Occasionally I go out to try and record all birds seen and heard on the patch, whether common species or not. I try to do this once a month but actually don't manage to do it every month. Today I went out and recorded forty-five species around the reservoir, woodland and Upper Cherwell Valley. In all honesty there was very little of note so this is a pretty reasonable number of species. I also made a bit of effort to record some plants. I needed the practise but the blog needed some spring colour too!
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| Hairy Bittercress |
There are now Chiffchaffs spread well over the patch and there were seven singing today. A few Goldcrests were singing but the overwintering birds seem to have cleared out. There are several Reed Buntings singing from suitable breeding habitat which is promising. Four Bullfinches are of note as I hadn't seen any for a while and two Linnets flew over.
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| Lesser Celandine |
Sat by the reservoir for a while hoping for something to pass through and the only thing of particular interest was Meadow Pipits going north. There were streams of gulls passing overhead and a few small groups dropping in the bath and drink before moving on. Mostly Common Gulls but a few Lesser Black-backed too.
In the Upper Cherwell Valley, at the Borrow Pit pool, there were ten Tufted Ducks and seven Coots. A Lapwing flew over, so maybe there are a few on territory near by. There are fresh Otter spriants under the railway bridge and the two brick canal bridges, so they are still quite active in the area. Several bumblebees were also active today. I assume they are Buff-tailed Bumblebees but I didn't get a good enough look at any of them to confirm that.
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| Common Dog Violet - traditional purple |
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| Common Dog Violet - less common white |
I was hoping for a singing Blackcap or some hirundines to pass through but it didn't happen. Next weekend for sure!
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| Blackthorn |
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