Birds and butterflies of late July

Hello 

Eleanor's visit to Pitsford Reservoir provided sightings of a Great White Egret, a Greenshank and three Common Sandpipers south of the causeway and two Great White Egrets, two drake Red-crested Pochards, a Pink-footed Goose and a Green Sandpiper in the Scaldwell Bay. David Arden subsequently saw the male Common Redstart and a Hobby also in the Scaldwell Bay.

Three Common Redstarts were present at Harrington Airfield plus a Hobby and a family party of very young Grey Partridges plus a Clouded Yellow butterfly. Another male Common Redstart was seen at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and two Green Sandpipers were on the scrape at Summer Leys LNR.

A number of Clouded Yellows in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton delighted a succession of observers today and Brimstone and Painted Lady butterflies and a Hummingbird Hawk-moth were all attracted to the nectar strips too. A Purple Hairstreak was a garden first for Fiona at Hanging Houghton today.

Birds at Stanford Reservoir today included the Garganey again, a juvenile Marsh Harrier, two Common Sandpipers, a Hobby and nine Ravens.

Regards

Neil M

Lesser Swallow Prominent.

Rosy Footman.

Emerald Damselfly.

Blue-tailed Damselfly.

A rather tatty White Admiral!

Ruddy Darter in cop.

Speckled Wood.

Hollowell's Ospreys and lots of chats!

Hello

Yesterday's two Ospreys at Hollowell Reservoir were well photographed by Jon Cooke to the point that part ring numbers and other salient features confirms these birds as originating from the Rutland Osprey project. Both are seemingly males, one bird being a three year old and the other a five year old bird. The latter bird is mature enough to breed now but these two birds have been meandering around with the five year old bird spending plenty of time in Hampshire as well as our region. An Osprey appeared back at Hollowell Reservoir at about 7.15pm this evening.

Eleanor had a good day for chats today with two Common Redstarts at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell first thing and followed by a Wheatear and a Common Redstart in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. A subsequent visit to Harrington Airfield followed in a similar vein with a Black Redstart at Bunker Three (with the bird hopping up to her on the concrete apron) and a Common Redstart between the Chippings Compound and Bunker One. Paul saw a Common Redstart later at Bunker Two which flew to Bunker One.

This afternoon what is presumed to be the same lingering Marsh Harrier was in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton flying towards Cottesbrooke and a Clouded Yellow butterfly still attracted to the nectar strips.

A Pink-footed Goose was seen on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits today and a Bittern was reported from Summer Leys LNR (with a belated report from the week-end).

Birds at Stanford Reservoir today include a morning Osprey and an evening Marsh Harrier, a Yellow-legged Gull, two Common Sandpipers, two Ravens and two Kingfishers.

Regards

Neil M

Ospreys at Hollowell Reservoir
yesterday courtesy of Jon Cook.

Migration momentum

Hello

Yesterday evening (Tuesday) saw two Hobbies hawking insects over a small weedy field on the outskirts of Hanging Houghton - possibly taking chafers. In the same field there were a pair of Kestrels and at least one very vocal Little Owl.

Also yesterday evening a Green Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper and a Great White Egret were seen on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston but there was no sign of the previous day's Cattle Egrets. Another Great White Egret was on the Summer Leys LNR plus three Redshanks, a Ruff, a Dunlin and two Little Ringed Plovers.

Today (Wednesday) and there was a ringing session at Woodford Halse which yielded some seventy-seven captures of common birds made up of fourteen species with Blue and Great Tits dominating. Other birds processed included a Goldcrest, a Treecreeper, a Nuthatch, a Blackcap and a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Birds noted on-site included a Hobby chasing a Swift, a Kingfisher and a Grey Wagtail. Migrant and Brown Hawkers were whizzing around as the temperatures increased during the morning.

A subsequent walk this afternoon around Borough Hill Country Park, Daventry didn't provide many migrants with the best birds being four Spotted Flycatchers, a Lesser Whitethroat and breeding Meadow Pipits. Butterflies included Painted Lady and Common Blue and Blue Emperor dragonflies were on the prowl.

Two Ospreys were seen at Hollowell Reservoir today and a Ruddy Shelduck was at Ravensthorpe Reservoir with two Great White Egrets still in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir.

Stanford Reservoir still boasted it's Garganey today plus a juvenile Marsh Harrier, a Common Sandpiper, two Kingfishers, a Hobby, two Cetti's Warblers and three Ravens.

Three Common Redstarts were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell early this morning and two more were viewable in hedging from the footpath leading from Bridle Road, Old past Cherry Hill and between Walgrave village and Pitsford Reservoir (plus a fly-by Clouded Yellow).

This afternoon there was a juvenile Marsh Harrier near Lamport heading over cereal fields towards the village of Scaldwell.

A Silver-washed Fritillary made it to Finedon Pocket Park today and a Purple Hairstreak was found on oaks at Upton Country Park west of the mill.

Regards

Neil M

The very big, bold and beautiful
Privet Hawk-moth courtesy of
Michelle Spinks.

Borough Hill Country Park
at Daventry is the best place 
I know locally for stunning
clumps of Harebells.

Common Blue butterfly at
Borough Hill Country Park.

Comma butterfly at
Pitsford Reservoir.

Pitsford Reservoir birds

Hello

Some more bird ringing took place at Pitsford Reservoir today utlising mist nets in the Walgrave Bay with a reasonable number of captures without anything spectacular. A young male Kingfisher was a highlight plus small numbers of Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Garden Warbler, a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers and a juvenile Marsh Tit.

Other birds on-site included a Ruddy Shelduck, two Great White Egrets, a Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper, two drake Red-crested Pochard, a Yellow-legged Gull and the male Common Redstart still in the hedgerow opposite the Paul Britten bench. Small numbers of Yellow Wagtails and hirundines were trickling south overhead in quite dull conditions and a Marbled White butterfly was noted too.

At Stanford Reservoir the Garganey was still present with three Water Rails noted on the Leicestershire bank and a Common Sandpiper was on the canal at Blisworth. Eleanor saw a Marsh Harrier in the Brampton Valley heading towards Blueberry Farm at about 2.20pm with at least two Clouded Yellow butterflies active in the nectar strips there. Three or four Spotted Flycatchers were at the southern edge of the Lamport Hall complex this evening.

Regards

Neil M

Kingfisher.

Common Swift courtesy
of Steve Wilson.

Marsh Harrier courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Swifts and House Martins at Lamport Hall.

Hello

Sorry it's a rather late blog but we haven't long finished a bird ringing session at Lamport Hall targeting and monitoring the Swifts and House Martins. With plenty of support we caught fifty-two birds made up of eight Swifts, forty House Martins and four Swallows. The great news is that some of the Swifts are believed to be using at least one and possibly a second nest box first erected in 2020, these boxes were designed and affixed with the intention of permitting this small colony to grow bigger. It often takes a good number of years for Swifts to adapt to such boxes so to have them using them after only two years is great news.

Three Hobbies and a couple of Sparrowhawks were present, the Hobbies in particular relentlessly pursuing the martins. A couple of Ravens and a Grey Wagtail provided further interest.

A Common Redstart was nearby along the footpath that runs between Hanging Houghton and Scaldwell with ten Spotted Flycatchers along the usual hedge/trees along the southern edge of Lamport Hall.

Two Cattle Egrets were found at Thrapston Pits today and birds at Earls Barton Pits (including Summer Leys LNR) included a Marsh Harrier, a Black-tailed Godwit, three Redshanks, two Little Ringed Plovers, a Common Sandpiper and a Great White Egret.

Ravensthorpe Reservoir hosted a Yellow-legged Gull and at nearby Hollowell Reservoir there was an Osprey, two Ruddy Shelducks, a Redshank and a Common Sandpiper. Two Yellow-legged Gulls and a Great White Egret were at Pitsford Reservoir.

Birds at Stanford Reservoir today included the Garganey still, six Black-tailed Godwits first thing, two Ravens, a Hobby and a Kingfisher.

Clouded Yellow butterflies were at Harrington Airfield with two 100m from the Chippings Compound and at least two more around flower strips at Lamport Hall.

Regards

Neil M

Common Swift - a small bill
but a huge gape! Image courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Juvenile House Martin
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Common Swift and one of
the huge flatflies that they carry!
Image courtesy of Michelle Sawbridge.

Hobby courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Tigers and more Clouded Yellows

Hello

Butterflies continue to provide local interest with a Clouded Yellow and a Chalkhill Blue seen at Twywell Hills and Dales today and good numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries included a 'valezina' form at Old Sulehay yesterday. Two more Clouded Yellows were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton again this afternoon.

Birds today included two Common Redstarts at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell with the male still in the Scaldwell Bay field hedge this morning at Pitsford Reservoir where there were also two Red-crested Pochard.

A Yellow-legged Gull was noted at Wicksteed Park at the main lake and a Pink-footed Goose at Ravensthorpe Reservoir is probably the returning summering bird of the past few years.

As well as the Garganey at Stanford Reservoir today there was also a juvenile Mediterranean Gull, four Ravens, two Hobbies and three broods of Tufted Ducks and a Clouded Yellow butterfly.

Regards

Neil M

Clouded Yellow.

Garden Tiger.

Jersey Tiger.

Hornet devouring a longhorn
beetle courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Wildlife at Dungeness.

Hello 

A Marsh Harrier was in the vicinity of Lamport Hall this morning before moving off towards Pitsford Reservoir and the Spotted Flycatcher flock amounted to eight birds.

At Pitsford Reservoir today the male Common Redstart was in the field hedge again next to the Scaldwell Bay in the vicinity of the Paul Britten bench and other birds included the two drake Red-crested Pochard and a Green Sandpiper.

Birds at Earls Barton Pits were made up of a Dunlin and a Great White Egret at Summer Leys and a Common Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover at New Workings North.

A Sanderling was still on the Guilsborough Bay Point at Hollowell Reservoir this morning and a Crossbill was calling in flight over Denton Wood, Yardley Hastings.

Stanford Reservoir continues to host a Garganey and there was also an Osprey and a Common Sandpiper.

I am currently down at Dungeness where Jacob is completing a stint as Assistant Warden at the Bird Observatory and we are enjoying some of the local wildlife too!

Regards

Neil M

Painted Lady.

King Diving Beetle
dytiscus dimidiatus.

Jersey Tiger.

Red Fox.

Garden Tiger.

Starry Pearl.

Treecreeper.

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls.

July waders

Hello

A few birds of interest in the county today with two Black-tailed Godwits noted at Pitsford Reservoir in the Scaldwell Bay this morning and another located at Thrapston Pits. A Great White Egret and thirteen Little Egrets were also on the reserve at Pitsford. Four more Black-tailed Godwits were seen in flight at Summer Leys LNR (with one on the deck earlier) where at least one Marsh Harrier presented itself plus two Great White Egrets and a Common Snipe.

Hollowell Reservoir came good with two passage Sanderlings on the Guilsborough Point and an Osprey flew through. Stanford Reservoir hosted the Garganey, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, two Common Sandpipers, a Kingfisher and a Hobby.

Regards

Neil M

Lapwing courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Whimbrel courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

With the recent hot weather, wildlife
has looked for refuge in gardens as
Jim Dunkley's images portray!

Marsh Harriers, Grey Partridges and Clouded Yellows.

Hello

Some bird ringing took place at Pitsford Reservoir this morning with just over sixty birds being processed in the Walgrave Bay. There was nothing exceptional caught with Blue Tits and Great Tits making up the majority but the total did include Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, a Willow Warbler and a juvenile Lesser Whitethroat. Other birds noted on the reserve included two Great White Egrets, one or two Yellow-legged Gull(s), a Redshank, a Green Sandpiper and two Ravens - a Marbled White was on the wing too.

Two Juvenile Marsh Harriers interacting with each other this afternoon was the bird highlight at Summer Leys LNR where there was also a Great White Egret and a Green Sandpiper and Jon found a first year male Common Redstart at Honey Hill. Cold Ashby.

Birds at Hollowell Reservoir included the female Ruddy Shelduck, four Dunlin and four Little Ringed Plovers and Stanford Reservoir's birds included the Garganey, a Redshank, two Common Sandpipers, a Kingfisher and a Hobby.

Two Families of Grey Partridges were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today and two Clouded Yellow butterflies were on nectar strips there too.

Regards

Neil M

Brown Hawker dragonfly.

Lesser Whitethroat.

After the heat

Hello

Birds at Pitsford Reservoir today included a male Common Redstart in a field hedge parallel to the boundary fence in the Scaldwell Bay in line with the Sand Martin nesting bank, a drake Red-crested Pochard, three Yellow-legged Gulls and two Great White Egrets (the latter in the Walgrave Bay).

A male Common Redstart remains in the bushes between the Chipping Compound and Bunker One at Harrington Airfield and a few Marbled Whites were still active. A family party of Grey Partridges were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton near to 'shrike hedge' and birds in the village included a Raven and Spotted Flycatchers. Two family parties of Spotted Flycatchers had joined forces in the regular hedgeline at Lamport Hall, amounting to about ten birds.

A Marsh Harrier and a Great White Egret were at Summer Leys LNR today and Clifford Hill Pits hosted a Goldeneye, a Barnacle Goose, four Oystercatchers and twenty-seven Common Terns. Over at Thrapston Pits there were two Common Sandpipers and a Green Sandpiper noted on the Titchmarsh reserve.

The long-staying Garganey was at Stanford Reservoir today plus a Dunlin, four Common Sandpipers, a Kingfisher and a probable Common Redstart seen very briefly.

Regards

Neil M

Ringlet butterfly.

Green-veined White.

Silver Y moth.

The stunning Black-browed Albatross!

Bempton and back

Hello

An ardent crew of us tried to escape the intense heat of Middle England today and drove north to Bempton Cliffs on the Yorkshire coast. A wonderful place to go in any event but made all the more special with the lure of the regular Black-browed Albatross and a vagrant Red-tailed (Turkestan) Shrike. It was always going to be an early start and just after 8am saw us kitted up and heading towards the cliffs after our journey from sunny Northants. Two of our team were Cambodian tour leaders who had come over to exhibit at the Global Birdfair and it was great to see new birds for them at the en-route service station which included Song and Mistle Thrushes!

A vibrant sea-bird city of course was a brand new experience and they particularly wanted to see Puffin. First we had to take in flocks of Tree Sparrows, Greenfinches, Common Whitethroat, Linnet and Great Spotted Woodpecker in the car park and then of course if was the noisy and wonderful cliff-nesting Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Gannets.

After an absence yesterday we were relieved to see the Black-browed Albatross wheeling in towards us, always an amazing sight anywhere in the world but all the more special in the Northern Hemisphere. Our Cambodian friends duly delighted in these views but were just as happy to see Fulmars, Shags and of course the cheeky Puffins!

It is easy to become transfixed and a little detached when watching the antics of all these birds, and trying to take photos provides another exciting dimension. We tore ourselves away from the cliffs and went in search for the long-staying shrike, finding it quickly in a coastal field hedge. First though Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Corn Bunting were all new avian experiences for our friends! The shrike showed nicely and we watched it dispatch a couple of bees. The local farmer decided the time was right to harvest the cereal crop right next door and the bird was subsequently displaced by the combine harvester and seemingly not reported afterwards.

We then spent a couple more hours enjoying the sea-birds from various vantage points but even here the temperature rose into the early 30s Centigrade but with a nice on-shore breeze.

Our journey back was a warm affair with temperatures up to 40C when we were passing through sections of Leicestershire.

In the county today the Garganey was again at Stanford Reservoir along with five Common Sandpipers, six Little Egrets, a Kingfisher and a Raven. Two Ravens were at Hanging Houghton together with the still-sitting Spotted Flycatcher and a Hobby. A family party of Spotted Flycatchers remain at Lamport Hall and a Common Redstart was still at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell this morning.

This weather of course sends the insects potty with huge numbers of moths active during the night and lots of butterflies, day-flying moths and odonata during the day. Several gardens hosted Purple Hairstreak butterflies today (including ours) and they were in particularly large numbers at Salcey Forest.

Regards

Neil M

Red-tailed Shrike courtesy
of Jim Dunkley.

Black-browed Albatross.

Gannets.