Newsround – 7th to 13th December 2024

Even though we’ve now entered the final straight of 2024, it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings, as they say. And if proof was ever needed then it rightly materialised in the form of another first for the Northamptonshire yearlist: a rather skittish Slavonian Grebe at Hollowell Res toward the week’s end.

While we’ve grown accustomed to Pink-footed Geese turning up in small numbers over the past few weeks, there was none in the review period but a higher level of quality remained in the shape of last week’s two White-fronted Geese still with Greylags on, and around, Ravensthorpe Res, being seen over the three days 11th-13th.

And after just one Whooper Swan in the previous week, a few more were on offer for anyone out and about on 9th, when four flew north-east over Ditchford GP, three were in the Aldwincle/Thrapston GP area all day and one visited Stanford Res.

The female Ruddy Shelduck continued its occupancy of Winwick Pools, being seen there on 10th and 13th, while the week’s diving ducks were limited to the drake Red-crested Pochard still at Earls Barton GP’s New Workings (North) on 8th, a female at Daventry CP from 9th onwards and the female Greater Scaup once again at Blatherwycke Lake on 8th.

But it was a Slavonian Grebe that shone a light on Hollowell Res – albeit for a short duration – on 11th. Following an unconfirmed report of it on 12th, this first for the year proved to be a short-stayer and seemingly appeared to have done a bunk when looked for on 13th.

With just two records in 2023 and none in the three consecutive years prior to that, Slavonian Grebe has become hard to come by of late and records appear to be on a downward trend from a Northamptonshire perspective. This is perhaps a reflection of the recent fall in numbers breeding in Scotland which, in 2022, were at their lowest since 1971.

The week’s top wader was the week’s only wader – a Black-tailed Godwit at Clifford Hill GP on 13th.

Scarce gull numbers fell further, with single adult Caspian Gulls in the roost at Stanford on 9th and 13th and at Ravensthorpe and Hollowell on 10th and 12th, respectively, while a first-winter appeared at Daventry CP on the latter of these dates. The regular Pitsford adult Yellow-legged Gull was still present on 12th and another was seen at Clifford Hill on 13th.

Pitsford also hung on to its seemingly settled, young Great Northern Diver, still on site on 12th.

And the Summer Leys Glossy Ibis? Still there on 11th … but was anyone looking for it beyond that? With numbers down on the previous week, only two single Cattle Egrets made it into the news – one at Stanwick GP on 7th, the other at Earls Barton GP on 13th.

A Short-eared Owl in the Brampton Valley was the only one to grace this week’s roundup and passerines fared poorly, with a Stonechat at Pitsford on 9th and two at Earls Barton GP the following day, while Blatherwycke churchyard was the only locality to dish up the period’s Hawfinches, with four there on 7th and three on 9th.