Newsround – 7th to 13th May 2022

Beginning with brisk north-easterlies, which rapidly swung to sustained south-westerlies, this week’s weather played a key role in producing the goods, most particularly on the one significantly rainy day of the period, 11th May. Aside from a lingering White Stork, waders were once again the centre of attention, with a nifty Pectoral Sandpiper stepping up to provide this week’s crème de la crème – albeit fleetingly …

While this was happening, ducks were dwindling, with just one drake Garganey at Summer Leys LNR on 11th and the pair still present at Thrapston GP on 13th. Drake Red-crested Pochards continued to add colour to the week’s proceedings, with one visiting Summer Leys on 8th and two on the dam at Stanford Res on 13th.

Back in the marshy meadow at Lower Barnwell Lock was last week’s White Stork, which established a routine of turning up for a couple of hours or so during the mornings, on 7th, 8th, 9th and 11th.

Further up the Nene Valley, Stanwick’s Glossy Ibis was going nowhere fast, seeing out another full week on site.

Stanwick also continued to hold up to five Cattle Egrets between 7th and 11th and one visited Summer Leys on 11th and 13th. Great Egrets, meanwhile, were bumping along the bottom, with singles at both Hollowell Res and Stanwick on 8th, DIRFT 3 on 11th and Summer Leys on 12th.

Being down to just one species, the week’s raptors can be quickly summed up, as Ospreys were seen at Biggin Lake (Oundle) on 7th, Hollowell on 8th and over Barton Seagrave on 13th.  

Bird of the week, however, was the long-overdue Pectoral Sandpiper, which was found at the good old easybirdin’ site of Summer Leys, after the rain, during the early evening of 11th. This resulted in a mad dash, by some, to see it before the light faded and darkness closed in. Despite reports to the contrary, it would appear to have departed early the following day, long before many had awoken from their morning slumber.

Although there have been more than 40 county records, this is the first since 2011, when singles were at Pitsford Res from 10th to 17th September and Stanford Res from 23rd to 30th September. It is also only the fourth to be recorded in spring.

Summer Leys was also among four localities to briefly host two highly ambulatory Avocets on 7th. First located at Stanwick early doors, they quickly moved west to Clifford Hill GP before swiftly heading back east to Summer Leys and then rapidly on to Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows. Another was subsequently reported from the pool east of Warmington Mill, on the evening of 9th.

Further windfalls resulting from the steady precipitation of 11th appeared in the form of a record flock of Ringed Plovers, of which a minimum of forty-six was counted at DIRFT 3, including at least two Tundra Ringed Plovers. At least thirty were still present there the following day. Also on 11th, the same site produced a Greenland Dunlin (race arctica), while another showing characteristics of this race was present at Summer Leys on 11th-12th. After the first in May 2013, one in May 2015 and two in May 2017, these would constitute only the 5th and 6th records for the county, if accepted.

This week’s Whimbrels were restricted to two flying east over the Brampton Valley at Maidwell on 8th and, similarly, Bar-tailed Godwits, were down to one at Stanwick on 7th-8th and last week’s three still at Pitsford, dropping to two there from 9th until the end of the period.

Two more Turnstones turned up, both of them on 13th, at Pitsford and Lilbourne Meadows NR.

It was Summer Leys which had the monopoly on Ruffs, with three on 11th, four on 12th and two on 13th, while Pitsford pulled a Sanderling on 8th, five visited DIRFT 3 on 11th and further singles were at Stanwick on 11th, DIRFT 3 on 12th and Summer Leys on 12th-13th. The only Greenshanks of the week were single birds at Stanford and Summer Leys on 12th.

Gulls this week were at a premium – or not, depending on your opinion, and a second-summer Yellow-legged Gull at Stanwick on 11th was all the county could muster during the period. Not so for terns, though, with Arctic Terns still on the move and 7th delivering two to Clifford Hill and separate fly-through flocks of seventeen and five to Stanford. A single Black Tern paid a brief visit to Pitsford the following day.

Pretty much taking a back seat in the week’s proceedings, passerines were few and far between. After the year’s first, last week, another two Whinchats were found at Upper Harlestone on 7th and at Stanford on 12th – a somewhat meagre total.

Northern Wheatears were down to singles at Summer Leys on 7th, Clifford Hill on 8th, Ashton STW on 9th and Earls Barton GP on 11th, while Clifford Hill produced two showing characteristics of Greenland Wheatear on 7th and another one on 11th.