Pitsford CES ringing.

Hello

A ringing session at Pitsford Reservoir today in the Scaldwell Bay provided 82 captures; these early Constant Effort Sessions (CES) seem to indicate that so far it has been a reasonably productive spring for early and first brood locally breeding passerines.

Dave Frances, Helen Franklin and Gill and Richard Watts were the team today and they processed sixteen species made up of a Kingfisher, two Lesser Whitethroats, three Reed Warblers, eleven Blackcaps, a Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, a Marsh Tit, five Long-tailed Tits, eighteen Great Tits, sixteen Blue Tits, two Song Thrushes, two Blackbirds, seven Wrens, five Dunnocks, five Robins and two Bullfinches.

Most nest boxes are quiet now but the Pitsford boxes have housed about seven hundred young tits this spring, nearly all of them Blue Tits and Great Tits!

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit on nest.

Juvenile Robin.

Marsh Tit.

Great Tit
brooding nestlings.

All images courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Provence in April.

Hello

I have been fortunate to have spent quite a bit of time out in the South of France this spring, all within the Provence area and including excursions into the Camargue. The following images depict some of the wildlife we encountered during the initial trip which was eight days straddling the third and fourth week of April...

Regards

Neil M

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth.

Short-toed Eagle.

Western Bonelli's Warbler.

Montagu's Harrier.

Scarce Swallowtail.

Western Green Lizard.

Marsh Frog.

Wild Daffodil.

Camargue White Horse.

Corn Bunting.

Greater Flamingo.

Birds of early June

Hello

Yesterday (Tuesday) and bits and pieces locally included a Raven overflying the A508 near Great Oxendon and still a good collection of birds in and around the garden at Hanging Houghton such as Yellowhammers and Goldfinches coming to food and a good variety of raptors overhead.

After the rain eventually passed over, I popped down to Pitsford Reservoir for the last hour and a half of daylight. A Cuckoo was calling from The Point area. A large hatch of insects created a feeding bonanza for the Common Terns, Swifts and hirundines and a Hobby hawked for a long period of time over the Scaldwell Bay as watched from the Bird Club hide. This super falcon came close once or twice by which time it was almost dark...no good for photos but very atmospheric!

Today (Wednesday) and a pair of Grey Partridge, a Cuckoo and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and two noisy Ravens flew over Hockerhill Farm near Mears Ashby.

Regards

Neil M

The Pitsford Hobby.

Bieszczady!

Hello

A few images originating from south east Poland following an eight day trip to the Bieszczady National Park and surround in March/April this year...

Neil M

Willow Tit.

Marsh Tit.

Both Marsh and Willow Tits
are much colder and greyer than
their British counterparts.
 The Willow Tits in particular
 have quite a different song. In SE
Poland both species occupy the same
habitat and are regularly together,
the Willow Tit being the more numerous.

Long-tailed Tit. Most birds
in this part of the world are of
the white-headed form.

Roe Deer. Buck above and
Doe below (almost rhymes)!

European Beaver activity!

Drake Goosander.

White Stork.

Camberwell Beauty butterfly.

Fledging success!

Hello

The list of local birds is predicatively a little repetitive now as spring migration peters out...

The adult male Peregrine was again in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning as was a hunting Barn Owl. Later in the day, the on-territory Spotted Flycatcher along the Brampton Valley Way north of Draughton Crossing was found still singing and strutting his stuff! Two pairs of Grey Partridge were noted at Harrington Airfield this evening.

The brood of Blue Tits in our garden nest box finally fledged at the week-end, it seems that all seven made it out!

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Blue Tits -
their first flight!

Sunset at HH.

Summer Barn Owls

Hello

Yesterday (Saturday) and a walk at Harrington Airfield in sunny conditions brought forth a number of butterflies, Common Blue and Small Heath being by far the most numerous. So far the orchids there are providing a very poor showing but maybe the rain forecast for this coming week may spur them on. At least one pair of Grey Partridge were still present but no young noticed yet (they tend to be late breeders at this site), and Burnet Companion was identified among the day-flying moths.

Other birds locally for yesterday included an adult male Peregrine hunting the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and it was seen to catch a small passerine (possibly a Yellowhammer). The low water levels at Ravensthorpe Reservoir look attractive for waders but yesterday the shoreline was dominated by people sunning themselves on sun loungers!! There are quite a few failed breeding Lapwings about now and I'm sure there will be a returning Green Sandpiper any day now.

A singing Spotted Flycatcher at Kentle Wood near Daventry was the only bird of note there yesterday. An Osprey was seen flying over Brixworth on it's way to Pitsford Reservoir and another was seen at Hollowell Reservoir again, together with four Little Ringed Plovers (record courtesy of Alan Coles).

Regular Barn Owls are being seen in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and also at the Summer Leys reserve at Earls Barton, often showing early morning and again late afternoon/evening.

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl at Summer
Leys courtesy of
John Tilly.

Northants Bird Club Indoor Meeting 5th June

Hello

On Wednesday 5th June it is the next indoor meeting of the Northants Bird Club at the Fishing Lodge, Pitsford Reservoir. This month the speaker is local naturalist and club member Jeff Blincow who has been supporting the club for years.

Jeff will be presenting one of his favourite talks, 'Rockpooling'! A couple of times this has been on the programme as our one non bird talk per year but finally we are now to hear Jeff pouring over the thrills and spills of what goes on in our rock pools! Jeff is a excellent speaker and his talk comes highly recommended!

The meeting starts at 7.30pm with a few notices and a short update on the recent club trip to the Camargue and then it is over to Jeff. Hot drinks and biscuits will be available during the evening and everyone is welcome!

Regards

Neil M

Purple Sandpiper...an occasional
exploiter of rock pools (maybe)!

Pitsford CBC

Hello

Today I committed to the fifth Common Bird Census of the season on the reserve at Pitsford Reservoir. The weather was dull but mild and dry but didn't really inspire the insects to show themselves. However there were plenty of young fledged birds about.

A singing Spotted Flycatcher remains close to the Fishing Lodge but was the only one noted on the reserve. A Little Egret was in the Walgrave Bay, the two Oystercatchers were quite mobile, and the first indication of 'autumn' was in the shape of a returning Lapwing! I counted 43 active Cormorant nests and the singing Cetti's Warbler remained (present since March). Blackcaps occupied at least thirty-nine territories and Garden Warbler twenty-two. Three Willow Warbler territories were mapped but there were no Sedge Warblers and just a handful of Reed Warblers.

Large numbers of juvenile tits dominated the plantations and bushes but sadly there was no sign of any Willow Tits. Four active Great Spotted Woodpecker nests were located. Black-headed Gulls have bred successfully.

Butterflies amounted to Speckled Wood, Large White, Small Copper, Small Heath, Common Blue and Large Skipper and day time flying moths included Chimney Sweeper . No dragonflies were seen but reasonable numbers of Common Blue Damselflies were about as were a few Beautiful Demoiselles...

Further singing Spotted Flycatchers noted today were at the Brampton Valley Way north of Draughton Crossing and Maidwell village (near to the churchyard).

Regards

Neil M

Garden Warbler.

Cercopis vulnerata or
Black and Red Froghopper
...thank-you to Simon and Gill
and Richard for identifying it!

Common Blue Damselfly.

Great Crested Grebe.

Beautiful Demoiselle.

All images taken at
Pitsford today.

Garden feeding and ringing recoveries...

Hello

This morning I took a wander around Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate, the most interesting birds being a brood of just-fledged Chiffchaffs and two singing Spotted Flycatchers. This evening a short walk at Harrington Airfield provided views of a Grey Partridge and three Brown Hares.

Our small garden is very busy with birds currently, the most noisy being a large flock of adult and juvenile Starlings and good numbers of adult Jackdaws. Woodpigeons, Stock Doves and Collared Doves and still several Yellowhammers are coming in for scattered seed, and reasonable numbers of Goldfinches and just a few Chaffinches and Greenfinches are still feeding from the sunflower and niger feeders. The village House Sparrows are gleaning a mixture of food and Pied Wagtails, tits and Great Spotted Woodpeckers add a little more variety. Bigger birds include Carrion Crow, Magpie and the occasional visit from a Sparrowhawk.

A few more ringing recoveries have been received as follows:-

1. A Blue Tit ringed as a nestling at Stortons Pits on 22nd May 2016 was killed by a cat in St James, Northampton on or about 7th May this year. This bird probably never did stray very far from its natal area, a total of 1080 days elapsing between both records;

2. An adult female Mallard was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 17th August 2015 and 1348 days later, on or about 26th April this year, was apparently killed by a dog in adjacent Brixworth Country Park. This record aligns to similar data suggesting that our local Mallard do not stray particularly far;

3. A first year female Goldfinch was ringed at Hanging Houghton on 27th November 2018 and was caught again by a ringer at Damhead Farm, Carluke, South Lanarkshire (south of Glasgow) on 12th April this year. It seems that Scottish breeding Goldfinches regularly winter or pass through middle England. Carluke is 420 km NNW from Hanging Houghton, 136 days elapsing between the two records.

Regards

Neil M

Blue Tit
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Female Mallard and ducklings

Goldfinch
courtesy of John Tilly.

CES Ringing

Hello

On Monday evening I returned from an eight day tour in the West Highlands of Scotland - we saw all the main highlights of the tour which included daily sightings of Pine Marten, several Otters, both species of eagle, lots of close-up sea birds including Puffins, plenty of deer and a pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphins. The Strontian American Black Duck put in a couple of guest appearances and our visit coincided with the first emergence of Chequered Skipper butterflies.

Yesterday (Tuesday) and a quick gallop around Harrington Airfield failed to identify much different there but a pair of Grey Partridge is always a treat. Common Blue, Small Heath and Orange-tip butterflies were on the wing. 

I checked the woodland around the Brampton Valley Way just south of the Kelmarsh tunnels where a singing Wood Warbler had been present at the week-end, but didn't hear or see it. On territory birds included Spotted Flycatcher, Nuthatch and Marsh Tit.

Today (Wednesday) and a trio of ringers were operating at Pitsford Reservoir in the Scaldwell Bay, the Constant Effort Session yielding 64 captures in total. These were made up of 16 Long-tailed Tits (all new birds), 6 Blue Tits, 5 Marsh Tits, 3 Great Tits, 2 Treecreepers, a Wren, 4 Dunnocks, 6 Robins, a Song Thrush, 6 Blackbirds, 3 Chiffchaffs, 6 Blackcaps, 3 Garden Warblers, a Bullfinch and a Reed Bunting. There was a large emergence of Chimney Sweeper moths near the Ringing Hut and Beautiful Demoiselles were on the wing (a recent colonist to Pitsford).

Regards

Neil M

Shag
Treshnish Isles.

Chequered Skipper
Strontian, West Highlands.

Sunday ringing

Hello

Two teams of local ringers were in operation on Sunday (26th) working at Stortons Pits and Linford Lakes.

John Woollett and team were at Stortons and managed 39 captures of eleven species before the increasing wind strength concluded business. Nine new Reed Warblers was good and a Linnet was something of a surprise. Three nestling Reed Buntings were also ringed as well as a selection of common birds.

Down at Linford Lakes the breeze also hampered operations, particularly with tree debris (mostly willow catkins) clogging up the nets! Nevertheless it was a very productive session with 94 birds caught of an impressive 22 species. A surprise catch was an adult Common Tern! Other birds included a couple of Kingfishers, nine Blackcaps, five Garden Warblers, five Whitethroats, four Reed Warblers, four Chiffchaffs, a Sedge Warbler, two Cetti's Warblers, six Starlings and seventeen Long-tailed Tits.

Birds noted on-site included Barn Owl, Oystercatcher and three Cuckoos.

Regards

Neil M

Common Tern.

Kingfishers.
Images courtesy
of Kenny Cramer.

Quiet ??

On the surface it would appear that everything has gone " quiet" but the reality is that the birds are simply getting on with breeding. In our garden both the Blue Tit and Pied Wagtail adults are very busy collecting food for their youngsters.  The Pied Wagtails are not at all put off by the dogs and literally run around them whilst they are playing.  Over the last couple of days we have been inundated with young Starlings who are extremely vocal and entertaining to watch. They have such cheeky expressions on their faces. I could watch their antics all day.
Yesterday I went on what I call a " Forest Gump" run as when I start out I have no idea of where I'm going or how long I will run for.  My route took me along the Brampton Valley Way towards Market Harborough.  When I reached the tunnels at Kelmarsh I couldn't decide whether to run through or not and whilst deliberating I heard a Wood Warbler singing in the small copse and could see it shaking as it sang from the top of a small tree. 
I decided against running through the tunnel and instead headed off to Harrington Airfield where a Grasshopper Warbler and Turtle Dove were present.   Other birds on my run included Raven, Grey Partridge, Grey Wagtail, Spotted Flycatcher, Cuckoo and loads of warblers.
There are always plenty of other things to look at. There have been some stunning sunrise and sunset skies.  Plenty of butterflies around and today large numbers of Orange Tip and Brimstone.  At Harrington Airfield there are a few very fresh Common Spotted Orchid out in flower . I've been lucky enough to bump into my favourite, the Brown Hare, as well as Fox, Badger, Roe Deer and Munjac.

Regards Eleanor

Local bird ringing

Hello

John Woollett and Chris Payne were ringing at Stortons Pits today and captured a very good total of 81 birds of eighteen species which included seven species of warbler. The total was made up of three Willow Warblers, an excellent eighteen Reed Warblers (which included a bird ringed from elsewhere), three Sedge Warblers, three Blackcaps, three Garden Warblers, four Cetti's Warblers and three Whitethroats. Other birds included nine Long-tailed Tits, three Blue Tits, a Wren, a Great Spotted Woodpecker, six Blackbirds, two Song Thrushes, five Dunnocks, two Robins, six Goldfinches, a Bullfinch and eight Reed Buntings. A Cuckoo and two Hobby were seen on-site.

Down the road at Linford Lakes, four ringers led by Kenny Cramer caught 45 birds of 15 species and included 25 birds not previously ringed. The total was made up of four Blackcaps, a Garden Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, nine Reed Warblers (including three returning birds from previous years), a Chiffchaff, four Great Tits, two Blue Tits, seven Long-tailed Tits, four Great Spotted Woodpeckers, a Song Thrush, a Blackbird, a Dunnock, two Bullfinches, six Reed Buntings and a cracking male Sparrowhawk. A Cuckoo and a Hobby were noted here too.

Two more Hobby were noted between Lamport and Harrington Airfield, a Raven was seen at Kelmarsh and a Peregrine was seen over the A45 at Stanwick Pits.

Eleanor took a wander around the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits this afternoon and amassed a reasonable list of birds which included two Hobby, two Cuckoos, a Curlew, a couple of Oystercatchers, a visual singing Nightingale and plenty of Cetti's Warblers.

A Hoopoe was reported in a field with livestock off Ditchford Lane this morning but wasn't seen again.

Regards

Neil M

Male Sparrowhawk
courtesy of Kenny Cramer.

Hobby courtesy
of Robin Gossage.