Month: October 2021

The weather this week appeared to be a major influencer in terms of movement of wildfowl. Strong south-westerlies and heavy rain were quickly followed by cold north-westerlies in the latter part of the week, as a deep low pressure system swept east across the country.

So, with a favourable tail-wind, Whooper Swans were the order of the day on 21st-22nd, when they were found at four localities. In the vanguard were two at Pitsford Res, briefly, on 19th, subsequently followed by one at Stanford Res early in the morning of 21st, that number having risen to three there in the evening. On the same date, three flew south-west over Stanwick GP and two were found at Clifford Hill GP – shortly to be joined by two more before the morning was out. Pitsford was back in the game on 22nd, when one was discovered among the Mute Swans there early on and five passed east through Stanwick’s airspace later in the afternoon.

DIRFT 3 held on to its Cackling Goose on 18th, while the female Ruddy Shelduck and the drake Cape Shelduck were also both on site on 16th but their recently developed liking for nearby Foxholes Fisheries at Crick saw them spending more time there – daily from 17th to 20th and again on 22nd.

The last vestiges of summer were evident at Ditchford GP on 21st, where a juvenile Garganey was dozing among surface weed in the sunlit shallows of Delta Pit on 21st. One was also present in Pitsford’s Scaldwell Bay on the same date. These two are clearly late but not the latest ever in the county – that accolade goes to a bird at Earls Barton GP on 13th November 2015.

A drake Common Scoter dropped in at Boddington Res late on 20th, while a further hint of winter materialised in the form of a female Greater Scaup at Sywell CP, the following day. ‘Duck of the week’, though, was, indisputably, the ‘redhead’ Red-breasted Merganser, which played hard to get, appearing to roost on Stanwick’s Main Lake and being seen only briefly at first light on 21st and 22nd before flying off west to whereabouts as yet unknown. The erratic appearances of this skinny sawbill in the county already render it difficult to catch up with. It’s by no means annual and the last records were of single birds in 2019 and 2016.

Looking settled, last week’s Black-necked Grebe remained throughout the period on Thrapston GP’s Town Lake, as was the Bittern at Summer Leys – at least until 19th.

Cattle Egrets upped their number to seven at the Ringstead GP roost on the latter date and they continued to be seen at Stanwick, where there were four at the week’s end, while three visited cattle fields below the church at Irthlingborough on 21st. Stanwick also hosted the highest number of the period’s Great Egrets, three, while ones and twos were also seen at Daventry CP, Pitsford, Ringstead and Summer Leys.

Last week’s juvenile Osprey, continued to roam the Nene Valley between Billing GP and Summer Leys from 16th to 21st and a male Hen Harrier flying north-west over Daventry CP on 18th was the only other raptor worthy of note.

The long-staying juvenile male Ruff also remained at Summer Leys until at least 19th, otherwise scarce waders were at a premium.

This week’s scarcer larids were limited to three Caspian Gulls – a third-winter at Daventry on 18th and single adults at Boddington on 18th and Pitsford on 19th, while Yellow-legged Gulls included a maximum of six at Boddington on 18th, up to three were at Thrapston between 18th and 22nd and two at Pitsford on 19th-20th.

Passerines were again in short supply with four Stonechats at Thrapston on 18th being the highest count, plus two at Earls Barton GP on the same date and singles at Pitsford on 20th-22nd and at Oundle and Summer Leys on 18th. And finally … about to enter super-rare status, a Rock Pipit was at Stanwick on 17th – only the second in the county this year after one at the same site on 21st March. Times are getting hard …

It was a largely dry week with a bias toward an Atlantic-borne mixture of northerly and westerly airstreams. Nevertheless, the county enjoyed some class arrivals and more than a hint that winter is only just around the corner.

And that hint materialised in the form of migrating geese – all seemingly genuine and kicking off with a small skein of thirteen Pink-footed Geese flying south-east over Willowbrook Industrial Estate, Corby on 11th.

These were followed the next day by an adult Dark-bellied Brent Goose, found at DIRFT 3, where it remained until at least 14th. Amazingly, this is the second record for this industrial development site, following one there in January 2018.

In line with recent arrivals in Gloucestershire, Norfolk, South Yorkshire and Worcestershire, a White-fronted Goose was also found, at Clifford Hill GP, on 13th and, furthering the winter theme, six Whooper Swans were seen heading east over Summer Leys LNR on 15th.

Entering the murky underworld of the dark and the dubious, this week’s roll-call at DIRFT 3 exposed the ongoing presence of the Cackling Goose, the female Ruddy Shelduck and the drake Cape Shelduck throughout the period, although the latter two enjoyed some time away at nearby Foxholes Fisheries, Crick at the beginning of the week.

On 15th, a new Black-necked Grebe was found to still be present on Thrapston GP’s Town Lake after news emerged of its earlier discovery there on 12th. Coming a full four weeks after the last, this is the 6th record of the autumn and the only bird which has stayed for more than one day.

A Bittern was seen briefly at Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows LNR on 13th and, other than the one which continued to feature throughout the period, Summer Leys has had a lean autumn to date, so the appearance of a Spoonbill there on 9th helped put the site back on the map this week. Despite being an almost annual visitor to the county, this was only the second record for 2021, the previous one being of two that briefly toured the Nene Valley between Summer Leys and Stanwick GP on 8th-9th April.

Cattle Egrets continued to be seen at Stanwick, where there were two on 12th but further down the valley at Ringstead GP at least four appeared to be roosting on the same date and this number had increased to six on 14th. This week’s Great Egrets were found at Hollowell Res, Pitsford Res, Stanwick, Summer Leys and Thrapston the highest site total being three at Pitsford on 14th.

Two days after the Spoonbill, Summer Leys produced an Osprey, which was presumably the same bird – a juvenile – seen nearby at Earls Barton GP’s New Workings (North) on 14th.

The long-staying juvenile male Ruff also remained at Summer Leys all week, while a westbound Curlew flew over the site on 9th.

Gull roosts continued to deliver the goods, with Boddington and Stanford vying for pole position, the latter holding a first-winter Mediterranean Gull on 11th and 13th, joined there by a second-winter on the first of these two dates, while an adult was at Boddington on 13th.

The 11th also produced an adult Caspian Gull at Stanford, while the Boddington roost held two Caspians – a second-winter and a fourth-winter – on 13th. Elsewhere, an adult and first-winter Caspians were at DIRFT 3 on 12th and an adult visited Earls Barton GP’s New Workings (North) on 14th.

Other gulls were available, of course, and a sprinkling of Yellow-legged Gulls included one at Stanwick on 12th, four at DIRFT 3 on the same date, four at Boddington on 13th, five at Thrapston GP on the latter date and one or two at Pitsford on 14th.

A high-flying Short-eared Owl, west over Daventry CP on 13th, is hopefully in the vanguard of more to come.

While passerines were thin on the ground, what the week lacked in quantity was made up for in quality when the Stanford Ringing Group trapped and ringed a Yellow-browed Warbler on 12th. It showed well, on and off, for 20 minutes after being released. As well as being only the sixteenth county record, this bird is the seventh for the site, the sixth to be ringed there and the fourth in consecutive years. There is now an annual air of expectation – if not predictability – of this species finding its way into a net in late autumn at this site.

A single Whinchat, along with approximately ten Stonechats, was at Borough Hill on 9th, two more Stonechats were found at Thrapston GP on 15th and singles were at Stanford on 9th, Harlestone Heath on 12th, Hollowell on 14th and Pitsford on 15th.

Let’s hope the autumn magic continues …

A wet start to the period and locally forecast gales that failed to materialise preceded a tantalising ridge of high pressure that crept in from the east near the week’s end. But never mind the weather, as autumn proper got underway October started with a bang!

But before all that, lining up for a gander were the exotica of DIRFT 3, with the Cackling Goose, female Ruddy Shelduck and drake Cape Shelduck continuing their presence throughout the week. And as the pendulum swings from the fence-hoppers to the genuinely wild, passing on the 5th, Hollowell’s Pink-footed Goose mid-swing, two Garganeys were found on Earls Barton GP’s Hardwater Lake on 6th.

Indisputably, however, bird of the autumn – and for some, of the year – was apparently the UK’s only inland Leach’s Petrel of the period, at Pitsford Res, on 2nd. The first in the county since 2008 and 24 hours earlier than predicted, it did the decent thing and remained on view, north of the causeway, until the early evening. Full details here.

The Summer Leys Bittern was back on show, almost daily, during the week – again providing principally flight views, while a Cattle Egret appeared at Ringstead GP on 5th and two were still at Stanwick GP on 5th-6th. Remaining rather low-key, Great Egrets were reported only from Ditchford GP, Earls Barton/Summer Leys, Hollowell Res, Pitsford Res and Stanwick, the highest site total being three at Summer Leys on 5th.

Reigniting the seabird theme, a juvenile Northern Gannet was a nice surprise for two startled observers as it cruised at little more than tree-top height, west over Weedon Bec, late in the afternoon of 7th. This one fits in nicely with the autumn prevalence of occurrences in the county and was one of a number of individuals seen inland over Cambridgeshire, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, London and Nottinghamshire during 6th-7th. A much more frequent visitor than Leach’s Petrel, it would appear to be about the 43rd record for Northants.

With autumn wader passage beginning to feel like a distant memory, only the long-staying juvenile male Ruff at Summer Leys is really newsworthy. It remained all week.

Gulls bounced back a bit this week, with an adult Mediterranean Gull in the roost at Boddington Res on 4th, the same roost also including adult Caspian Gulls on 4th, 5th and 7th, with a first-winter and a fourth-winter also present there on the latter date. Further adult Caspian Gulls were found at DIRFT 3 on 5th and 8th, the individual on 8th sporting a yellow ring inscribed with the characters XLVH. This enabled it to be traced back to eastern Germany, where it was ringed as a 4th calendar year male on 29th April 2021 at Gräbendorfer See, approximately 40 km from the border with Poland and approximately 1,019 km from DIRFT 3. An adult also visited Stanford Res on 8th.

Between one and three Yellow-legged Gulls were seen in the Boddington roost, at Pitsford, Ringstead and Stanwick, while Thrapston GP produced the week’s maximum of five on 7th. More intriguing, though, was a super, smart-looking, diminutive black-backed gull, which ticked all the boxes for Baltic Gull, in the Boddington roost on 4th and coincided with the appearance of an identical bird at Cley, Norfolk on the same evening.

Completing the back-end miscellany of the systematic list, a female Merlin spent an hour and a half around the Main Barrage Lake at Clifford Hill GP on 3rd, a single Whinchat, along with three Stonechats, was near Moulton on 2nd and two more Stonechats were at Willowbrook Industrial Estate, Corby on 4th, while three were at DIRFT 3 on 8th.

The only Northern Wheatear this week was one at Stanford Res on 6th and a lone Crossbill was seen in flight close to Harlestone Firs on 5th.

A somewhat unsettled week, dominated by Atlantic low pressure systems and gales as we nudge into October and once again, little in the shape of new birds.

And it’s as you were on the waterfowl front, with the Cackling Goose still at DIRFT 3 on 26th. It closely resembles the race minima, but it appears a little on the large size and this subspecies is widely kept in captivity in both Britain and Europe …

New in or just the local wanderer, a Pink-footed Goose was found at Hollowell Res on 29th, a single Garganey remained at Daventry CP on 26th-27th and three Red-crested Pochards appeared at Clifford Hill GP on 28th.

The Summer Leys Bittern failed to show during the week but the rarely sought Stortons bird was seen in flight there on 26th, while the rather less cryptically-coloured Cattle Egrets remained visible at Stanwick GP, where there were at least four on 25th-26th. Compared with last week, Great Egrets were more widespread, with records coming from the ten localities of Blatherwycke Lake, Daventry CP, Deene Lake, Earls Barton GP, Hollowell Res, Pitsford Res, Naseby Res, Stanwick GP, Summer Leys LNR and Thrapston GP, although no more than two were present at any of these.

Quality, not quantity, was the theme when it came to this week’s raptors – specifically a Goshawk, which was seen circling over Byfield before drifting east, on 25th. The status of this species in the county remains a mystery. Once thought to be a secret breeder, it was never proven and records are few and far between.

Wader movements remained at a low ebb, with just a single Black-tailed Godwit at Thrapston GP on 1st, the long-staying juvenile male Ruff still at Summer Leys on 28th and a Greenshank remaining at Daventry CP until at least 27th.

Gulls, too, were in shorter supply than of late, with just a juvenile/first-winter Caspian Gull at Summer Leys on 27th. Yellow-legged Gulls maxed out with three at Thrapston GP on 28th after two there on 26th, up to two at Pitsford between 26th and 30th and singles at Stanwick on 25th and Summer Leys on 27th.

A Common Redstart – perhaps this year’s last – was at Harrington AF on 25th, while last week’s three Stonechats remained at Hollowell on 30th and one visited Pitsford on 28th.