Warmth, bluster, rain and calm

Hello

A strange mix of weather today with blustery and very mild conditions with some weak sunshine for the first half of the day with heavy rain this afternoon then a cessation of wind and rain to provide a calm, sunlit evening.

It is also that time of the year when roving tit flocks with a few Goldcrests, the last of the warblers and Treecreepers are foraging the hedges and copses where they bump into Song Thrushes and Redwings from the continent. Today the warm temperatures created further opportunities for dragonflies and Red Admirals to twirl and whizz around, the latter trying to find nectar and sweetness from fruits to continue their migration south.

Our garden Hedgehogs are very busy fattening up ahead of their potential hibernation and Common Frogs and Common Toads have been active during the last couple of wet days and Grass Snakes basking in the warm sunshine.

Seventeen Barnacle Geese of unknown origin were in the Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning and this afternoon they flew around the southern half of the reservoir and appeared to land in a field just north of Moulton Grange Bay. Two adult Yellow-legged Gulls were also present.

The first year/female Ring-necked Duck was seen again on the Titchmarsh Reserve at Thrapston Pits (plus two Pintail) and the Cattle Egret and a Green Sandpiper were around the scrape at Summer Leys LNR, with three Grass Snakes showing well next to the Rotary Hide.

A Merlin was a good sighting at Stanwick Pits this morning where there was also a Cattle Egret, three Pintail and a Redshank.

Birds at Hollowell Reservoir were a Pink-footed Goose, two adult Caspian Gulls and an adult Yellow-legged Gull and over at Stanford Reservoir there were up to five Whooper Swans, a Garganey, four Red-crested Pochard, a Pintail and a Marsh Harrier.

Harrington Airfield this morning provided the first Woodcock of the autumn plus two Swallows, singing Chiffchaffs, two pairs of Stonechats, four Redpolls, two Bramblings, several Siskins, about a hundred Redwings and thirty Golden Plovers. A Grey Wagtail remains in the village at Hanging Houghton. Our local brood of Barn Owls finally fledged this evening.

Sywell Country Park hosted a pair of Stonechats, a Cetti's Warbler, about twenty Siskins and a Painted Lady butterfly with Painted Lady, Comma and of course many Red Admirals at Lamport Hall.

Regards

Neil M

Common Toad Sywell
Country Park today courtesy
of Eleanor.

Barnacle Geese.

Merlin courtesy of
Beth Clyne.

Woodcock.

A profusion of finches

Hello

Some ringing in a corner of a field set aside as a wild bird food crop on the Courteenhall Estate today provided 231 captures with finches dominating made up of 152 Goldfinches, two Lesser Redpolls, a Siskin, two Bullfinches, eight Chaffinches and six Linnets. Other birds included a juvenile male Sparrowhawk, two Reed Buntings, a Blackcap, a Chiffchaff, a Goldcrest and a Marsh Tit. At least five other Lesser Redpolls and six Siskins and a male Brambling were attracted to the same area with perhaps three hundred Goldfinches feeding on the seed-rich patch. A Grey Wagtail was also present.

Five Avocets found by Neil Hasdell at Pitsford Reservoir today was a significant surprise (please see Neil's video clip below) - they spent much of their time around the bund area between the James Fisher and Bird Club hides in the Scaldwell Bay. Other birds noted included at least ten Pintail, a Green Sandpiper, a pair of Stonechats, a Great White Egret and a Yellow-legged Gull. Later in the day eight adult Whooper Swans arrived, stayed just a few minutes and flew off again.

Nick Parker saw eight Whooper Swans at Titchmarsh Reserve, Thrapston Pits which flew off heading at south west and must have been the birds seen subsequently at Pitsford. A flock of forty-three Barnacle Geese also at Titchmarsh is remarkable - they could be from a regional feral flock but being there at the same time as Whoopers it makes you wonder if they have come from the same part of the world! To make Nick's birding life even more surreal he then goes and locates a Ring-necked Duck there too (visible from North Hide)!

The Bittern was showing well in front of Pioneer Hide on the Summer Leys reserve this morning and other birds included a Ruff, a Green Sandpiper and a Pintail. A fishing Otter showed rather distantly at Stortons Pits today.

Birds at Hollowell Reservoir today included a Rock Pipit, an adult Caspian Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Pintail, a Great White Egret and two Stonechats. Ravensthorpe Reservoir hosted an adult Caspian Gull, a Pink-footed Goose and a drake Mandarin Duck.

Short-eared Owls popped up in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton, Daventry Country Park and Borough Hill Country Park, Daventry. A pair of Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton near the large barn.

Regards

Neil M

Juvenile Mute Swan
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Otter fishing at Stortons Pits
today courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Adult male Siskin
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Juvenile male Sparrowhawk
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Lesser Redpoll courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Birds of the cooling rain

Hello

At Pitsford Reservoir today there was a huge juvenile female Peregrine in the Walgrave Bay plus a Raven with five Pintail noted in the Scaldwell Bay and a Stonechat and an adult Yellow-legged Gull near the Maytrees Hide. The American Wigeon wasn't picked out today but is presumably still lurking there somewhere amongst the many hundreds of Eurasian Wigeon (with many of them roosting in waterside bushes and providing difficult viewing).  A check of the rather wet gull roost this evening produced two adult Caspian Gulls, three Yellow-legged Gulls, four hundred and sixty-five Lesser Black-backed Gulls and sixty-three Herring Gulls (including the first 'argentatus' race birds of the autumn).

At Stanford Reservoir the four Red-crested Pochards remained and there was also a Great White Egret and a Stonechat.

Summer Leys birds included a Cattle Egret, a first winter Mediterranean Gull, about thirty-five Golden Plovers flying over, two House Martins and still the colour-ringed Great White Egret.

A/the Short-eared Owl put in another appearance in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and again near 'shrike hedge' this afternoon and two Stonechats were present too. A Raven and a Grey Wagtail were in Hanging Houghton village.

With over five thousand new Blackcaps caught and ringed in the county this year (the majority by members of the Stanford Reservoir Ringing Group) it perhaps isn't surprising that a few recoveries have been reported. One of those was a first year male ringed at Greens Norton on 8th September 2023 which was caught again at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory, Kent on 22nd September 2023. In those fourteen days this young bird had travelled 192km heading ESE and had gained 2.2 grammes ready for the next migration hop.

Regards

Neil M

A black bird against a grey
sky but the call and shape
of the Raven over Pitsford
Reservoir is distinctive and 
these days a regular event.

Jaeger, an observant and attentive
 member of the Pitsford WeBS team!

Pitsford WeBS count

Hello

Today was waterbird count day at Pitsford Reservoir when an effort is made to count all areas of the reservoir. These days often provide a snapshot about what is present on any one day - it is indeed a rare event when the whole reservoir is covered by observers these days except on the WeBS count!

A first year drake American Wigeon was the best bird of the day and the first one for many years. Not surprisingly it was staying with the hundreds of Eurasian Wigeon present north of the causeway, initially being found in the Scaldwell Bay but then flying around into the Walgrave Bay. I'm afraid that distance and poor light prevented any suitable images. Hopefully it will remain and provide better photographic opportunities.

Other birds present included fifteen Pintail, a drake Mandarin Duck, a Jack Snipe, twenty-five Common Snipe, three Common Sandpipers, three Great White Egrets, a first winter Mediterranean Gull, an adult Yellow-legged Gull, a Hobby, a remarkable nine Stonechats, over forty Siskins, a dozen Redpolls, six Grey Wagtails and three Ravens.

Dave Francis completed some ringing at the Old Scaldwell Road Feeding Station and processed forty-five birds made up of eight Blackcaps (one a control), eight Blue Tits, six Long-tailed Tits, five Chiffchaffs, five Great Tits, four Meadow Pipits, two Song Thrushes and singles of Reed Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Redwing, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Magpie, Dunnock and Wren.

Stanford Reservoir today hosted a Short-eared Owl, two Egyptian Geese, a Great White Egret, four Red-crested Pochards, 752 Redwings, sixty-six Skylarks, forty-nine Fieldfares, four Redpolls, eleven Siskins and four Swallows.

Another Short-eared Owl was flushed from the ditch at 'shrike hedge' in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton where there were also a pair of Stonechat and two Bramblings and a steady passage of Redwings. A Green Sandpiper was on the brook in the valley there and a Grey Wagtail was in the village.

Two pairs of Stonechat and sixteen Golden Plovers were at Harrington Airfield this afternoon and Summer Leys LNR provided a Cattle Egret, four Great White Egrets and a Ruff.

Regards

Neil M

Reed Warbler.

Ruff.

Common Gull.

Great White Egret.

Images courtesy of
Tony Stanford.

 Video below is another clip
from Chris Payne's Storm
Petrel footage from Skokholm
with a chick receiving it's first
feed after hatching.

Migrants from the north and east

Hello

Plenty of thrushes passing through and lingering in the county today with some high numbers noted.

At Stanford Reservoir an estimated 3,500 Redwings moved through the site today plus two-hundred and fifty Fieldfares, forty Skylarks and three Bramblings. The four Red-crested Pochard were still there and other birds seen were a Marsh Harrier, a Golden Plover and a Pintail. The ringers there trapped and ringed a late Willow Warbler which demonstrated characteristics of the north-eastern 'acredula' race. Five Great White Egrets were there first thing before flying off.

Further ringing took place at Harrington Airfield where seventy-eight birds were processed which included eighteen Redwings, nine Song Thrushes (including continental grey birds), a continental-type Blackbird, a Green Woodpecker, eighteen Blackcaps, three Meadow Pipits, four Reed Buntings and three Yellowhammers. A Ring Ouzel was in bushes by Bunker Two at 8.30am but not encountered subsequently, a Crossbill flew over south, a male Brambling was there briefly and other birds present were several Golden Plovers and a Barn Owl. A few Redpolls and Siskins lingered briefly before moving on and Redwings numbered in their hundreds with perhaps only about fifty Fieldfares and with smaller numbers of Chaffinches and Starlings moving south.

A male Ring Ouzel was located at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell together with two Bramblings and a pair of Stonechat with three Stonechats and three Bramblings and a hundred Linnets at 'shrike hedge' in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. High numbers of Skylarks were on the fields there.

At least sixteen Great White Egrets at Summer Leys LNR must have looked pretty spectacular where there was also a Cattle Egret and a Dunlin. Four to six Common Sandpipers were at Pitsford Reservoir south of the causeway plus a Great White Egret, winter thrushes and small numbers of Redpolls and Siskins.

Two adult Caspian Gulls and a Pintail were at Hollowell Reservoir and a pair of Stonechat were seen at Borough Hill Country Park, Daventry. Five Stonechats and an Otter were at Upton Country Park.

Regards

Neil M

Otter and Stonechats
courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Green Woodpecker
courtesy of Jane Neill.

'Continental' style
first year male Blackbird
courtesy of Jane Neill.

The winter thrushes are coming

Hello

A particularly warm day and we were seeing some evidence of mass migration on the east coast as winter thrushes finally filtered through in some numbers. Short-eared Owls, winter finches, thrushes and wildfowl have impacted the east coat in large numbers and traditionally it takes a couple of days to see a few individuals from this immigration to be seen locally.

Redwings were in big numbers today with flocks seen over urban and rural areas during the first half of the morning and again this evening with four hundred logged during the day at Harrington Airfield which included some roosting birds this evening. Two Fieldfares were at Harrington this morning and about ten dropped in this afternoon. Other birds seen there today included three pairs of Stonechats, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, twenty-five Golden Plovers and several Siskins and Redpolls plus two Ravens and Grey Partridges.

Three female Stonechats were at 'shrike hedge' in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton with a pair seen there later. Other birds in the Brampton Valley included a Barn Owl, several Golden Plovers, a couple of calling Grey Partridges, five Tree Sparrows, a flock of forty-five Skylarks, a single Grey Wagtail plus a few Siskins and Redpolls.

At least six Stonechats were at Borough Hill Country Park (Daventry) today and a Peregrine and a Kingfisher were at Summer Leys LNR this morning and Barn Owls noted during the last couple of days including hunting birds at Scaldwell and Maidford plus a brood of four youngsters being ringed in South Northants on Friday.

At Stanford Reservoir today sightings included four Red-crested Pochards, a Marsh Harrier, a Great White Egret, a Green Sandpiper, a Pintail, a Water Rail, forty-five Redwings and at least eleven hundred Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the roost. In addition over two hundred birds were processed by the ringers on-site.

Regards

Neil M

Barn Owl nestlings
courtesy of Chris Payne.

Muntjac.

Hornets taking over
an owl nest box!

Stonechat.

Lapwing.

Above four images taken
at Pitsford Reservoir by
Tony Stanford.

Stonechats!

Hello

Certainly warmer today but perhaps not as much sunshine as forecast, but still very nice for the time of the year.

The Bittern re-appeared at Summer Leys LNR today, extending it's long stay with days of not being seen (a typical Bittern)!

At Stanford Reservoir today there were two Red-crested Pochards, a Marsh Harrier, a Hobby, a Peregrine, a Green Sandpiper, a Siskin and a very late Garden Warbler was ringed.

Stonechats included a pair at Blueberry Farm, a pair at 'shrike hedge' and another pair nearer the brook in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton. Two more pairs of Stonechats were at Harrington Airfield where there were also two Redpolls and six Siskins. Two Grey Wagtails remain at the brook in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton with another one in the village itself.

A ringing session at Linford Lake, Milton Keynes caused over eighty captures which included good numbers of Chiffchaffs (which included a control) and Blackcaps and a mixture of common birds with Song Thrushes, tits, Goldcrests, two Meadow Pipits and a Magpie for variety. A Grey Wagtail, several Siskins and Redpolls, a Great White Egret and six Egyptian Geese were also present.

Some ringing is planned for Harrington Airfield on Monday when access to the bunkers and old airstrip including the scrubby areas will be restricted. The main concrete track is unaffected.

Regards

Neil M

Male Stonechat courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Female Stonechat.

Grey Wagtail.

Redwing courtesy of
Robin Gossage.

Not many Redwings here yet
but with an estimated three
thousand today on Holy Island,
Northumberland they are not
far away!

Warm weather on the way?

Hello

The quiet period in the county continues but it is possible that the unseasonal rise in temperature and swirling weather from Iberia forecast for this week-end may create some avian interest?

The four Red-crested Pochard remained at Stanford Reservoir today where there was also a Garganey and a count of one hundred and fifty Meadow Pipits. The single Cattle Egret remains at Eyebrook Reservoir and a family party of Otters have been recorded in recent days on the River Welland at Market Harborough.

At Summer Leys LNR today there was a Cattle Egret and an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a Ruff at the New Workings section of Earls Barton Pits.

An adult Caspian Gull was off the dam at Ravensthorpe Reservoir today with a Pink-footed Goose, a Dunlin and two Stonechats at nearby Hollowell Reservoir.

Two Grey Partridges were noted at Clifford Hill Pits this morning and two pairs of Stonechats were in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton near to 'shrike hedge'. At least one Raven was in Hanging Houghton village and at Pitsford Reservoir there was a Grey Wagtail and a few Siskins in the Walgrave Bay this morning and three adult Yellow-legged Gulls off the dam this evening plus a Grey Wagtail and a female Stonechat on the fence line below the dam.

Regards

Neil M

Linnet courtesy of Tony Stanford.

Kingfisher courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

Lesser Redpoll courtesy
of Chris Payne.

Caspian Gull.

Thursday ringing

Hello

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a quiet day in the county but there were four Stonechats in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and today (Thursday) there were just two!

Also yesterday birds at Pitsford Reservoir north of the causeway included a Great White Egret, a Raven, two White Wagtails and at least one Yellow-legged Gull and a pair of Stonechat between Maytrees Hide and the causeway.

Today and birds noted at Hollowell Reservoir were a Dunlin, a Redpoll and four Stonechats.

Birds at Stanford Reservoir today included a Merlin, a Marsh Harrier, four Red-crested Pochards, a Great White Egret and a Caspian Gull with a Goosander, ten Lesser Redpolls and a Redwing yesterday.

Stortons Pits hosted some ringing today which provided sixty captures of which only nine were re-traps from previous sessions. Twenty Blackcaps indicates a slow-down of this species moving through the county and interestingly no Chiffchaffs after very large numbers locally in recent weeks. Other birds processed included sixteen Long-tailed Tits, six Blue Tits, two Wrens, three Robins, five Dunnocks, four Blackbirds, two Cetti's Warblers and two Goldfinches.

Another ringing session took place at Christies Copse in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir with seventy-five birds being processed. Again no Chiffchaffs were caught and only eight Blackcaps and no other warblers were encountered. Other birds were made up of two Blackbirds, fourteen Goldcrests, twenty-eight Blue Tits, fourteen Great Tits, a Marsh Tit, two Long-tailed Tits, a Wren, three Robins and two Chaffinches.

Up to four Grey Wagtails were attracted to the new ponds in Christies Copse, a Barn Owl was seen pre-dawn and other birds noted included a Raven and several Siskins and Redpolls.

Regards

Neil M

Female and male
Stonechats.

The humble Rook!

The finely-marked and 
handsome drake Gadwall.

Blustery Tuesday

Hello

A blustery and cooler day today but it didn't affect the small birds moving over which included Swallows, Meadow Pipits, wagtails and Skylarks and still more Siskins.

A ringing session on the Courteenhall Estate yielded well over a hundred birds with finches dominating with seventy-seven Goldfinches, seven Linnets and three Chaffinches being caught and ringed. Other birds included a Marsh Tit, two Chiffchaffs and four Blackcaps and a Sparrowhawk and a Grey Wagtail and a couple of Barn Owls were in close attendance.

At Stanford Reservoir today the best birds were four Red-crested Pochards, a Garganey, a Great White Egret, a Pintail, a Water Rail, two Kingfishers and two Cetti's Warblers. The Cattle Egret was still at Eyebrook Reservoir.

A Jack Snipe was at Hollowell Reservoir today and other birds included the female Ruddy Shelduck, a Common Snipe, a Dunlin, an adult Caspian Gull plus a Stonechat.

At Pitsford Reservoir there was a juvenile female Peregrine hurtling around the reserve this morning plus a Raven, a Great White Egret and a few Siskins in the Walgrave Bay. From the dam this evening there was a juvenile Caspian Gull and seven Yellow-legged Gulls (at least one juvenile). A large gull at range with the mantle a little darker than the Yellow-legged Gulls and with moderate head and upper neck streaking plus the structure and bill colouration and strong, bright plumage tones suggested the rarer Azorean or 'Atlantis' Yellow-legged Gull. However it wasn't possible to see the colour of the legs or feet and I didn't see enough to rule out a hybrid.

Twelve Cattle Egrets was a great count at Stanwick Pits today and other birds included two Ruff, two Pintail, a Yellow-legged Gull and a Common Sandpiper.

A Golden Plover, six Grey Partridges and four Stonechats were at Clifford Hill Pits this morning and at Harrington Airfield there were two pairs of Stonechats, a Wheatear, a late Common Whitethroat plus twenty-five Golden Plovers, thirty Siskins and six Redpolls.

The Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton also hosted a pair of Stonechats at shrike hedge and another pair near to the Brampton Brook plus five Golden Plovers and a Curlew over.

Regards

Neil M

Siskin courtesy of
Dave Jackson.

House Sparrow courtesy
of Dave Jackson.

Goldfinch courtesy of
Lewis Aaron.

Cattle Egrets.

Ringing at Harrington Airfield.

Hello

Some more ringing at Harrington Airfield today ahead of the downpours of this evening yielded one hundred and thirty-five captures, the majority being new migrants. The mild conditions seem to be making a difference to the species encountered with a late Grasshopper Warbler and a late Garden Warbler amongst the more seasonal forty-three Blackcaps and twenty-nine Chiffchaffs. Other birds included three Goldcrests, sixteen Meadow Pipits, five Lesser Redpolls, a Bullfinch, four Reed Buntings and three Yellowhammers.

Other birds there included a female Stonechat, about eighty Golden Plovers moving over north and a few on the ground, several more Redpolls and Siskins and a Grey Wagtail moving through plus a couple of Ravens and lots of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks flying around the site. Amongst the more common butterflies present was a Painted Lady.

At Stanford Reservoir today there were four Red-crested Pochards again plus a Great White Egret, a Pintail, a Spotted Flycatcher, three Redwings, a Stonechat and twenty-seven Redpolls. One hundred and forty-six new birds were ringed which also included a late Garden Warbler. The Cattle Egret was at Eyebrook Reservoir again today.

At Stanwick Pits today there was a Hobby, two Pintail and four Yellow-legged Gulls and at Summer Leys LNR there were three Hobbies and a Great White Egret.

Sadly the Wryneck at Dallington Cemetry, Northampton wasn't seen today.

A Kingfisher and two Grey Wagtails were at the brook in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton today and four Hobbies were near Blueberry Farm, Maidwell.

Regards

Neil M

Spotted Flycatcher courtesy
of Tony Stanford.

The difference in crown colours
between male and female Goldcrests
courtesy of Jane Neill (the male
the lower bird).

Grasshopper Warbler at
Harrington Airfield today
courtesy of Jane Neill.

October Wryneck

Hello

A rather quiet day in the county again today with plenty of common bird migration still on-going but little in the way of scarcer birds until that man Stuart found a Wryneck in Dallington Cemetry, Northampton this afternoon! Well done Stuart!

Very mild, almost humid conditions if cloudy with little sunshine didn't feel very seasonal and visible migration included Swallows, Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and finches.

A Merlin over Irthlingborough early this morning is seasonal though and a quiet day at Summer Leys LNR provided an adult Yellow-legged Gull and two Common Snipe. Another adult Yellow-legged Gull was on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits this afternoon.

At Hollowell Reservoir today the female Ruddy Shelduck was on show plus two Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin. Four Ravens (two feeding on a road kill Pheasant) and a couple of calling Grey Partridges were at Harrington Airfield today with another Raven at Hanging Houghton.

Two Great White Egrets were in the Walgrave Bay at Pitsford Reservoir this morning.

Regards

Neil M

Wryneck - but not the
Dallington bird!

Skylark courtesy
of John Tilly.

Common Buzzard.