPB reserve at Titchwell.

A day to Norfolk

Hello

Northants Ringing Group members assisted at a bioblitz project at Linford Lakes near Milton Keynes yesterday (Saturday), catching 49 birds, 40 of which were new. A juvenile Cetti's Warbler was confirmation that this species now breeds on-site but something of a surprise was the capture of a first year female Redstart. Presumably this is a failed breeder already on it's way back south. Other birds included 5 Reed Warblers, 5 Blackcaps, 3 Garden Warblers, a Whitethroat, a Treecreeper, 2 Reed Buntings and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers.

Today (Sunday) and Debbie and Eric Graham were out and about on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston and located four singing Cetti's Warblers and saw a Peregrine too.

Also today a car-load of us headed to the North Norfolk coast, stopping first at Sandringham where we were treated to at least one Firecrest.

On next to Holme in an effort to see the Great Knot, only to see the complete flock of summering Knot  (which it spends it's time with) lift off and fly rapidly east! A Marsh Harrier and a Turtle Dove were some compensation.

We drove to the RSPB reserve at Titchwell but there was no sign of the GK. Three Ruff included a couple of moulting males, one of which was displaying between bouts of feeding. Up to four Spotted Redshanks were still in summer plumage, three or four first summer Little Gulls were mobile as were three summer plumage Mediterranean Gulls. Some fledged juvenile Marsh Harriers clearly required further practice at food-passing, losing the hard-earned prey on two occasions!

On next to Brancaster where we walked down to view the Knot flock on Scolt Head. Little, Common and Sandwich Terns fished the shallow waters as we scanned the mostly soft greys of the Knot, interspersed with summer plumage 'Red Knot'. And there it was, the super Great Knot, keeping to the edge of the flock and then coming down to feed on the receding tide! After putting the news out we helped other birders on to the bird as they ambled amongst ordinary holiday makers enjoying the classic sandy Norfolk beach.

We finished the birding day back at Titchwell where Bearded Tits showed well, five Spoonbills were in flight, a Bittern boomed and we watched the antics of the volatile breeding Avocets as they tried to force out any other bird from 'their' stretch of mud and shallow water.

Please also see the Tab 'Robin's Wildlife Antics' which includes a recently posted series of shots depicting aggressive interaction between a trio of Great Crested Grebes...

Regards

Neil M

Firecrest

Ruff

Little Tern

Sandwich Tern

Ringing at Brixworth

Hello

A ringing session at Brixworth water treatment works this afternoon was a little slow but we eventually caught 37 birds which included 14 Pied Wagtails, a female Yellow Wagtail, a juvenile Grey Wagtail, a House Martin (which was a returning bird from 2014), 12 Swallows (including a bird first ringed in Hertfordshire in August 2015) and 4 Magpies...

A Hobby was one of five species of raptor noted during our time there.

Regards

Neil M

Pied Wagtails.

Quite a number of the
Pied Wagtails we are catching
are juveniles and there seems
 to be plenty of them!

Middle England in June

Hello

Today an early morning walk at Harrington Airfield didn't provide any particular birds of interest apart from a couple of Willow Tits which remained mostly well hidden in the vegetation.

Three Grey Partridges were found close to Hanging Houghton again and the Ruddy Shelduck remains within the grounds of the Sailing Club at Pitsford Reservoir.

Welford Reservoir this evening looked spectacular in strong sunshine against a backdrop of dark rain-laden clouds and the only birds of note was a fish-carrying Kingfisher and Great Crested Grebes with stripey young. A Spotted Flycatcher was present between Naseby and Welford.

Regards

Neil M

Common Spotted Orchids
Harrington Airfield.

Poppies at Harrington Airfield.

Juvenile Blue Tit.

Joseph our long-staying
rescue dog on foster care.
Is there a home out there
for him?

Singing Yellowhammer
on hawthorn.

'Middle England' complete with
spiraling Common Buzzard!

There they go!

The Red Arrows
heading north over
the Brampton Valley
near Hanging
Houghton this evening...

More images from Robin

Hello

Nothing much to report locally today, so some more wildlife images from Robin Gossage to cast your eyes over....

Regards

Neil M

Stock Dove

Grass Snake

Greenfinch

Marsh Tit

Warm but wet June

Hello

At Pitsford Reservoir this morning an Osprey was fishing between the dam and the causeway for nearly half an hour before finally catching a fish and heading off at about 7.30am. Other birds included the injured Ruddy Shelduck and a couple of Little Egrets.

A pair of Grey Partridge were present at Harrington Airfield this morning and a sticky, warm Blueberry Farm was good for two singing Grasshopper Warblers this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Reed Bunting

Courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Sedge Warbler carrying food.

Courtesy of John Gamble.

Heading East...

Hello

Eleanor was off to Norfolk for a few days and left early this morning. En-route of course she couldn't resist a wander around Harrington Airfield and saw a Turtle Dove actually on the concrete track and a hunting Barn Owl.

Just off the A14 east of Kettering is the rather lovely Twywell Hills and Dales Country Park and that was her next venue. Here large numbers of Common Spotted Orchids look an absolute picture and here also there was a Turtle Dove, a Raven and a calling Cuckoo. A sign of the times, this was Eleanor's first calling Cuckoo of the year - just in time really because some of them are already heading back south!

A little further east and Eleanor walked around the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Gravel Pits, notching up at least six singing Cetti's Warblers. Other birds here included a Peregrine, three Hobbys and another Cuckoo.

Not surprisingly Titchwell on the Norfolk coast was her next stop where she managed to see the vagrant summer plumage Great Knot which is currently commuting between there and Scolt Head.

Away from all this excitement I felt privileged to find a pair of Grey Partridge on the outskirts of Hanging Houghton this morning, and then found a single bird on the other side of the village in the afternoon. Four Ravens were an impressive sight between the villages of Scaldwell and Brixworth early this afternoon.

Also today Dave Francis was afloat at Pitsford Reservoir checking on the tern rafts. An estimated 52 nests is good news and to date this year 39 Common Tern chicks have been ringed. Dave's timing was excellent inasmuch that he liberated a brood of Greylag Geese and a brood of Mallard which had laid eggs on the rafts but had no means to reach the water (the rafts have border panels to prevent Common Tern chicks from falling off and to counter significant wave action). The pair of Oystercatcher have also hatched four chicks on one of the rafts.

Regards

Neil M

Cuckoo

Common Tern

Summer solstice birding

Hello

Jacob Spinks located a Raven family between Scaldwell village and Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon, and at risk of sounding repetitive, Blueberry Farm hosted two Barn Owls and two singing Grasshopper Warblers on a beautiful evening after a very wet start to the day.

Yesterday (Sunday) John Woollett and his team tried hard to catch and ring birds at Stortons Gravel Pits with over 800 feet of mist nets providing 54 captures which included 33 new birds. Like Pitsford, a real lack of young birds and little in the way of tit flocks. A juvenile Kingfisher was probably the most exotic capture and other birds included four Bullfinches, two Song Thrushes, a Reed Bunting, an impressive four Cetti's Warblers, two Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, two Whitethroats, five Sedge Warblers and fourteen Reed Warblers. Some of the Reed and Sedge Warblers were birds ringed on-site from previous years.

Regards

Neil M

Woodpigeon

Male Bullfinch.

Above two images courtesy
of Jacob Spinks.

Eyed Hawk-moth

Barred Yellow moth

Longhorn Beetle
Agapanthia villosoviridescens

Above images courtesy
of John Gamble.

Great Knot contained within a Knot
 flock at Titchwell, Norfolk.
The Great Knot is the larger, darker bird (at
the front of the upper two images).

Courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Crab-eating Herring Gull.

Courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

Sunday update...

Hello

Yesterday's (Saturday) ringing at Linford Lakes was very productive with 58 new birds and 7 re-traps of 18 species. Warblers dominated, all of which were new and included some juveniles. They included a Cetti's Warbler, eight Blackcaps, eight Whitethroats, seven Reed Warblers, two Garden Warblers and three Chiffchaffs. The catch also included six gorgeous speckled juvenile Robins, three Treecreepers, a Song Thrush and two Bullfinches.

Kenny returned in the evening and just about survived the mosquitoes to catch five Sand Martins. One was a juvenile and the other four were adults, one of which was first ringed there last year.

Kenny's sustained efforts at this site are paying off with some excellent ringing recoveries. We have been notified of a controlled Garden Warbler which was first ringed as a juvenile at Icklesham in East Sussex on 16th August 2011 and re-trapped at Linford Lakes on 7th May this year. A period of 1726 days elapsed between the two dates and of course this small bundle of flesh and feathers has now successfully migrated and wintered well south of the Sahara on five occasions. Just amazing!

Today (Sunday) and Eric Graham was out again at Thrapston Gravel Pits spending most of his time on the Titchmarsh Reserve. Morning sunshine brought out a host of insects including plenty of dragonflies and butterflies. A drake Red-crested Pochard was the birding highlight.

Visit Five of the Constant Effort Site ringing programme at Pitsford Reservoir this morning yielded just 39 birds of 15 species, an all-time low and to a certain extent quite a contrast to Linford Lakes.
The catch included five Chiffchaffs, five Blackcaps, two Garden Warblers, a Willow Warbler, a Reed Warbler. a Song Thrush and three Bullfinches. Preliminary analysis suggests that the numbers are depleted due to a lack of on-territory adult warblers and juveniles of common resident birds.

Presumed breeding Spotted Flycatchers have been vocal at Hanging Houghton, Lamport Hall and Orton during the last couple of days and this morning some agricultural grassland at the latter site was home to a colony of Small Heath butterflies, Azure Blue Damselflies and a Mother Shipton moth.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Robin.

Mother Shipton
(day-flying) moth.

Talk and Walk

Hello

Talk & Walk with the Wildlife Trust

Saturday 2 July 2016

1.15pm – 4pm

Abington Park Museum & Kingsthorpe Meadows Nature Reserve

Stuart Baker from the Bedfordshire Cambridgeshire and Northants Wildlife Trust will give a talk at Abington Park Museum, Northampton about local wildlife sites and the interesting creatures you might discover there. He will then lead a guided tour of Kingsthorpe Meadows Nature Reserve, Mill Lane, Kingsthorpe, Northampton.

The talk will be from 1.15pm to 2.15pm.

Attendees will then make their own way to Kingsthorpe Meadows Nature Reserve, ready for a guided walk from 3pm - 4pm.

£5 per person. Limited spaces. Booking Essential.
Ring 01604 837397 to book.

Regards

Neil M

Pitsford CBC

Hello

Debbie and Eric Graham battled through the wealth of vegetation at Titchmarsh Nature Reserve at Thrapston this morning and heard rather than saw eight species of warbler. Swifts filled the skies and the local Cuckoo's voice has changed in pitch as he considers his options, which might include an early journey back south.

I conducted a Common Bird Census on the reserve at Pitsford Reservoir this morning in grey, cloudy conditions. Plenty of common birds singing but the insects were mostly hidden away. Scattered feathers was all I could find of the predated remains of a Barn Owl in Christies Copse, which is a shame because I haven't seen a live one at Pitsford this year. A drake Goldeneye was in the Scaldwell Bay and the summer build-up of ducks has begun with an increase in loafing Gadwall, Tufted Duck and Pochard beginning their eclipse period.

Other birds noted included the persistently singing Lesser Whitethroat in the Walgrave Bay and another individual near the main feeding station. A secretive Willow Tit was heard calling, a juvenile Tawny Owl was begging for food and there seemed to be quite a number of Coal Tit families scattered around the reserve.

Good numbers of Chimney Sweeper moths were active in the Scaldwell Bay meadows despite the conditions.

A couple of Ravens were at Staverton again today, a Turtle Dove and a Hobby were at Harrington Airfield this afternoon and Blueberry Farm again hosted a Barn Owl and a couple of 'reeling' Grasshopper Warblers this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Black-backed Gull. Currently
the most numerous 'big gull' at
Pitsford Reservoir, but it won't be
long before the Yellow-legged Gulls
begin to filter back through from central
European breeding grounds.

Great Crested Grebes. Always
to be found at Pitsford Reservoir.

Focus on the Swallow

Hello

The Swallow (Barn Swallow) is one of those iconic summer visitors we look forward to welcoming back every spring. And when they disappear in the autumn we know colder, shorter days beckon.

These days Swallows nest in close proximity to man and in fact it is unusual to find them nesting in anything other than a human-made structure. They make their own nests with a foundation of mud, and then line them with varying amounts of dry vegetation, animal hair and large feathers from other birds.

Locally traditional stables are the preferred structure (with or without animals) but of course there aren't enough stables to go around so they also nest in porches, car ports, a variety of barns, garages and awnings and locally I know of one site where they nest in brick-built dog kennels!

On a diet of insects, nestlings grow fast and some pairs in the British Isles (mostly in the south) manage to raise three broods during the relatively short British spring and summer. Locally one or two broods is more the norm.

Ringing species of birds which winter in Africa and breed in Europe is something of a priority within the ringing scheme, and a number of local ringers put a great deal of effort in to locating Swallow nests and with the permission of the land-owner, ringing the nestlings before they fledge.

John Woollett and Chris Payne visit many nests in the South Northants district and Chris has one stable complex which is supporting at least ten Swallow nests and he has already ringed 26 nestlings there this year.

Catching free-flying adult Swallows in the spring is generally difficult, after all they are fast and very maneuverable flyers with most concentrations of birds over open water. The treatment work at Brixworth attracts insect-loving birds and the last couple of years has provided us with an opportunity of catching and assessing adult Swallows. Some of these birds appear to be returning to breed nearby but an unknown percentage are still on migration to elsewhere.

We have received notification of four birds caught this year at Brixworth which were ringed originally elsewhere:-

Y774176 was ringed as a juvenile bird at Stanford Reservoir on 28th August 2014 and was caught at Brixworth on 18th May this year, some 629 days later;

Z541815 was a juvenile ringed at Rye Meads, Hertfordshire on 15th August 2015 and caught at Brixworth on 18th May this year, 277 days later;

D458758 was a juvenile ringed at Oakley, near Martin Hussingtree, Worcestershire on 16th July 2013 and captured at Brixworth on 1st June, 1051 days later;

Z720186 was a juvenile ringed at Ely Beet Pits, Cambridgeshire on 4th September 2015 and trapped again at Brixworth on 18th May 2016, 257 days later.

All these birds of course have wintered in Africa, many as far as South Africa, but have subsequently returned to 'middle England'.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Swallow.

Just-fledged juvenile Swallows.
Courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Brixworth Treatment Works
attracts flying insects which in turn
attracts Swallows.

The Des Res in Swallow accommodation!
Stable block near Greens Norton supporting
at least ten pairs of Swallows.

Above two images courtesy of
Chris Payne.

Adult Swallow.