More Iceland images

Hello

A few more birds filtering back through Northants today including seven Black-tailed Godwits at Clifford Hill Pits (plus a Barnacle Goose), three Great White Egrets at Summer Leys LNR and a Marsh Harrier in flight over Moulton, heading north. Fishing Ospreys were seen at Pitsford Reservoir in the Scaldwell Bay this afternoon and one this evening at Hollowell Reservoir (with a Common Sandpiper on the dam).

Some more images from Dave Jackson from what sounds like a very successful Naturetrek tour in Iceland...

Regards

Neil M

Great Northern Diver.

Slavonian Grebe.

Whimbrel.

Humpback Whale.

Mid-summer county wildlife.

Hello

This morning's birds in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton included the usual Barn Owl but also an adult male Peregrine.

At Pitsford Reservoir this morning there was a juvenile Redshank on the dam and three Yellow-legged Gulls on the buoys; a further Yellow-legged Gull was north of the causeway. Marbled White butterflies were active in the meadow between the causeway and Maytrees Hide.

Five Black-tailed Godwits were at Summer Leys LNR this morning.

Butterfly sightings in the county were dominated by Purple Emperors with a couple at Salcey Forest and as many as twenty in the Fermyn/Souther/Lady Wood complex. Three late Black Hairstreak butterflies were seen at Fermyn Wood and Wood Whites were on the wing in small numbers at Salcey Forest.

Regards

Neil M

Emerald Damselfly.

Marbled White.

Ruddy Darter.

Marsh Tit.

Otter.

Summer bird ringing

Hello

Today's weather was perfect for mist-netting and John Woollett and John Boland spent some time at Stortons Pits this morning and processed fifty-five birds from just four nets, with juvenile warblers making up much of the catch. Highlights included a Willow Warbler, two Chiffchaffs, nine Reed Warblers, seven Sedge Warblers, twelve Blackcaps, three Garden Warblers, a Lesser Whitethroat and six Common Whitethroats.

At Brixworth Water Treatment Works a slightly bigger team encountered ninety-three birds of twenty species - the captures also included warblers in the shape of a Willow Warbler, three Chiffchaffs, a Sedge Warbler, seven Common Whitethroats and ten Blackcaps. Three Great Spotted Woodpeckers added some noise and colour with twelve Starlings adding further charisma. We enjoyed processing twenty-one Swallows which included flying first brood birds, a single House Martin, two Pied Wagtails and five Grey Wagtails.

Interesting birds on-site included a Hobby, a Raven and a juvenile Cuckoo.

Birds on show at Thrapston Pits today included an Osprey watching over Elinor (trout fishing) lake.

A calling Spotted Flycatcher at Hanging Houghton suggests there are a clandestine pair in the village and this evening both Barn Owl and Little Owl were on show in the Brampton Valley below the village.

This morning an assortment of gulls off the A5 near to DIRFT3 and Lilbourne included at least four Caspian Gulls (a third summer and at least three first summers) and at least a dozen Yellow-legged Gulls.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Cuckoo.

Many of the Red Kites
are looking tatty now
as they undergo their
summer moult.

Garden Warbler.

Raven.

Pitsford CBC

Hello

Although it was grey and drizzly to begin with, I committed to another Common Bird Census on the reserve at Pitsford Reservoir today. Already there was evidence of autumn passage with at least four Common Sandpipers (possibly seven), a Greenshank and a Black-tailed Godwit - these are already returning post-breeding waders from the north. There were few other birds of note but the nestful of young Spotted Flycatchers are progressing nicely.

It was also a bioblitz day on the reserve with the area around the covert being selected for today's attention. Pheremone lures brought in Hornet Clearwing and Orange-tailed Clearwing moths and dancing butterflies in the sun when it did come out included a few Marbled Whites. Odonata included Black-tailed Skimmer, Southern Hawker, Common Darter, Emerald Damselfly and Beautiful Demoiselle.

The first brood of Great Crested Grebes were out and Coots seem to have had a good year with quite a number of half-grown youngsters around the reservoir. The water level is currently being artificially kept high with water being pumped in from elsewhere - not great news if you wanted to witness significant wader passage at Pitsford this autumn!

Eric's visit to the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits didn't reveal much out of the ordinary but several female Tufted Ducks have broods of ducklings there and the Black-headed Gulls seem to have produced plenty of young there too. A Painted Lady butterfly was on-site.

An evening visit to Kelmarsh Hall provided an adult Spotted Flycatcher feeding fledged young, a Kingfisher and a Common Newt on the path back to the car park.

Regards

Neil M

Cob Mute Swan
at Kelmarsh Hall.

Azure Damselfly.

Mating pair of Scarlet
Tiger moths.

Images from Iceland

Hello

Eleanor's run around Pitsford Reservoir between the dam and the causeway this morning provided two Common Sandpipers, several Kingfishers in the Catwalk Bay with two others elsewhere and up to six Little Egrets. This evening there was also a Grey Wagtail, a Yellow-legged Gull and a female Common Redstart below the dam in isolated bushes along the nearest fence line. In due course the Redstart flew to the bushes nearer to the track leading down to the dam from Brixworth where it was less breezy.

Tomorrow evening members of the Northants Bird Club will meet at Kelmarsh Hall for a walk around the gardens, grounds and alongside the lake. This will be the first club outdoor meeting for a couple of years due to the pandemic restrictions. I walked the route this morning in breezy conditions and a few things on show included a female Gadwall with three ducklings, a Kingfisher, a Spotted Flycatcher and plenty of insects including Azure Damselfly and Southern Hawker.

This afternoon a Black-tailed Godwit was seen at Summer Leys LNR in Wader Bay and at Stanwick Pits there was a Cattle Egret and an adult Yellow-legged Gull. The third summer Caspian Gull again put in an appearance at the A5 pools between Lilbourne and DIRFT3.

Regards

Neil M

Red-necked Phalarope.

Red-throated Diver.

Slavonian Grebe.

Above three images courtesy of
Dave Jackson who is currently
leading a Naturetrek tour in
Iceland and has kindly sent these
photos through.

Lesser Stag Beetle.

Summer highlights

Hello

After three consecutive days of ringing and associated activity today was more of an admin day and catch up on other things. Because mist-netting is so weather-dependent and our weather seems to be so volatile and unsettled it's a case of exploiting opportunities when the conditions permit.

Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon and a Siskin paid a brief visit to our garden. This species is well known for rapid juvenile dispersal from the breeding areas.

Today (Monday) and a trundle around Harrington Airfield didn't provide much for me this morning but the assorted flowers along the strip between the chippings compound and Bunker One in particular look superb. Butterflies on the wing included unidentified skippers, Small Tortoiseshell, Ringlet, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Butterflies elsewhere included the first Purple Emperor of the year with one seen at Fermyn Woods this morning and Andrew Cook had a good session at Salcey Forest where there was Silver-washed Fritillary, White Admiral, Wood White, other common butterflies and a couple of Beautiful Demoiselles which seem to be having an excellent year. Marbled Whites were on the wing at Stortons Pits today.

Two Yellow-legged Gulls were off the dam at Pitsford Reservoir this evening, a third summer Caspian Gull was off the A5 on pools near Lilbourne this afternoon and a juvenile Marsh Harrier was well photographed at Thrapston Pits on the Titchmarsh reserve today.

Regards

Neil M

Osprey nestling.

Purple Emperor
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Brown Hare courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Grey Heron courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Sunday's sightings

Hello

Despite the mixture of weather, Stanford Reservoir was the venue for a ringing session this morning which provided good numbers of common warblers such as Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroat and general birds such as tits, Treecreeper and thrushes. Other birds on-site included a Great White Egret, a Hobby and a Grey Wagtail.

Three Grey Wagtails and a Hobby were near Brixworth and at Pitsford Reservoir the Pink-footed Goose was seen again in the mouth of the Scaldwell Bay.

Elsewhere an Oystercatcher was an unusual but not unprecedented fly-over record for Harrington Airfield where several Marbled White butterflies were on the wing. Two Mandarin Ducks were at Kinewell Lake, Ringstead Pits and a Great White Egret and a Black-tailed Godwit were at Summer Leys LNR.

Regards

Neil M

Grey Wagtail courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Hobby courtesy of
Nathan Jones.

Blackcap courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Bird Ringing Demonstration

Hello

Yesterday evening (Friday) there were three Common Sandpipers on the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir, a Yellow-legged Gull near the dam and about four hundred Starlings and six Little Egrets roosted north of the causeway.

Today (Saturday) there was a Parks Trust Nature Day at Howe Park Wood in Milton Keynes where the staff and volunteers endeavoured to showcase nature within this SSSI urban woodland. Members of the Northants Ringing Group led by Kenny Cramer provided a bird ringing demonstration which resulted in fifty-seven birds being processed. It was great to see good numbers of children and adults wowing over the opportunity of seeing wild birds nice and close and to appreciate their beauty and finesse. 

Over half the catch were adult and juvenile Blue Tits but other species encountered included Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird, Robin, Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

Four Black-tailed Godwits were showing on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR today.

Eleanor discovered a colony of Marbled White butterflies today at the Old Grammarians sportsfield at Wellingborough  (wild flower strips around the edge) and others were active on the roadside bypass verges at West Haddon and Crick.

This afternoon two first summer Caspian Gulls were again on the pools off the A5 between Lilbourne and the DIRFT3 site.

Regards

Neil M

Marbled White
courtesy of David Arden.

Black-tailed Godwits
courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Treecreeper courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Starlings, weevils and butterflies

Hello

A ringing session took place at Brixworth Water Treatment Works today and provided 68 captures of seventeen species. The total included a nice sprinkling of both adult and fledged youngsters made up of a single Magpie, twenty-four Starlings, two Robins, three Wrens, a Dunnock, two Great Tits, two Blue Tits, five Chiffchaffs, six Blackcaps, five Common Whitethroats, two Sedge Warblers, two Reed Warblers, three Reed Buntings, three Pied Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail, three Great Spotted Woodpeckers and three Swallows.

A Common Redstart was reported at Stanford Reservoir today and a Kingfisher and a Cuckoo remained at Thrapston Pits.

Interesting butterflies emerging in the county include White Admiral (Fermyn Wood today), Purple Hairstreak (Fermyn Wood yesterday), Dark Green Fritillary (Twywell Hills and Dales today) and Silver-washed Fritillary (Harry's Park Wood and Bucknell Wood yesterday).

Regards

Neil M

A rather unusual colour
variant in a juvenile Starling
courtesy of John Tilly.

A more typical plumage
associated with a juvenile
Starling also courtesy of
John Tilly.

Fungus Weevil courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Apple-Fruit Weevil courtesy
of Robin Gossage.

Silver-washed Fritillary.

Robin's Pond Life!

Hello

A much brighter and warmer day was altogether more seasonal as were the few birds reported in the county today.

Spotted Flycatchers were calling in Maidwell village this morning, the Cattle Egret was seen again at Stanwick Pits and a Great White Egret turned up on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR.

Elsewhere and a juvenile Little Ringed Plover and an Osprey were at Hollowell Reservoir, Grey Wagtails and a Hobby were near Brixworth and just before 9pm this evening a Curlew was heard calling over Hanging Houghton.

We now have Scarlet Tiger moths daily in our garden, the Green Alkanet appears to be their favoured foodplant which we have plenty of.

Robin has sent some images through of aquatic life which is probably a first for this blog!

Regards

Neil M

Frog tadpole

Hawker dragonfly nymph.

Lesser Diving Beetle
larva.

A juvenile Great Spotted
Woodpecker courtesy of
John Tilly.

Black-browed Albatross

Hello

Apologies for no blog post yesterday - I took the risky decision to travel up to Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire in the afternoon with Neil Hasdell to try and see the returning Black-browed Albatross at the sea-bird city there. Sitting on the M1 in a two hour delay in Notts and we were beginning to regret our decision! Thankfully we managed to eventually pass through this bottleneck and arrived just after 6pm. In reality our timing was perfect as the albatross had been sitting on the sea drifting north and almost reached Filey Brigg before flying back towards Bempton and perching on the blowy and very dramatic cliffs just as we pitched up! This amazing beast spent time trying to sit alongside Gannets which weren't happy to see it - bill touching with some individuals - and it flew up and swirled around several times, each time perched back at a different place.

Some photographers had been there for much of the day and attached are some fantastic shots from Bethan Clyne who certainly enjoyed much better views than us!

In the county yesterday (Tuesday) an Osprey was seen in flight over Blatherwycke Lake and at nearby Deene Lake there was an impressive count of six Green Sandpipers. An Osprey was also seen at Daventry Country Park yesterday with one espied at Naseby Reservoir the day before.

Today (Wednesday) and a Black-tailed Godwit was noted at Summer Leys LNR and a Cattle Egret was reported from Stanwick Pits.

The second brood Starlings are on the wing now and our local male Sparrowhawk is taking them constantly and no doubt plucking them and taking them back to hungry youngsters of his own. Today he successfully caught and killed one of our female Yellowhammers which is one of about half a dozen still coming for seed on the back lawn - no doubt the Yellowhammer was feeding young too. It's tough but that's nature!

Regards

Neil M

Black-browed Albatross 
courtesy of Bethan Clyne.

Dorset delights

Hello

A dark, dank day with low cloud and light rain persisting throughout didn't make it very inspiring to be out!

Eric was out at Thrapston Pits though and saw typical birds of the season which included three Cuckoos (two calling), three Oystercatchers and still a Ring-necked Parakeet.

A Wood Sandpiper was reported at Stanwick Pits this evening, present at 6.40pm on the main lake.

Regards

Neil M

Otter caught on nocturnal
trail camera locally.

Rock Pipit.

Linnet.

Little Owl

Mediterranean Gull.

Fulmar.

Above five images from an
excursion to Dorset courtesy
of John Gamble.