Month: September 2018

Apart from a period of persistent rain on 23rd, local weather remained dry and mainly sunny. South or south-westerly winds from 25th raised temperatures to a peak of 23ºC on 27th, after which northerlies caused the temperature to fall to a maximum of 14°C at the week’s end, on 28th. After producing a Grey Phalarope at the end of last week, Daventry Country Park remained firmly in the spotlight, positioning itself as ‘locality most likely to deliver’ … and it did.

Following a general coastal influx during the month, the second Pink-footed Goose of the autumn (or the first relocating) was found with Greylags at Summer Leys LNR on 24th, while the only other wildfowl of note was the juvenile Garganey still present at Pitsford Res on 22nd. On 24th, a juvenile Gannet was reported flying over Clifford Hill GP and it, or another, was subsequently reported flying low north-west over the road and fields between Church Brampton and Holdenby later in the day, at 16.00. Meanwhile, single Great White Egrets were seen at six locations, which included Stanford Res on 22nd, Pitsford Res on 23rd and 28th, Thrapston GP on 24th and 27th, Summer Leys and Daventry CP on 25th and Ravensthorpe Res on 28th.

On the raptor front, Thrapston GP again produced a Marsh Harrier on 24th and, like last week, just one Osprey was seen – this time at Stanwick GP, where it was observed carrying a fish on 27th. Bird, or birds, of the week, however, were the five Common Cranes watched circling above Daventry CP for fifteen minutes, late in the morning on 25th. About the twenty-third record for the county, it was unusual as ‘flocks’ are scarce, most previous records having been of ones and twos.

Even more interesting, however, is the fact that this particular flock has history. All five were unringed adults which had spent the summer in north-east Scotland, where there is a small breeding population. These five had spent much of their time around Loch of Strathbeg and they were last seen on Sunday, 23rd. They subsequently flew south over Saltholme Pools, Teeside the following day before their arrival at Daventry CP at 10.45 on 25th. Continuing their journey south, they were tracked over Knap Hill, Wiltshire at 13.00 and then east over Pennington, Hampshire at 19.00. They were then found at nearby Lymington the following morning, before flying south-east and then finally flying out to sea, south, over St Catherine’s Point, Isle of Wight. Who needs satellite tags?!

Back to the 25th and Daventry where, on the ground, a Little Stint was found and the Grey Phalarope was still present. The phalarope had departed by the following day but the stint remained until 27th. Another juvenile Grey Phalarope was discovered off the dam at Pitsford Res mid-afternoon on 23rd. It remained by the dam until late afternoon the following day, after which it became more mobile and was last seen off the northern shoreline, east of Pintail Bay on 25th.

Pitsford’s long-staying juvenile Black Tern remained throughout the week and another juvenile visited Clifford Hill GP, briefly, on 22nd and a first-winter Caspian Gull was found at Daventry CP on 23rd. The usual sprinkling of Yellow-legged Gulls included singles at Ravensthorpe Res on 22nd, 24th and 28th, Pitsford Res on 23rd, 26th and 27th and Thrapston GP on 24th with two there on 28th.

Three were at Stanwick GP on 23rd, including one with a partial hood, closely resembling the individual muted as an Azorean Gull candidate which was present at this site on 4th October 2017.

Many thanks to Gary Pullan for Common Crane movement information.

The week’s weather was strongly influenced by the Atlantic storm track with SSW winds pushing up from the continent and raising the temperature to a local high of 26°C on 17th. The following day, ‘Storm Ali’ (nothing to do with the author!) was named as it advanced rapidly eastwards, bringing strong west to south-westerly wind and rain and delivering at least one storm-driven bird to the county on 21st.

This week’s wildfowl included the female Ruddy Shelduck putting in two appearances at Stanford Res on 15th and 18th with the same site also producing a flock of eight Red-crested Pochards on the latter date.

The Garganey at Daventry CP remained until at least 20th and a, or ‘the’, juvenile at Pitsford Res was again seen between Moulton Grange Bay and the dam on 20th-21st. Meanwhile, Great White Egrets increased in both number and the number of sites they were found at this week – the latter from three to five.

The Thrapston GP individual remained all week, one was at Pitsford Res on 15th-16th while last week’s bird at Summer Leys LNR was still present on 21st, being joined by another there on 18th. Two were also together at Sulby Res on 16th and one flew west over Ditchford GP on 17th.

Just one Osprey was seen – a migrant flying south at Cosgrove on 17th – and against a flimsy backcloth of commoner waders, the juvenile Spotted Redshank at Hollowell Res chalked up its second full week in residence on 21st. Bird of the week, however, was the Grey Phalarope deposited at Daventry CP, courtesy of ‘Storm Ali’, on 21st. Showing well, as they so frequently do inland, it pushes the number of county records this century into double figures.

Pitsford’s juvenile Black Tern remained until at least 19th, ranging widely between the northern reserve area and ‘The Narrows’, well south of the causeway.

Another was found at Thrapston GP on 17th, where last week’s juvenile Little Gull remained on Town Lake until the same date. Just one Mediterranean Gull made it on to the weekly list, a first-winter at Daventry CP on 17th, and an adult Caspian Gull at Ravensthorpe Res on 15th, visiting nearby Hollowell Res on 21st, was the only one the county could muster for this species, as well. Numbers of Yellow-legged Gulls were down further on last week, with a juvenile at Daventry CP on 17th, an adult at Hollowell Res on 21st and up to three at Pitsford Res during the period.

Numbers of passerines also took a plunge, although a Pied Flycatcher seen briefly in canalside bushes near Thrupp, between Long Buckby Wharf and Welton, on 15th would constitute the only record for Northamptonshire so far this year. Otherwise, single Whinchats at both Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and Stanford Res on 15th and two again at the latter site on 17th, were a poor show considering this species had been present at seven localities during the previous week. Only one Northern Wheatear was found – on Pitsford dam on 18th – while a single White Wagtail was identified at Boddington Res on 17th, where it remained until 20th.

There was perhaps a little more oomph to this week’s autumn migration – just maybe, despite the continuing west to south-westerly winds. The period remained largely dry and warm, with temperatures reaching 22ºC on 9th and 11th.

A Pink-footed Goose at Clifford Hill GP between 8th and 10th at first sight may seem too early to be wild but there were UK arrivals ‘up north’ prior to these dates and this species had appeared in some numbers by the week’s end. Love them or hate them, the female Ruddy Shelduck made another appearance, this time at Stanford Res, on 8th-9th and 11th. The established pattern of occurrence for this species overwhelmingly points to an origin from the feral European population, so at least it counts as a migrant!

The Garganey at Daventry CP remained on view on 8th-9th and again on 12th and 14th and there was also a juvenile at Pitsford Res the following day, on 13th. Meanwhile, single Great White Egrets were again at Thrapston GP on 10th-11th and Pitsford Res on the latter date and one loafed around at Summer Leys all week.

Raptors featured a little more strongly than last week, kicking off with a Honey Buzzard flying low south over Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Res on 8th and a Marsh Harrier at Thrapston GP on 14th but in between these dates, single Ospreys were seen at the latter locality on 9th and flying south over Pitsford Res on 12th.

On the wader front, last week’s juvenile Knot remained until 9th on the single lump of mud poking out of an otherwise brim-full Pitsford Res. It deserves a medal. A Ruff visited Clifford Hill GP on 8th and on the same date, a juvenile Spotted Redshank was watched flying into Hollowell Res, where it remained until at least 13th.

Pitsford Res again produced single Black Terns on 9th and 12th-13th, or was it simply last week’s bird, from 5th, periodically slipping under the radar?

Staying with the diminutive, the week delivered two Little Gulls – an adult at Sywell CP on 10th and a juvenile at Thrapston GP on 14th and, with Mediterranean Gulls unusually absent, larger larids included adult Caspian Gulls at both Naseby Res and Stanwick GP on 9th and a third-summer loafing on buoys at Hollowell Res throughout the period.

Numbers of Yellow-legged Gulls were down, with a juvenile at Clifford Hill GP on 8th, single adults at Thrapston GP on 10th and Pitsford Res from 9th to 12th and two there on 13th.

Up to two Common Redstarts remained at the popular site of Twywell Hills & Dales until at least 12th and a juvenile female was trapped and ringed at Stanford Res on 13th while, in an ongoing show of strength, between one and three Whinchats were seen throughout the week at Clifford Hill GP, Daventry CP, Hollowell Res, Pitsford Res, Stanford Res, Sywell CP and at Wicksteed Water Meadows (Kettering).

Numbers of Northern Wheatears again remained low, though, with singles at Hollowell Res on 12th and Pitsford Res the following day. Two White Wagtails were found at the dam end of Pitsford Res on 13th.

It’s now looking and feeling a bit more like autumn, although winds remained firmly in the west for the last week and the early part of the period saw temperatures momentarily in the mid-twenties again. Consequently, there was nothing readily identifiable as being associated with an arrival from the east, although it was just about possible to feel a pulse in the neck of still largely dormant wader passage.

The week started with a new Garganey at Ravensthorpe Res on 1st and ended with another new one at Daventry CP on 7th. In between, one also remained at Stanwick GP until at least 5th. Sticking with the Nene Valley, a Bittern was seen in flight at Summer Leys LNR on 5th and Thrapston GP continued to be the most reliable site to see Great White Egret with one remaining throughout the week. Stanwick GP again produced one on 1st and 2 on 6th, while one visited Pitsford Res on 5th and another was at Summer Leys LNR on 7th.

Osprey numbers were well down on last week, with just singles at Hollowell Res on 1st and Pitsford Res on 5th. It’s worth mentioning that the last of the Rutland Water Ospreys had departed by 4th, while another from there had already reached Mauretania by 5th!

Considering how little wader habitat there is at Pitsford Res, it did rather well during the last two days of the period, producing 50% of this week’s ‘star cast’. As in previous years when the water level has been high, it was the area around the dam and Moulton Grange Bay which pulled in two Turnstones on 6th, followed by a Knot the next day, on 7th.

Elsewhere, a juvenile Ruff remained at Hollowell Res between 2nd and 4th, a Wood Sandpiper was found at Boddington Res on 1st with another reported from Stortons GP on the same date.

Having experienced a sudden, early departure of Common Terns, a single Black Tern moving south through Pitsford Res was a nice find on 5th but even better were two Sandwich Terns – an adult and a juvenile – at Boddington Res briefly on the morning of the previous day. The 5th produced both of this week’s Mediterranean Gulls – a juvenile at Pitsford Res and a first-winter at Stanwick GP, the latter still present the following day, while Stanwick also produced an adult Caspian Gull on 4th.

A second- or third-year Caspian Gull was also present on pools at Priors Hall, Corby on 1st. Single-figure counts of Yellow-legged Gulls came from Clifford Hill GP, Pitsford Res, Priors Hall, Ravensthorpe Res, Thrapston GP and Wicksteed Park Lake, although eighteen were counted at Stanwick on 4th.

A trickle of Common Redstarts continued with two at the popular site of Twywell Hills & Dales on 3rd, one at Daventry CP on 4th and, following last week’s, another male was trapped and ringed at Stanford Res on 6th.

There were more Whinchats this week, including at least five at Borough Hill on 2nd-3rd, up to three at Stanford Res on the same dates, two at Harrington AF on 3rd, 2 at Clifford Hill GP on 6th and singles at Hollowell Res between 4th and 7th and at Pineham, Northampton on 6th.

By contrast, Northern Wheatears were found at only 3 sites – one near Rushden on 1st and twos at Borough Hill and Pitsford Res on 3rd and 7th, respectively. Single White Wagtails were identified at Clifford Hill GP on 31st August and at Stanwick GP on 6th September.