10th Nov 2015

John and I were both out this morning but despite our efforts and there being good numbers of birds around, there was little in terms of quality. As John summed it up in a message to me 'slim pickings'.

There was a few Meadow Pipits around, a couple of small groups of Siskins and a couple of Common Gulls at the reservoir. A couple of Coal Tits in the wood. so it wasn't until I'd got to the Upper Cherwell Valley that I found anything of particular note.

There was the pair of Stonechats in the scrubby area by the river, which were close enough to photograph but I got my settings wrong for the dull light and were all a wasted effort. Three Little Grebes were on the Borrow Pit pool and a gathering of Lesser Black-backed Gulls loafing in the fields with three Herring Gulls amongst them. Whilst scanning through them a Snipe dropped into the vegetation by the river.

In the afternoon I went out to check the gull roost. despite large numbers of gulls there was only Black-headed and Lesser Black-backs as far as I could see. Of interest there were eight Yellow-legged Gulls and a Mediterranean Gull reported in the Boddington Reservoir roost today and I wonder how many of these birds are ones we have been seeing here.