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Compared to the last two, this week was somewhat mellow, belonging rather more to the hangers-on than the newly arrived. A low pressure system centred over the British Isles for the majority of the period delivered unsettled weather and ‘false southerlies’, resulting from a northerly wrap-around, rather than anything originating from deep down in southern Europe. So, the foot was off the gas for high octane birding … but is that it for the spring?

Well, it would certainly appear so as far as wildfowl are concerned, since the week’s only pukka ducks were single drake Garganeys, at both Summer Leys LNR and Stanwick GP on 8th. However, it was the latter site which dipped more than one toe into muddy waters as, bobbing on the surface, was last week’s and the week before’s Pink-footed Goose – now looking distinctly suspect in terms of origin.

But looking further into the murky depths revealed some unquestionably dodgy fare in the shape of a Chiloe Wigeon x Crested Duck hybrid on 8th, which proceeded to make its way to Summer Leys for 11th. And if that wasn’t enough, just to add insult to injury, a Barnacle Goose x Cackling Goose hybrid followed two days later, accompanied by a ‘pure’ Barnacle Goose.

Relying principally on cast-offs from Thrapston and Ditchford GPs to keep it afloat, Stanwick has, so far, come in decidedly under par this spring. But it ain’t over till the fat lady sings … or so they say.

One thing Stanwick is reliable for, of course, is Cattle Egrets, four – or possibly as many as six – of which were present there on 9th, while the one which turned up at Pitsford Res at the end of last week remained throughout. Pitsford was also one of the four sites producing Great Egrets this week, with one still there on 12th, while singles were also seen at Thrapston on the same date and at both Clifford Hill GP and Summer Leys on 8th.

Raptor sightings this week were limited to single Ospreys at Thrapston on 9th and 12th, Pitsford on 10th, Hollowell Res on 11th and Stanford Res on 14th.

If last week belonged to waders, then this week followed suit – albeit at a less prestigious level. Two Grey Plovers – relatively scarce so far this spring – were found at DIRFT 3 on 8th and two Ringed Plovers of one of the tundra races also turned up there on 14th.

The long-staying Whimbrels, present at Clifford Hill GP from last month, notched up a mammoth stopover of 18 days this week, although their numbers had dwindled from a maximum of eight to just three by 13th. In contrast to last week, they were recorded from no other sites.

Away from breeding sites, the week’s only Curlew was also found at Clifford Hill on 8th, while this week’s Black-tailed Godwits consisted of two at Summer Leys from 8th to 10th and one there on 11th. Two also flew west over DIRFT 3 on 9th.

Hot on the heels of the year’s first Turnstone at Clifford Hill last week came four more at the same site in the murky weather of the 8th, the same day also seeing two paying a fleeting visit to Summer Leys and one at DIRFT 3. Clifford Hill produced further singles on 9th and 13th-14th.

Following a series of unseasonal occurrences during the second week of February, the first Knot of the spring appeared at DIRFT 3 on 13th, remaining there the following day, while last week’s Ruff lingered at Summer Leys until at least 12th.

Sanderlings, too,were again on the menu, with the 8th delivering five to Clifford Hill, three to DIRFT 3 and one to Summer Leys, while the following day, two remained at DIRFT 3 and another was found there on 13th. All the blow and bluster of the 8th saw many more Dunlins moving through during the miserable conditions of the day. DIRFT 3 produced sixty (in two flocks, of fifty-one and nine), Clifford Hill held at least fifty-one, twenty-five were at Summer Leys, twenty at Ecton SF and ten at Earls Barton GP’s new workings (north). It was all over by the following day, though, with just three at Clifford Hill and singles were at Stanwick on 10th and at DIRFT 3 on 13th-14th.

The 8th also brought single Wood Sandpipers to both Stanwick and Summer Leys, as well as a Greenshank to the latter site, which continued to hold on to one of its long-staying Spotted Redshanks, remaining there until at least 13th.

In contrast to the continued high velocity wader movement, gulls and terns were at a low ebb. A Little Gull visited Stanford on 12th and the following day saw two first-summer Caspian Gulls at DIRFT 3, while a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull visited the latter site on 8th and a third-winter was at Pitsford on 9th. With most already having moved through, single-figure counts of Arctic Terns included two at Stanford on 8th and one at Summer Leys on 11th, while single Black Terns visited Clifford Hill, Pitsford and Summer Leys on the consecutive days of 8th, 9th and 10th, respectively.

Another week, another Wood Warbler – this one being even more fleeting than last week’s. Stanwick was the venue, the bird singing for ten minutes and remaining out of sight, early in the morning of 11th. This week’s Whinchats were all on 9th, when four were at Borough Hill and one was at Clifford Hill, while Northern Wheatears still continued to filter through, some showing characteristics of the Greenland race, which tends to be prevalent the deeper we move into May.

Clifford Hill produced the most, with three on 8th and ten there the next day, 9th, which also saw seven at Willowbrook Industrial Estate, Corby, six at Borough Hill and one at Stortons GP. Singles were again at Clifford Hill on 10th, 12th and 13th, with two there on 11th and further singles were at Harrington AF on 11th and Boddington Res on12th.

A male Blue-headed Wagtail has been present in fields adjacent to Summer Leys LNR since its discovery on 12th April. Being a scarce migrant in Northants and the UK in general, it has attracted a lot of attention from local birders and scrutiny of the accompanying Yellow Wagtails has also thrown up some interesting plumage variants, sparking much debate on origins and racial identity.

Fortunately, the site routinely attracts a wealth of photographers, who have been on hand to capture a range of images, allowing subsequent at length plumage examination.

So, here they are …

Blue-headed Wagtail

A straightforward, classic individual featuring all the diagnostic characteristics of a male nominate race flava, i.e. sharply demarcated bright blue head with ear coverts and lores darker than the crown, a striking white, long supercilium extending from the base of the bill and over the ear coverts, obvious broken white eye-ring and white flecks in the ear coverts. It also has a yellow throat with a thin white side border.

Blue-headed/‘Channel’-type variant

A not so easy to analyse individual. This bird has a much more diffuse head pattern, with green tones permeating the blue, which is paler than that of the male Blue-headed Wagtail, above. It has a largely white throat and remnants of a ‘necklace’ and the worn-looking outer greater coverts suggest it may be a first-summer bird. The overall appearance closely matches female Blue-headed Wagtail and it may indeed be just that. However, a degree of caution is normally urged when trying to assign females of the ‘yellow wagtail group’ to race …

Yellow-headed Wagtail-type variant

A very interesting bird, which appears to show characteristics of the race lutea., i.e. strikingly deep yellow underparts and head, the latter with only a hint of dusky lores and a ghosting of green on the crown, which is said to match lutea perfectly (Shirihai & Svensson 2019). However it lacks the broad yellow tips to the median and greater coverts normally exhibited by this race, the coverts in this case conforming to those of standard flavissima Yellow Wagtail.

This race breeds in the lower Volga, middle Ural region and possibly north-west Kirghiz Steppe. While birds resembling lutea have been recorded in the UK, the race is not on the British list and they are generally considered to be variant flavissima. Feathers or faecal samples allowing DNA analysis would be highly desirable in proving subspecific ID in this case.

Although local temperatures reached only 22°C, the 30th hit the headlines as the UK’s warmest March day for 53 years, largely as a result of south to south-westerly winds sweeping in from beyond the Iberian peninsula. Unsurprisingly, spring migrants came in thick and fast, these balmy conditions acting as a catalyst for northbound migration. It was all change during the last two days of the week, however, as winter reminded us it was not done with yet, bitter north-easterlies kicked in and temperatures dropped like a stone …

Showing no signs of going anywhere soon, the adult Dark-bellied Brent Goose remained at Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows LNR throughout the period, while new in was a Pink-footed Goose, which flew west over Ecton SF on 1st before dropping in to join local Greylags in the adjacent riverside meadow at Cogenhoe Mill.

The same date saw the arrival of the year’s first Garganey, at Clifford Hill GP, where four pitched up during the morning, appearing to have moved swiftly on by the end of the day.

Meanwhile, the wintering drake Ring-necked Duck showed further signs of itchy feet this week, appearing again at Stanwick GP on 27th-28th and 30th before heading west to Clifford Hill, where it was seen on 31st and again on 2nd.

In contrast, the smart drake Greater Scaup, accompanied the presumed female Greater Scaup x Tufted Duck hybrid, remained site faithful, off the dam at Pitsford Res all week while, back in the Nene Valley, Ditchford GP’s drake Smew resurfaced on Delta Pit on 27th before being seen at Stanwick the following day and again there on 2nd.

Ditchford also produced a one-day wonder in the shape of a flamboyant, summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebe at Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows on 31st.

Further down the valley, with no departure date in sight, the local star that is Glossy Ibis clocked up eight weeks of residency at Thrapston GP, spending more of its time on Aldwincle Lake. It will be missed when it finally chooses to move on, although after such a long stay, this species is never likely to be viewed in quite the same light when the next one hits the county.

Talking of which … four Cattle Egrets remained at the favoured locality of Stanwick on 27th-28th, while numbers of Great Egrets continued to decrease, with singles at Summer Leys on 28th and Hollowell on 30th, up to two at Pitsford on 31st-1st and up to five at Thrapston on 31st.

With Ospreys back in the game, singles were seen at Billing GP, Hollowell, Pitsford and Ravensthorpe Res – all on 27th, Ravensthorpe again on 29th, Oundle on 1st and Hollowell Res again on 1st-2nd. Three pairs have bred in the county over the past few years and with numbers increasing nationally, we must be on for a fourth in the not too distant future. Two single Marsh Harriers flew east through Stanwick, within minutes of each other, on 2nd.

On the wader front, two Avocets were mobile between Summer Leys and Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows LNR throughout the week, while single Curlews flew over Stanford Res on 27th, Pitsford on 1st and two worked their way from Ditchford along to Stanwick on 2nd. Last week’s first-summer Black-tailed Godwit remained at Summer Leys until 28th, being replaced there by three from 31st to 2nd. Three also visited Stanwick on 31st.

With only singles at Clifford Hill on 30th and DIRFT 3 A5 Pools on 1st, Dunlins were thin on the ground this week. A Jack Snipe remained at Hollowell until at least 30th, the same date on which one was found by chance at Harrington AF.

Pumping up the larid-action, there were gulls for everyone this week – after all, who doesn’t love a Little Gull? One of these delicate, diminutive beauties visited Daventry CP on 31st and another obliged by staying two days at Thrapston on 1st and 2nd. The last of these two dates also saw a first-winter Kittiwake heading south-west over Pitsford, apparently without stopping. Mediterranean Gulls were again largely confined to the two Nene Valley locations of Stanwick and Summer Leys, where they continued to be seen almost daily, the latter site holding three on 29th. The exception was two adults seen south of Burton Latimer, on 27th. The week’s token Caspian Gull, a first-winter, appeared on DIRFT 3’s A5 Pools on 1st, accompanied by another, which wasn’t quite the full shilling in terms of genetic make up, as well as one each of both adult and third-winter Yellow-legged Gulls. Two of the latter species also frequented Pitsford during the week.

Then the summer visitors kicked in. Two Sandwich Terns flew east through Stanford on 31st, followed by two more, east through Stanwick, the following day.

But the first Hobby, on 30th, smashed it, being the first ever to be recorded in March and beating the previous earliest record of 1st April, in 2012.

The first Willow Warbler was a male singing in suburban Northampton on 28th, followed later by one in Corby and, just before the month of March was out, the first Common Redstart appeared on Borough Hill with, hot on its heels, another at Harrington. Both were males. Following last week’s Black Redstart, three more were reported: Harrington AF on 30th, Hanging Houghton on 1st and Borough Hill on 2nd – all strangely vanishing immediately after their discovery. A Stonechat at Summer Leys on 28th was effectively the last man standing.

Unsurprisingly, more Northern Wheatears appeared this week, with the eight localities of Brackley, Chelveston AF, Clifford Hill, Harrington, Hinton AF, Polebrook AF, Stanford and Thrapston producing a couple of dozen between them. The highest counts were nine at Hinton on 29th and five at Clifford Hill GP on the same date.      

Clifford Hill also delivered the first Yellow Wagtail of the year, on 1st, two more being seen at Stanwick later in the day, while White Wagtails continued to come through in small numbers, with Earls Barton producing one on 27th and two on 2nd, while another was at Aldwincle on 1st.

A brief stopover was made by a Water Pipit at Hollowell on 30th before it flew off south. In fact, as Water Pipit must be the only species flying south in spring, this surely constitutes the identification clincher from the often very similarly-plumaged Scandinavian Rock Pipit which, of course, flies north-east. Simple, isn’t it?! The answer was there all along! Well, maybe … Two more Water Pipits were at Earls Barton GP’s new workings on 2nd.

Caught on film at Wakerley Great Wood, a Mealy Redpoll visited the feeders there on 2nd, when there were still at least four Crossbills in the same area.

Ten were counted there on 29th, while the only other localities continuing to produce this species were Hollowell, with a maximum of five on 27th and Pitsford, where up to four were present on 31st.

A post vacant for more than three years is at last filled!

Having been without since 31st March 2017, Northamptonshire now has a new County Recorder. Stepping into the breach and already well known to many local birders, Jonathan Cook will take on this important role with immediate effect. This is, of course, great news and Jonathan will be warmly welcomed by local and national bodies alike. Jon is, to use his own words, ‘raring to go’ …

 
Jon’s reference to his interest in photography and his practical skills in this area are depicted in some of his recently produced images below.

Currently working in retail, Jon has a degree in Environmental Studies, the course content of which included ecology, environmental impact and protection as well as other elements of relevance useful to the role. “I’d suggest that to protect our bird life it is more and more important to have robust and comprehensive reporting, so feels like the role can make a difference,” says Jon.

 
Jonathan is under no illusions with regard to what the job entails and is keen to make an impact, bringing structure and order to the way we record birds locally. We wish him well in his future endeavours.

Contact Jon at: joncooknorthantsbirds@gmail.com and follow him on twitter @jcbirder