Month: May 2018

The fact that weather can be a massive influencer in what turns up where, and when, was aptly demonstrated during this week which, for the first half was clear, warm and sunny. A light easterly airflow predominated, bringing murky, wet and, for a time, windy conditions off the continent during the latter half – a classic scenario for grounding migrants. In stark contrast to the previous week, there was plenty to get excited about, topped dramatically during the last hours by the fourth Rose-coloured Starling for Northamptonshire.

Summer Leys LNR saw the reappearance of a drake Garganey on 19th, followed by a male and female there on 24th-25th, while Stanwick GP hung on to its two drakes from last week before a third drake appeared there from 21st to 24th. Back to provide some summertime entertainment, last year’s presumed escaped female Bufflehead returned to Clifford Hill GP on 25th, after visiting Nottinghamshire earlier in the year.

A Great White Egret continued to visit Thrapston GP, with sightings on 21st, 23rd and 25th although, based on bill colour, local observers have identified two different individuals there over the past two weeks. A Marsh Harrier was also hunting there again on 20th, while two days later, on 22nd, single Ospreys were seen at both Hollowell Res and flying west at Summer Leys.

And then the floodgates opened. After bemoaning the fact that this had been an exceptionally poor spring for waders (and for some species, it has), local birders were treated to a weather-induced rush of Arctic-bound lovelies at the week’s end. A Grey Plover – scarce this year – appeared at Stanwick GP on the 25th, the date on which wader passage was most evident. This day also saw up to forty Ringed Plovers, the majority of which appeared to be of the race tundrae, at Clifford Hill GP after three more tundrae had been identified at Stanwick GP the previous day. Just one Black-tailed Godwit arrived this week, staying a day at Summer Leys on 24th, while the same site hung on to its Turnstone from 18th until 19th.

At least four more Turnstones appeared at Clifford Hill GP on 25th and a Knot made a stopover on a tern raft at Thrapston GP on 21st, while a brief and elusive evening visitor to Summer Leys on 23rd appeared in the shape of a fine summer-plumaged Curlew Sandpiper.

 
And so to Sanderlings … there had been three prior to this week but singles were found at Summer Leys on 23rd and 24th (two different individuals), Stanwick GP on the same dates with four (possibly six) there on 25th, two more at Summer Leys on 25th and twenty-three at Clifford Hill GP – comprising groups of eight, twelve and three – also on 25th. Single Wood Sandpipers visited Summer Leys and Stanwick on 23rd and 24th respectively, while a late flurry of Greenshanks included singles at Croughton Quarry on 23rd-24th, Stanford Res on 24th, Summer Leys and Ditchford GP on 25th with four at Lower Barnwell floods on the latter date.

The last two days of the month saw an arrival of Black Terns. On 24th, ten were at Summer Leys, nine at Boddington Res, seven at Stanford Res and six at Pitsford Res and on the following day, five visited Thrapston GP, two were at Clifford Hill GP and one was at Pitsford Res.

Meanwhile, late Arctic Terns included one at Stanwick on 24th, followed the next day by ten flying east there and two at Clifford Hill GP. The adult Mediterranean Gull was again at Stanwick on 23rd.

Which brings us neatly on to … Rose-coloured Starling. This ‘bird of the week’ or, more likely, ‘bird of the year’ in this instance, was discovered in a private garden in Wellingborough, late in the afternoon of 25th. It lingered long enough to be photographed and then promptly vanished, not being seen during the evening or subsequently. This is only the fourth record for Northamptonshire, having been seen previously in 1888, 1908 (both of which were shot) and 1998 – the latter an accommodating adult which frequented Woodford Halse between 11th and 22nd September. It appears that years ending in 8 may prove to be good for finding this species in future …

The weather this week was again ‘too good’ although gusty north-easterlies provided a little wader action on 16th-17th.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the week – largely due to its unseasonal occurrence, was a first-summer Whooper Swan, which appeared briefly at Stanford Res on 12th. Its age and the short duration of stay would suggest a late migrant, although small numbers of feral birds can be found not too far from our borders

.Like last week, the only Garganeys during the period were a drake at Stanwick GP on 13th and two drakes there on 18th while, unsurprisingly, no other scarce wildfowl were reported from any location.A Great White Egret visited Thrapston GP on 16th-17th, where there was also a Marsh Harrier hunting on 13th but there was no sign this week of the previously oft encountered Osprey over Elinor Trout Lake. Hollowell Res produced one, though, on 12th and 14th and another was over Blatherwycke Lake on 17th.

Wader passage was again at a low ebb, although what was missing in quantity was made up for in quality by an Avocet at Stanwick GP on 16th, with another – or more likely the same one – visiting Summer Leys LNR later in the day. Back at Stanwick, the same date produced a ‘Tundra’ Ringed Plover and the spring’s third Sanderling while the following day saw a Turnstone at Summer Leys, staying until 18th.

Only the second Black Tern of a dire spring locally for this species was found at Stanford Res on 13th. It didn’t linger. The only other tern was an Arctic Tern at Pitsford Res on 16th, while the adult Mediterranean Gull remained at Stanwick all week.

 

Passerine migrants were again in short supply and, arguably predictable, was a male Wood Warbler singing at Borough Hill Plantation on 12th, although a concerted effort to find it from dawn the following day met with disappointment.

                                                                                                        Northern Wheatear numbers fell this week to just three near Kentle Wood (Daventry) and two at Chelveston AF – all on 12th.

In a week when the most exciting thing was the weather – a record early May bank holiday temperature of 25°C locally – birding fell flat in comparison to the previous seven days. The clear skies, lack of rainfall and an uplift in temperature, caused by a high pressure system importing warm air from south-east Europe, provided conditions conducive to non-stop migration, with few birds deciding to make landfall.

Most of this week’s action came from the Nene Valley, where the only Garganey during the period was a drake at Stanwick GP on 9th-10th and looking like a non-breeding, first-summer bird, the mobile Great White Egret was again at Summer Leys LNR on 5th and 7th.

Further down the valley, an Osprey was fishing at Thrapston GP’s Elinor Trout Lake on 6th and 8th and singles visited Hollowell Res on 7th and Pitsford Res on 11th.

Following the high count of Black-tailed Godwits at Clifford Hill GP last week, numbers crashed to just two at Summer Leys on 5th, the latter site attracting four Wood Sandpipers on 6th, with two remaining the following day, while a Ruff was present there on 8th-9th. Clifford Hill, meanwhile, produced the second Sanderling of the spring with a one-day bird on 7th.

Narrowly making it on to the list this week was Arctic Tern, with singles flying west at Clifford Hill GP on 10th and at Pitsford Res the following day. A first-summer Little Gull lingered on Gull Island at Summer Leys on 5th and two adult Mediterranean Gulls again visited Stanwick on 7th, with one still there on 9th, while a first-summer Caspian Gull and an adult Yellow-legged Gull were at Daventry CP on 11th.

Passerine migrants were in short supply, with Northern Wheatear standing out as the only noteworthy species in this group. Clifford Hill GP was still the top venue at which last week’s double-figure collection of ‘Greenlanders’ fell to seven on 5th, two on 6th and one on 7th.

Elsewhere, up to three were at Chelveston AF on 5th-6th and singles were found at Polebrook AF and Summer Leys on 5th, in Kingsthorpe (Northampton) on 6th and near Horton on 7th.