18th Apr 2016: Osprey and Kittiwake (s?)

Another very busy and bird filled day for Grimsbury. There was a lot to be seen and unfortunately for some of us a lot to be missed.

Ian Rowe started off the day well early morning with a Kittiwake that stopped in briefly before flying off north east. There was also a Common Tern (that had moved on by lunch time), two Common Sandpipers, a Lesser Redpoll over south and a singing Whitethroat. 

John nipped in for his usual lunch time walk and continued with some more very good birds. A Kittiwake was circling the reservoir when he got there, not over the water but not too high either. This is most likely a different bird to the one Ian had seen but to have two in one day is pretty special and there wasn't many reports of other birds through over land today. He then had an Osprey come in and start circling the reservoir. The Osprey circled for several minutes but in the end decided to move on north west and the Kittiwake followed it. I was already on my way to try and see the Kittiwake and just about managed to get a distant view of the Osprey from the railway bridge on Grimsbury Green before it disappeared, but missed the Kittiwake. He saw a Redstart in the bushes on the western side before he left. 

Courtesy and copyright of JFT

Courtesy and copyright of JFT

Mid afternoon Mark had 19 Tufted Ducks and a Common Sandpiper at the Borrow Pit pool in the Upper Cherwell Valley. To top the day off, John was out again after work. Nothing quite so exciting this time but he had another Dunlin and the two Common Sandpipers so they must have decided to stay for the day.