Month: December 2018

No dramatic changes in weather served to shift the balance on the birding front as we slipped ever more deeply into the festive season. Cold easterlies and northerlies quickly gave way to bouts of wet and windy southerlies and westerlies at the end of the period, which ended quietly on the shortest day of the year.

As the week came to a close, the adult Bewick’s Swan remained in place at Pitsford Res, along with the eleven Whooper Swans, while the first-winter Whooper at Thrapston GP similarly showed no signs of upping and going.

Also apparently rooted were the Pink-footed Goose and the six White-fronted Geese at Stanwick GP and Red-crested Pochard numbers bounced back to sixteen at Pitsford Res on 17th and 21st and 17th also saw two at Thrapston GP, while the lone drake was still at Hollowell Res and a female visited Ditchford GP – both on 16th. On the latter date a first-winter Scaup was at Pitsford Res and the first-winter or hybrid was still at Ditchford GP before relocating next door to Stanwick the following day and the first-winter remained all week at Thrapston GP. Back at Pitsford, the drake Ring-necked Duck remained until at least 20th and the drake Smew reappeared on 19th, followed by a ‘redhead’ there the next day.

At the opposite end of Pitsford, two Great Northern Divers continued their residence throughout the week, both being seen on 16th and 21st.

This was the first blank week for Cattle Egrets since the beginning of October. We’ve enjoyed an amazing run of records of these cheeky little frog-gobblers and given their recently acquired national resident status, the next one is surely not too far away. Up to four Great White Egrets continued to be seen at Pitsford, while Stanford Res and Stanwick continued to host three each, Thrapston held two and Ringstead GP and Summer Leys produced singles during the period.

Stanwick’s male Hen Harrier, now seen closely enough to age as a second-winter, has arguably stolen the celebrity crown from the Pitsford Ring-necked Duck and although tricky to catch up with, continued to be seen almost daily throughout the week. The juvenile at Stanford Res returned this week for an encore on 16th and on the same date, a male Merlin was a surprise bonus for the harrier-watchers back at Stanwick.

Pitsford continued to host last week’s Ruff until at least 17th and Hollowell Res produced a Jack Snipe, as well as two adult Yellow-legged Gulls on 16th, while the wintering adult Yellow-legged Gull was still at Pitsford until at least 19th. Down in the extreme south-west of the county, the not so lowly cattle sheds at Chacombe continued to attract masses of gulls including still, on 16th, the adult Caspian Gull first seen there on 25th November. Three more Caspians – two adults and a first-winter – were located at Rushton Landfill on 20th.

Under the influence of a predominantly south-easterly airstream, the past week remained dry with daytime temperatures gradually falling from the highest of 11 ºC on 8th to the lowest of 1ºC at the week’s end. Much of the previous week’s fare stayed put, providing plenty of opportunities for birders to play catch-up with any birds missed during the preceding period. Again, the spotlight was firmly on Pitsford as the place to be.

Seemingly now settled at Pitsford Res, the adult Bewick’s Swan remained throughout the week, as did the eleven Whooper Swans, now in their seventh week on site. Also staying put was the first-winter on Elinor Trout Lake at Thrapston GP, while another visited Stanford Res briefly on 14th.

Stanwick GP continued to play host to all of this week’s geese – the Pink-footed Goose on 9th, six White-fronted Geese on 14th and the Barnacle Goose until at least 11th, while the female Ruddy Shelduck remained north of the causeway at Pitsford Res until at least 11th. The drake wigeon resembling an American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid came under the spotlight this week and is now considered most likely to be a hybrid between Eurasian Wigeon and Gadwall.

Whatever its genetic composition, it’s still an unusual and striking-looking bird. Red-crested Pochard numbers had fallen this week to a maximum of just four at Pitsford Res on 8th, when the lone drake was also seen at Hollowell Res. Over at Thrapston, the first-winter Scaup was still present on 13th and the genetic purity of the female – perhaps a first-winter – at Ditchford GP was the subject of some discussion on 8th. After initially proving elusive, Pitsford’s drake Ring-necked Duck finally gave itself up to photographers – even to the point of showing off its ring. Remaining principally in Scaldwell Bay, it still occasionally proved tricky to get to grips with.

Also in Scaldwell Bay, a dapper drake Smew – the first of the winter – was discovered on 10th but it was nowhere to be seen beyond 11th.

At the opposite end of Pitsford, the juvenile Great Northern Diver remained throughout the week, often appearing close to the dam.

Bitterns have been scarce so far during the autumn and early winter period and in line with sporadic occurrences, Stanwick produced another drop-in at dusk on 11th. Rarer, though far easier to see, were the two Cattle Egrets at the same locality, while Pitsford also attracted one, albeit briefly, on 12th. Seen well with a small herd of cows below the dam, this constitutes a ‘first’ for the reservoir. Elegant, though somewhat less exciting, up to four Great White Egrets continued to be seen at the same site, while Stanford Res and Stanwick mustered three a piece, Thrapston hosted two and Ditchford GP, Earls Barton GP, Hollowell Res, Ravensthorpe Res and Summer Leys produced singles during the period.

Harriers were the only raptors of note this week and these included last week’s male Hen Harrier, ranging over farmland at the north-eastern extremity of Stanwick GP on 10th, 11th and 13th and a Marsh Harrier over Summer Leys LNR on 13th.

Pitsford continued to host last week’s Ruff until 8th, as well as an adult Yellow-legged Gull and two adult Yellow-legged Gulls were at Hollowell Res, also on 8th.

A ‘new’ Short-eared Owl was discovered at the north-eastern end of Stanwick GP on 11th and the two Bearded Tits were still present at a site with no public access on the same date, while a single Crossbill flew east at Ditchford GP on 14th.

The last week of autumn saw a continuation of northerly and easterly winds accompanied by low temperatures until the middle part, when south-westerlies helped raise the temperatures to a high of 14ºC on 28th, as well as delivering prolonged heavy rain. Rare and scarce wildfowl topped the bill during the period.

Six Bewick’s Swans, two adults and four first-winters, paid a brief visit to Thrapston GP’s North Lake on 25th before departing east during the afternoon. These are the only ones to be recorded in the county so far this year. The only Whooper Swans this week were the eleven, seemingly still settled all week, north of the causeway, at Pitsford Res and the first-winter still at Thrapston GP on 30th. In the Nene Valley, five White-fronted Geese flew west over Ditchford GP on 25th and just to the east, a Pink-footed Goose was found at Stanwick GP on 28th, while the Barnacle Goose was still present there on the same date. The mobile female Ruddy Shelduck was still at Pitsford Res on 25th, while over to the west, the drake American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid, last seen at Daventry CP on 16th, resurfaced at Ravensthorpe Res on 27th. Back at Pitsford, the week’s highest site total of Red-crested Pochards fell from eighteen last week to thirteen on 24th. Elsewhere, two were at Stanford Res all week and one remained at Hollowell Res throughout, while the first-winter Scaup also remained all week at Thrapston GP.

Following last week’s mystery report of a drake Ring-necked Duck on Town Lake at Thrapston on 18th, one appeared in Scaldwell Bay at Pitsford Res on the afternoon of 25th. At first posing awkwardly for photos, it quickly became camera-shy, subsequently appearing to do a bunk. Making it into the record books as Northamptonshire’s sixth, it was present just long enough for one or two locals to catch up with it but it wasn’t seen for the remaining part of the week.

Just two Cattle Egrets continued to be seen daily at the north-east end of the Stanwick GP complex, while up to two Great White Egrets continued to be seen there, with the same number at Stanford Res. Elsewhere, Pitsford continued to host up to four and singles were seen at Ditchford GP, Hollowell Res, Ravensthorpe Res and Summer Leys LNR.

Stanford Res continued its monopoly on harriers with the juvenile Hen Harrier still present until at least 29th and last week’s Marsh Harrier was again seen there on 24th.

The wader trade picked up with the first-winter Black-tailed Godwit still at Pitsford Res and a Ruff was discovered there on 24th, both birds remaining throughout, while a fly-through Spotted Redshank was seen there on 26th.

Single adult Mediterranean Gulls were at both Hollowell Res and Pitsford Res on 26th, although it is likely the same individual accounted for both observations, while an adult Caspian Gull was found near Middleton Cheney on 25th, being relocated later in the day at nearby Chacombe.

A second-winter Caspian Gull visited Daventry CP on 30th. Yellow-legged Gulls continued to be logged in small numbers, with three near Middleton Cheney on 25th and the same number again at Hollowell Res the following day, while singles were at Chacombe on 25th and Pitsford Res throughout the week.

The Borough Hill Short-eared Owl remained throughout the week, another was seen at Harrington AF on 28th and the first wintering Firecrest was discovered near the feeding station at Pitsford Res the following day. The only Bramblings reported were one at Pitsford Res on 26th, two at Hanging Houghton on 24th and up to eight in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton all week.