Newsround – 1st to 7th July 2023

Although the first week of July pretty much delivered déjà vu as far as the week’s birding was concerned, the arrival of a couple of wader species indicated it was game on for autumn passage …

Last week’s Garganey, found at Summer Leys LNR on 27th, remained faithful to the Scrape there throughout the period, while Hollowell Res also hung on to its ageing female Ruddy Shelduck, now in its fourth year of returning to the site after arriving as a first-summer there in May 2019.

July, however, got off to a good start with Black-tailed Godwits found at four sites, kicking off with one at Earls Barton GP’s Hardwater Lake on 2nd and it, or another, there on 5th. Three visited Pitsford Res on 4th, while numbers grew throughout the day at Summer Leys on 7th, culminating in a total of seven present. The latter date also saw five on the dam at Stanford Res.

The end of the week also saw the arrival of a Greenshank at Hollowell Res.

A Yellow-legged Gull was off the dam at Pitsford on 4th.

Single Ospreys visited Hollowell on 1st and Ravensthorpe Res on 3rd and, as per last week, there wasn’t a sniff of any other scarce raptors.

And Pitsford’s fine male Bearded Tit made it well into the week just gone … but was nowhere to be seen after 5th.