Author: Mike Alibone

An area of high pressure sitting over the country provided a little light relief, weatherwise, helping to lift the birding spirits somewhat. An upturn in the numbers of larger wildfowl, a late trickle of interesting waders and the continued presence of local Hen Harriers ensured there was enough out there to be going on with. But the week belonged to Hawfinches. They were out there to be both found and savoured at a number of sites for anyone willing to invest a little time and effort watching and waiting …

But we kick off first and foremost with some impressive numbers of Pink-footed Geese moving through the county during the period. Aside from one found with Greylags at Earls Barton GP on 10th, approximately thirty were watched flying north-east over Deene on 12th, the same date seeing sixty moving north-west over Moulton, while a skein of sixty-three flew high east over Oundle on 15th. And the chances are we could be seeing more of these relatively large flocks in the future as figures published by the BTO reveal that the UK wintering population has been steadily growing, having almost doubled during the 25-year period 1997 to 2022.

More Whooper Swans were on the week’s menu with the 9th seeing eight adults at Blatherwycke Lake and a single adult flying east over Earls Barton GP and, minutes later, over Summer Leys. Four were subsequently found at Thrapston GP’s Titchmarsh LNR on 14th. In common with Pink-footed Goose, the wintering population in the UK has increased significantly, having more than tripled during the aforementioned quarter century, this being reflected in the number being found locally in recent years.

The itinerant female Ruddy Shelduck was seen in flight over Stanford Res on 11th and back at Winwick Pools on 13th, while numbers of, and localities for, Red-crested Pochards diminished this week. Stanford held on to two until at least 12th, two drakes visited Blatherwycke Lake on 9th, one was at Pitsford on 11th and the female remained at Kislingbury GP until at least 12th.

Last week’s first-winter female Greater Scaup was seen again at Blatherwycke Lake on 13th and 15th following an unconfirmed report of a Common Scoter there on 9th.

The week proved surprisingly good for waders. Are we really on the cusp of mid-November? First up was a Grey Plover found with the small Golden Plover flock at Earls Barton GP’s New Workings (South) on 9th. Only the fifth record for the year following spring birds at Clifford Hill GP, Stanwick GP and Summer Leys. It did not stay. A Turnstone spent the afternoon at Summer Leys on 10th, similarly having moved on by the next day and a Knot dropped in at Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows NR, also on 10th. Ditchford also produced a Jack Snipe on 12th and two were located via thermal imaging at Stanford on the same date.

In the same vein as in recent weeks it was local gull roosts which produced the vast majority of the period’s scarce gulls. Mediterranean Gulls were down to an adult and a first-winter at Daventry CP on 9th and an adult at Stanford on the same date, followed by a first-winter there the next day. The Boddington roost produced an apparent adult Mediterranean Gull x Common Gull hybrid on 12th.

Apart from an adult at Hollowell Res on 12th, Boddington and Stanford carved up the week’s Caspian Gulls between them, the first-named holding an adult and a first-winter on 12th-13th and two adults and a first-winter on 14th. Stanford produced single adults on 9th and 13th, two adults on 12th, a second-winter on 10th and a first-winter on 14th.

With regard to Yellow-legged Gulls, Boddington held at least five between 12th and 14th, while daytime singles were found at Ditchford GP on 10th, Summer Leys on 11th, Earls Barton GP on 12th, Clifford Hill GP on 13th and the regular Pitsford adult remained throughout the week.

An interesting week for the Summer Leys Glossy Ibis. It was seen only until 13th, after which there were no further reports. Single Bitterns were again present at Stanwick on 9th and 14th and at Titchmarsh LNR on 10th and 14th, while Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows was responsible for producing the week’s only Cattle Egrets, with eight there on 10th.

Marsh Harriers continued to be seen at Summer Leys and within the Earls Barton GP complex generally, with at least two individuals present on 9th-10th. However, they were considerably outnumbered by Hen Harriers – some apparently new birds making their debut on the scene while others were clearly hanging on from last week. Falling into the latter category, the popular ‘ringtail’ continued to hunt the New Workings (South) area of Earls Barton GP daily until 12th, after which there were no further reports. Last week’s male at Bozenham Mill also remained until 10th, while ‘new’ males appeared near Staverton on 10th and over Summer Leys on 14th and another ‘ringtail’ was seen in the Brampton Valley/Blueberry Farm area on 11th. It would be tempting to believe we are in for a good winter for this iconic raptor.

Merlins remained scarce, however, with a female/immature seen in flight over Lilbourne Meadows NR on 11th and a male in the Brampton Valley between Cottesbrooke and Hanging Houghton on 13th.

Last week’s two Bearded Tits remained at Stanwick until 10th, when they were last seen departing high to the east.

Stonechats were found at nine localities which included Clifford Hill GP, Earls Barton GP, Hollowell Res, Kislingbury GP, Lilbourne Meadows, Pitsford, Stanford, Sywell CP and Towcester – with the highest counts of five at Earls Barton GP on 10th and four at Sywell CP on 15th.

The penultimate day of the period produced a Rock Pipit – albeit only in flight – over Stanford’s dam. Thin on the ground in Northamptonshire these days, it comes as almost no surprise that this is the only record for the year in the county.

But attracting the most attention by a country mile this week were those big-billed bruisers of the finch world … Yes, Hawfinches were clocked at a good nine locations with, as last week, Cottesbrooke as the standout site, pulling the punters daily throughout the period. Two to three birds were very much the norm per diem but eight on 13th proved the highest total.

So, how did the other sites match up? The churchyard at Blatherwycke was another productive viewing point with birds present on three dates, which included a respectable maximum of six on 14th.

A few miles to the east, Southwick Hall grounds produced at least five on 15th, with Short Wood just along the road holding four on 13th. Four were also still to be found in St Peter’s Churchyard at Deene on 12th, dropping to two there the following day, while twos were seen over Stanford Res on 13th, and at both Long Croft Road, Corby and St Peter’s Churchyard, Oundle on 14th. Singles were seen at Lamport Hall on 9th and at Eurohub, Corby on 13th.

Dull, dreary and leniently mild, with light winds off the continent and temperatures above average for the time of year, this week’s weather was anything but inspiring. But it was far from doom and gloom on the birding front as November began to shape up nicely from the get-go, kicking off with some select species which had, to date, managed to evade all but the lucky few earlier in the year.  

The first of these was a Dark-bellied Brent Goose found on 4th at Clifford Hill GP, the same site laying claim to the year’s only previous record of a decently-sized flock of sixteen – albeit very briefly – on 12th March. In a similar vein, this week’s bird chose not to stick around and had departed by the following day.

Clifford Hill GP, also known latterly as ‘Northampton Washlands’, has established a knack for pulling them in and, offering the largest slice of the Brent Goose pie, is the best place by far for a chance encounter in early spring or late autumn.

Other geese were, of course, available and a respectable skein of approximately twenty Pink-footed Geese was watched flying north over Pitsford Res on 2nd, while singles included one in flight with Greylags over Stanwick GP on 3rd and the sporadic visitor to Stanford Res there again on 8th.

Stanford’s admirable run of Whooper Swans extended to another week when three adults and four juveniles dropped in together on 2nd. Staying long enough for a photoshoot, they departed shortly after being found. Coincidentally, or not, seven were seen flying east over Clifford Hill just under an hour later.

The female Ruddy Shelduck remained at Winwick Pools, where it was seen on 4th and 8th, while Red-crested Pochards became more widespread this week with the largest number of six remaining at Stanford throughout. Nine further localities produced smaller numbers which included five at Stortons GP on 7th, single drakes at Blatherwycke Lake from 2nd until at least 5th, Thrapston GP on 2nd and Pitsford on 5th, the first-winter drake still at Boddington Res until at least 7th, twos at Clifford Hill on 5th, Stanwick on 7th and Ditchford GP on 8th and a female at Kislingbury GP on the last of these dates.

A female Greater Scaup visited Blatherwycke Lake on 5th.

Proving its worth once again, Clifford Hill attracted five Avocets which, although seemingly unsettled, remained throughout the day on 4th. This was only the sixth county record of the year and a decent flock size to boot, following four there on 7th September.

And sealing its eminence as this week’s standout locality, Clifford Hill went on to produce a Knot, also on 4th. This was only the third for the county in 2024 after the first – a one-day bird which also turned up there in March – and the second, which circled Stanford Res without landing, the previous morning of the 3rd. The Clifford Hill individual was still present on 6th and another, or the same, visited  Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows NR briefly on 7th.

Four sites produced Mediterranean Gulls, Boddington Res holding the maximum of three (an adult and two first-winters) in its roost on 4th and an adult only on 6th-7th. The Stanford roost produced an adult and a first-winter on 2nd, a second-winter on 3rd and an adult again on 8th, while a first-winter visited Hollowell Res on 4th and two first-winters were in a pre-roost at Daventry CP the following day.

Caspian Gulls were also found at four localities with, again, the Boddington roost producing the highest numbers of five on 6th, three on 4th and two on 7th. Stanford’s roost held an adult on 3rd and a second-winter on 8th and single adults were found at Wicksteed Park Lakes on 3rd and at Hollowell on 4th and 8th. Similarly, Boddington pulled in double figures of Yellow-legged Gulls, the roost count maxing out with at least twelve on 4th and 7th, while smaller numbers included two at Winwick Pools on 4th and singles on various dates throughout the period at Clifford Hill, Pitsford and Stanford.

There’s little to be said about the Summer Leys Glossy Ibis, which remained on site for another full week, while Bitterns and Cattle Egrets were the sole preserve of Stanwick, with two of the former on 4th and eight of the latter on 3rd and 7th.

Just one, or maybe two, Marsh Harrier(s) were seen during the period with sightings almost daily from the Summer Leys enclave and the wider area of Earls Barton GP. However, it turned out to be another good seven days for Hen Harriers, the previous week’s ‘ringtail’ at Earls Barton GP’s New Workings (South) now appearing settled, regularly showing well to all comers, daily, throughout the week. The same locality produced a fly-through male on 5th and another male was seen at Ashton and over fields south of nearby Bozenham Mill on 7th, while the latter date also saw another ‘ringtail’ at Harrington AF.

The number of Short-eared Owls also increased with single birds at Harrington on 2nd and 5th-7th and at both Clifford Hill GP and Stanford Res on 5th.

A male Merlin was found at Harrington on 4th.

And, surprisingly, the first 2024 Bearded Tits appeared at Stanwick GP, where two were first seen on 5th and remained until the week’s end.

The run of Yellow-browed Warblers continued with one briefly in a Kettering garden on 5th and another – or the same – reported between Wicksteed Park Lakes and Barton Seagrave two days later, on 7th.

In the west of the county, proving its worth not just for gulls, Boddington produced a first-winter Ring Ouzel in an off-site adjacent hedgerow on 6th, while a Black Redstart spent at least three days in Braunston, at a site with no public access, between 4th and 6th. Stonechats were recorded from Earls Barton, Hollowell, Lilbourne Meadows NR, Pitsford, Stanford and Summer Leys, with a maximum site count of four at Hollowell on 4th.

And Hawfinches continued to be found at various sites across the county, with Cottesbrooke proving the most reliable location for catching up with them. Here they were recorded on a daily basis with a maximum of three or four present on 6th. Elsewhere, from high to low, nine flew south-south-east over Boddington on 4th, five were mobile around Welton on 8th, three were again in Thenford Churchyard on 2nd and the same number flew south over Hanging Houghton on 5th and three were also in St Peter’s Churchyard, Deene on 7th. Blatherwycke churchyard produced two on 3rd and one on 5th and two were found at Lamport Hall on 8th.

Single Crossbills flew over both Hollowell and Cottesbrooke on 3rd.