14th Sept - SABINE'S GULL - sunny spells, a few light showers pm, light- fresh NW 14C

Willey;  Swallows still around village and fields.  A few Meadow Pipits heading over south this morning. A Jay flew from the cross-in-hand spinney over the fields, no doubt looking for food it may hide for the winter.

Daventry CP.  Sabines Gull, a Juv was reported yesterday evening and was still there this morning so I went to see it. A lovely small Gull, especially when it flies and shows its distinctive wing pattern. At times it was very close on the shore, before flying off and coming back to the reservoir.  I managed some record photos, though the sun was very bright,  before it went on a flight.

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Other notable birds present were 2 Ruff, a Greenshank and 3 Common Sandpipers, with Sand and House Martins preset too.

Several Red Admiral, Comma and other butterflies were on the wing like these on Ivy.

Stanford reservoir; I made a visit here late afternoon, there were many hirundines, ~ 1000, overhead and it was not long before I could pick out a Swift among them.  Two Sparrowhawks were flying around, sometimes together and disturbing the Lapwings went the flew past them.  At least 50 Shoveler were counted, plus Teal, Gadwall and a single Wigeon, Mute Swan totaled 57.  In the larger bay a Tern appeared in to view, it was a juv Arctic Tern that was first spotted last evening by Chris and unexpectedly was still here today.

Photo Chris Hubbard

Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers were heard and a skulking Whitethroat was spotted in the bramble thicket.

13th Sept - sunny am, showers pm, light- moderate SW, 15C

Willey;  a storm went through during the night from the SW, with gusty strong wind and rain, although here we got away much better than elsewhere.
~25 Swallows still around the village.  Occasional butterfly - Peacock, Red Admiral or Small Tortoiseshell - on the wing still.  In the evening a couple of Sand martins were feeding over the village with the Swallows, as dusk arrived some of the Swallows dived in to the sheds to roost.

Shawell Lagoons;  I had a look here this morning, unfortunately it was really quiet with only a few Gulls, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe and Pied Wagtail, with a flock of Canada Geese.  I then looked at the pools at nearby Sandy Lane, these were also quiet apart from a Red Kite overhead being hassled by Jackdaws.

12th Sept - sunny morning, cloud building and wind freshening. 17C

Willey; About 25 Swallows seen around the village and fields this morning.  Last year my last Swallow seen here was on the 9th Sept and the year before the 1st Oct.

Stanford reservoir; a trip here this afternoon produced a Swift among the many hirundines.  A Greenshank was feeding around the edge of an island, a Green Sandpiper was at the inlet pool weir.  Three Kestrel were around, one a juvenile calling loudly.

11th Sept - sunny spells, frequent showers, sometimes blustery, 15C

Willey, Swallows still around village and fields.

No time for further obs today.

The west of the country has been experiencing good numbers of seabirds coming close inshore or inland due to the strong winds, also a number of North American waders are beginning to turn up due to the weather conditions.

10th Sept - few sunny spells, cloud increasing showers late pm, moderate, sometimes strong blustery, SSW, 15C

Willey;  Swallows still around village and fields.

Stanford reservoir;  there were many hirundines here this afternoon, maybe as many as 1000, the majority were House Martins, with Sand martins and Swallows too.  Not surprisingly, a Hobby showed up and tried to catch hirundine.  A Red Kite flew over eastwards.

The ringers have been busy this weekend at Stanford reservoir and clearly shows that migration is going on, even though the weather is not brilliant for us and that while birding few birds are sometimes seen.  This weekend they ringed 657 new birds, which included 450 Blackcap and 75 Chiffchaff.   I was lucky to see a handful of Blackcap when birding during this time!

9th Sept - sunny spells and showers, light, sometimes breezy WSW, 16C

Willey; c30 Swallows still around the village and fields.  Jackdaws seem to be more active this time of year inspecting the Sheep for possible food, like this one and several others this morning.

Stanford reservoir; the Marsh Harrier was again reported, but my searching and watching failed to find it. There were plenty of hirundines in again including a single Swift.  A single Black-tailed Godwit was among the Lapwing on the island and a Snipe flew over calling.  Mixed flocks of warblers and Tits were roving around the bushes.  Otherwise all the usual species were seen again, with Teal and Shoveler numbers still increasing, heading towards 100 each.

8th Sept - sunny spells and showers, especially pm, 16C, light SW-W

Willey; about Swallows still around the village and fields, occasional Meadow Pipit. A 'charm' of ~20 Goldfinch around the village this morning, probably visiting a garden feed area, Nuthatch in Church yard trees.

Stanford reservoir; the Marsh Harrier was reported again, so mid afternoon I managed to get there, but the bird was not found again.  It very likely hunts the fields in the area too, of which there are many suitable.  While waiting there were many hirundines again and I managed to find a single Swift, I think my latest record here.  At one point all the birds went up off the island, promising as they react like this a predator, nothing was spotted particularly but a Black-tailed Godwit was present with the Lapwing and another wader, but too late to identify before out of view, possibly a Golden Plover.  Hopefully, the Harrier will stay a little longer yet.