Northants birds

The storm before the calm saw a continuation of last week’s gale force westerlies for the first two days of the period, before high pressure built over the country to deliver conditions more conducive to migration. On that theme, the first Osprey was seen cruising north and Northern Wheatears made landfall at three localities.

Maintaining the status quo, the first-winter Whooper Swan – now developing some yellow bill pigmentation – and the three Pink-footed Geese remained at Thrapston GP all week, as did the two Pink-footed Geese at Stanford Res.

A drake Red-crested Pochard was present at Pitsford Res between 18th and 21st and a drake Ring-necked Duck paid a fleeting visit to Thrapston GP on the latter date. Tempting, though it is, to believe this was a reappearance of the Earls Barton/Summer Leys/Stanwick bird, with more than twenty individuals scattered across a dozen sites this winter, the fact that remains that it could simply be another of its kind on the move.

Pitsford’s two juvenile Great Northern Divers, now having moulted a good proportion of their pale-fringed juvenile feathers, stayed all week, ranging widely between the causeway and the dam, while dwindling top counts of Great Egrets were restricted to three at Stanford Res, two at each of Summer Leys and Thrapston, and singles at Ditchford GP and Welton.

Back at Pitsford, an Osprey flew north over Brixworth CP on 18th and a fly-by Merlin was seen south of the causeway the following day. At the time of compiling this report, five Ospreys have now returned to their Rutland Water breeding site.

Aside from the first spring migrant Little Ringed Plovers at Stanwick on 18th and at both Clifford Hill GP and DIRFT3 on 21st, other waders on the move this week were single Black-tailed Godwits at Stanwick on 18th and Summer Leys the following day, while Hollowell’s wintering Jack Snipe was still present on 17th and further singles were discovered at Pitsford Res on 18th-20th and at Stortons GP on 21st.

More Mediterranean Gulls came through this week, including single adults at both Clifford Hill GP and Stanford Res on 17th and at Daventry CP the following day. Two days later, on 20th, Daventry also hosted a juvenile Glaucous X Scandinavian Herring Gull hybrid, commonly dubbed ‘Viking Gull’ but it did not linger. Elsewhere, the first-winter Caspian Gull was again at Hollowell on 17th, while a first-winter Yellow-legged Gull visited Pitsford on 16th and a second-winter dropped in at Hardingstone GP on 18th.

Remaining site-faithful, two Short-eared Owls were still at the regular location of Neville’s Lodge (Finedon) on 21st and one was still at Lilbourne Meadows on 20th, while the Great Grey Shrike remained in the Blueberry Farm area, becoming even more mobile and elusive towards the week’s end. The spring’s first Northern Wheatear was discovered on 17th at Clifford Hill GP, where it remained the following day, while the second appeared at Blueberry Farm on 20th, followed by a third at Borough Hill on 21st.

After last week’s White Wagtails at Hollowell, further singles appeared at Clifford Hill GP on 17th and at nearby Hardingstone GP the next day and Crossbills were back on the menu at Wakerley Great Wood, where seven or eight were present on 18th, including one noticeably large-billed individual. Two Corn Buntings remained in the Blueberry Farm area all week, fuelling speculation that they might breed locally. Let’s hope so …

A succession of low-pressure systems, scudding rapidly across the North Atlantic, brought intermittent gales and rain on predominantly north-westerly winds. A fallout from this was the year’s first Kittiwake – one of a series of inland records during the period.

At Thrapston GP, the first-winter Whooper Swan was still present as the week came to a close and the three Pink-footed Geese were still on site on 11th, although only one could be found there on 15th. At Stanford Res, the two Pink-feet remained until at least 14th, while a Barnacle Goose, along with a drake Red-crested Pochard, at Clifford Hill GP on 9th, unsurprisingly elicited little interest.

Pitsford’s two juvenile Great Northern Divers were hunkered down well north of the dam all week and Great Egret numbers rallied a little against last week’s low, with maxima of four at Summer Leys, three at both Stanford Res and Thrapston GP and singles at Ditchford GP, Foxholes Fisheries (Crick) and Stanwick GP. An unconfirmed report of a Bittern from Summer Leys’ Pioneer Hide on 14th remained just that, with no sightings the following day.

In the raptor zone, a male Merlin was again in the Blueberry Farm area on 10th-11th and the Hollowell Res Jack Snipe was the only wader of note this week.

From a gulling perspective, it’s hard to see Stanford Res as anything more than playing second fiddle to Draycote, just over the border in Warwickshire but it came to the rescue to provide the best selection of this week’s larids in the form of an adult Kittiwake, for just a few minutes on the morning of 10th and the second-winter Iceland Gull from nearby Shawell Landfill (Leicestershire) again on 14th. A second-winter Yellow-legged Gull visited Pitsford on 12th but that was about it …

Just one Short-eared Owl showed during the period at the regular location of Neville’s Lodge (Finedon) on 11th and after a couple of weeks of radio silence, the Great Grey Shrike was reported again in the Blueberry Farm area on 11th and 15th. The only passerine migrants discovered during this week’s turbulent weather were two early White Wagtails at Hollowell on 9th. Hopefully, next week’s forecast of calmer conditions will open up the gates for more summer visitors with Garganey, Osprey and Northern Wheatear as odds-on favourites for arrivals over the forthcoming seven days.

Winds this week remained south-westerly to westerly and frequently blustery, with sporadic showers, although temperatures were still above average for the time of year. Highlights included an Iceland Gull in the north-west of the county and more Crossbills in the north-east and close to the county town while, apart from a certain roving Ring-necked Duck, the reservoirs and the Nene Valley remained cool, calm and collected …

The week opened with two Whooper Swans flying east over Duston, Northampton on the morning of 2nd, while the first winter remained in situ on Thrapston GP’s Town Lake until 4th. At least two Pink-footed Geese remained at the latter site until the week’s end and the two Pinkfeet showed up again at Stanford Res on 8th, after going AWOL for the previous six days. The only Red-crested Pochard of the week was a drake at Hardingstone GP on 5th and the drake Ring-necked Duck relocated at Stanwick GP on 28th remained until 2nd, before vanishing for the rest of the period.

Pitsford’s two juvenile Great Northern Divers were still ensconced, north of the dam, on 7th but there was a marked decline in reports of Great Egrets, with four at Thrapston on 2nd dwindling to one by the week’s end, three at Summer Leys throughout and three at Stanford Res on 5th, dropping to one on 7th.

Single Jack Snipes were at both Hollowell Res and Stanford Res on 2nd and at Boddington Res the following day.

March is a prime month for passage Mediterranean Gulls – check your local roosts for one of these fine, black-hooded beauties. Two or three adults were seen this week, including singles at Daventry CP on 4th and 7th and at Stanford Res on the latter date, this last locality also producing a second-winter Iceland Gull in the roost on 6th. A third-winter Yellow-legged Gull visited Pitsford on 2nd and the adult was still at Hollowell Res, along with the first-winter Caspian Gull still, on 5th and an adult Caspian again visited Boddington Res on 3rd.

With Irchester CP appearing to have fallen out of favour with Crossbills this week, Wakerley Great Wood took on the mantle, hosting up to a dozen birds in the vicinity of the car park between 2nd and 4th. On the opposite side of the A43, at nearby Fineshade Wood, two were present on 5th, a single female was found in the pines in Hollowell’s Guilsborough Bay, on 2nd and up to eleven were at Harlestone Heath on 8th.

The surge from the south continued to deliver a heady taste of spring, with local temperatures peaking at 17°C on 25th and 26th. However, it all went pear-shaped for the last two days of the period, when an area of low pressure brought showers and a corresponding fall in temperature, which remained above average for the time of year. The first true summer visitors, Sand Martins, arrived on cue on 28th – the same date a drake Ring-necked Duck was discovered at Stanwick. A Cattle Egret also remained at large in the Nene Valley.

At Thrapston GP, the first-winter Whooper Swan and the three Pink-footed Geese remained until the week’s end and the two Pinkfeet were still present around Stanford Res until at least 25th, while the adult White-fronted Goose visited Thrapston GP again the following day. The three Red-crested Pochards remained on Mary’s Lake, at Earls Barton GP, until 24th and a drake was found at Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows LNR on the same date. On the other side of the A6, at Stanwick GP, the roving drake Ring-necked Duck appeared on the main lake on 28th and was still present the following day.

Over to Pitsford Res, where the two juvenile Great Northern Divers were still in situ, north of the dam, on 28th but no Great Egrets were reported from there this week. Topping the bill for numbers of this species was Summer Leys, with five on 25th, while Thrapston managed three, Stanford two and singles were seen at Cransley Res, Earls Barton GP, Ditchford GP/Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows, Hollowell Res and Ravensthorpe Res. On the last day of the period, a Cattle Egret, paid a brief visit to Stanwick before disappearing – albeit likely on a temporary basis.

In the absence of any other raptors, Hen Harrier narrowly makes it into this week’s report with the juvenile female again seen at Stanford on 1st March. Waders were also represented by just singles of Jack Snipe at Hollowell Res on 23rd and Black-tailed Godwit at Clifford Hill GP on 27th.

Gulls, too, were thin on the ground, with only a fine, summer-plumaged adult Mediterranean Gull on the scrape at Summer Leys, briefly on 26th, the adult Yellow-legged Gull and a first-winter Caspian Gull again at Hollowell Res on 23rd, and an adult Caspian Gull in the roost at Boddington Res on 26th.

Up to two Short-eared Owls continued to be seen at Neville’s Lodge throughout the week and another was found at Lilbourne Meadows LNR on 25th-26th. At Irchester CP, last week’s eight Crossbills had fallen to two on 23rd and one on 1st but at least four were in Yardley Chase on 28th and three at Wakerley Great Wood the following day, on 1st.

Rounding off the passerines, a Corn Bunting was found with a winter flock of Yellowhammers, south of Culworth, on 24th. Both sadly and bizarrely, this species is now rarer in Northamptonshire than Great Egret …

The spring-like weather continued, remaining dry, with southerly winds again bringing warm air up from well beyond south-west Europe and local temperatures hitting a balmy 15°C on 21st and 22nd. Notable birds during the period were a likely Glossy Ibis and a new Cattle Egret, while nearly all of last week’s scarce winter visitors remained in place.

At Thrapston GP, the first-winter Whooper Swan and the three Pink-footed Geese were still present throughout and the two Pinkfeet, mobile around Stanford Res and nearby Stanford Hall, remained all week. Surprisingly, there were no Red-crested Pochards reported from Pitsford Res and the only ones on show were three on Mary’s Lake, at Earls Barton GP, until at least 21st while, across the lane at Summer Leys, the itinerant drake Ring-necked Duck was seen again for one day only, on 16th. The other drake, at Pitsford, went unreported this week for the first time since its arrival in late November last year.

However, at least one juvenile Great Northern Diver remained at Pitsford throughout but Great Egrets were limited there to just two on 19th. Of the other regular sites for this species, Thrapston and Summer Leys scored joint highest with five on 20th and 22nd respectively, while singles were at Cransley Res, Ditchford GP/Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows, Ravensthorpe Res and Stanford Res. Not entirely unexpected in these days of Bubulcus aplenty was the second Cattle Egret of 2019, discovered ‘somewhere in the Nene Valley’ on 21st, the location being withheld to avoid disturbance in a sensitive area. Odds on there will be quite a few more discovered as we move deeper into 2019.

Intriguing bird of the week award, however, goes to the ibis sp., which was seen from the window of a moving car, as it flew south between Moulton and Overstone on the morning of 16th. Although the observer exercised caution and refrained from going all out glossy, it appears unlikely to have been anything else – particularly with ‘new’ Glossy Ibises turning up this week in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Worcestershire.

Meanwhile, both of last week’s Hen Harriers continued to be seen – the Stanford Res individual until 18th and the one at Neville’s Lodge until 21st, while Stanford also featured a Merlin on 16th, as did Blueberry Farm on the same date.

Hollowell Res again produced the only notable wader of the week – this time a Jack Snipe on 16th. Two days later, on 18th, single adult Mediterranean Gulls appeared in the roosts at Boddington Res (and again there on 22nd) and Stanford Res and a first-winter Iceland Gull made a sortie over the dam at the latter site, before disappearing, on 16th. The only other scarce gulls – an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a second-winter Caspian Gull – were also seen on 16th, again at Hollowell Res.

Just one Short-eared Owl was to be found around Neville’s Lodge, just prior to dusk, on 16 and 17th, while the Great Grey Shrike became more elusive but continued to be seen

throughout the period near to Blueberry Farm, where only one Corn Bunting was reported on 19th.

Again this week, up to eight Crossbills were present almost daily at Irchester CP until at least 21st.

Frozen conditions continued for the first two days of the period, with continuing cold northerlies and temperatures bottoming out at -5ºC early on 3rd. After this it was all change, the winds swung round to the westerly quarter and daytime temperatures rose to 9ºC, rapidly melting ice and remnant snow. By the week’s end, Storm Erik’s gale-force winds and rain put the dampeners on things across the Midlands but none of this, it seems, made any significant difference to the birds on offer.

Reported missing, presumed gone, the first-winter Whooper Swan at Thrapston GP evidently relocated to Town Lake, being seen there on 4th-5th, following five flying south over Stanford Res on 2nd. Thrapston’s goose flock, meanwhile, became fragmented and the White-fronted Goose was seen only on 2nd and 7th, while the three Pink-footed Geese were still present on 5th, with at least one remaining until 7th. Stanford’s two pinkfeet were also seen, on and off, until the same date.

Numbers of Red-crested Pochards appeared to fall to a maximum of just 6 at Pitsford Res on 2nd and they were not recorded elsewhere, while Pitsford’s drake Ring-necked Duck now seemingly settled around Pintail Bay, remained all week. On 5th, another drake was reported from Mary’s Lake at Earls Barton GP, although it hasn’t been seen since. Is there still one mobile about the Nene Valley, currently lurking at a locality unknown?

Back at Thrapston, a handsome drake Smew – outrageously scarce in the county this winter – put in a brief appearance on 3rd, but was gone by the following day, while the two juvenile Great Northern Divers remained at Pitsford all week.

The Bittern found on Thrapston’s Aldwincle Lake on 1st was still being watched along the reedy margin of the lake’s northern end on 2nd and 3rd, while the site, along with Pitsford Res, continued to hold the highest number of Great Egrets – up to four – throughout the week. Elsewhere, Earls Barton GP/Summer Leys LNR again hosted three, Stanford Res held two and singles were at Ditchford GP, Hollowell Res, Ravensthorpe Res, Thorpe Malsor Res and in flight over Blueberry Farm (Maidwell).

The juvenile Hen Harrier at Stanford Res remained for the duration but the Neville’s Lodge ‘ringtail’ proved anything but reliable in its appearances, being seen there only on 2nd and 3rd. A three Merlin week is unusual but that’s just what we got, with the one in the vicinity of Blueberry Farm being seen on four dates and further singles at Chipping Warden on 3rd and near Easton Maudit on 6th-7th.

A single Jack Snipe at Desborough AF on 4th just managed to keep waders on the radar this week Pitsford Res on 28th. Gull numbers continued to run at a low ebb, with Hollowell Res producing an adult Yellow-legged Gull and a second-winter Caspian Gull on 2nd, while the Boddington Res roost was visited briefly by an adult and a third-winter Caspian Gull on 4th and a second-winter Glaucous Gull appeared at Stanford Res on 5th.

Stanford Reservoir – 2w Glaucous Gull late pm (seen in Jan when thought to be a juv but consensus is it is a 2w). Also seen at Shawell and in the Draycote roost during Jan but first visit to Stanford since 16/01. 2 Pink-feet still and Great Egret. @PhoneSkopeUK @wildrainsbrook pic.twitter.com/xBYoVk90NP

— stanford birder (@c4hub) February 5, 2019

Two Short-eared Owls were seen around Neville’s Lodge during the late afternoons of 3rd, 4th and 6th and the Great Grey Shrike continued to perform throughout the week, close to Blueberry Farm, where at least two Corn Buntings remained in the seed crop at the same site.