Month: October 2022

Heavy rain, high temperatures and continuing southerlies brought more interesting autumn visitors to the UK than they did locally. However, there was still much to focus on throughout the week, although the bottom line is … it wasn’t overly different to the week before.

While the long-staying Pink-footed Goose in the Hollowell/Ravensthorpe area was seen just the once – at Ravensthorpe on 24th – six in flight over Blueberry Farm, Maidwell on 28th were clearly on the wild side, representing a slice of the annual seasonal movement of this species across the UK. Once again, the peripatetic female Ruddy Shelduck popped up at Stanford Res on 22nd.

In comparison to last week, this week’s Red-crested Pochards were rather more numerous and widespread, being seen at five localities. Pitsford Res retained the lion’s share with eleven there on 25th, at least nine of which were still present at the end of the period. Stanford upped its on-site total from last week’s four to six from 25th – the same date marking the appearance of three at Summer Leys LNR. Daventry CP got in on the action with two on 27th, while one lingered at Ravensthorpe from 25th until the week’s end.  

There was no significant change to the numbers and localities as far as Cattle Egrets were concerned. The week opened with three at Stanwick GP on 22nd and closed with four there on 26th, while last week’s bird – mobile around Summer Leys from 18th – lingered in the area until at least 25th and one was seen at Ringstead GP on 26th.

This week’s raptors were distilled into a single juvenile Marsh Harrier again paying a brief visit to Summer Leys on 25th.

Scarcer waders were drifting ever closer to the edge of the radar with, looking like becoming a long-stayer, last week’s seemingly settled Black-tailed Godwit still lingering north of the causeway at Ravensthorpe throughout. Another also visited Summer Leys on 28th, while a single Jack Snipe was located at Hollowell on 22nd.

There was no real change to this week’s gulls and it looks like staying that way until the winter weather works its magic and hopefully becomes instrumental in dishing up some ‘white-wingers’ at the end of the year. For now, though, the closest we’ll get is Mediterranean Gull, although this week’s bird in the roost at Stanford on 22nd and 28th was a first-winter.

Caspian Gulls consisted of a near-adult at Stanwick on 22nd and one at Hollowell on 24th, with two there the following day. Daventry dished up a first-winter on 26th and 28th, accompanied by an adult on the latter date and a third-winter visited Boddington Res on 28th. Boddington also scored the highest Yellow-legged Gull total of at least five on 28th. Elsewhere, it was ones and twos at Daventry, Hollowell, Pitsford, Stanwick and Thrapston.

This week’s Short-eared Owls were limited to one hunting around the radio mast and concrete blocks on the summit of Borough Hill, at dusk, on 25th.   

Last week’s Bearded Tits at Stanwick took a further tumble with just one being seen there on 22nd and again on 24th before apparently melting away. Two were subsequently discovered on the west side of the main lake at Wicksteed Park, Kettering on 28th. A Whinchat turned up at Hollowell on 22nd. Although this is recognisably late, it’s not the latest ever – that accolade falls to one at Hemington on 9th November 1977. Back at Hollowell on 22nd, the week’s top count of Stonechats, six or seven, beat four or five at Pitsford on the same date, while smaller numbers were also seen at Borough Hill, Brampton Valley, Clifford Hill GP, Harrington AF and Summer Leys.

To round off, two more Rock Pipits featured this week – one at Hollowell on 23rd and the other at Ravensthorpe on 25th.

Deep into October, signs of winter were afoot as flocks of wildfowl continued to build and numbers of loafing gulls visibly increased. That’s not to say autumn is over, of course – far from it, in fact, and the week just gone continued to produce a trickle of waders, some interesting passerines and a rather large raptor …

Hot on the heels of those at Hollowell and Stanford last week came three more Whooper Swans and this time it was Pitsford’s turn to host them, if only for one day, on 15th. While the Pink-footed Goose remained throughout with the Greylags at Hollowell, the female Ruddy Shelduck, on tour in the northwest of the county, dropped in at Stanford on 18th.

The latter site and Pitsford carved up the week’s quota of Red-crested Pochards between them, nine hanging on at Pitsford until at least 19th and four remaining at Stanford until the end of the period. That just leaves the female Aythya-type hybrid, bearing some resemblance to a Ferruginous Duck, still at Pitsford on 15th. There is some debate as to its parentage but Red-crested Pochard x Ferruginous Duck is being touted, although this combination is said to be extremely uncommon. Let’s leave it there …

There’s no question of hybridisation where our Cattle Egrets are concerned, though, and three localities produced birds this week, although numbers were low. The 18th saw singles at all of these – Ringstead, Stanwick and Summer Leys, with a mobile individual remaining at, and in the vicinity of, the latter site until 21st, while Stanwick produced five fly-overs on 19th.

With a Marsh Harrier checking in briefly at Summer Leys on 18th, the same date saw a veritable sun-blocker of a White-tailed Eagle heading high north-northeast over Brigstock. Sporting a trademark white tail, this bird was clearly not an immature and enquires made to those with their fingers on the pulse of the current reintroduction project immediately eliminated any released birds. This species has moved up the population category ladder from ‘threatened’ in the 1980s to ‘least concern’ and is currently undergoing a population increase. Continental birds now seem to be appearing with relative frequency in the UK and they are not restricted to coastal locations so, hopefully, there will be more to come. Eyes to the skies, as they say …

On the ground, last week’s Black-tailed Godwit was still to be found north of the causeway at Ravensthorpe on 17th and the county’s fourth Grey Plover of the year paid a brief visit to nearby Hollowell two days later, on 19th. The last day of the period saw a Greenshank flying east over Stanford.

After the momentary excitement (at least for some) of last week’s Sabine’s Gull, things returned to normal, with the best of the larids being multiple Mediterranean Gulls at Boddington, including single adults on 15th and 19th and an adult plus a first-winter on 17th.

Following a week with no reports of Caspian Gulls, the German-ringed adult reappeared at Naseby after some five weeks’ absence, on 19th and an adult visited Hollowell on 21st.

Yellow-legged Gulls again remained in small numbers which included singles at Pitsford on 15th and 16th, Boddington on 15th and 17th, Hollowell on 17th, 19th and 21st and Daventry on 19th, when two were also at Naseby.

The juvenile Black Tern at Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows NR remained until 18th.

This week’s Short-eared Owls were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell on 15th, in the adjacent part of the Brampton Valley on 16th and at Harrington AF on 20th, while a Merlin was seen flying south over fields to the east of Daventry CP on 19th.

While passerines were thin on the ground, they included some quality birds, not least of which were six Bearded Tits at Stanwick on 19th. Although these were the first in the county this year, they were not entirely unexpected as late October is when they are on the move, as historical records illustrate. Mainly keeping a low profile, they were not the easiest to see and only two could be located there the following day.

A Ring Ouzel was at Pitsford, in bushes below the dam, on 15th and this week’s Stonechats appeared in ones and twos at Boddington, Brampton Valley, Harrington AF, Pitsford, Stanford and Summer Leys, with Hollowell producing four on 17th and Willowbrook Industrial Estate, Corby at least three on 16th.

Another Rock Pipit – this week at Ditchford GP, on 16th – moves the year’s total up to four.

While an Atlantic airstream persisted throughout the period, Stanford netted its second Yellow-browed Warbler of the autumn, and one of the county’s rarest larids paid a fleeting evening visit to Pitsford in the early part of the week.

First off, though, and heading up this week’s wildfowl, were two Whooper Swans which flew east over Hollowell Res on 11th, quickly followed by seven at Stanford Res, just before sunset, on 14th. Although these are the first in the county this autumn, by the end of September others had reached places as far-flung as Scotland, South Wales, Suffolk and Cornwall, with fifteen having made it back to the Cambridgeshire Nene Washes by 28th.

Also at Hollowell was a/the Pink-footed Goose among the local Greylag flock there on 9th, 11th and 14th.

Apart from the re-emergence of the apparent female Ferruginous Duck x Red-crested Pochard hybrid, at Pitsford on 8th-10th, three reservoirs got in on the Red-crested Pochard act this week. Hollowell produced five on 9th, Pitsford six on 10th, rising to nine on 13th and Stanford held four from 12th until the week’s end.

Along the Nene Valley, the Stanwick GP Cattle Egrets were limited to a one-day count of eight on 8th.

On the raptor front, Marsh Harriers held steady with two again – one over the Scrape at Summer Leys LNR on 9th and the other in the more agricultural setting of Blueberry Farm, Maidwell on 13th.

By mid-October, waders are typically thin on the ground but this week saw quality rightly triumph over quantity with a new Little Stint, in for one day at Ditchford GP on 10th, following a late Wood Sandpiper at Pitsford on 9th. A Black-tailed Godwit remained for two days, north of the causeway at Ravensthorpe Res, on 12th-13th.

Topping the bill this week, though, was a smart juvenile Sabine’s Gull, which appeared – and promptly disappeared – during the last hour of daylight at Pitsford on 10th. Echoing the brief, 40-minute evening stay of the last one there, in 2010, it was present off the dam for no more than 30 minutes and was last seen heading off high south into the gathering dusk over Pitsford village, more than suggesting that there was no chance it was going to be there the following day. And, of course, it wasn’t. Turning the pages back five years, the last was at Daventry CP in September 2017 – a much more obliging individual which proved popular during its 3-day stay on site. This week’s bird now becomes the county’s 12th record.

 

Pitsford also retained one of last week’s first-winter Little Gulls until 8th and a first-winter Mediterranean Gull also dropped into the gull roost there on 10th, followed by an adult in the roost at Stanford two evenings later, on 12th. Yellow-legged Gulls remained in small numbers at the favoured location of Pitsford Res, where there were up to two adults during the period, while single adults were at DIRFT 3 on 11th and at Hollowell Res on 14th.

Out on its own, a juvenile Black Tern at Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows NR on the last day of the week lifted this autumn’s records from a meagre 5 to a meagre 6.

This week’s obligatory appearance by a Short-eared Owl was where else but in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton on 11th, while 9th saw two Merlins – one at nearby Harrington AF and the other at Stanford Res.

But it was the latter locality that scored with, yet again, another Yellow-browed Warbler trapped, ringed and released near the feeding station, where it remained on view for a short time on 14th. This individual is thought to be a different bird to the one which accompanied a tit flock in a small area on the Leicestershire side of the reservoir for 3 days earlier in the week which, if true, means the site as a whole has pulled in three this year! Quite astonishing in view of the fact that 2022 is widely acknowledged as not being a ‘big yellow-browed year’.

Also at Stanford, a Common Redstart was trapped and ringed on 11th – the latest ever at this site and the 24th to have been ringed there this year.

This week’s Stonechats maxed out at seven near Deenethorpe on 9th, while records came from a further 8 localities including Bozenham Mill, Brampton Valley, Ditchford GP, Ecton SF, Harrington, Hollowell, Pitsford and Stanford. Hot on the heels of last week’s two, the third Rock Pipit of 2022 appeared on the ground at Clifford Hill GP on 10th, while singles of both Water Pipit – the year’s second – and a rather late Tree Pipit, flew over Harrington on 13th.

Three Hawfinches flew over Cosgrove on 8th. Perhaps a sign of more to come this winter …

As we entered October a heavy dollop of brisk westerlies marked the week just gone but, for all the bluster, there were still birds to be found. With waders now clearly on the ebb, passerines came to the fore – one in particular sparking a bit of a twitch …

This week saw Pitsford Reservoir singled out as the only locality to produce any notable wildfowl, the latter including the presumed same lingering Garganey until at least 2nd and a drake Red-crested Pochard on the same date.

Once again, varying numbers of Cattle Egrets were seen around and about at Stanwick GP, these consisting of two on Roadside Lake on 2nd, eight in the roost there on 6th and six with cattle at North Lake on 7th.

The period’s two Marsh Harriers comprised one at Pitsford on 2nd and the other, a juvenile, at Summer Leys LNR on 6th.

Picking through last week’s leftover waders, the juvenile Grey Plover remained at Thrapston GP’s Titchmarsh Reserve until 3rd, along with the two Ruffs also rolling over there until 2nd. Similarly, Pitsford’s two Ruffs were still present on 1st, one of which remained until 6th.

New in, though, were single Black-tailed Godwits at Hollowell Res, Summer Leys and Earls Barton GP’s New Workings (North) – all on 1st. While the first two of these were one-day birds, the latter remained until 6th, when another was also seen at Ditchford GP.

The same part of Earls Barton also held a Greenshank on 1st-2nd and two Jack Snipes were found at Thrapston on 1st.

The variety of gulls was up this week with, albeit somewhat late, the first Little Gulls of the autumn turning up at Pitsford, where a first-winter was found on 2nd, followed by two first-winters on 5th, one of which remained until the end of the period.

With numbers still depressed, a first-winter Mediterranean Gull visited Boddington Res on 7th, while small numbers of the regularly visiting larger gulls included a first-winter Caspian Gull at Summer Leys on 1st, followed by a second-winter at Daventry CP on 5th and 7th, plus an adult or near-adult at Stanford Res on 6th. Yellow-legged Gulls again maintained a presence with an adult at Earls Barton GP on 2nd and 7th, an adult and a first-winter at Daventry on 3rd and two adults at Pitsford on 6th.

Away from the water, Harrington AF served up a Short-eared Owl on 2nd and a Merlin two days later, on 4th.

But there were no doubts when it came to bird of the week, the award going to Duston’s first-winter Red-backed Shrike – an outrageous find on the edge of suburbia! Being the first in the county since June 2015, this scaly beauty certainly pulled the punters throughout the second half of the day it was present, 3rd October. The occurrence of the 2015 bird was not publicised at the time, neither was the one before that, in July 2011, and you have to go back as far as 2004 to find a twitchable one. In view of this, it was a new bird for a number of county birders. Further details on the Duston bird and a summary of earlier records can be found here.

Another week and another fleeting view of a Ring Ouzel at Harrington came as no surprise on 6th, along with a similarly short-staying Firecrest at Byfield Pool on the same date. Amazingly, the latter is the only one recorded in the county, so far, this year. Meanwhile, the number of Whinchats dwindled to two at Hollowell on 1st and singles at Pitsford on 2nd and 3rd (trapped and ringed on the latter date), in the Brampton Valley between 2nd and 5th and at Clifford Hill GP on 6th. Conversely,  Stonechats went from strength to strength, being recorded from nine localities, with the highest site totals of eight at Earls Barton GP on 2nd and in the Brampton Valley from 2nd to 5th.

Just two Northern Wheatears were made up of singles on a dung heap at Hartwell on 3rd and on the dam at Stanford on 7th, the latter site also producing a Rock Pipit and, like the Firecrest, the first in the county this year, on 1st-2nd.

It was quickly followed, however, by another briefly at Daventry CP on 3rd.

With the delivery of a few more waders and the now-to-be-expected annual Yellow-browed Warbler trapped at Stanford, the past week panned out quite reasonably, ending in a wet and windy blow from the southwest.

Pitsford Res continued to hang on to its Garganey, which was seen intermittently throughout the period, while the only other duck with the potential to set the site alight was a female Ferruginous Duck or hybrid, which evaded positive identification on 27th. It wasn’t reported subsequently. Over to the east, a drake Red-crested Pochard was a one-day affair at Thrapston GP on 28th.

Stanwick GP was the only locality to deliver the week’s Cattle Egrets, numbers of which rose from three on 24th to eleven on 30th. An early morning visit to the roost there may ultimately yield more, of course.

And if last week’s low total of raptors represented slim pickings, then this week we hit rock-bottom with just a single Marsh Harrier seen flying south-east over Clifford Hill GP on the last day of the period.

Waders, though, were another matter entirely. A Grey Plover at Thrapston GP’s Titchmarsh Reserve on 29th was only the third one of 2022 and, following two one-day birds in the spring, sparked a mini-twitch to the site.

Titchmarsh also conjured up another third for the year, a Little Stint, plus a Black-tailed Godwit and two Ruffs – all on the same day as the Grey Plover. Other Ruffs were also available but only for birders visiting Pitsford, where two remained all week, being joined by a third on 25th.

Although playing hard to get, Pitsford continued to hang on to one of last week’s two Spotted Redshanks until 25th, two Greenshanks were there on the latter date and up to two lingered at Earls Barton GP throughout the week. After the autumn’s first, last week, 2 Jack Snipes were found at Ditchford GP on 29th and one remained at Hollowell on 30th.

On the larid front, a first-winter Caspian Gull showed up at Summer Leys on 30th, while Yellow-legged Gulls maintained a local presence with a first-winter at Hollowell on 24th, up to three adults at Pitsford between 26th and 30th, single adults at Thrapston GP on 28th and at Summer Leys on 30th and 2 adults at Earls Barton GP on 29th.

This week’s Merlin, a male, was at Harrington AF on 26th.

But diving into the passerines, what better way to start than with a smart sprite of a Yellow-browed Warbler? It almost goes without saying that this, the first – and probably the last – of the autumn, was pulled from one of the nets at Stanford, which has now chalked up eight (seven trapped and ringed) out of the county’s total of seventeen records. This is the fifth consecutive year that Stanford has struck lucky with this stripey Siberian jewel, the annual occurrence of which there is now taken as a given.  

Also predictable, though clearly not in the same class, was a fleeting view of a Ring Ouzel at Harrington on 24th, the same site holding single Common Redstarts on the same date and again on 28th. Two further birds were seen on 24th – one in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton and the other in a private garden at Grange Park, Northampton. Three sites continued to produce Whinchats throughout the period, including two or three birds in the Brampton Valley and singles at Pitsford and Hollowell, with one remaining at the latter locality on 30th. And the autumn build-up of Stonechats continued, with the highest tally of eight in the Brampton Valley between 25th and 29th. Elsewhere, six were at Earls Barton GP’s New Workings (South) on 29th and at least five at Hollowell on 27th, while up to three were at Pitsford, twos were found at Harrington, Hellidon, Preston Deanery, Teeton and Thrapston and singles at Deenethorpe and Ditchford.

Again, Northern Wheatears were down to the bare bones, with just a single bird in the Brampton Valley on 26th and 29th and, just east of there, two Crossbills flew over Harrington on 24th.