16th Nov 2016

I went out for a walk pre-work this morning and was rewarded with a good bird as soon as I got out of the car. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a Little Egret fly into the river (Spiceball Park side) and disappear from view. I got boots on and went to find it but it had already moved on.

At the reservoir there was a gathering of c.70 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a lone third calender year bird joined them later on. There was at least four Bullfinches along the river and a nice little group of 16 Siskins. There was also several Meadow Pipits around and a few fragmented groups of tits. A Kingfisher was at the reservoir and then flew up or down the river several times.

At the back of the wood, where the two parts of the River Cherwell merge together again, I found the egret. It must have flown back over when I wasn't looking. It flew up into a tree when it saw me and was almost instantly mobbed by a Sparrowhawk and then three crows. It sat there for a while before deciding it would be better off in some lower scrub. I then decided I should leave it in peace.