Northamptonshire Bird Club, a birdwatcher and naturalist club based in Northamptonshire, central England.
The winning photo for the Northants Bird Club Photographic Competition 2025 as selected by the audience on the night is John Fuller's White-faced Storm Petrel.
Well done, John, an excellent image! All winning photos have been uploaded here -
https://northantsbirdclub.blogspot.com/p/photographic-competition-winners-2025.html
The most anticipated date in the Bird Club diary is almost here, and with 265 entries across 13 categories, it's going to be an entertaining night. If past years are anything to go by there's going to be tension, surprises, disappointments and controversy with a good dose of banter thrown in. Will you agree with the judge's decisions?
The audience gets to vote for the overall winning entry on the night from 5 winners picked by the judge. See you there on Wednesday 4th February for a 7.30 pm start, anticipated finish around 9.30.
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| Robin. |
It's that time of year when the Club's photographers start thinking about entries into the Photographic Competition. Those of you who are organised will have set up an album with potential entries and just need to decide which 24 photos to enter into the different categories.
The deadline for entry is 24th December by email to Dave Thomas following the rules here;
https://northantsbirdclub.blogspot.com/p/photographic-competition-rules.html
In particular, the simple rules around categories as this seems to cause many of the issues Dave has to overcome when collating entries.
Photos must be labelled as per the following system:
Category Number - Photographer's Name - Subject Name - Where the photo was taken, for example:
C01 Bob Gill - Kingfisher - Pitsford Res.
C05 Bob Gill - African Finfoot - The Gambia
No other information is required and photos labelled differently might not be entered into the competition.
Any questions, please ask at the December meeting or contact Dave, Bob or me. Good luck!
For the August indoor meeting, we welcomed John Fuller who'd spent 3-months in New Zealand and provided us with an engaging talk illustrated with some stunning photos from his time there. We anticipate another talk from John in future following his trip to Brazil; he does get about!
September's meeting won't be one to miss either, John Showers will be giving us a talk on 'A Day on St. Kilda' followed by Chairman Bob who'll be providing a collection of the finest images known to man, and womankind, with a twist. Not that kind of twist; they'll be no slipped discs caused by Chubby Checker and ice isn't forecast so you'll just have to wait and see...and hear.
Dave J. has been busy building a website with albums including birds, mammals, macro and more! Please feel free to take a look, all feedback welcomed.
https://www.davejphotography.com/
A dozen members turned out for the evening walk at Ravensthorpe Reservoir for the July Outdoor Meeting with a slow circular meander around the Anglian Water reservoir first constructed in the 1890s by the Northampton Corporation to supply water to Northampton.
It was a breezy affair so the anticipated insects were taking cover but continual sunshine and that lovely evening summer glow was much appreciated. A mixture of common birds of woodland edge were mostly heard rather than seen with renditions from Blackbird, Song Thrush, Robin, Blackcap and Chiffchaff emanating from hidden perches. Spotted Flycatchers called from high trees at the car park by the dam but I don't think anyone could see them!
Along the dam we enjoyed views of habituated wildfowl and Pied and Grey Wagtails, and Stock Doves and Woodpigeons wheeled around the trees below us next to the pumping station. Red Kites and Common Buzzards popped up over the tree-line regularly as we chatted and padded around the vegetated reservoir margins. A couple of the impressive Blue Emperor dragonflies defied the conditions to hunt and oviposit in the more sheltered spots. Two pairs of Mute Swans, Greylag Geese and at least two pairs of Great Crested Grebes were showing off their still dependent youngsters.
First seen by Stuart and then re-located by Helen, an Osprey tracked down the length of the reservoir before heading off in a north-westerly direction. Lesser Black-backed Gulls sauntered over the water, a single Common Tern fished the choppy waters and a fine male Bullfinch, something of a scarcity these days, flew over us. A Common Toad crossed the path in front and we mused over discarded oak apples. large bored exit holes in a dead conifer (probably the result of longhorn beetle action) and un-ripened bullace plums falling from the trees due to the extreme weather conditions of late.
In less than two hours we were back at the car park by the dam where an adult Green Woodpecker was waiting for us and we went our separate ways after a very pleasant wander and catch-up.
Neil McMahon
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| Great Crested Grebes. |
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| Greylag Geese. |
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| Great Crested Grebes. |
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| Dubious duo in action! Image courtesy of Helen Franklin. |
The much anticipated Club's Photographic Competition was again well supported and the winner of the Graham Soden Shield for the entry judged by the audience on the night goes to Dave Thomas for his Fieldfare photo taken in Northants.
Dave also wins the Wendy Gossage Trophy for Photographer of the Year for his cumulative points total for photos placed in the top 3 across the categories. Well done Dave!
Thanks also to the judge, Peter Walmsley who commented on the high quality of shots and how difficult his decision was in choosing the top 3 from so many excellent photos.
Well done to all who entered for making the night successful and enjoyable for photographers and non-photographers alike.
The winning photos will be uploaded in due course.
Wednesday 4th December with a presentation on 'Spurn - Britain's best all round bird observatory and migration hotspot?' by Jacob Spinks, Spurn's Assistant Warden for this year. 'A year through the lens looking at the migration and birding at Spurn Bird Observatory, situated at the mouth of the River Humber on the East Yorkshire coast. The talk details all the fantastic rarities and recorded passage of commoner migrant birds, as well as how to stay and when to get the most out of your visit.'
Yellow-browed Warbler (Dave Jackson)
Our speaker for the meeting this Wednesday has, unfortunately, come down with Covid. Instead we're hastily putting together a presentation from last year's Bird Club trip to The Gambia, unmissable for those who went and for those who didn't. 😎
Hope to see you all there.
It's the time of year when some of our keen photographers start thinking about their images to be entered into the Club's photographic competition in February. Some organised folk will have a folder with photos edited for their final choice nearer the deadline.
To encourage more members to enter we've relaxed the rules to allow photos taken since 2021 and not just the current year in any category. This will allow those who haven't travelled abroad in 2024 to enter photos in the relevant categories going back over the last 3 years. I'm sure some of you may have wished you'd entered a different photo or two having seen the winning category entries and this will allow more flexibility in your final choice.
We've decided to move with technology and allow HDR and stacked photos to be entered across the categories although it's assumed this will be more suited to landscapes, plants & fungi and insects rather than birds. The cloning and editing rules remain the same.
There will be an additional trophy, Bird Club Photographer of the Year for the photographer who has the highest score based on positions gained e.g. if a member entered just 5 or 6 photos and they were all placed in the top 3 positions they would achieve a higher score than someone who'd entered the maximum 24 photos and only achieved one 1st place and one 2nd place.
The rules on the Digital Photographic Competition page will be updated before the next meeting along with a reminder of how to submit entries following a few issues last year, the main ones being;
Nik Shelton from Wildlife Trust BCN gave an inspiring talk about a potential new reserve just over the border in Bedfordshire - Strawberry Hill. Some members may have visited during its early years when the land owner decided to cease farming and leave it to nature which in turn attracted Short-eared and Barn Owls amongst many other species.
More recently the habitat has attracted Nightingales and Turtle Doves in good numbers and Nik told of the enormous potential that this type of habitat could bring - but there's a catch. Part of the area has been secured through funding but 74 hectares remain at risk. The Trust need to raise 1.5 million to purchase the remainder and they're asking for help.
Any members wishing to help this very worthwhile cause can donate here;
https://www.wildlifebcn.org/strawberryhillappeal
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| Turtle Dove courtesy of Dave Jackson. |
It is with sadness that I inform readers of the passing of two Bird Club members;
Chris Coe, who was a long-standing member and an active county birder for more than half a century. One of Chris’s best finds and one yet to be repeated was a Little Bittern at Hollowell Reservoir in 1973.
Wendy Gossage was an active member of the Bird Club and with her husband, Robin, joined many trips at home and abroad including South Africa and Northumberland where the photo of Wendy and Chris was taken in 2014. Wendy recently lost her brave fight with cancer and will be sorely missed by everyone who knew her.
Our thoughts go out to the family and relatives of Chris and Wendy.
Hello
The July outdoor meeting venue was the MOD site at Yardley Chase and on Wednesday 3rd July fifteen members met there and enjoyed a meander around ably lead by club chairman Bob Gill.
Swallows and a Kestrel met us at the entrance and Common Buzzard and a variety of common birds spiraled around during the muster.
A two hour wander on tracks admiring ancient oaks and a good deal of secondary mixed woodland interspersed with meadows and managed headlands was much enjoyed in the evening sunshine, the best part of the day.
Two Slowworms (very localised in Northants) and lots of tiny froglets entertained and Marsh Tits and Blackcaps called from the scrub and light woodland. It was the wrong time of day for butterflies but Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites were well picked out as they rested in the grasses. A pair of Bullfinches is becoming a too infrequent sighting these days and a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were flighty and vocal.
Bob was able to explain some history of the area including the buildings and numerous ponds and also the more recent habitat management in tandem with continued MOD interests and local farmers.
A Common Newt was available for examination towards the end of the walk and further birds included Jay, Goldfinch, Mistle Thrush and Song Thrush.
Our thanks to Bob for organising access to this restricted area and leading the walk.
Neil M
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| Muntjac. |
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| Marbled White. |
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| Marsh Tit. |
Congratulations to Pete Gilbert for his wining shot of a Eurasian Wren taken in Northants. Pete also took 1st in 2 further categories almost on his doorstep proving anyone can get their name on the shield, not just us globetrotters!
https://northantsbirdclub.blogspot.com/p/photographic-competition-winners-2023_19.html
The annual photographic competition is one of the most anticipated and well-attended meetings in the Bird Club calendar.
This year it will be held in the usual venue on Wednesday 7th February and we will be showing the photos on a large screen television following feedback that the quality of the entries surpass the resolution of a projector and screen. I'm guessing there could be a selection of entries from the Club's recent trip to The Gambia.
We may dig deep and purchase a TV for all our indoor meetings if deemed a success and have enough funds in our coffers. Have your say on the night - see you there.
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With 2023 coming to a close, it is great to see that the club was again able to hold regular meetings and events and we were 'back to normal' after the complications and concerns that the Covid epidemic created during the last couple of years. This included an opportunity to re-run the annual photographic competition, car trips, the summer BBQ and summer evening excursion, our monthly presentations and recently the very successful foreign trip to the Gambia in search of exotic wildlife.
The programme for 2024 is coming together although there are still a few dates to confirm with speakers, and we hope to run events as normal in the coming year. The first presentation of the year will be a zoom presentation by globe-trotting Matt Eade, a Naturetrek staff member and tour leader who will be presenting on the Wildlife of Antarctica, the Falklands and South Georgia. This talk is on the evening of Wednesday 3rd January 2024 and all being well members will be able to enjoy the presentation on line from the comfort of home by way of an emailed link. Please do not turn up at our meeting venue of the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir as it will be shut!
With Christmas nearly upon us and the New Year just around the corner, the committee would like to wish the membership and all our supporters a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
The recent Bird Club trip to The Gambia, returning for the first time as a club since our inaugural visit in 2000, was a remarkable success.
African Finfoot, Egyptian Plover and a few rarities e.g. Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Spotted Thick-knee and Spotted Honeyguide made the bird list while Patas Monkey and African Clawless Otter were unexpected sightings.
Butterflies were plentiful whilst mosquitoes, thankfully, were few and far between!
Full report courtesy of Chairman Bob to follow.
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We have a place available on the upcoming Bird Club trip to The Gambia where we will travel inland to search for specialities such as Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Bateleur and Egyptian Plover.
Please contact Bob Gill a.s.a.p. if interested.
Hello
Our outdoor meeting at Harlestone Lake was attended by sixteen members and we took a gentle walk around the village and lake on a pleasant summer evening. Birds were scarce but a Jay was spotted by the lake and the local Mute Swans and Coots had produced youngsters. Some large Common Carp lounged around in the shallows.
Song Thrushes were singing loudly and the cherry trees were fruit providers for them and the local Blackbirds and Mistle Thrushes. Woodpigeons were the most high profile birds and a Treecreeper called from dark woodland with two Goldcrests singing from the canopy. Distant Red Kites and a fly-past of Jackdaws preceded a flock of Common Swifts quickly multiplying in numbers as they fed over the mature plantations. A couple of noisy Magpies were accompanying a field of bullocks and a Muntjac was on the grassy track ahead of us.
A couple of lingering Lesser Black-backed Gulls were interested in something nearby as we strolled past the traditional thatched cottages, water pump and village hall and threaded our way back over the golf course. Ancient Oaks and Sweet Chestnuts looked superb and a stand of hemlock dwarfed us all. Walking through St Andrews churchyard and back to the car park, a baby Tawny Owl called from laurels and taller trees but couldn't be seen. A quiet and serene summer's evening drew to a close and we motored home.
Neil M
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| Common Swift. |
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| Muntjac. |
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| Harlestone cow. |
