Largely dry and settled with above average temperatures at the start of the week, falling to average or below average with south-westerly gales at the week’s end.
On 6th an Egyptian Goose was at Summer Leys LNR and drake Garganeys visited Stanwick GP and Thrapston GP and another was at Summer Leys the following day. Nearby Mary’s Lake held a female Goldeneye also on 6th. Single Ospreys were seen at Thrapston GP on 5th, over Moulton on 6th, at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell on 8th and near Boddington Res on 10th when six Hobbies were together at Earls Barton GP.
An Avocet spent a day at Stanwick GP on 4th and the dearth of Ringed Plovers continued with again just one seen in the period – at Summer Leys on 4th. The same site hosted Sanderlings on 7th and 10th and single-figure counts of Dunlins were made at Clifford Hill GP and Stanwick GP, while twelve visited Summer Leys on 9th. Four Black-tailed Godwits at Stanwick GP on 4th was the only record of this species this week and Whimbrel numbers also remained low with singles at Summer Leys LNR on 8th and at
Daventry CP on 10th. Common Sandpipers were found at just two localities – one at Deene Lake on 7th and up to four at Summer Leys throughout the week while a single Green Sandpiper was at the latter site on 6th, a Greenshank appeared at Clifford Hill GP on 5th and Wood Sandpipers visited Stanwick GP on 7th and Summer Leys on 8th.
The only scarce gulls this week were a second-summer Yellow-legged at Summer Leys on 9th with the same site hosting an adult and a first-summer Little Gull on 6th, when an adult was also at Stanwick GP.
First-summer Little Gull, Summer Leys LNR, 6th May 2013 (Dave Warner)
Also at Stanwick GP was a Little Tern briefly on 4th and a Sandwich Tern paid an equally brief visit to Summer Leys on 9th, while the only Arctic Terns this week were singles at Stanford Res on 4th and Daventry CP on 10th.
A rufous morph Cuckoo was found at Summer Leys on 10th and a Short-eared Owl was seen hunting at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell on 5th and 6th – the same dates that singing male Wood Warblers were discovered near Badby and at Old Sulehay; needless to say they did not linger. The first Spotted Flycatcher of the year was at Duston on the early date of 4th, a Black Redstart appeared briefly in a garden in Kingsley, Northampton on 8th, single Whinchats were at Shutlanger Sewage Works on 4th and at Summer Leys on 6th while a Northern Wheatear was at Tywell Hills and Dales on 6th and a Greenland Wheatear visited Harrington AF on 10th.
Northants birds 