Trip reports

Summer Leys

Sunday, 19 April 2009

A group of us visited this reserve centred on old gravel workings by the River Nene south of Wellingborough. Though the sun came out, it stayed pretty cold for the 2 mile walk round.
We'd a good start, with a pair of great crested grebes displaying not 20 feet away, offering each other weed with characteristic head flicks. We also saw breeding activity from oystercatchers and lapwings, and there were common terns fishing, along with a single arctic tern. Birds we saw by the water's edge included ringed and little-ringed plover, yellow wagtails and white wagtails, and a common sandpiper. At the feeding station there was a good showing from the resident tree sparrows and reed buntings. Recent arrivals included sedge warbler and willow warbler, and there were a few swallows and sand martins on the wing. Besides 63 bird species, we saw a selection of butterflies - peacock, orange tip, brimstone, and both small and large white. There were also many clouds of alderflies.