01st Jul 2015

At just after 16:30 this afternoon I got a text from Mark Ribbons to say there were two terns at the reservoir and by the time I had read it another text came to say there was three! Mark hadn't specified which species so I assumed Common, but gave him a ring to check and going through a few features we decided they were all Common. An interesting sighting for this time of year.

Mark also had a roving tit flock in the wood that had juvenile Treecreeper and Chiffchaff with them and a Southern Hawker at the Borrow Pit pool in the Upper Cherwell Valley. The latter a species I'm keen to catch up with.

I stopped in when I got back from work to find John Friendship-Taylor there and the three terns still present. A Common Gull (a summer 2cy bird) had turned up adding further interest to the day. Whilst talking to John he told me about two Painted Lady Butterflies that he had seen along the eastern bank, but I failed to relocate them. As we were talking a fourth tern dropped in, another Common. We also had a juvenile Black-headed Gull fly through. We watched the terns for a while and they chased each other, calling frequently and catching fish to present to each other, seemingly in two pairs. I am a bit unsure as to what these birds are doing here now and why they are behaving like bonding pairs but it's great to have them.

Courtesy and copyright of John Friendship-Taylor

Courtesy and copyright of John Friendship-Taylor

Courtesy and copyright of John Friendship-Taylor

When John left, I continued around and found a Little Ringed Plover on the western bank. I can't say for sure but I assume this is the same bird as a few days ago.

All in all a good evening and certainly worth a bit more effort now birds (and invertebrates) are dropping in again.