Mild and blustery

Hello

A blustery and mild day provided an opportunity to ventilate the house and even a little gardening and I think has been the first relatively mild day this year after quite a sustained cold period.

A water-logged Harrington Airfield produced a modest flock of twenty-five Golden Plovers and two mobile Bramblings with two Ravens paying a visit to Hanging Houghton village as they patrol their large territory.

The Greenland White-fronted Goose was still present at Summer Leys LNR today together with four hundred Golden Plovers and Abington Park, Northampton attracted a flock of five Goosanders and the usual Ring-necked Parakeets.

Fourteen Redpolls were in Scaldwell village today and at Pitsford Reservoir the Great Northern Diver showed up again, this time between the Pintail Bay and the Sailing Club. An adult Mediterranean Gull flew south through there this afternoon with other gulls.

Regards

Neil M

Lapwing. There seemed to be
an increase in Lapwings locally
today, perhaps the mild southerly
winds have funnelled them through
from elsewhere?

Drake Goosander courtesy
of Robin Gossage. Abington
Park is the place locally to
enjoy close views of these
spectacular ducks and often
provides photographic
 opportunities too - mornings
tend to be best.

Adult winter plumage
Mediterranean Gull.

Rain on the way?

Hello

Heavy rain is predicted for the county during the next three days, possibly to the point that flooding may occur again, all courtesy of Storm Christoph.

The Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton was busy with birds again today, nothing unusual but good numbers of a nice mix of species which included about four hundred Starlings, winter thrushes and plenty of finches and buntings. All four species of common birds of prey were there too.

Several Siskins were still at Kelmarsh today and birds at Pitsford Reservoir amounted to the Great Northern Diver (off the Gorse Bushes), a Great White Egret, three Pintail and a pair of Stonechats.

Seven Goosanders were at Ransome Road Pits (or Hardingstone Pits if you like) today, the male Bearded Tit was seen at Stortons Pits this morning and a Peregrine was on Kettering Parish church.

The single White-fronted Goose at Summer Leys LNR was identified by Mike as a Greenland, and is presumably the bird initially found by Nick Parker at Wicksteed Park earlier in the month. Other birds on-site included three or four Great White Egrets and a flock of between 160 - 200 Golden Plovers.

Regards

Neil M

Starling in winter plumage.

Male Bearded Tit.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker caught
and ringed at Hanging Houghton today
showed some features of the continental
race, exhibiting red crown feathers and 
sporting a long wing length (not
 the bird in the image above).

Most common raptors in Northants

Hello

A pleasant winter's day with broken sunshine, a little breezier and cooler this afternoon.

The two Bearded Tits were confirmed as still being present at Stortons Pits this morning and there seems to be a strong likelihood they will remain there all winter. Nearby there was a female Red-crested Pochard and a Goosander at Sixfields Lake and seven Goosanders and a pair of Stonechats were at the Nene Barrage section of Clifford Hill Pits. 

Two pairs of Stonechats were also at Thrapston Pits and a male Blackcap was seen in a Brixworth garden today. The female Merlin remains in the NN6 area this morning, this time seen at Blueberry Farm where there were plenty of small birds for her to chase. Two pairs of Stonechats in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton have been present for a few months now and there are clearly good numbers wintering in the county.

A male Brambling was in Hanging Houghton village this morning, there was at least one Raven and a Redpoll at Kelmarsh and Harrington Airfield supported two more Ravens, a Woodcock and Golden Plovers were heard calling.

The female Ruddy Shelduck was reported at Hollowell Reservoir today, two Golden Plovers were seen in flight over Scaldwell village and the White-fronted Goose flock at Stanwick Pits was still at least nineteen strong this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Kestrel courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Red Kite courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Common Buzzard.

Female Sparrowhawk
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

The above four species are now
easily the most common birds of
prey in Northamptonshire. The Kestrel
was traditionally the most common raptor
but now trails Common Buzzard and
 possibly Sparrowhawk too.

A little snow for a little while!

Hello

A wet and for a while a snowy morning gave way this afternoon to dryer and milder conditions.

Ravens were seen again today at Scaldwell and Hanging Houghton and the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton was good for two pairs of Stonechats and four Bramblings. A freshly-predated Barn Owl was found dead at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

An adult Yellow-legged Gull was at the south end of Pitsford Reservoir today and an adult Caspian Gull, a Great White Egret and five Stonechats were all seen at Hollowell Reservoir.

A single White-fronted Goose was seen at Summer Leys LNR today with Greylag Geese and there were two Great White Egrets present too.

A map of Deene Lake has now been completed and added to the Birdwatching Sites Map tab and Neil H is working on other county locations.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Black-backed Gull -
adult in winter plumage.

Cormorant in nuptial plumage - 
reflecting the early breeding of
this species. Image courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Female Green Woodpecker - 
note the defective upper mandible. I'm
not sure if this follows an injury or
whether this bird was hatched with this
defect. Image courtesy of Robin
Gossage.

Ring-necked Parakeet.
 Media reports suggest that DEFRA are
 planning to destroy satellite populations
 of this species outside London, as it is 
considered by some to be an invasive,
pest species. Image courtesy of Robin
Gossage.

Bramblings, Golden Plovers and Ravens.

Hello

A cold but still day with a little early morning mist and frost, with rain and possible wintry showers tomorrow.

The best of the bunch at Harrington Airfield today were two male Bramblings coming down with other birds on to the supplied seed and approximately one hundred and twenty Golden Plovers in fields opposite the concrete track entrance.

Nearby eleven Golden Plovers were noticed near Scaldwell with a Redpoll and three Siskins in village gardens. Ravens were seen at Harlestone Lake and just south of Great Oxendon and a Barn Owl and a pair of Stonechats were still in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton.

Other birds reported today included a Stonechat at Sywell Country Park, the nine Crossbills again at Hollowell Reservoir and at least twenty-four White-fronted Geese and two Cattle Egrets at Stanwick Pits.

We seem to be just on the edge of a potential snowfall tomorrow with several centimetres predicted for counties east of us.

Regards

Neil M

Golden Plover.

Raven.

A bathing Jay!

Projects last year and this...

Hello

Yesterday's birds included a single Crossbill at Hollowell Reservoir and thirty Redpolls in Greens Norton and a Hawfinch was reported at Weldon, near Corby in the afternoon.

With rainfall yesterday, overnight and today we are again a county with significant flooding associated with the river valleys.

A noisy male Brambling at Harrington Airfield this morning was with other finches and buntings attracted to the broadcast seed and other foodstuffs which during this cold weather is also pulling in a regular flock of Starlings, corvids and others. The sodden fields prove attractive to the nomadic flock of Golden Plovers which completely forsake the site when there are hard frosts, but today they were back with about two hundred and thirty birds present.

Our garden is still attracting reasonable numbers of Goldfinches, Blackbirds and other common birds but nothing unusual. A pair of Stonechats remains in the Brampton Valley below the village.

Some preliminary work on the Northants Ringing Group 2020 data by our group secretary Nick Wood indicates that our small group was responsible for the monitoring of nearly nine thousand birds ringed and over two thousand re-traps and re-sightings. Considering the really significant restrictions imposed on us during the Covid-dominated year this is an excellent result. However most of our long-running projects had to be suspended due to the restrictions - which included most of the nest box schemes, Constant Effort Sites, Swift and House Martin projects, owl box monitoring and tern rafts. We are planning further work to enhance the colonial breeding of Swifts, Sand Martins and Tree Sparrows in 2021 but there is a danger that the on-going pandemic may adversely affect these initiatives too - time will tell!

Regards

Neil M

Swift.

Sand Martin courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Tree Sparrow courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Wildlife Images

Hello

I'm not aware of many birds of interest in the county today so I thought I would simply post a selection of images from a variety of contributors to whom we are very grateful.

I should add that Neil H continues to be very industrious and we have now added Blatherwycke Lake to the Birdwatching Site Maps tab...each map should print out in A4 format if you prefer a hard copy...

Regards

Neil M

Red Fox in winter coat.

Tawny Owl.

Brambling courtesy
of John Tilly.

Redwing.

Muntjac courtesy
of Jacob Spinks.

Kingfisher.

Robin.

Grey Squirrel courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Grey Wagtail.

Early breeders

Hello

With limited opportunities to head out to the great outdoors there is a natural limit on interesting sightings to report on.

More signs of spring ahead was evident on a couple of Starlings seen close up - both were males and the lower mandibles were turning blue in preparation for the breeding season. Brown Hares are also more evident and are gathering in twos and threes in preparation for a long breeding season with leverets potentially born from February onwards.

Jon located a flock of nine Crossbills at Hollowell Reservoir today where a flock has been consistently present since the autumn - February is the month when Crossbills often begin nesting so it will be interesting to see if they remain.

Bramblings at Harrington Airfield today included a single by the concrete track entrance and two by the museum. At Pitsford Reservoir today it was rather static with a Great White Egret, a Snipe, two drake Pintails and four Stonechats on show north of the causeway; yesterday there were three Lesser Redpolls in Scaldwell village with one still there today.

Birds in the Harlestone Lake area today included two Goosanders, a flock of Redpolls and about a hundred Siskins and at Stanwick Pits five Cattle Egrets were on North Lake.

Regards

Neil M

Starling.

Brown Hare.

Redpoll, this one a
Common Redpoll of the
 Iceland race.

Grey and breezy Monday

Hello 

A return to Harrington Airfield this morning to feed the birds provided another view of the female Merlin, this time chasing Linnets. At least one Brambling was with the Chaffinches on-site.

Birds at Hanging Houghton included a Raven but the winter thrushes had forsaken our garden with the milder weather conditions. Two pairs of Stonechat were in the Brampton Valley below the village still.

Two Great White Egrets, six Little Egrets and a Ring-necked Parakeet were on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits today and the two Bearded Tits were heard calling at Stortons Pits with a Merlin and two Red-crested Pochards at nearby Sixfields Lake. A pair of Peregrine were on the National Grid Comms tower at St Peters Way, Northampton.

Five Cattle Egrets and a Great White Egret were reported from Stanwick Pits today.

An additional map depicting Fineshade Wood has been added to the Birdwatching Site Maps tab courtesy of Neil Hasdell.

Regards

Neil M

Cock Pheasant. A significant
number of Pheasants are roaming
the countryside in unprecedented
numbers due to the autumn releases 
and the lack of shooting opportunities
due to Covid restrictions.

Chiffchaff. Small numbers
are wintering at Pitsford
Reservoir this winter, but with
the recent cold spell they
may be regretting it!

Barn Owl.

More lockdown birding

Hello

A milder day but still cold out but with warmer temperatures anticipated for the next couple of days.

Our garden continued to attract two Redwings and a Fieldfare and the valley below provided a hunting Barn Owl, a pair of Stonechat and three Roe Deer. Spring lambs were prancing around Cottesbrooke village and spring flowers included Snowdrop and Aconites. A Grey Wagtail was in the village and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling in trees between the old Beck Dairy and the outskirts of the village. 

The Great Northern Diver popped up again at Pitsford Reservoir, this time between the causeway and the Catwalk Bay and other birds included over fifty Goldeneye, two Great White Egrets (in the Holcot Bay), three drake Pintails, four Snipe, two pairs of Stonechats and two Chiffchaffs.

The female Merlin re-appeared, this time back at Harrington Airfield where it pursued a Skylark for a long period of time - the outcome of the pursuit was unknown as the duo disappeared behind trees with a Carrion Crow joining the fray. One or two male Brambling(s) were also present.

The pair of Bearded Tits were seen again at Stortons Pits, a Raven flew over Scaldwell village, at least two White-fronted Geese were at Stanwick Pits and there were four Ravens and sixteen Redpolls in the Harlestone Lake area.

Regards

Neil M

Merlin courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

Raven.

Fog!

Hello

The foggy conditions in many parts of the county played havoc with observing wildlife and no doubt played a part in the paucity of reported sightings! Where the sun did prise through the fog banks it produced entirely different conditions, but with very low wind speeds I think most places saw a return of the fog by late afternoon.

It didn't stop an eruption of people out walking everywhere with places like Pitsford Reservoir being overwhelmed with people taking their exercise and poorly parked vehicles along the road up from the causeway!

A male Brambling was again by the Chippings Compound at Harrington Airfield this morning (an area where a small amount of food is distributed) and small numbers of Siskins were flying around at Scotland Wood on the Kelmarsh Estate.

Two pairs of Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and our garden attracted a Nuthatch, two Fieldfares and a Redwing. The Fieldfares were so busy chasing each other and the Blackbirds I don't think they had time to eat anything.

Birds visible at Pitsford Reservoir today included a Redshank, seven Snipe, a Chiffchaff, eighty Fieldfares and four Stonechats.

The Birdwatching Site Maps tab has been updated with the addition of Wakerley Great Wood courtesy of Neil Hasdell.

Regards

Neil M

A 'fogbow' today at
Hanging Houghton
courtesy of Fiona Barclay.

Scotland Wood in 
sunshine today courtesy
of Lynne Barnett.

Treecreeper courtesy
 of Chris Payne.

Curlew courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Dunnock courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

A cold lockdown.

Hello

Another cold day but not as severe as yesterday with a light fall of snow for some in the county.

Birders local to Pitsford Reservoir today saw the Great Northern Diver and an adult Yellow-legged Gull off the Sailing Club plus a Pintail, sixteen Snipe, six Stonechats, a Raven and two Siskins.

In the garden at Hanging Houghton the cold conditions pushed in two Redwings and a Fieldfare and a Nuthatch. The Redwings were eating a variety of food including apples, the Fieldfare was eating apple and the berries of guelder rose. A Raven flew over the village and one pair of Stonechat and a Barn Owl were in the Brampton Valley below the village.

Elsewhere and there was a Jack Snipe and a pair of Stonechats at Wicksteed Park, ten Crossbills at Hollowell Reservoir, two Bearded Tits at Stortons Pits, six Crossbills at Harlestone Heath (showing just inside the A428 entrance on the left hand side) and the mega flock of thirty-three White-fronted Geese remaining at Stanwick Pits.

Some more ringing recoveries have come back from the BTO Ringing Unit as follows:-

1. A Mallard duckling was ringed at Pitsford Reservoir on 29th July 2020 and subsequently shot as a full grown female at Lamport on 18th December 2020;

2. A first year female Goldfinch was caught and ringed at Pen-y-Groeslon, Bryncroes, Gwynedd on 12th October 2020 and caught again in a mist net at Astcote, Towcester on 31st December 2020. During this period of the eighty days this bird travelled 257km in a ESE direction;

3. A second calendar year Blue Tit was caught and ringed at Market Harborough on 14th February 2018 and then caught again 1051 days later 14km south at Hanging Houghton on 31st December 2020.

Regards

Neil M

Female Mallard 
and ducklings.

Goldfinch courtesy of
John Tilly.

Blue Tit courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Sub zero temperatures

Hello

For most of us the daytime temperature never did improve from three degrees below Centigrade so a very cold day, particularly where the sun did not prise through the banks of fog. It's the small birds such as Goldcrests that struggle during this type of weather, particularly if there are several days of similar harsh conditions.

However it was a larger bird in distress today, causing me to wade out in rather cold water at Pitsford Reservoir to rescue a Coot caught up in fishing line. Unfortunately the cord had already cut through the bone of the leg so once back on dry land I had to fully amputate the leg before releasing the bird (which seemed strong) - I hope he/she makes it. Pitsford is a SSSI but the welfare of the wildlife is juggled with fishing interests and sadly tangled and ensnared wildlife is a regular problem with recent victims being another Coot, Grey Heron, Black-headed Gull, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck and several Cormorants. In addition we notice hooks and similar items in the feet of geese and swans which are not always easy to catch to remove the offending item.

Birds seen at the reservoir today included a Great White Egret, a Kingfisher, a Chiffchaff, about a dozen Snipe and three Redpolls.

There was no sign of the Greenland White-fronted Goose at Wicksteed Park today but the full flock of thirty-three Eurasian White-fronted Geese were still present at Stanwick Pits.

The sub zero temperatures brought plenty of birds into our small rural garden today and included four Redwings, two Fieldfares and singles of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting. A Barn Owl was hunting in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton this afternoon.

Regards

Neil M

Coot courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Drake Goldeneye courtesy
of Phillip Davies.

Red Kite.