Migratory Northamptonshire!

Hello

The spring of 2021 in the county was a particularly good one for exciting migrants and migration in general and it seems this spring is going that way too!

After feeding the birds at Kelmarsh Hall and checking a couple of spots in the Brampton Valley this morning, I took a quick walk around part of Harrington Airfield which supported about twenty Bramblings and plenty of Linnets and Yellowhammers and other birds coming down for seed. A few more singing Willow Warblers were in and included ringed birds and are presumably breeders from previous years. A singing Common Whitethroat is one of my earliest ever and a Raven was there too.

A Spoonbill was seen flying over Summer Leys at about 3pm this afternoon and then seen again flying up from Mary's lake almost an hour later. Other birds there and at the Earls Barton complex generally included a Grasshopper Warbler (Quarry Walk), four Sandwich Terns flying west just before 3pm, two Common Sandpipers, four Garganey and two Great White Egrets.

A pair of Garganey were on the Titchmarsh reserve at Thrapston Pits at 1.30pm and four heron species on view at Woodford included seven Cattle Egrets, a Little Egret and a Great White Egret. Four Yellow Wagtails were at the Broadholme Sewer Treatment works at Ditchford.

At Upton Country Park the Wood Sandpiper was still present this afternoon as was a Green Sandpiper, three Little Ringed Plovers, two Grey Wagtails, a White Wagtail (Upton Mill) and Swallows.

Away from the Nene Valley and Honey Hill at Cold Ashby was a hotspot with five Ring Ouzels there today plus a male Common Redstart and a Wheatear. Five Wheatears and about fifty Yellowhammers were at Hartwell near the quarry track this afternoon and a Cuckoo was heard calling at Yardley Chase this morning.

Hollowell Reservoir hosted an Osprey, two Jack Snipe, eight Common Snipe, a Great White Egret and five singing Willow Warblers. A Sanderling and a Dunlin were discovered rather late on the causeway at Pitsford Reservoir and there were at least twenty-five Yellow Wagtails and a Common Sandpiper at the dam this evening.

The birds at Stanford Reservoir today included a fly-through Greenshank, a Sedge Warbler, a Common Whitethroat, three Cetti's Warblers, a Barn Owl and two Yellow Wagtails. A Swallow graced Hanging Houghton this morning with it's presence!

Regards

Neil M

Dark-edged Bee Fly
courtesy of John Gamble.

Ring Ouzel courtesy
of David Arden.

Sandwich Tern.

Spoonbill.