Month: May 2021

The majority of the week saw cool, low pressure-dominated air delivering thunder clouds and rain from the Atlantic. But in the last two days of the period, high pressure moved in and the winds swung southerly, resulting in long overdue sunshine and blue skies. Indisputably, however, this week belonged to the colour purple …

… and with the rush of migrants well and truly over, after what has been an almost legendary spring in the county, the last of the regular summer visitors rolled up right on cue and, as always, fashionably late. So, with an element of site predictability, the first Quail to sound the summer in was singing in the Brampton Valley, between Hanging Houghton and Cottesbrooke, on 26th, remaining until the week’s end.

Keeping a low profile, at least two Cattle Egrets remained in the favoured location of Stanwick GP on 23rd-24th but it was a different kettle of fish altogether that became this week’s birding blitzer. Snapped and subsequently flagged up by the Summer Leys photographic fraternity, a smart adult Purple Heron broke cover onto the scrape on 27th before allegedly disappearing. But, next day, there it was again, as it happened, going on to please all comers from dawn until dusk, albeit partly obscured by reeds for the majority of the time.

Purple Heron, Summer Leys LNR, 28th May 2021 (Mike Alibone)

With visits more frequent in the last century, it’s been a long, 10-year wait since the last one, in 2011, with the 1980s enjoying records in 6 out of 10 years, including annual occurrences in the 4 consecutive years of 1984-87. This year’s bird is the 20th county record.

On the raptor front, single Marsh Harriers were at Harrington AF briefly on 25th and over Stanford Res on 27th.

This week’s wader action – such as it was – was confined to DIRFT 3, where six of last week’s ten Sanderlings remained on 22nd and a Tundra Ringed Plover put in an appearance on 26th. The same site also continued to produce gulls of note, including five Yellow-legged Gulls on 22nd and two on 27th, when two first-summer Caspian Gulls were also present.

Another first-summer Caspian Gull visited Pitsford Res on 23rd, when a Black Tern was also discovered there. This was followed by another which lingered at Earls Barton GP and Summer Leys from 25th to 27th.

The start of May was marked by a bank holiday weekend and barely had the week kicked off when the drums started beating out news of the discovery of one of the rarest waders on the county list – a mere stone’s throw from Northampton …

But before all that … Lost and lonely, last week’s Pink-footed Goose was back at Stanwick GP on 4th-5th, clearly having decided not to move north yet and another lingerer was Summer Leys LNR’s drake Garganey, which remained all week.

There’s a niggling belief in the Western psyche that bad things always come in threes but this was certainly not the case at Ravensthorpe Res on 2nd, when three Black-necked Grebes, in all their summer finery, were on display close to the causeway. Needless to say, they did not stay.

And after a week with no sightings, Cattle Egrets were back in the game, with two at Stanwick on 2nd, one there on 5th and one at Pitsford Res at the week’s end, on 7th. Unsurprisingly, as we move deeper into spring, Great Egrets were down to singles at Clifford Hill GP on 1st, Thrapston GP from 3rd to 7th and Pitsford on 4th.

Raptors, too, were in short supply with single Ospreys at Hollowell on 5th and 7th and in flight over the A45 near Earls Barton on the latter date, while Stanford Res produced another Marsh Harrier on 4th.

But it was waders that came to the fore and what better way to kick the week off than with a Dotterel … or two. So, history was made with the discovery, on 1st, of Northamptonshire’s eleventh at a relatively unknown site, only a stone’s throw from the county town. The extensive, flat bean fields, alongside New Farm AF at Piddington, proved attractive to two of these highly attractive, montane beasties as they took a break from their journey from Africa to likely breeding sites in Scotland and/or Scandinavia. Staying for five days, they became crowd-pullers and pleasers – their admirers coming from further afield than just Northants.

The last record in the county was a fly-over, photographed at Pitsford Res in November 2017 but the last truly twitchable bird was near Lutton, an area with reputational pulling power for this species, in May 2014. The population, however, is said to be declining. The estimate of 423 breeding males in 2011 represents a decline of 43% since 1999, when the comparable total was 747 pairs, and of 57% since 1987/1988 (981 pairs) (Appleton, 2015 & 2020).     

Other waders were available, with many again making longer stays than we have come to expect during spring. One such species was Whimbrel, with the number of localities hosting them matching last week’s eight, although the total number of birds seen had fallen by a third to just twenty-one. This week’s peak included up to eight at Clifford Hill all week, while last week’s three were still at Hollowell Res until 3rd, two remaining on 4th, two were at Summer Leys on 1st and singles there on 2nd and 7th, two flew over DIRFT 3 on 6th and singles were in flight over the A361 near Byfield on 1st, at Stanwick on 4th, at Thrapston on 4th and 7th and at Stanford Res on 5th.

Away from breeding sites, a Curlew visited Summer Leys on 1st, the latter site producing the week’s only Black-tailed Godwits, with five on 4th, one on 5th and two on 7th. The year’s first Turnstone made landfall at Clifford Hill on 6th and a single Ruff remained at Summer Leys throughout the period.

Which brings us neatly to the second-best wader of the week, Temminck’s Stint – the first in the county for four years. Discovered on 6th at the A5 Pools of the DIRFT 3 industrial development site, it has now significantly contributed to putting the locality firmly on the map after its potential was flagged up here in 2017 and again here in a wider context in 2021. The vast majority of previous records have been in spring and of those, the easybirdin’ site of Summer Leys has (artificially, through observer number bias) exerted the most pull, as the graphic below neatly illustrates. Almost annual in the last decade of the previous century it has, however, become a less frequent visitor in recent years.

Temminck’s Stint, Lilbourne Meadows LNR, 6th May 2021 (Mike Alibone)

The year’s first Sanderling was found on 3rd May at Clifford Hill, quickly followed by another the next day, at Thrapston GP. And the waders still kept coming, with birders in the Nene Valley experiencing a Dunlin rush on 4th, when double-figure counts were made at four localities as birds moved quickly through. These included forty-two at Clifford Hill, at least thirty-eight through Stanwick GP, thirty-two at Earls Barton GP’s New Workings (North) and twenty-two at Summer Leys. Outside of this date these, along with two further localities recorded a total of at least 52 between them during the week.

The Summer Leys long-staying Spotted Redshank again remained there throughout, being joined by a fine summer-plumaged bird from 4th until the week’s end.

Compared to the previous week, Greenshank numbers were well down, with three at Ecton SF on 1st and two at DIRFT 3 on 2nd being the highest counts. Elsewhere, singles were at Earls Barton GP on 1st, 6th and 7th, Summer Leys on 2nd and 7th and Pitsford on 6th.

Gulls and terns also tailed off dramatically, with an adult Little Gull at Thrapston on 7th and single Caspian Gulls at DIRFT 3 on 1st and 7th. The 5th saw a Sandwich Tern fly through at Summer Leys and mere single-figure counts of Arctic Terns included two at Stanwick on 3rd, followed by six there the next day, which also delivered three to Summer Leys, two to each of Pitsford and Stanford and one to Clifford Hill, while one visited Stanford on the following day, 5th. A Black Tern was also at Stanford on 7th.

Topping the passerines bill this week was a Wryneck, found on Borough Hill on 2nd. It remained for a further three days, showing particularly well and providing superb photographic opportunities for all comers.

Although dubbed by some as the most confiding Wryneck we’ve ever had, the truth is it wasn’t. That accolade goes to one which, completely oblivious to vehicles and bystanders, occupied a small mown grass roundabout on a busy road, bizarrely within spitting distance of Borough Hill, at High March Industrial Estate, Daventry on 8th September 2003. The difference is this week’s bird stayed four days, providing a comfortably protracted period for anyone who wanted to catch up with it. The number of Wrynecks visiting Northants averages just above one per year, with September being the peak month.

Another week, another Wood Warbler and in contrast to last week’s crowd-pleaser it remained in the shadows of Barnwell CP during the morning of 1st.

And while we’re talking ‘firsts’, the first Spotted Flycatcher of the spring appeared at Hollowell Res on the relatively early date of 2nd but it still would have had a long way to go to have beaten the joint record-holders of 1971 and 1976, when the earliest of all recorded arrivals were on 20th April. Hot on the heels of the first Whinchat of the spring, on 30th April, were six more scattered across the week and shared between Borough Hill, Honey Hill, Northampton, Piddington and Ravensthorpe STW.

Northern Wheatears also put on a reasonable showing, with ten at Piddington on 1st, two near Charwelton on 7th and singles at Boddington Res, Deenethorpe and Clifford Hill.

White Wagtails continued to trickle through and singles were found at Earls Barton on 1st, Clifford Hill on 2nd and Welford Res on 5th and the year’s second-only Tree Pipit flew over Borough Hill, early on the last of these dates.

Being treated to easterlies and north-easterlies throughout the period, this week we say goodbye to the UK’s frostiest April for 60 years and one of the driest to boot. Against a backcloth of continually arriving spring migrants, waders piled in ahead of some bright and shiny passerines, with many taking remarkably protracted breaks in their spring migration.

Wildfowl numbers continued to decline, with a lone Pink-footed Goose appearing for a day at Stanwick GP on 29th, and two similarly northbound Common Scoters making a stopover on Thrapston GP’s Town Lake on 28th.

This week’s Garganey count was pretty much on a par with last week’s and included the lingering pair at Pitsford Res on 27th and lone drakes visiting Ecton SF on the latter date and Summer Leys LNR on 29th-30th.

Out on their own, Great Egrets were still to be found at five locations – namely Clifford Hill GP, Hollowell Res, Pitsford, Summer Leys and Thrapston, with a maximum of three at Pitsford on 29th.

And, in keeping with last week’s low number of reports, this week’s Ospreys were singles at Pitsford on 25th, Hollowell on 28th, Stortons GP on 30th and what was probably the same individual over nearby Far Cotton, Northampton later the same day. The only other raptors of note were Marsh Harriers at Stanford Res on 24th and Summer Leys on 26th.

Migrant wader numbers continued to build, records were broken and lengths of stay were stretched in many instances. One locality stood proud in this respect. Ah yes, Summer Leys … and the birdin’ is easy … This site pulled in thirteen wader species during the period but, surprisingly, managed to miss out on a couple of species which might have otherwise found their way to this locally unique reserve. But it’s still early days. The first of these was Grey Plover, one of which stayed at Thrapston GP between 24th and 26th, quickly followed by another flying east over Stanford two days later, on 28th. And the other? Well, after the appearance of the year’s first, last week, Whimbrels arrived in force, with eight localities elsewhere collectively producing at least thirty-two birds. Clifford Hill bagged the lion’s share, with ten on 29th, seven on 26th and one on 30th. The length of stay award was won by three that remained at Hollowell for the entire week and the only other site to produce this number, too, was Stanford Res on 28th. Further singles were seen at Wadenhoe on 24th and Stanford on the same date, DIRFT 3 on 24th and 30th, Stanwick on 25th and 26th, Pitsford on 27th and Thrapston on 28th.  

Away from breeding sites, a Curlew joined the Whimbrels at Hollowell on 26th, while Bar-tailed Godwits enjoyed another strong week, with singles at Hollowell Res on 24th-25th, Thrapston on 28th and Summer Leys on 24th, followed by five there on 25th. Other multiples were three at Thrapston and four at Stanwick on 25th, plus six at Clifford Hill and two at Pitsford on 26th.   

Once again in the shade, Black-tailed Godwits mustered three at Summer Leys on 25th and one at Thrapston on 28th. Three Ruffs remained at Summer Leys from 27th to 30th and one visited DIRFT 3 on 28th, when a Dunlin was also at the same site and nine were at Clifford Hill, followed by singles at Earls Barton GP on 29th and Summer Leys on 30th. A late Jack Snipe was found at Clifford Hill GP on 24th.

The year’s first Wood Sandpiper pitched up at Summer Leys on 24th, staying until at least 27th, while last week’s Spotted Redshank remained at the same site throughout. In contrast to the handful we normally see in spring, Greenshanks arrived en masse this week, including a record-breaking spring flock of sixteen, again at Summer Leys, on 25th, with six still there the following day and singles on 27th and 29th. Another notable flock was seven at Ecton SF on 27th, with four present on 29th. Elsewhere, three were at DIRFT 3 on 24th and one there on 25th, three visited Stanwick on 26th, two were at Clifford Hill on 24th with singles there on 26th and 28th, two were at Earls Barton on 27th, singles were at Oundle on 24th and 26th and two were at Thrapston on 26th-27th, with singles there on 28th and 30th.

The beginning of the period saw the tail-end of last week’s Little Gull influx – and some more very respectable site totals. Leading the way, Thrapston held sixty-two on 24th, the same day producing twenty-six at Pitsford, thirteen at Clifford Hill and probably in excess of a dozen birds at Summer Leys. On 25th, three visited Daventry CP and singles were at Clifford Hill and Summer Leys, while the following day saw four at the latter site and one at Pitsford. Unsurprisingly for the time of year, other gulls were in short supply. Up to two adult Mediterranean Gulls were around all week at Summer Leys, while two second-winter Yellow-legged Gulls were at DIRFT 3 on 25th, followed by a third-winter there on 28th.

Arriving in impressive numbers, Arctic Terns took over where Little Gulls left off. Summer Leys, Thrapston and Stanwick each had up to five during 24th-26th but the biggest movement was noted on 28th-29th, when Boddington held approximately forty, Thrapston saw in excess of forty and seventy-six passed north-east through Stanwick. Maximum site counts elsewhere were fourteen at Clifford Hill and four at Stanford Res – both on 28th, which also saw three Black Terns at Thrapston and one at Boddington.

A male Merlin was between Clopton and Bythorn on 25th.

Among the arriving summer visitors this week were some class passerines. Kicking off was a bright and shiny Wood Warbler in the unusual location of Abington Park, Northampton on 28th – a crowd-pleaser for the one day it was present. Another was also found near Mary’s Lake at Earls Barton on the same date but clearly did not exert the same pull as the soft target, drive-up-and-see bird in the suburban setting of Northampton.

Somewhat amazingly, a first-summer male Pied Flycatcher was found in the above location on the same date by those twitching the Wood Warbler. Both birds had departed by the following day.

Another first for the year materialised in the shape of a Lesser Whitethroat, at Earls Barton GP, on 24th – a date on the slightly later side of average for this species.

Other smart passerines included a Ring Ouzel, which lingered by the River Nene at Thrapston from 28th to 30th, two Common Redstarts at Stanford Res on 26th and the first Whinchat of the spring at DIRFT 3 on 30th, scraping into April by the skin of its teeth.

Northern Wheatears were also still on the move, with one at Harrington on 25th, five in the Brampton Valley and seven Clifford Hill GP on 28th, while a male Greenland Wheatear was at Boddington Res the following day.

Female Blue-headed Wagtails were identified at Ravensthorpe Res on 25th, Thrapston on 26th-28th Stanford Res on 27th and Summer Leys on 28th.

Next up is May, arguably the grandest spring birding month, although April will be a hard act to follow locally.