Bank Holiday around the county

I spent Bank Holiday Monday (22/04) visiting a few Northants sites. It was a warm, sunny day, however despite the lack of cloud and rain, migrants were plentiful.

I began at Summer Leys, walking a full circuit of the reserve and adjacent Mary's Lake. A really good stroll about, with 7 adult Little Gulls, a flyover Marsh Harrier, an all-too-brief flock of 28 Barwits & one Black Tailed Godwit, a distant pair of Garganey in Wader Bay and a few late Fieldfares.







Other migrants included my first Garden & Reed Warblers of the year, Cuckoo, a couple of LRPs and lots of Warblers.







On next to Thrapston GPs, particularly to enjoy the two singing Nightingales that had recently arrived back. Walking up, I found the single, very distant Black Tern on Town Lake that was reported earlier. I watched it for a bit and then walked the short distance further along the river to the Nightingales which I could soon hear giving it full beans!

I sat down on the grass to enjoy them both, competing across the river. Sat next to one of them really did allow me to appreciate just how loud they are. A Blackcap singing closeby just couldn't compete! A little while later the Nightingale did venture out of the scrub for a short while but not for long before it flicked off to sing from another nearby bush. I left them to it!







After the Nightingales, I spent a bit of time scanning Aldwincle Lake and managed to pick out at least 1 Arctic Tern amongst good numbers of Commons.

On the walk back to the car, I spent a bit of time enjoying a particularly showy, displaying Sedgie. He was fully content sitting on top of his favoured pathside brambles and with a bit of fieldcraft, I was able to enjoy class views as he rattled off his repertoire!

Visits to both Hollowell Reservoir and then Harrington Airfield yielded very little - the latter has been holding regular reeling Groppers for last 10 days or so, so pretty disappointing not to connect. My luck with Groppers is usually pretty shite to be honest! 

Ah well, a fun day's birding, so all good!