10th and 11th Aug 2015

John Friendship-Taylor: I visited the reservoir twice on Monday (10/08). The weather was rather contrasting, being very drizzly and cloudy at lunchtime,  however sunny and mild during the evening.

Rather surprisingly, the damp conditions failed to materialise anything really of note other than a flyover flock of 5 Cormorants, a bird I've not seen here for a while and a Willow Warbler within a small tit flock along by the river.

The evening saw a constant flow in and out of gulls, with particularly good numbers of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, well in excess of 30 birds, as well as a good smattering of Black Headed gulls too. A 1st-winter Herring Gull also popped in for a short while. Star bird though for the day was a juvenile Peregrine arriving from the north, causing havoc amonst the gulls! It gradually cruised through SW, briefly attacking a juvenile Lesser Black Backed Gull mid-air, before continuing on. A nice record and makes you wonder how close by it had been raised.

Today (Tuesday 11/08), closeby, I had a Hobby flying north over the M40 Banbury junction on my way to work, while waiting at the traffic lights!

I again visited at lunchtime and this evening. Gulls were not in as greater numbers as the previous day and overall there was very little about of note. However, what was nice was the appearance of 2 presumably migrant Lesser Whitethroat, moving around the perimeter bushes towards the SW corner of the reservoir.