A somewhat unsettled week, weatherwise, delivered a varied selection of migrants across the board, with passerines pushing to make a comeback.
Settled back in one of its favoured localities was the female Ruddy Shelduck, at Winwick Pools, on the last two days of the period.
Female Ruddy Shelduck, Winwick Pools, 11th July 2024 (James Urwin)
Once again, wader passage was dominated by Black-tailed Godwits which continued to drop in for short periods at a number of locations. Clifford Hill GP was the host to the most, producing nine on 6th, one on 9th and twenty-four on 12th, followed by Summer Leys LNR, which delivered ten on 6th and 7th, two on 9th and eight on 10. Smaller numbers included six flying east over Daventry CP on 10th, two at Stanwick GP on 6th and singles at Thrapston GP’s Titchmarsh LNR on 8th, Stanford Res on 9th and Lilbourne Meadows NR on 12th.
Black-tailed Godwits, Summer Leys LNR, 6th July 2024 (Ricky Sinfield)Black-tailed Godwit, Stanford Res, 9th July 2024 (Chris Hubbard)Black-tailed Godwits, Summer Leys LNR, 9th July 2024 (Tony Stanford)Black-tailed Godwits, Clifford Hill GP, 12th July 2024 (Tyler Atkinson)
Two sites yielded Wood Sandpipers – a short-stayer dropping in briefly at Summer Leys on 6th and another completing a one-day stay at Lilbourne Meadows on 9th.
Wood Sandpiper, Lilbourne Meadows NR, 9th July 2024 (Mike Alibone)
The latter site also produced the week’s only Greenshank, also on 9th.
Greenshank, Lilbourne Meadows NR, 9th July 2024 (Mike Alibone)
On the larid front, a lone adult Yellow-legged Gull was at Pitsford Res on 9th, following one, or the same, there last week, on 30th. But, continuing what appears to be turning into a good year for the species, two more Little Terns put in an appearance at Clifford Hill GP, also on 9th. There have been five previous records so far this year.
Cattle Egrets maintained a low profile with two, possibly three, birds – all juveniles – that included one at Stanwick on 8th and one at both Summer Leys and at nearby Earls Barton GP on 11th.
Passerines were well represented for early July. A Black Redstart was found at Harrington AF on 8th, followed by a second bird discovered there the next day. Surprisingly, these are the first for 2024 and this year is the first this century that we have had no spring records. Up to three Common Redstarts – all males – hung on from last week at Lilbourne Meadows until at least 11th, two were at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell on 8th-9th, with one there on 12th and one was at Woodford Halse NR on 9th-10th.
Male Common Redstart, Lilbourne Meadows NR, 8th July 2024 (Jon Cook)
The first Whinchat of the autumn, a male, put in a brief appearance by the River Nene, close to Earls Barton GP on 10th.
Male Whinchat, Earls Barton GP, 10th July 2024 (Aamir Aziz Mughal)
The movement of the jet stream to the north of the UK brought us a settled and dry week with temperatures reaching the high twenties for three consecutive days, thereby designated a heatwave. But one bird in particular generated heat of a different kind in the northern reaches of the county, up on the border with Leicestershire …
And it certainly wasn’t the female Ruddy Shelduck which, after its usual protracted absence at this time of the year, was back at Hollowell Res on 28th. Nor was it the Red-crested Pochard at Pitsford Res on the same date.
Following last week’s call for a Common Quail in the county, and after the suggestion that there may potentially be a long wait in the offing, as if by magic, three came along at once. Unlike buses, though, they were not easy to catch up with, or so it seems. On the evening of 25th, two males were singing north of Walgrave with one reportedly still present the following evening and two again on 28th. Meanwhile, another was discovered singing less than 5 km to the north-west, at Harrington AF, also on 26th.
A quick review of past occurrences suggests they are holding steady after a sharp peak in records between the late ‘80s and late ‘90s and there have been only four blank years in the last 55 years, namely 1985 and a run in 1973-75.
And while the aforementioned species is arriving, waders are on their way back. Against a countywide backcloth of smaller numbers of Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpipers and Dunlin, an impressive flock of thirty summer-plumaged Black-tailed Godwits dropped in at Stanwick GP’s Main Lake on the last day of the week.
Sticking with Stanwick, three Mediterranean Gulls – two adults and a first-summer – flew south-west over the site on 25th, while a sub-adult Yellow-legged Gull visited Stanford Res on the same date.
It’s not too late for a spring Little Tern and, to prove it, one was found mobile around Hollowell on 22nd – the fifth for the county this year.
Little Tern, Hollowell Res, 22nd June 2024 (Jon Cook)Little Tern, Hollowell Res, 22nd June 2024 (Jon Cook)
Bitterns continued to be seen at two sites, while Cattle Egrets maintained a low profile with singles at Stanwick on 27th and Earls Barton GP the following day.
It was all quiet on the Osprey front, too, with singles at Pitsford on 25th-26th and 28th, and at Hollowell on the latter date, while a total of six young birds from nests in the county were ringed on 26th. This week’s Marsh Harrier was last week’s Marsh Harrier – a standout, abraded individual that again visited Stanwick GP on 24th.
Although set to tantalise and tease, the birding gods smiled on Northamptonshire – albeit momentarily – this week when a female Red-backed Shrike was found in the southern extremity of Leicestershire, just north of Cottingham. Discovered early in the morning of 23rd, it remained on the wrong side of the line until mid-afternoon, when it briefly border-hopped into our own good county before promptly returning to Leicestershire.
Female Red-backed Shrike, Cottingham, 23rd June 2024 (Steve Nichols)Female Red-backed Shrike, Cottingham, 23rd June 2024 (Steve Nichols)
Following the popular 2022 juvenile at Duston, this is only the fifteenth record for the county since 1971. In some respects, the occurrence of this week’s bird is not really out of context, given the phenomenal numbers recorded in the UK during late spring. The overwhelming majority were along the east coast, from Kent to Shetland, with more than 350 being recorded during the last ten days of May alone.
While stuck mournfully under a slow-moving low pressure system, there were still birds out there to brighten up an otherwise dull week. Among these were two at opposite ends of the spectrum: a settled, singing male Wood Warbler throughout the period and, by contrast, a fleeting visit by Britain’s rarest breeding raptor – if it can still be called that …
We can, however, afford to gloss over the well out of season appearance of a Pink-footed Goose at Stanford Res on 28th and move swiftly on to the discovery on 25th of a smart drake Garganey at Lilbourne Meadows NR, where it remained throughout the week. Another – or perhaps the same individual on an awayday – visited Stanford, only 5.5 km distant as the duck flies, on 30th.
Drake Garganey, Lilbourne Meadows NR, 29th May 2024 (Mike Alibone)
Meanwhile, Earls Barton GP’s long-staying drake Red-crested Pochard remained at the site’s New Workings (North) on 25th.
In stark contrast to the previous one, this week was left wanting, though, when it came to waders. It was down solely to just two Sanderlings at Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows NR (IL&M) on 30th to prop up the group over the period.
Continuing to prove difficult to catch up with so far this year, another fly-through Sandwich Tern – the third for 2024 – cruised south over Hollowell Res without stopping on 26th, while late in to Stanford on 31st was a first-summer Arctic Tern.
First-summer Arctic Tern, Stanford Res, 31st May 2024 (Chris Hubbard)
Characteristically more obliging, however, were two Black Terns – one at Summer Leys LNR on 30th and the other at IL&M on 30th-31st.
Black Tern, Summer Leys LNR, 30th May 2024 (Alan Coles)
While Bitterns were again at two localities during the week, Cattle Egrets put in appearances at four, which included singles at Stanwick GP, Summer Leys and Thrapston GP’s Titchmarsh LNR – all on 27th, four over Clifford Hill GP on 29th and two again at Summer Leys on 30th. Breeding seems likely to be on the cards … somewhere.
Cattle Egrets, Clifford Hill GP, 28th May 2024 (Tyler Atkinson)
Now becoming fashionably late, Short-eared Owls maintained their unseasonally high profile as they continued to linger into the final days of spring. One was up and about at Harrington AF on 25th and 28th, another put in daily appearances at Summer Leys between 27th and 30th and a third bird was seen at Blueberry Farm, Maidwell on 28th.
Short-eared Owl, Summer Leys LNR, 27th May 2024 (Ricky Sinfield)
And this week’s raptors were thin on the ground or, more precisely, in the air. But what was missing in quantity was made up for handsomely by quality. A Marsh Harrier was an unusual site visitor to Hollowell Res on 30th.
First-summer Marsh Harrier, Hollowell Res, 30th May 2024 (Jon Cook)
While this species may seem somewhat run-of-the-mill these days, a significant turn-up for the books this week emerged in the form of a nifty Montagu’s Harrier winging its way over farmland, just east of Bozeat, on the evening of 26th. Caught on camera by just one lucky observer, it was not seen again, despite subsequent visits to the area.
First-summer female Montagu’s Harrier, Bozeat, 26th May 2024 (Andy Howell)
This bird, only the eighteenth record for Northamptonshire, ties in nicely with a number of reports of others seen in the UK this year from late April and throughout May.
The overwhelming majority of previous county records have fallen into the same fly-by category but local birders of a certain vintage will no doubt have vivid recollections and fond memories of the bird which stuck around in the vicinity of Harrington AF for a week during May 1994. The presence of a male just over the border at Juniper Hill, Oxfordshire was hushed up during its stay in 2008 but it was seen in Northants on at least 4 dates in May of that year. Montagu’s Harrier is now Britain’s rarest ‘breeding’ raptor although, despite significant conservation efforts, it has not bred in the UK since 2019.
Unlike the above species, however, the bird of the week in terms of sheer popularity was a singing male Wood Warbler, on show to all comers at Harry’s Park Wood throughout the period.
Male Wood Warbler, Harry’s Park Wood, 25th May 2024 (James Underwood)Male Wood Warbler, Harry’s Park Wood, 25th May 2024 (Bob Bullock)Male Wood Warbler, Harry’s Park Wood, 29th May 2024 (Alan Coles)Male Wood Warbler, Harry’s Park Wood, 29th May 2024 (Nick Parker)
Having bred locally on occasions in the past, records over the last quarter century throw up a pattern of occurrence depicting a bird of consistent rarity, averaging less than two per year in the county.
Furthermore, the outlook for this species is bleak. The national Breeding Birds Survey shows a considerable and continuing decline, with a 76% decrease in the UK breeding population between 1995 and 2020 and declines also evident across northern and western Europe since 1980. It is now red-listed in the UK (BTO).
Ending with the winter solstice, above average temperatures, and ‘Storm Pia’ packing a punch through its delivery of strong north-westerly gales, the week just gone turned out to be one of somewhat diminishing returns.
In fact, we were well down on wildfowl this week with just the first-winter drake Greater Scaup at Pitsford Res standing as the sole representative of the period.
In the Nene Valley, a Jack Snipe at Ditchford GP on 18th was the only wader of note.
Gulls continued to provide a staple source of interest with one of the two previous day’s first-winter Mediterranean Gulls again in the roost at Stanford Res on 16th, while an adult visited Daventry CP on 18th and 22nd.
Adult Mediterranean Gull, Daventry CP, 22nd December 2023 (Gary Pullan)
Stanford’s roost also pulled in an adult Caspian Gull on 22nd and further adults were found at DIRFT 3 on 20th and at Rushton Recycling Centre – the site of the now defunct landfill – on 20th and 22nd. On the first of these two dates there was an apparent adult Caspian Gull x Herring Gull hybrid also present. Colloquially known in some quarters as ‘Cactus Gull’, aptly named by the derivation from cachinnans x argentatus, conclusively resolving the identification of such individuals can often present quite a thorny problem.
Apparent adult Caspian Gull x Herring Gull hybrid, Rushton Recycling Centre, 20th December 2023 (Mike Alibone)
The week’s Yellow-legged Gull slot was filled by single adults in the roost at Stanford on 16th, at Pitsford on 16th-17th and at Daventry CP on 22nd, while a second-winter was at Wicksteed Park Lakes, Kettering on 16th, two first-winters visited Pitsford on 17th and two adults were found at DIRFT 3 on 20th.
Second-winter Yellow-legged Gull, Wicksteed Park, Kettering, 16th December 2023 (James Underwood)
After apparently flying off on 10th, the (or a) juvenile Great Northern Diver was back at Pitsford on 16th, where it remained until at least 21st. With year-round disturbance through various recreational activities south of the causeway having reached an all-time high in recent years, this bird must be a glutton for punishment …
On 22nd a Bittern was found at Fawsley Park Lakes, an unusual site for this species but consistent with the gradual increase in numbers recorded in the county of late. Five sites appeared to produce Cattle Egrets this week. Eight were reported by the River Nene from Nine Arches Bridge at Thrapston on 16th, when seven were also seen at Stanwick GP and two remained at Stanford on Avon. One extended its stay at Wicksteed Water Meadows throughout the period and one was seen in flight over the A45 near Wellingborough on 18th.
Cattle Egret, Stanford on Avon, 16th December 2023 (Jon Cook)Cattle Egrets, Stanford on Avon, 16th December 2023 (Jon Cook)Cattle Egret, Wicksteed Water Meadows, Kettering, 16th December 2023 (James Underwood)
The period’s Marsh Harriers were restricted to singles at Ditchford GP’s Irthlingborough Lakes & Meadows NR on 18th and Thrapston’s Titchmarsh LNR two days later, on 20th. Once again, a single Nene Valley drifter may well have accounted for both sightings. Also on the harrier front, the ringtail Hen Harrier, found last week north of Irthlingborough, appeared settled and was seen daily in the vicinity of Neville’s Lodge, Finedon, where a second bird was also seen on 16th.
The same site hosted up to three Short-eared Owls throughout and a male Merlin was also there on 20th, while further Merlins were seen at Ditchford on 18th and near Lamport Hall the following day.
Male Stonechat, Summer Leys LNR, 16th December 2023 (John Bass)Female Stonechat, Earls Barton GP, 22nd December 2023 (Leslie Fox)
A paucity of passerines this week saw Stonechats down to twos at Pitsford on 16th, Ditchford on 18th, near Lamport on 19th and at Summer Leys LNR all week, while one was present at Earls Barton GP on 22nd.
Crossbills, Wakerley Great Wood, 20th December 2023 (Chris Sidebottom)Male Crossbill, Wakerley Great Wood, 20th December 2023 (Chris Sidebottom)
On 20th, two Crossbills were found at Lamport and up to twenty at Wakerley Great Wood on the same date maintained the species presence there into another week.
Northants birds 