A grey February day...

Hello

A walk at Harrington Airfield this morning saw plenty of birds waiting to be fed. By way of example twenty Blackbirds immediately came down on the concrete track even before I had finished putting the food down! The only birds of note appeared to be a flock of sixteen Golden Plovers and a calling Grey Partridge plus singing Skylarks. The Hanging Houghton Barn Owl was hunting in daylight conditions again in the Brampton Valley this afternoon.

Jacob's efforts at Pitsford Reservoir today yielded sightings of the Slavonian Grebe in the usual spot, two Ravens, two Pintail, fifteen Golden Plovers, two Stonechats and a Siskin. The gull roost off the Sailing Club was productive with views of two Mediterranean Gulls (first and second winters) and a Yellow-legged Gull and a Caspian Gull. Three Redpolls were in the grounds of the Sailing Club and Jacob enjoyed watching eight in his garden at Scaldwell.

Regards

Neil M

First year Mediterranean Gull.

Adult male Blackbird.
The county is awash with
hungry Blackbirds at the
moment, many of them
from the continent...

Birds of a cold and sunny day!

Hello

Single Ravens were visible and audible at both Kelmarsh and Hanging Houghton today and two Woodcock were at Blueberry Farm and a Long-eared Owl was confirmed on private land nearby.
A Barn Owl was in it's usual spot below Hanging Houghton village today.

Neil Hasdell spent some time looking for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers at Lings Wood this morning and succeeded! Two birds were calling and drumming in the south east section of the wood about 100m along a track between Lings House and the adjacent playing field. This site remains one of the most reliable places locally to see this rare and elusive species.

Neil went on to Summer Leys LNR and saw a Great White Egret, three Ravens, a Peregrine and a Dunlin.

The Slavonian Grebe was still present at Pitsford Reservoir this afternoon, again between Pintail Bay and Yacht Bay. Single Redpolls were vocal at Hanging Houghton and Pitsford Reservoir.

Chris Payne and John Woollett completed some ringing at Bradden in South Northants today, catching 55 birds of 12 species. Highlights included a Nuthatch, two Goldcrests, five Goldfinches (including a ringed bird from elsewhere) and two male Siskins.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

Male Siskin, courtesy
of Chris Payne.

On the cusp - of snow and Ravens!

Hello

Eleanor's time out and about today yielded a Woodcock at Harrington Airfield and two more flushed from hedgerows at the old Blueberry Farm complex near Maidwell. The regular Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton both this morning and this afternoon. An 'asio' owl flushed from a nearby hedge was suspected to have been a Long-eared Owl but showed very poorly and wasn't relocated...

I noticed a pair of Raven in the grounds of St Andrews Hospital, Northampton today - it looks as if they are on the cusp of becoming an urban bird as the resident population in the county (particularly the south west) continues to increase!

Regards

Neil M

The wonderful Woodcock.

Raven and Common Buzzard
courtesy of Robin Gossage.
Both species have returned back
to the county during the last couple
of decades...

Wagtails and Long-tailed Tits!

Hello

A ringing session at Brixworth Treatment Works today provided 42 captures made up of 26 new birds and 16 re-trapped individuals of 12 species. This total was made up of a Magpie, a Dunnock, seven Great Tits, eight Blue Tits, six Long-tailed Tits, a Goldcrest, a Chiffchaff, two Grey Wagtails (of four present there), twelve Pied Wagtails including a re-trap from 2016, a Chaffinch, a Greenfinch and a Reed Bunting. Other birds noted on-site included five Snipe and a Water Rail.

Other birds noted today included a Barn Owl between Hanging Houghton and Brixworth, two Ravens over Brixworth Country Park and the Slavonian Grebe again at Pitsford Reservoir between the Pintail and Yacht Bays...

Yesterday Helen Franklin caught a Long-tailed Tit in her Priors Marston garden bearing ring number EJL702. Helen first caught and ringed this bird on 30th March 2012 and has re-trapped it on three occasions in total. In June 2012 this bird exhibited features suggesting it was a breeding female and she will be at least seven years old this summer. Very impressive considering the oldest known British Long-tailed Tit was a bird aged as eight years eleven months set in 2014.

Regards

Neil M

Long-tailed Tit.

Grey Wagtail.

Northants Bird Club Photographic Competition.

Hello

The Northants Bird Club hosts its annual photographic competition this coming Wednesday (7th Feb) at the Fishing Lodge, Pitsford Reservoir. The fun starts promptly at 7.30pm with the evening dedicated to peruse the images taken during the last year and submitted by members for our enjoyment.

The images have been assessed by a professional photographer independent of the club and the winners of each category have been identified. Members will be asked to vote on the overall winner on the night.

Hot drinks and biscuits will be available during the evening, come along and enjoy the photos!

Regards

Neil M

Red-necked Phalarope,
courtesy of Dave Jackson.

'Tis cold out there!

Hello

John Woollett and team completed a ringing session in cool, rather breezy conditions at Stortons Pits this morning. Thirty-eight birds were caught and released made up of 20 Blue Tits, 6 Great Tits, a Greenfinch, 3 Goldfinches, a Reed Bunting, a Dunnock, 2 Robins, a Blackbird, a Cetti's Warbler (a female first ringed in 2015) a Treecreeper and a Long-tailed Tit.

Eric Graham scoured the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston today seeing a Great White Egret on Heron Lake, two Little Egrets, three Goosanders on Aldwincle Lake, four singing Cetti's Warblers  and a Water Rail.

A walk at Harrington Airfield this morning was rather cool and the only birds of note were a small party of twenty Golden Plovers. A walk around Cottesbrooke village failed to locate any Hawfinches although a pair of Raven were on territory. A Barn Owl was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and a Grey Wagtail was at Brixworth Treatment Works.

A cool, grey and breezy gull roost this afternoon at Pitsford Reservoir finally paid off when a first winter Kittiwake was located among the Common and Black-headed Gulls.

Regards

Neil M

First winter Kittiwake.

Female Blackbird,
courtesy of John Tilly.

Robin.
Courtesy of John Tilly.

Wildlife of a cold, wet day...

Hello

Pitsford Reservoir is now full, but with water rather than birds! As is usual in the latter part of the winter, many of the waterbirds are no longer present as the food available to them has in the main already been consumed. For dabbling ducks the increase in the water level and the fact that the water is now filtering in to the margins where there is food available as seed and vegetation becomes accessible. The minimal number of fish-eating birds suggests that fish stocks are now low and we seem to have lost the Great White Egrets and most of the Little Egrets too. Birds noted on-site today included the Slavonian Grebe still plus a Pintail, a Redshank and two Ravens. The gulls at roost showed well but nothing different could be picked out.

Two Ravens showed as usual at Staverton this morning but Daventry Country Park seemed very quiet. Eleanor dropped in to Ravensthorpe Reservoir this afternoon and enjoyed excellent views of two playful Otters from about 4.45pm onwards. They were viewed from the road causeway between Ravensthorpe and Coton looking on the 'small side' where there were also two Great White Egrets.

This afternoon I noticed at least seven Reed Buntings looking for seed in our back garden, an increase from the couple that have been around for the last couple of weeks, and reflective of the fact that natural seeds are now in very short supply. The 'hunger gap' period for many birds is now upon us...

Regards

Neil M

Otter!

Reed Bunting.

Scotland Wood ringing

Hello

A ringing session was undertaken at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate today which resulted in the capture of 107 birds of 13 species (56 new and 51 previously ringed). The total was made up of 4 Blackbirds, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Nuthatches, a Treecreeper, a Goldcrest, 18 Great Tits, 43 Blue Tits, 15 Coal Tits, 2 Marsh Tits, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 4 Robins, a Bullfinch and 9 Chaffinches.

One of the Blue Tits was originally ringed at Harrington Airfield in June 2017 and another Blue Tit processed today was first ringed at Stortons Pits in November 2017. The Great Spotted Woodpecker and one of the Blackbirds was first ringed at Scotland Wood in 2015.

Other birds noted in the wood included a Raven, a Woodcock, two male Bramblings and about a dozen Siskins.

Eleanor's wanderings at Harrington Airfield today provided views of two Grey Partridges and a Woodcock. A visit to Brixworth Country Park confirmed the presence of two Redpolls and the Slavonian Grebe was still visible in the Pintail Bay at the adjacent Pitsford Reservoir.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit.

Blackbird.
Images courtesy of
John Tilly.

First day of February

Hello

As we creep into February the temperatures remain low and the strong northerly winds and bright sunshine provide an excellent backdrop for our resident raptors to perform - in particular today wherever I've been in the county Red Kites have been hanging in the air, cruising around in pairs and calling excitedly! It might still be winter but these birds are already responding to the longer, brighter days and reminding us that the early breeders will now be preparing for the breeding season ahead.

Eleanor noted the Slavonian Grebe at Pitsford Reservoir in the Pintail Bay early this afternoon and again saw the regular Barn Owl hunting the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. A quick wander around Cottesbrooke failed to locate any obvious Hawfinches.

Regards

Neil M

Red Kite.

Drake Smew courtesy of
John Gamble. These images
were taken at Rutland Water
recently where small numbers
of these birds have successfully
wintered. They have been very
scarce in Northamptonshire
 this winter, possibly due to the
low water levels at Pitsford and
Ravensthorpe Reservoirs earlier in
the winter (usually the two best sites for
this species in the county).

Deep winter birds

Hello

Cool and breezy today with an occasional wintery shower and a fabulous orange super moon rose very slowly over the horizon late this afternoon...

This morning Eleanor ran twice around Sywell Country Park with Tor the hound and noted a few birds of interest - the female Scaup, a Water Rail, two Grey Wagtails, a pair of Stonechat and about thirty Siskins.

I paid Christies Copse at Pitsford Reservoir a visit today to add some more foodstuffs for the active feeding station there. In addition to common birds, four Woodcock flushed up from the scrubby vegetation. A Barn Owl was again hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

Dave Francis has committed to some garden ringing on the north-east outskirts of Northampton during January with plenty of Goldfinches and also three Siskins, a couple of Nuthatches and more common birds. Chris Payne likewise has been conducting some bird ringing in South Northants at his sites at Bradden and Greens Norton. Goldfinches have dominated here too but he has been experiencing an influx of Redpolls to both feeding stations too...

Regards

Neil M

The stunning Starling, first
ringed in August 2016 and
re-captured by Chris this month.

Another re-trap for Chris from 2016, a male
Sparrowhawk. 

Lesser Redpolls caught and ringed by
Chris Payne.

All images courtesy of Chris.

Hawfinches galore !!

The weather forecast predicted a glorious winter day with sunshine, blue skies and gentle breeze and for me that was a "green " light to head north and visit some of my favourite haunts.
As dawn broke there was a dramatic red sky which was quite eerie at times.  First stop was a frosty East Carlton Country Park . A walk around the park produced 10 Siskin, 2 Lesser Redpoll, several Marsh Tit and Nuthatch.  During my walk I had seen 2 Hawfinches in flight heading towards the big house so I spent some time loitering around this area. I could hear Hawfinches calling and managed to track down 6 birds which showed well. At one point they were feeding on the ground alongside some Redwings near to the car park.
I took a slow drive along the Welland Valley to Wakerley .The drive took longer than anticipated because as I drove through the village of Gretton I saw the distinctive silhouette of 2 Waxwings perched on top of a bush opposite the church. As I watched them they gave their lovely trilling call before flying further into the village. I continued driving but stopped again at Harringworth Viaduct because there was a large area of flood water which was full of birds, mainly Wigeon, Lapwing and approx 200 Golden Plover. Scanning the birds revealed a Shelduck and an Egyptian Goose.
I eventually arrived at Wakerley Great Wood where a good walk round produced very little. In fact it really was a case of " the silence was deafening". Quite bizarre, not a single bird could be seen or heard !!.  The highlight of my walk was a group of 12 Bullfinches sitting together which looked like jewels shining in the bushes.  
One place which always seems to attract good numbers of birds is nearby Blatherwycke Lake and today was no exception. The lake itself and nearby fields were very "busy" with birds.  There were at least 28 Mandarin Duck present with some of the males showing off their colourful plumage to the females they were trying to impress.  There were also 4 Shelduck in this area of the lake. 
I have discovered that if you walk the short distance to the churchyard you get a different view of the lake and from this vantage point I saw a Black Swan, 2 Little Egret, 2 Goldeneye, Water Rail and 2 Grey Wagtail.    The churchyard itself attracts good numbers of birds and along with Coal Tits, Great Tits etc there were 2 Hawfinches. These two birds were initially sitting in a Yew Tree before dropping to the ground and feeding .
I can highly recommend the Skylark Cafe at Fermyn Wood Country Park, especially the home made soup and cakes, which I treated myself to before heading off for a good walk.  I noticed that they have a camera monitoring the bird table and the pictures can be viewed from the comfort of the cafe on a TV screen.  Whilst I enjoyed my lunch I watched the antics of the Robin, Chaffinches and Blue Tits which visited the bird table. Worth keeping an eye on as you never know what might appear.
Whilst walking from the car park towards the wood I checked the bushes and noted that there were quite a few Redwing and Fieldfare about and I saw 2 Hawfinch perched on the top of a bush.  As I walked closer I could hear at least a couple more calling. Unfortunately for me a party of school children were rapidly approaching and as they drew level with the bushes at least 6+ Hawfinches flew out and headed towards the wood.
As I walked through Lady's Wood I noted that there was a great deal of forestry work that had been done and was still being done. This is an area which is very good for Purple Emperor, White Admiral and Hairstreak butterflies so it will be interesting to see whether this work will have an impact on these.
The only other birds of note seen during my walk were 4 Ravens and a few Siskins.
It certainly was a lovely day to be out and about and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to do so. Throughout the day I was accompanied by Red Kites wherever I went and their evocative calls filled the air.  But it wasn't just the birds who were the stars, it was also a stunning male fox, a couple of hares racing around after each other, both fallow and roe deer watching me from the depths of the wood, the stunning carpet of snowdrops at Blatherwycke and finally as I drove home I saw some very young lambs standing with their mother enjoying the last of the day's sunshine.

Regards Eleanor

Sunday's birds

Hello

Eric Graham was at Thrapston Gravel Pits this morning and watched a Peregrine making some half-hearted passes at ducks there. He also saw 7 Siskins and a Great White Egret was reported on Aldwincle Lake.

Eleanor's late morning visit to Cottesbrooke today provided nice views of six Hawfinches in trees between the church and the bus stop on Station Road. There was a Grey Wagtail at Brixworth water treatment works and Jacob saw Pintail, Redshank and Redpoll at Pitsford Reservoir today (Slavonian Grebe, Merlin and Hen Harrier all reported there today by other observers).

I spent much of the morning maintaining feed stations in very spring-like weather and apart from flocks of Redwings at Sunderland Wood and Kelmarsh Hall I didn't see a great deal. A hunting Barn Owl was again in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

Kenny Cramer led a modest ringing session at Milton Keynes Community Orchard this morning catching eleven new birds which included a Goldcrest, a Coal Tit, a Blackbird and a Woodpigeon.

Regards

Neil M

Woodpigeon courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

From Africa to Abington...

Hello

Back in yesterday evening from a two week trip to Uganda which was pretty special!

Today was certainly much cooler than I have been used to! A walk up at Harrington Airfield this morning was really all about keeping the birds fed in four distinct places as I paraded around with my bright yellow bucket of mixed seed! A single Raven flying over was about the only bird of note.

Early this afternoon I paid Abington Park in Northampton a visit with the primary objective of playing football and trying to wear out the 8 month collie puppy Jaeger...I think it was me that was worn out! Birds in the park included a group of typically noisy Ring-necked Parakeets with six together in plane trees not far from the boating lake. Three Goosanders were showing nicely in the upper-most and larger lake...

Regards

Neil M

Goosanders.

Ring-necked Parakeet.

 Yesterday I saw the Slavonian Grebe just beyond yacht bay at Pitsford and infact it was in the same place today. It does seem to be loyal to that area.
A Barn Owl has again been hunting the field margins below Hanging Houghton. I seem to bump into him/her each morning and evening. This morning he/she was so intent on hunting and successfully catching its prey that I was within touching distance of it. Quite a special moment and even my 4 legged helpers were captivated too.
I visited Harrington this afternoon and initially it seemed very quiet. It wasn't until I had reached the 3rd bunker and with a little help from my 4 legged companions  that I saw any birds of note and within the space of five minutes I saw a Short Eared Owl, 2 Woodcock and 6 Grey Partridge.
I made a brief visit to Cottesbrooke where at least 4 Hawfinches were perched up and looking quite splendid in the winter sunshine.

Regards Eleanor

A quiet week !!

It has been a very quiet week.  However I did manage to catch up with the Scaup at Sywell Reservoir and today with the Slavonian Grebe in front of the sailing club at Pitsford.
I have visited Cottesbrooke village every day with varying degrees of success with the Hawfinches. Yesterday [Friday] I saw 8 birds showing well, but earlier in the week I only saw 1 or 2 birds.  Sometimes I could hear others calling as they were feeding out of sight.
A Barn Owl has been hunting the field margins again below Hanging Houghton and this evening there were 2 birds.
Harrington has been bleak and devoid of birds.
The garden has been busy with birds which is ironic as we have taken the feeders down and are giving the garden a break. A decision we made in response to the presence of sick and dying finches as they succumbed to Trichomoniasis. A horrible disease for them which is easily transmitted from bird to bird as they use the feeders or in close proximity to each other on the ground.
Hopefully the weather will remain mild so that the birds are not heavily reliant on the garden feeders to survive.

Regards Eleanor

The only birds of note for me today was a Barn Owl again hunting below Hanging Houghton and at least 12 Hawfinches showing well in Cottesbrooke village this morning.  

Meanwhile Kenny Cramer sent a very interesting account of his ringing session at Milton Keynes Community Orchard.  He writes "not knowing what to expect, I had assumed the mild conditions and absence of any substantial thrush flocks would result in a meagre catch.  It turns out I was very wrong.......we caught 85 birds [all new] of 10 species and one very big {literally}surprise.
Several tit flocks through the morning made up the bulk of the numbers with 34 Blue Tit, 13 Long Tailed Tit, 9 Great Tit, and 1 Coal Tit. On the thrush front we caught a decent 13 Blackbird and 5 Redwing. Completing the passerine catch were 5 Robins, 3 Goldcrest and a Chaffinch.
The big surprise of the day came when I spotted a Common Buzzard flying away through the orchard close to the ground....and straight towards one of our net runs.  I made a run for it and emerged from the dense tree line to find it in the bottom corner of the net.   Iris colour, tail pattern and retained juvenille coverts identified it as a first winter bird. Sex was indeterminate due to the large overlap in size between the sexes although wing length and weight were both at top end of male "

Regards Eleanor

My "regular" Saturday Birds

Whilst at agility training this morning at Staverton there were at least 4 Ravens flying around or sitting perched on the top of the conifers . They were very vocal and probably having a good laugh at our antics.
On the way home I stopped off at Ravensthorpe and saw the Whooper Swan and 1 Great White Egret.
By the time I reached Cottesbrooke village the light was fading but there were at least 4 Hawfinch still present.
My final bird of the day was a Barn Owl hunting the field edges below Hanging Houghton.

Regards Eleanor

The Algarve, Portugal 2

Hello

A few more images from The Algarve at Christmas...!

Regards

Neil M

Stonechat.

Peregrine.

Yellow-legged Gulls, an
assortment of ages and plumages!

Thekla Lark.

Crag Martin.