Saturday, 26 August 2017
26th Aug 2016
This morning John had a juvenile Ringed Plover fly in for a little rest before continuing high south west. There was also a Common Sandpiper and one, or possibly two, Snipe that flew through. Over head there was at least 11 Yellow Wagtails and a Meadow Pipit. So there was obviously a bit of passage last night into this morning.
Wednesday, 23 August 2017
23rd Aug 2017
This evening the female Redstart was still present and there was a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, both seen by John.
Tuesday, 22 August 2017
22nd Aug 2017: Common Scoters
john had another great day and found four (three drake) Common Scoters this morning. At one point they did fly off north but returned and fell asleep. By lunch time though, they had gone. This is a great record for here, with the last birds being a pair seen in March 2013.
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| Photo courtesy and copyright of JFT |
Monday, 21 August 2017
21st Aug 2017
John had a great day, which started by finding a Redstart at lunchtime. In the evening he then found three Wheatears, which turned to five and then seven! There was clearly a bit of movement and a mini fall as he also had five Yellow Wagtails over. Other than that there was a Yellow-legged Gull.
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| Both pictures courtesy and copyright of JFT |
Sunday, 20 August 2017
20th Aug 2017
Canada Goose numbers are increasing still and Steve had 186 on Monday and John had 193 on Friday evening. There were two Yellow Wagtails on Tuesday morning that john saw. Also on Friday evening John had a juvenile Med Gull and around 50 Swifts.
This afternoon Steve had a Yellow-legged Gull in with 31 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Peregrine over north.
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| Photos courtesy and copyright of JFT |
This afternoon Steve had a Yellow-legged Gull in with 31 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Peregrine over north.
Sunday, 13 August 2017
13th Aug 2017
The highlight of the w week was on Monday, when John found a Dunlin at lunch time. There was also a Little Egret around, a Willow Warbler and two Common Terns. The Dunlin was still present in the evening when Adrian and Sandra visited but it had left before dusk. Of note they also had c.50 Swifts gathered, which may have been passage birds.
John saw a Wheatear on Tuesday but there was not a lot else around. There seemed to be a steady passage of Sand Martins this week. The most seen was 20 on Wednesday, but there were other smaller groups on other days. There has also been an increase in Canada Geese loafing at the reservoir.
Today Colin was out in the morning and late afternoon. This morning there was a Yellow Wagtail and good numbers of the other wagtails. He also watched two Kingfishers fighting on the pontoon! This afternoon there was a Yellow-legged Gull.
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| Both photos courtesy and copyright of JFT |
John saw a Wheatear on Tuesday but there was not a lot else around. There seemed to be a steady passage of Sand Martins this week. The most seen was 20 on Wednesday, but there were other smaller groups on other days. There has also been an increase in Canada Geese loafing at the reservoir.
Today Colin was out in the morning and late afternoon. This morning there was a Yellow Wagtail and good numbers of the other wagtails. He also watched two Kingfishers fighting on the pontoon! This afternoon there was a Yellow-legged Gull.
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| Photos courtesy and copyright of Colin Wilkinson |
Friday, 4 August 2017
4th Aug 2017: Spotted Flycatcher
Gareth has been away for the week with work, so I'm (John) filling in for a bit.
Colin & Steve had a walk around the reservoir & Upper Cherwell Valley on Sunday 30th July. They saw 2 adult Common Terns & a Common Sandpiper at the reservoir, while at the Borrow Pit, there were 6 Little Grebe (including 2 juveniles) & 3 Sand Martin. They also had a Red Underwing moth land on a car in the car park!
On Monday 31st July, Mike paid the reservoir a morning visit, seeing a single adult Common Tern and a Great Crested Grebe. At lunchtime I came across the same, plus a couple of ringed Black Headed Gulls loafing on the pontoon, however they were small metal rings and I just couldn't read them!
On Tuesday 01/08, Common Tern numbers were back up to 5 (4 adults, 1 juvenile), on my usual lunchtime visit. The Great Crested Grebe was also still present. Later on that afternoon, Steve saw one adult Common Tern feeding the juvenile. He also counted 64 Black Headed Gull (including 23 juveniles), while Canada Goose numbers had built up somewhat, to 79.
Colin & Steve had a walk around the reservoir & Upper Cherwell Valley on Sunday 30th July. They saw 2 adult Common Terns & a Common Sandpiper at the reservoir, while at the Borrow Pit, there were 6 Little Grebe (including 2 juveniles) & 3 Sand Martin. They also had a Red Underwing moth land on a car in the car park!
On Monday 31st July, Mike paid the reservoir a morning visit, seeing a single adult Common Tern and a Great Crested Grebe. At lunchtime I came across the same, plus a couple of ringed Black Headed Gulls loafing on the pontoon, however they were small metal rings and I just couldn't read them!
On Tuesday 01/08, Common Tern numbers were back up to 5 (4 adults, 1 juvenile), on my usual lunchtime visit. The Great Crested Grebe was also still present. Later on that afternoon, Steve saw one adult Common Tern feeding the juvenile. He also counted 64 Black Headed Gull (including 23 juveniles), while Canada Goose numbers had built up somewhat, to 79.
It rained for much of Wednesday 2nd, however I popped in at lunchtime and on my way home. Despite the unsettled conditions, there was a little to get excited about. A Common Sandpiper was new in and there were 2 Common Terns still about (1adult, 1 juv).
Yesterday was been pretty windy and unsettled. Just one Common Tern & 3 Sand Martins the best. Today there was no sign of any terns, however finally something a bit different was about with a Spotted Flycatcher along the fence at the southern edge of the cattle field, a new bird for the year, the first for quite sometime!
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