15th May 2016

John and I were out very very early today for a breeding bird survey of the Upper Cherwell Valley. As we walked up past the reservoir it was quite picturesque with mist rising off the water and the sun just rising above the trees. There was a single Common Sandpiper here but not a lot else. The Grey Wagtails have left the nest and we feared they had been predated but checking the book they leave the nest at 11 to 13 days but can't fly until c.17 days, so maybe they are just tucked away somewhere out of sight. On our way back from the survey there were three Common Terns at the reservoir.

The breeding bird survey was very good. I always find May the better month for breeding bird surveys. Most of the migrant birds you expect to be here have arrived but the earlier migrants haven't gone too quiet. The downside is most of the resident birds are quietly raising broods, and an example of this is that I hardly recorded any Blackbirds.

The highlights were the Grasshopper Warbler still present (which Mark also heard later in the afternoon), five or six Reed Warblers and a few Garden Warblers. John also thought he heard a distant Cuckoo a couple of times but couldn't pin it down. cuckoo would be a patch mega! Also of interest is that both John and I thought that Heron may have nested somewhere based on the activity seen. We also saw several Roe Deer, a Fox and that the first Large Red Damselflies emerging.

The most bizarre thing is a call I heard that I cannot identify (it can be heard in the video below). I heard it and stopped to listen as I couldn't identify it, it stopped so I walked on. It then started again behind me, so I know it was in the grass. Ideas I had were some kind of rail or crake (long shot I know!), but none of them fit. An owl? No, none of them fit either. I put the video out yesterday afternoon and the best suggestion so far is a Roe Deer fawn calling. It makes sense, as I had seen at least five adults, but maybe I would have seen a fawn too? Any ideas or suggestions welcomed!