Month: March 2013

The cold easterly blast, which brought well below average temperatures to most of Britain continued, although things began to hot up as spring migrants appeared undeterred by the adverse weather.

Having disappeared last week, the five Egyptian Geese were back at Ditchford GP on 23rd with two remaining the following day and one on floodwater at nearby Irthlingborough on 26th was likely to have been the same individual seen at adjacent Stanwick GP on 29th. A drake Green-winged Teal – the fourteenth for Northamptonshire – was discovered at the latter site on 24th, remaining there until at least 27th before relocating to nearby floodwater at Irthlingborough on 29th.

Pintail remained scarce with two at Summer Leys LNR on 23rd and a drake at Thrapston GP on 29th while the drake Scaup was still present at Ditchford GP until at least 26th. A drake Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid provided some additional interest at Summer Leys LNR on 28th and 29th, the ‘redhead’ Smew was still at Stortons GP on 24th and six (two drakes) remained at Pitsford Res on 26th while Goosanders continued to be recorded from six localities, with a maximum of twenty-five at Thrapston GP on 27th.

A Bittern was seen flying into the reedbed at Stortons GP on 24th and the Ravensthorpe Res individual was still present on 25th and again on 28th but Great White Egrets provided one of the biggest surprises of the week when single birds were seen at Summer Leys LNR on 23rd and 27th and no less than three were present together there on 28th.

Also at Summer Leys a male Marsh Harrier went straight through on 26th and another was seen flying over Spratton on 28th, while the only Peregrines reported were singles at Earls Barton GP on 24th and at Thrapston GP on 27th. The discovery of two first-year Common Cranes at Thorpe Waterville on 28th allowed a handful of local birders to catch up with this species which has been recorded only thirteen times before in Northamptonshire; they departed high to the north-east at 05.45 the following morning.

An Avocet was present for one day only on floodwater at Irthlingborough on 24th and the first Little Ringed Plover of the year appeared at Pitsford Res on the same date, followed by two further individuals at Stanwick GP and Summer Leys LNR on 28th. The only Ringed Plover was one at Ditchford GP on 26th and Golden Plovers were recorded at Clifford Hill GP, Harrington AF and Summer Leys LNR with a maximum of 500 at the first of these localities on 23rd. Dunlins were seen in ones and twos at Stanwick GP, Ditchford GP and Clifford Hill GP although thirteen were present at the latter site on 23rd, while three Ruff paid a brief visit to Stanwick GP on 26th. Three Jack Snipe remained at Hollowell Res on 27th and Common Snipe passage continued to produce reasonable numbers with a maximum of fifty at Stanwick GP on 25th and 26th. Summer Leys produced a Black-tailed Godwit, which remained from 23rd to 27th and eleven visited Stanwick GP on 28th with four there the following day. The year’s first Whimbrel appeared on 28th, when two flew over Sywell CP, while single Curlews were seen at Summer Leys on 23rd and 27th, Ditchford GP on 26th and Pitsford Res on 29th when two were also seen near Thrapston GP.  Redshanks were reported from Summer Leys, Clifford Hill GP and Stanwick GP with a maximum of fourteen at the latter site on 28th.

Boddington Res produced an adult Mediterranean Gull in the roost on 26th and two adults on 29th while a second-winter was at Blatherwycke Lake on 28th. A near-adult Caspian Gull was on floodwater at Irthlingborough on 24th and, nearby, juvenile Glaucous Gulls continued to be seen at Ditchford GP on 26th and at Stanwick GP on 28th with a juvenile Iceland Gull at the latter site on 27th and a second-summerYellow-legged Gull at Clifford Hill GP the following day.

Again, just one Sand Martin was seen this week at Summer Leys LNR on 28th but an arrival of Chiffchaffs was evident with new birds at Ditchford GP (six), Stanwick GP, Clifford Hill GP (three) and in the Brampton Valley (three) while the first Willow Warbler was at Thrapston GP on 27th. Long staying Central European Blackcaps remained in two gardens in Duston (Northampton), Kettering, Wellingborough and Sywell but there was no evidence of any new arrivals from the south. The first migrant Ring Ouzel was discovered in a horse paddock at Wicken on 24th and hot on the heels of last week’s Northern Wheatear at Pitsford Res came more this week with one at Clifford Hill GP from 23rd to 28th (being joined there by another on the latter date), one at Wicken

on 24th and singles at Harrington AF and Sywell CP on 27th and 28th respectively. Bramblings hung on at East Hunsbury (Northampton), Harrington AF, Hanging Houghton and Kelmarsh and a Mealy Redpoll was again visiting a garden feeder in Polebrook on 27th.

A high pressure system located to the north-east of the UK ensured a constant, cold easterly airstream, suppressing temperatures and producing snow as it collided with the warmer, moist Atlantic air at both the beginning and the end of the week. The ‘Siberian Spring’ seems set to continue …

Migration continued despite the unseasonal weather conditions and fewer winter ducks were in evidence with two Smew at Pitsford Res on 19th and six there on 22nd with a ‘redhead’ at Thrapston GP on 20th. Goosanders were recorded at Stanford Res, Clifford Hill GP, Stortons GP and Thrapston GP with a maximum of thirteen at the latter site on 17th.

The only Bittern found this week was one at Earls Barton GP’s Quarry Walk on 18th while the wintering Great White Egret was still present at Pitsford Res on 21st and another Osprey was present at the same site on 19th, 20th and 21st. Peregrines were seen at both Thrapston GP and Northampton on 20th while the immature male Merlin was still present at Harrington AF on the same date.

Waders on the move included a high count of approximately sixty-five Common Snipe at Pitsford Res on 19th and two Jack Snipe at Hollowell Res on 16th and 22nd with another trapped and ringed at Stortons GP on 17th. The only Redshanks reported were two at Summer Leys LNR on 17th with a Curlew there and two more at Clifford Hill GP on the same date. ‘New’ Green Sandpipers were two at Earls Barton GP on 17th and three at Pitsford Res on 21st.

A fourth-winter Glaucous Gull at Finedon Road, Wellingborough on 16th had been present there the previous day and was not the same individual, an adult, which was seen at nearby Ditchford GP last week, while a juvenile circled Boddington Res for five minutes on 19th before drifting west.

Other relatively scarce larids included a second-winter Yellow-legged Gull at Pitsford Res on 19th and two adults at Ravensthorpe Res on 22nd, an adult Kittiwake at Boddington Res on the same date with the same site hosting three Mediterranean Gulls (two adults and a first-winter) on 19th and an adult on 21st.

One or two Bearded Tits remained in the reedbed at Ecton SF on 17th and another was still at Earls Barton GP’s Quarry Walk the following day.  Just one Sand Martin was discovered battling against the elements this week at Pitsford Res on 19th, while a Siberian Chiffchaff remained at Ecton SF on 18th along with up to four Chiffchaffs and another Chiffchaff was singing at Thrapston GP on 20th. Central European Blackcaps remained in two gardens in Duston (Northampton), Kettering, Northampton, Rothwell and Wellingborough, with a maximum of three males in one of the Duston gardens on 17th and eleven Waxwings put in a brief appearance in a Woodford Halse garden on 22nd.

The first Northern Wheatear of the spring was below the dam at Pitsford Res on 21st and other spring passerine migrants included a White Wagtail at Hollowell Res on 16th and a Rock Pipit at Pitsford Res on 19th and 20th. Two Bramblings continued to be seen at East Hunsbury (Northampton), one at Pitsford Res and up to twelve at Harrington AF, while seven Crossbills were at Bucknell Wood on 18th.

A dramatic return to sub-zero overnight temperatures and snow flurries did not appear to stop the first spring migrants pushing through the County, although the few summer visitors recorded this week will have struggled to make significant progress against the biting easterlies which have so far characterised the ‘Siberian Spring.’ The five Egyptian Geese were still in fields by the watersports pit at Ditchford GP until at least 11th, Pintail maintained a low profile with just two at Stanford Res on 9th and the number of Smew remained low, with long staying pairs at Pitsford Res and Ravensthorpe Res on 9th and a ‘redhead’ at the latter locality on 11th, plus a ‘new’ pair at Stanwick GP from 12th to 14th and a ‘redhead’ at Stortons GP from 9th to 13th. Numbers of Goosanders similarly remained lower than in previous weeks with between two and eight at eight localities but eleven were at Clifford Hill GP and twelve at Stanwick GP on 14th. The drake Ferruginous Duck x Pochard hybrid was back again at Daventry CP on 14th and the drake Scaup was still present on the watersports pit at Ditchford GP on 15th.

The Ravensthorpe Bittern remained at the reservoir until at least 13th and the Pitsford Great White Egret continued its protracted stay throughout the week. A ‘new’ Slavonian Grebe appeared at Daventry CP on 10th but it did not linger; conceivably it could have been the same individual which had been at Clifford Hill GP the previous week and perhaps at Pitsford Res prior to that.

An Osprey flying north at Pitsford Res on 13th was no doubt the first of many Northants migrants to come, the vanguard having already arrived in Scotalnd a few days previously. Peregrines were seen at Harrington AF on 9th and in the Brampton Valley on 13th while the immature male Merlin was seen again at Harrington AF on the latter date.

More waders were in evidence than last week and the first migrants beginning to trickle through included a Ringed Plover at Hollowell Res on 9th with three more at Clifford Hill GP on 12th. Golden Plover numbers were up on last week with seventeen flying south over Stortons GP on 9th and fifteen at Harrington AF and approximately eighty at Stanford Res on the same date, two hundred and twenty at Clifford Hill GP on 12th and more than three hundred at Sywell AF the same day. Single Dunlins were found at Ditchford GP and at Hollowell Res on 9th, four Jack Snipe were at the latter locality on the same day and the only Redshank reported was a group of four at Stanwick GP on 10th. Single migrant Curlews flew over Old Pastures Wood on 7th, Great Brington on 9th and Boddington Res on 15th and three were on fields at Ecton SF on 10th, the latter site also continuing to host the regular wintering Green Sandpiper on the same date.

One juvenile Glaucous Gull was again at Finedon Road, Wellingborough on 9th and an adult commuted between there and Ditchford GP’s Viaduct Pit on 15th while single adult Yellow-legged Gulls visited Hollowell Res and Stanford Res on 9th and second-winters visited Ravensthorpe Res on 11th and Pitsford Res on 14th. Kittiwakes are almost guaranteed in March and one visited the gull roost at Boddington Res on 9th and the same site hosted a first winter Mediterranean Gull on 15th.

A Ring-necked Parakeet was seen again at Stoke Bruerne on 13th and two Sand Martins – the first of the ‘summer’ – were at Ditchford GP on 9th, while a Chiffchaff was at Ravensthorpe Res on 11th and seven were still frequenting the outflow stream at Ecton SF on 12th along with one Siberian Chiffchaff.  Numbers of Central European Blackcaps were lower this week with just a female in a Wellingborough garden on 10th, a male in a Kettering garden on 11th, a pair in a Duston (Northampton) garden on 13th and two males in a Northampton garden on 10th and 13th.

During the first four days of the week there was a flush of Rock Pipits involving singles at Hollowell Res on 9th, Boddington Res on 10th and Clifford Hill GP on 12th and a Scandinavian Rock Pipit was at Stanwick GP on 10th. Bramblings continued to be seen at East Hunsbury (Northampton), Pitsford Res and Harrington AF with a maximum of twelve at the latter site on 14th, while approximately twenty Crossbills were still at Wakerley Great Wood on 9th.

The week continued mainly mild with few new birds being discovered during the period and the first suggestion that some winter visitors were beginning to depart. The eight White-fronted Geese at Clifford Hill GP remained until 2nd as did the five Egyptian Geese in fields by the watersports lake at Ditchford GP until at least 5th. The latter site still held a drake Scaup on 4th but the number of Smew was much lower than in previous weeks with just one ‘redhead’ at Ravensthorpe Res on 2nd and 4th and a pair at Pitsford Res on 5th. Goosanders similarly were recorded in lower numbers and at fewer localities with three at Clifford Hill GP and four at Stortons GP on 2nd, three at Hardingstone GP on 4th and eleven at Thrapston GP on 5th. Higher number of Wigeon at several localities hinted at the beginning of a spring movement of this species.

The Ravensthorpe Bittern remained on the ‘small side’ of the reservoir all week and the Pitsford Great White Egret was still being seen until at least 5th while last week’s Slavonian Grebe remained on the trout lake at Clifford Hill GP until at least 2nd.

Peregrines were seen at Stanwick GP on 2nd, in the Brampton Valley on 5th and at Harrington AF the next day while Merlins – or perhaps the same immature male – appeared at Blueberry Farm (Maidwell) on 4th and at Harrington AF on 5th and 6th. A paucity of waders included 58 Golden Plovers at Clifford Hill GP on 2nd, a Redshank at Pitsford Res on 5th with the regular Green Sandpiper at Ecton SF on the same date and a Jack Snipe at the unusual location of Brixworth Sewage Works on 7th.

Juvenile Glaucous Gull, Ditchford GP, 3rd March 2013 (Mike Alibone)

At least two Glaucous Gulls were seen in the first half of the week with a ‘near-adult’ and a juvenile at Ditchford GP on 3rd and a juvenile there the next day and the ‘near-adult’ at nearby Stanwick GP on 6th. Last week’s juvenile Iceland Gull was seen at Sidegate Landfill on 3rd and an adult was on floodwater by the A6 between Irthlingborough and Finedon on the same date with presumably the same individual visiting Mary’s Lake at Earls Barton GP on 5th. The only Yellow-legged Gull to be reported reported was an adult at Ravensthorpe Res on 2nd.

Two Bearded Tits remained in the Phragmites bed at Ecton SF on 5th and fifteen Chiffchaffs were still along the outflow stream there on the same date, while nine Central European Blackcaps were reported in gardens in Duston (Northampton) Kettering, Northampton (2), Pitsford and Wellingborough with a maximum of three in a Northampton garden on 4th. After a week with none, five Waxwings visited Brixworth CP on 6th and a Stonechat was at Ecton SF on 5th. Bramblings continued to be seen at East Hunsbury (Northampton), Hanging Houghton, Kelmarsh, Stortons GP, Pitsford,

Pitsford Res and Wakerley Great Wood with a maximum of ten at Harrington AF on 6th, while approximately thirty Crossbills were at Wakerley Great Wood on 3rd and between twelve and fifteen were there on 5th.

A largely dry week with ‘spring-like’ weather during the latter half saw a trickle of new arrivals in the County. The eight White-fronted Geese at Clifford Hill GP remained all week, feeding with the resident Greylags and Canadas in the field behind the Premier Inn at the western end of the complex while another, found at Thrapston GP on 24th, was still present on the North Lake there on 27th. Five mobile Egyptian Geese were again in fields by the watersports lake at Ditchford GP on 24th but had seemingly vanished by the next day and the pair of Pintail at Stanwick GP on 24th were again the only ones to be seen during the period. At least one drake Scaup remained on the watersports pit at Ditchford GP on the same date and a hybrid drake Ferruginous Duck x Pochard was discovered at Daventry CP on 26th. Six Smew were still at Pitsford Res on 23rd, while up to the same number remained at Ravensthorpe Res throughout the week and Goosanders were recorded at Blatherwycke Lake, Daventry CP and Stanford Res and at Clifford Hill, Ditchford, Stanwick and Thrapston GPs with a maximum of eighteen at the latter site on 24th.

A Bittern found on the ‘small side’ at Ravensthorpe Res on 23rd and still present on 1st  is likely to have been the same individual present there on 28th January, subsequently

remaining undetected, while the Pitsford Great White Egret was seen again on 25th and 28th. Last week’s Slavonian Grebe remained on the trout lake at Clifford Hill GP until at least 24th but the only Peregrine this week was one at Ditchford GP on 25th.

The Golden Plover count at Clifford Hill GP reached a maximum of only c100 on 24th and there was a Redshank there and three at Stanwick GP on the same date.  The regular Green Sandpiper was seen at Ecton SF on 27th and 28th and four Jack Snipe were located at Hollowell Res on 23rd. Two juvenile Glaucous Gulls at Ditchford GP on 24th and a juvenile Iceland Gull at Wellingborough on 1st were the only scarce gulls of the week. Up to three Bearded Tits remained in the Phragmites bed at Ecton SF all week and eight Chiffchaffs were still along the outflow stream there on the same date with at least one Siberian Chiffchaff still there on 24th, 26th, 28th and 1st. Five Central European Blackcaps were reported, all in gardens, this week: a female in Rothwell on

25th, a male in Irthlingborough on 25th and 26th, a male in Northampton and a male and female in Wellingborough all week. A trickle of Bramblings included singles at East Hunsbury (Northampton), Kelmarsh and Pitsford Res and multiples at Harrington AF with a maximum of eight there on 28th. Other finches of interest included several Crossbills at Harlestone Heath on 28th and a Mealy Redpoll at Polebrook on the same date.