Woodpigeon courtesy of John Tilly. |
Woodpigeon courtesy of Robin Gossage. Woodpigeons are on the move! |
Golden Plovers. |
Muntjac. |
Woodpigeon courtesy of John Tilly. |
Woodpigeon courtesy of Robin Gossage. Woodpigeons are on the move! |
Golden Plovers. |
Muntjac. |
Hello
A quiet day in the county but Hollowell Reservoir revealed it's Great Northern Diver again plus two Great White Egrets, seven Pink-footed Geese and 12-15 Crossbills.
Steve Fisher saw an adult Mediterranean Gull fly SW over Stanwick Pits this morning and Pitsford Reservoir held at least one Great White Egret and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.
A pair of Stonechat re-appeared in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this morning and a good walk around Harlestone Heath provided only twenty Siskins. A Peregrine was seen flying over Scaldwell village today.
Details of further ringing recoveries are as follows:-
1. A female Tufted Duck with a nasal saddle at Ditchford Pits on 16th November 2020 was first ringed in South West France at Saint-Leger on 27th June 2018. The same bird was seen in the London area on 7th August this year;
2. A first year Robin was ringed at the power station on the Isle of Grain, Medway, Kent on 24th October 2019 and re-trapped as an adult at Harrington Airfield on 10th November 2020 - 383 days later and 152km to the north west. It is assumed this is a continental bird that intends to winter in the UK or further south;
3. A first year male Fieldfare was caught and ringed at Revtangen, Klepp, Rogaland, South -West Norway on 19th October 2020 and re-trapped at Harrington Airfield on 10th November 2020, a distance of 811km in a SSW direction with a period of twenty-two days elapsing between the two relevant dates.
Regards
Neil M
Tufted Duck courtesy of Jacob Spinks. |
Robin. |
Fieldfare. |
Hello
Birds at Pitsford Reservoir this morning included two Great White Egrets, a Brambling and an adult Yellow-legged Gull in the Scaldwell Bay - the only bird of note at the south end of the reservoir this afternoon was the same or another adult Yellow-legged Gull!
Steve Starling found six Cattle Egrets at Stanwick Pits today and an adult Yellow-legged Gull was seen at Thrapston Pits by Nick Parker.
At Harrington Airfield an immature male Merlin was hunting head on into the breeze over the top fields early this afternoon and there were still about thirty Crossbills at Wakerley Wood. Two Ravens were at Hanging Houghton and Harrington Airfield.
An additional Tab or Page has been added to the blog with a few images from the Naturetrek Autumn on Mull trip.
Regards
Neil M
Yellow-legged Gull. |
Raven. |
Cattle Egret. Thirty years ago none of these birds would have been likely sightings in the county! |
Green Sandpiper. |
Marsh Tit. |
Meadow Pipit. Above images all taken at Broadholme Treatment Works, Nene Valley courtesy of Nathan Jones. |
Chris wasn't sure which size ring to put on this owl (called Mike)! |
The stunning Bearded Tits at Stanford Reservoir today courtesy of Chris Hubbard and Adam Homer. |
Hello
Bird of the day was an apparent male Parrot Crossbill found at Wakerley Woods today at about 12.40pm in association with the large flock of up to fifty Common Crossbills present there. Tom Green took some excellent photos of the bird as it was drinking from a pool of water. Congratulations to him on a super find!
Birds north of the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir this morning included at least two Great White Egrets, nine Red-crested Pochards, eight Pintail, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, four Common Snipe, two Ravens, a Water Rail and a pair of Stonechat.
Eric's visit to Thrapston Pits today yielded five Great White Egrets (four in flight together), eleven Little Egrets and a pair of Stonechat.
The Great Northern Diver was still present at Hollowell Reservoir this morning and a Great White Egret was at Ditchford Pits on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve.
Kelmarsh Hall today attracted a Grey Wagtail, a few Siskins and a Kingfisher and an Otter was successfully camera-trapped recently.
Regards
Neil M
Apparent male Parrot Crossbill - images courtesy of Tom Green. |
Hello
Harrington Airfield first thing wasn't too wet and birds in the drizzly swirl included eight Bramblings (two over Bunker Two, six by the museum), a singing Chiffchaff and just small numbers of Golden Plovers but still with good numbers of thrushes in the bushes.
Birds visible in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir were made up of two Great White Egrets, three Pintail, five Red-crested Pochards, ten Snipe, a Green Sandpiper and an adult Yellow-legged Gull.
Birds at Hollowell Reservoir today included the Great Northern Diver again, six Pink-footed Geese, two Great White Egrets, a Caspian Gull and a Stonechat with a Great White Egret at neighbouring Ravensthorpe Reservoir.
Three Cattle Egret were in valley fields below Irthlingborough Church this morning and single Great White Egrets were reported at Stanford Reservoir and Stanwick Pits.
Regards
Neil M
Coal Tit. |
Brambling. |
Chiffchaff. |
Starling. |
Sparrowhawk courtesy of John Tilly. |
Hello
A very pleasant day out there today with a breeze and plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures.
Woodpigeons were very much on the move today with flocks sometimes in their hundreds streaming south noted at a variety of locations. Gatherings of raptors included fifteen Red Kites at Blueberry Farm and thirty Common Buzzards in one field between Haselbech and the A508 this afternoon, each gathering associated with earthworms being predated.
At Harrington Airfield this morning there was an immature male Peregrine, about one hundred Golden Plovers and three Ravens plus plenty of thrushes still. Neil Underwood later in the day estimated the Golden Plover flock to be nearer five hundred birds.
At Hanging Houghton there were two Ravens and a Grey Wagtail around the village and this afternoon an adult male Peregrine and a pair of Stonechat were in the Brampton Valley below the village.
Fineshade Wood attracted about a dozen mobile Crossbills this morning, plus a Woodcock, a Brambling, a few Siskins and a couple of Redpolls plus two Ravens. Wakerley Wood was busier with at least forty Crossbills around the car park in their favourite larches - smaller numbers scattered in the wood were probably part of the same group. A few Siskins were also present and a 'ringtail' Hen Harrier was hunting over the rough area adjacent to the wood on the old mostly disused Harringworth Airfield.
Blatherwycke Lake hosted a pair of Egyptian Geese, twenty-eight Mandarin Ducks and a Great White Egret. The woodland and area around Fermyn Wood seemed quiet this afternoon.
An unprecedented flock of thirty-six Barnacle Geese were at the west end of the main pit at Clifford Hill Pits this morning - it would be interesting to know if this is a feral flock from the south or migrants from the north. Two Crossbills flew south over Scaldwell this morning and birds at Hollowell Reservoir included at least twelve Crossbills and a Chiffchaff.
Chris Payne heard a Bearded Tit calling at Stortons Pits this morning and has taken it upon himself to quickly create an additional grit tray which is now erected and available to the birds should they wish to utilise it! Chris Green saw a Great White Egret and a pair of Pintail at Ditchford Pits on the Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve section.
Regards
Neil M
Barnacle Geese. |
Rook. |
Red Kite. |
Meet Bob the Robin! |
Water Rail. |
Green Woodpecker. |
Barn Owl. Images courtesy of Kenny Cramer. |
Hello
A ringing session completed by Dave Francis at Pitsford Reservoir today yielded 51 captures of 15 species made up of nine Greenfinches, seven Chaffinches, six Long-tailed Tits, five Blue Tits, a Great Tit, four Dunnocks, two Wrens, two Robins, three Tree Sparrows, two Blackbirds, a Fieldfare, two Reed Buntings, five Yellowhammers, a Goldcrest and a Moorhen.
Harrington Airfield was the venue for some more ringing which provided 108 captures of 17 species. It was thrushes that dominated with sixty-five Redwings, seven Fieldfares, three Blackbirds and a Song Thrush. Two male Sparrowhawks were whizzing around the bushes after the thrushes and one of them was caught and ringed. One of the Fieldfares was bearing a Norwegian ring indicating the origin of at least some of these thrushes. A Yellowhammer encountered was first ringed at the site in 2015.
Other birds present included over a hundred Golden Plovers, a Snipe or two, two Redpolls, a Brambling and a Siskin.
Two Bramblings were at Brixworth Country Park today and two Bramblings and two Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. At Harlestone Heath today there was a particularly well-marked male Brambling, eight Crossbills, fifteen Siskins, a Chiffchaff and a Raven. A pair of Stonechats were near the railway line in the Brampton Valley there and another pair on fallow fields between the firs and Kings Heath.
At Stanwick Pits a Crossbill flew over and a Great White Egret was present with five Cattle Egrets in the Nene Valley below Irthlingborough. Thrapston Pits hosted five Great White Egrets, a Little Owl was seen in Delapre Park, N'pton and a flock of over 250 Golden Plovers were close to Lilbourne Meadows (Wildlife Trust) reserve near to the Crick DIRFT.
Regards
Neil M
Fieldfares. The second image relates to the first year bird bearing a Norwegian ring. |
First year male Sparrowhawk. |
Hello
Another murky but mild November day with the minimum of daylight and with drizzle and some light rain making for a very short day!
A ringing session at Brixworth Water Treatment Works was concluded this morning with twenty-five Reed Buntings and nine Lesser Redpolls and ten Redwings being processed in total among smaller numbers of common fare. Three Grey Wagtails and a Common Snipe were on-site as were variable numbers of common finches including Siskins and one Brambling briefly.
Large numbers of Redwings were again present at Harrington Airfield today together with smaller numbers of Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and Fieldfares and this will be the venue for a small scale ringing session tomorrow (covid 19 restrictions apply). As such the bunkers and old airstrip will be subject to restricted access but the main concrete track will be unaffected.
Mark Piper's venture to Hollowell Reservoir today provided views of a Caspian Gull and six Pink-footed Geese.
Regards
Neil M
Reed Bunting. |
Redwing. |
Lapwing. |
These birds were judged to be adult male Lesser Redpolls. |
Hello
Another mild and pleasant November day with still plenty of incoming winter migrants!
At Harrington Airfield this morning the early morning mist and initially poor visibility partly hid flocks of thrushes in the bushes numbering in their hundreds. The numbers were virtually uncountable as swirling flocks flitted ahead of us and new flocks spiraled down from above. Redwings were the most common followed by Fieldfare, Blackbird and Song Thrush. With the mist lifting, many birds began to move on but there were still hundreds of Redwings on the deck when we left. Other birds included about two hundred and thirty Golden Plovers and two or three Bramblings.
At Titchmarsh LNR (Thrapston Pits) birds seen today included four Great White Egrets, eleven Little Egrets, a couple of Siskins and a female Stonechat.
Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included two Yellow-legged Gulls in the gull roost with the reserve section attracting five Red-crested Pochards, seven Pintail, three Great White Egrets and four Stonechats.
In the Nene Valley eight Cattle Egrets were at Stanwick Pits and Stortons Pits sported four Bearded Tits in reeds on the south side of the complex.
Two or three Bramblings and a few Siskins were at Lamport Hall this afternoon and a few Redpolls and Siskins were on the Kelmarsh Estate.
Regards
Neil M
Redwing courtesy of Robin Gossage. |
Fieldfare courtesy of Robin Gossage. |
Blackbird. |
Song Thrush. |
Hello
Much quieter in the county today judging from the lack of reports but a few bits and pieces found out there...
A single Crossbill flew west over Scaldwell village on 10.30am and birds at the south end of Pitsford Reservoir included a Chiffchaff and two Yellow-legged Gulls (adult and first year).
Birds noted at Hanging Houghton today included one or two Redpoll(s), a few Siskins and two-three Bramblings with four Stonechats in the Brampton Valley below the village. Two or three mobile Crossbills were at Lamport Hall and Siskins were in small numbers at Scotland Wood (Kelmarsh estate).
A Grey Wagtail was at Brixworth and Hollowell Reservoir was the continued venue for a Crossbill and six Pink-footed Geese. A Bearded Tit was heard calling at Summer Leys LNR and a Great White Egret showed up there later.
Regards
Neil M
Crossbill. |
Merlin. |
Pheasant. |