Winds remained between north-westerly and south-westerly throughout, gusting quite strongly for a short time at beginning of week. Warm, mainly dry weather ensued throughout the period as migrants continued to trickle through.
Clearly still going nowhere, the Ruddy Shelduck remained at Pitsford Res, where there was also a female Red-crested Pochard x Ferruginous Duck hybrid and a Goldeneye on 10th. Pitsford also produced an Osprey, fishing south of the causeway on 6th, the same date as a Marsh Harrier visited Summer Leys LNR along with a Peregrine. Further Peregrines were seen at Ditchford GP on 8th and in the Brampton Valley the following day.
On the wader front, the only Little Ringed Plovers this week were two at Clifford Hill GP on 6th and singles at Stanwick GP and Summer Leys on 7th. Three Ringed Plovers included singles at Ditchford GP on 8th, Hollowell Res on 9th and Pitsford Res on 10th
and a Curlew also visited the latter site on 6th. Up to two Dunlins remained at Pitsford Res between 8th and 11th and up to three were at Hollowell Res between 7th and 10th and
two were at Summer Leys on 12th along with a Little Stint. Just two Greenshanks this week include one that visited Stanwick GP on 10th and one at Summer Leys on 12th, and a solitary Redshank was at Daventry CP on 8th. Common Sandpipers were reported from Boddington Res, Daventry CP, Hollowell Res, Pitsford Res, Stanwick GP, Summer Leys LNR and Welford Res with no more than two at any one location, with the exception of four at Stanwick GP on 8th and six at Pitsford Res
on 10th. Similarly, Green Sandpipers were seen in ones and twos throughout the week at Hollowell Res, Pitsford Res, Stanford Res, Stanwick GP and Summer Leys, while twos of Common Snipe were at Hollowell Res on 7th and at Clifford Hill GP and Summer Leys on 10th but the best count was six at Ditchford GP on 8th.
Three Mediterranean Gulls – all juveniles – continued last week’s run with one at Clifford Hill GP on 6th and two at Boddington Res on 12th, while numbers of Yellow-legged Gulls rallied with at least fifty at Stanwick GP late on 8th and approximately seventy there the following evening, with adults visiting Pitsford Res on 10th and Boddington Res on 12th and four juveniles were at Daventry CP during the week. Stanwick, as usual, produced all the week’s Caspian Gulls with a second-summer on 8th, an adult and two third/fourth-summers on 9th-10th, a first-summer plus a third/fourth-summer on 11th and a juvenile, first-summer and third/fourth-summer on 12th.
Again, this week’s only Turtle Doves were two at Harrington AF between 6th and 8th but rarer on a local level was a Nightjar found on private land adjacent to Stanford Res on 12th. More migrant passerines included single Common Redstarts at Harrington AF on 6th and 8th, Pitsford Res on 10th and Twywell Hills & Dales on 12th but five were at Eydon on 10th, while two Whinchats were at Harrington AF on 6th and one on 9th, four were at Blueberry Farm (Maidwell) on 6th and two were in Brampton Valley on 9th-10th. At least two Stonechats remained at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell, on 9th and the autumn’s first Northern Wheatears visited Harrington AF on 6th, Brampton Valley on 9th-10th and Hollowell Res on 10th.
Northants birds 