Ringing results

Hello

Details of recent ringing recoveries have been received as follows:-

D992237 was a ring placed on a young Reed Warbler at Squires Down in Dorset on 4th September 2015 and was re-trapped at Stortons Gravel Pits, Northampton on 17th and 31st July 2016, some 173km distance;

S324121 relates to a juvenile Garden Warbler ringed at Paper Court Marsh, Surrey on 6th July 2016 which was then re-trapped at Stortons GP on 6th August 2016, a surprising NNW movement of 108km;

Z475789 was a ring placed on a juvenile Cetti's Warbler at Stortons GP on 7th June 2015 and then the bird was re-trapped as a breeding female at Newbriggs Flash, Derbyshire this year, displacing 118km in a north north-westerly direction;

TT94502 refers to a Greenfinch ringed as a young male at Greens Norton on 29th September 2012 which was found dead at Pimlico, Brackley on 7th August this year. Four years is actually a good age for a Greenfinch in recent years.

Further news of the colour-ringed Common Tern at Pitsford Reservoir seen on 5th August this year was that it and a sibling were spotted in the Bay of Cadiz, Spain on 29th July 2015 (initially ringed as a nestling in London in 2014).

Regards

Neil M

Male Greenfinch.

Juvenile Swallow.

Adult Swallow.

Painted Lady.

All images courtesy
of Cathy Ryden.

Pitsford Ringing

Hello

Visit 11 of the Pitsford Reservoir Constant Effort ringing session took place today with an excellent catch of 68 birds of 23 different species. Warblers included 7 Blackcaps, 5 Chiffchaffs, 4 Willow Warblers, 4 Reed Warblers, 4 Whitethroats and a Garden Warbler. A Spotted Flycatcher was a rare capture and good local birds included 2 Kingfishers, a Willow Tit, 2 Marsh Tits and a re-trap Tawny Owl which is at least 12 years old.

The Ardnamurchan Peninsular has enjoyed good weather the last two days and with Pine Martens active on both evenings at Glenborrodale...

Regards

Neil M

Tawny Owl at
Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Lynne Barnett.

Pine Marten.

Sad News

I received the sad news today that Stephen Knowles of Blueberry Farm had died peacefully in his sleep this morning. He had been unwell for a few months.

We first met Stephen quite a few years ago when a Common Crane was discovered on his land and as you can imagine this attracted a large number of birders. I can remember Neil plucking up courage to go and talk to Stephen and his wife Jo to arrange access and parking.  But he need not have worried as Stephen was so welcoming and also very interested in this "strange" bird on his land.  

As many of you know both Neil and I have spent quite a bit of time birding around Blueberry over the years and have enjoyed many interesting conversations with Stephen and Jo, both of them hugely passionate and interested in all the wildlife found on their land.
I think that many of us experienced their enthusiasm and warmth a few winters ago when we witnessed a truly magical event of the huge numbers of Short-eared Owls, the sight of which I will never forget.  Again Stephen and Jo welcomed huge numbers of birders and people onto their land, keen to share these beautiful birds and let them be inspired and wowed by the experience.

As I've said both Stephen and Jo welcomed folk onto their land and they even erected some benches on the top of "Blueberry Hill" so that you could sit and enjoy the marvellous view of the countryside as far as the eye can see.  Stephen called it the "best view in Northamptonshire", and I tend to agree.

Many birders, walkers, runners etc will have their own memories of this lovely, softly spoken "gentle" man, who always had a twinkle in his eye and time to talk.  I used to meet him on his regular trots around the fields on his trusty horse. We would exchange bird notes, and despite me using binoculars he would inevitably see more than me and he loved to grip me off with his eye level encounters of roosting owls which he saw from his horse!!

One of life's rare characters, loved and respected by many but I'm sure that his spirit will live on around Blueberry.

Our thoughts are very much with Jo and the family at this sad time. A time which is even more difficult for the family as Jo is very ill at this time.

Thank you Stephen and may you rest in peace xx

Regards   Eleanor

The Ardnamurchan - Scotland's Wild West!

Hello

The last few days I have been up on the Ardnamurchan Peninsular on the west side of Scotland, in preparation of leading a couple of wildlife watching tours on behalf of Naturetrek. The weather both today and yesterday has been breezy but sunny and often warm...

Much of it was re-visiting sites from a couple of years ago and finding a couple of new ones too, and requesting the wildlife when I found it to remain in situ for the next little while... Of course not much of it will!

I've been fortunate to have found an Otter, seen two Pine Martens and enjoyed views of both species of eagles. There are still summer migrants in the shape of Tree Pipit, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher and Whinchat present but they are thinning out as August rattles along.

A few images below of sightings on the Ardnamurchan during the last two days...

Regards

Neil M

A very worn Dark Green Fritillary.

Scotch Argus.

Downy Emerald Dragonfly

Meadow Pipit.

Red Deer.

Tornado jet in front
of the island of Eigg.

Twite.

Rock Pipit.

County Bird Ringing

Hello

The two planned ringing sessions went well today in almost perfect conditions. The effort at the main feeding station at Pitsford Reservoir provided 51 captures which included 20 Tree Sparrows, 6 Robins, 4 Blackcaps, 3 Whitethroats, 2 Willow Warblers, a Chiffchaff, a Sedge Warbler, a Reed Warbler plus more resident birds.

Stortons GP performed well with nine species of warbler being caught. Of the 89 birds processed 56 of them were warblers made up of 15 Reed Warblers, 4 Sedge Warblers, 3 Cetti's Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat, 7 Whitethroats, a Garden Warbler, 13 Blackcaps, 2 Willow Warblers and 10 Chiffchaffs.

Other birds included a control Treecreeper, 9 Long-tailed Tits, 3 Wrens, a Goldcrest, 7 Robins, 2 Bullfinches, 2 Great Tits and a Blackbird.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Sedge Warbler.

Common Chicory.

Both images taken
today at Pitsford Reservoir
courtesy of Lynne Barnett.

Saturday birding

Hello

Two Ravens were showing rather well this morning in a field between Kelmarsh and Arthingworth.

Eleanor saw two Ravens as usual at Staverton and a walk around Borough Hill Country Park at Daventry provided views of a Redstart and two Whinchats.

Pitsford Reservoir hosted three Green Sandpipers and three Kingfishers in the Scaldwell Bay and the Ruddy Shelduck was still in Yacht Bay. This evening's gull roost attracted about eight Yellow-legged Gulls...

Regards

Neil M

Ravens between Kelmarsh
and Arthingworth this morning...

Pitsford stuff

Hello

On 5th August an adult Common Tern bearing a colour ring was perched up on one of the fence posts in front of the superb new Bird Club Hide at Pitsford Reservoir in the Scaldwell Bay. It was exhibiting a yellow ring on the left leg with the inscription C26 in black letters. The BTO Ringing Unit processed this report rapidly and it transpires that this bird was ringed as a nestling on 2nd July 2014 at Bedfont Lakes, East Bedfont, Greater London. It is not clear if this was a breeding adult utilising the tern rafts at Pitsford.

Other Pitsford news includes the completion last week of an intentionally planted Phragmites reed-bed between the Holcot and Walgrave bays, in the shallow lagoon in front of the Lagoon Hide. This 100m x 2m strip is screened to try and protect it from grazing geese and will hopefully flourish into a viable permanent reed-bed.

Ringing sessions are planned locally for this coming Sunday with John Woollett making a 6am start at Stortons Gravel Pits meeting in the small fisherman's car park off the roundabout below the Sixfields Stadium, and Dave Francis is hoping to try the main feeding station on the Old Scaldwell Road at Pitsford Reservoir. Warblers should present themselves at both sites and there should be Tree Sparrows active at Pitsford.

Regards

Neil M

Ruddy Darter
courtesy of Cathy Ryden.

"I want to be a swan!"
Cormorant 'playing' with
a swan feather courtesy
of Cathy Ryden.

Spotted Flycatcher courtesy
of Cathy Ryden.

Green Sandpiper at
Pitsford Reservoir
by Robin Gossage.

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

The August Pitsford Reservoir WeBS count was completed today in pleasant conditions, the best of the birds being the Ruddy Shelduck, a female Red-crested Pochard x Ferruginous Duck hybrid, a Goldeneye, four Wigeon, two Green Sandpipers, six Common Sandpipers, a Dunlin and a Ringed Plover. Passage passerines included a Redstart in a field hedge near to The Pines and several Siskins. Other birds included thirteen Little Egrets, an adult Yellow-legged Gull and two Kingfishers.

Three or four Grey Wagtails were at Brixworth Sewer Works, a singing Grasshopper Warbler was at Blueberry Farm and other birds in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon included a Hobby, two Whinchats and a Wheatear.

Regards

Neil M

Common Tern and
Mute Swan

Thick-headed Fly

All images taken by Robin
Gossage at Pitsford Reservoir
today.

Farmland birds

Hello

Eleanor was out and about for much of the day today and started at Harrington Airfield where birds included a Whinchat, two Ravens, the large brood of Grey Partridges and two Siskins.

Sywell Country Park hosted a Water Rail, at least two Grey Wagtails and a Siskin.

The Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton towards Blueberry Farm was busy with the scuffling of the fields post-harvest and the gulls, corvids and raptors were taking advantage of this agricultural work to enhance the top-soil. A Peregrine was on one of the fields with prey and other birds of prey included Hobby and lots of Red Kites and Common Buzzards.

Passerines included a trio of chats with a Wheatear and two Whinchats and at least the male and a juvenile from the Stonechat family...

Regards

Neil M

Images from the Brampton
Valley courtesy of Eleanor.

An outing to Boddington Reservoir

Hello

A short report by Helen Franklin...

Banbury Ornithological Society members spent a very pleasant evening yesterday Monday) at Boddington Reservoir (in Northamptonshire, just west of Byfield) for their summer outdoor meeting.  Initially the skies were threatening and indeed a brief shower sent us all scurrying for our waterproofs, but this quickly blew over and the rest of our time was attended by attractive cloud formations, a rainbow and a lovely sunset.

Birds included several species with juveniles in tow: Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebes, Mute Swan (with 6 cygnets, which is a very good number for this site) and Mallard.  A small group of gulls was made up of mainly Black-headed Gulls with a few Lesser Black-backed.  Hedgerows contained Whitethroats, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting and Yellowhammers and there was a large flock of corvids on telegraph wires south of the dam at the end of the water.  Swift and Swallows were overhead in small numbers and a Grey Heron, Common Sandpiper, a juvenile Grey Wagtail and two Kingfishers were disturbed as we walked around the path close to the water’s edge.

But the highlight for most of us was hearing a Cetti’s Warbler in the reed-bed in Byfield Pool at the back of the main reservoir, which belongs to The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire!

Regards

Neil M

Fineshade Wood news

It's summer time - and the flowers are high After all the rain earlier in the year, the flowers and other vegetation in Fineshade are profuse at the moment. Because of the height of the grass, you have to look quite carefully to see the newly arrived sheep in the field in front of the Visitor Centre - there are rare breed Llanwenogs and Hebrideans who certainly have plenty to eat. Elsewhere in the wood, flowers are blooming, and insects flitting and it's a great time to visit. What could be better than joining Brian Laney for an informal wildflower walk this coming Saturday, 13th August at 10am? The weather forecast for Saturday is dry and not too hot - just ideal! We'll meet just outside the courtyard at the visitor centre but please send us an email to let us know that you're coming. We hope you can join us.

Back from the Brink project Thanks very much to those of you who were able to respond to our last request to complete the online survey www.naturebackfromthebrink.org. We've heard unofficially that there's a good chance that the Rockingham Forest part of the project could be based here and that there was a very positive meeting with Forestry Commission staff. There's still a long way to go, but it could be that the project would start next year. There are details on our website here: http://www.fineshade.org.uk/#!back-from-the-brink/p3lhi and we'll update that page as soon as we hear anything definite.   Forest Holidays You may have seen on the website that the Chief Executive of Forest Enterprise has said that: Following various consultation activities, they (Forest Holidays) are reconsidering how they approach Fineshade and it is unclear when any firm proposal for the area will be forthcoming soon, if at all.  While this is good news, it does leave the threat of future development hanging - Fineshade is still one of about a dozen FC sites on the so-called Exclusivity List, where Forest Holidays have been given carte blanche to plan developments. Perhaps we should be doing more to pressurise FC to take Fineshade off that list - what do you think?   Lots of Wildlife records The Chief Excucutive of Natural England has declared that "Fineshade is a wonderful place for wildlife". This summer we've had the help of several local wildlife recorders and photographers who've been finding rare or unusual creatures and plants. All the findings continue to be published on this page of the website http://www.fineshade.org.uk/#!wildlife-month/ph12q.  If you can help in any way, please do get in touch.   Enjoying and Protecting Fineshade Wood Thank you once again for continuing to support Fineshade - we are delighted that Fineshade has so many Friends. Do please let us know if you have ideas or suggestions about what more we could do encourage the enjoyment and protection of the wood. Friends of Fineshade

Dozy Barn Owl!

Hello

A visit to Ditchford Gravel Pits today in cooler temperatures provided views of an adult male Peregrine, six Snipe, a Ringed Plover, eight Egyptian Geese, two Little Egrets, a Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail. The best bird was undoubtedly a Barn Owl found roosting in ivy in a hedge.

A Raven and a Hobby were at Hanging Houghton and this afternoon birds visible at Harrington Airfield included a cracking adult male Redstart, two Turtle Doves and the big brood of Grey Partridges again.

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl at
Ditchford GP.