03rd Dec 2015: Brent Goose!

John had visited the reservoir at lunchtime yesterday, but there was nothing much to report. Today was a very different story though. It really highlights the fact that an interesting bird could turn up at any time 'out of the blue'.

The outstanding highlight of today was a juvenile Dark-bellied Brent Goose that had decided to join the Canada Geese. It was first on the reservoir and then moved with the Canada Geese to feed in the cattle field. The only other records of Brent Geese here that I know of are of eight flying over in December 1987 and one being present in January 1988. So this is a rare bird here. When I saw it it appeared to be hobbling and may have an injured leg. This won't stop it from leaving but may encourage it to stay around for a short while.

Photos courtesy and copyright of John Friendship-Taylor

The next bit of quality was a Dunlin that John heard calling as it flew in. It settled briefly at the reservoir before heading off high to the east. It is quite unusual to have one at this time of year as they are usually seen here in spring or autumn passage. There was also a Peregrine that flew over north.

01st Dec 2015

The last few days of November were very quiet and as a result there were no blog posts. This morning was still fairly quiet but there was enough to spur me on to do a blog post.

The highlight of the morning walk was two Willow Tits. These were in the scrub along the river just to the north of the wood. With no sightings for a few weeks it was good to see they were still here, although I didn't manage any good photos.

Otherwise, there was a Tufted Duck on the reservoir and a few Siskins over. It was amazing to see the Wood Pigeons leaving the roost in the wood. They come streaming out by the hundreds and then you realise they all managed to find a space in there to roost in the first place.

As I left a large grey mantled gull flew through south. I didn't see enough of it to confirm the identity so it will go unidentified unless anyone wants to have a crack at it.. it appears to have a slight band on P5 but has quite thick wedge of black on the primaries...

27th Nov 2015

John was out at lunch time today and had a pair of Peregrines flying high over the reservoir. Other than that a Lesser Redpoll was the only other notable bird.

26th Nov 2015: Goldeneye

As I walked up the path along the embankment to get a view over the water, one of the first things I saw was a medium sized white bird out in the centre. A quick look through the binoculars revealed a drake Goosander. As I scanned across I realised that there was actually two drakes and a third redhead had joined the existing two redheads. Scanning further up I could see two smaller diving ducks, a Tufted Duck and a Goldeneye. Goldeneye is just about an annual bird here and is a new one for the year list.

I had a look around the wood and up in the valley too, but there wasn't much more of interest. the best bits being a flock of c.30 finches, mostly Goldfinch and some Siskins, and four Little Grebes on the Borrow Pit pool.

Walking back down past the reservoir a third drake Goosander flew in to join the others. Six is the highest number I have seen here I think, matching the biggest total from earlier this year.

25th Nov 2015

John visited at lunch time today and the two Goosanders are still present. A Kingfisher also showed very well by the pontoons and a Lesser Redpoll flew over again.

Courtesy and copyright of John Friendship-Taylor

24th Nov 2015

The two Goosanders found yesterday were still present this morning. they were loafing on the embankment and were later seen fishing by the pontoon.

They was not a lot else of note seen but a Lesser Redpoll flew over and a small flock of Siskins were along the river.

23rd Nov 2015

John visited the reservoir during his lunch break today and had a good few birds, the highlight being two redhead Goosanders. It would be really nice if some stay around in the area again this winter.

Courtesy and copyright of John Friendship-Taylor

There was also a Lesser Redpoll that flew over and the ringed Black-headed Gull from Denmark (VK40) that was first seen a few weeks ago.

Courtesy and copyright of JFT

21st Nov 2015

I was out twice today with high optimism that something of interest would be around. It was a cold day and very windy to start with, but pleasant. Unfortunately the birding was not what I was anticipating, though I'm sure we are due something good again soon.

A Greylag Goose was in with the Canada Geese at the reservoir and several Siskins were buzzing around the tree tops. The wood, where I thought there would be birds sheltering from the wind, was actually very quiet.

Up in the river valley there was a few bits of interest. A Snipe flushed from the wet scrape near the Borrow Pit pool, a Stonechat was in the scrubby area by the river and two small flocks of Lapwings flew over (seven and eighteen). Little groups of thrushes and Wood Pigeons were on the move but no big flocks. A Lesser Redpoll was still in the area and there were 26 Cormorants roosting in the trees late afternoon.

19th Nov 2015

A quick look around this morning and it was very quiet. The Little Egret flew over the reservoir towards Spiceball Park, but other than that there were actually very few birds around.

I'm beginning to think we might struggle to get to 130 bird species now, with fewer and fewer possible species to see and less time to see them. Any records of birds, especially new species, are still very welcome.

18th Nov 2015

Another fairly standard day today but a few bits of interest. I was hoping for something to have been blown in by the strong winds but nothing that exciting happened. On the walk up to the reservoir there was a large post roost gathering of Black-headed Gulls that steadily flew off to the west. There were 17 Cormorants fishing this morning, mostly as one big group diving and working together. I watched them for a little while and on most dives resulted in a positive catch for each bird.

At the back of the wood the Little Egret was flying over the river and appeared to settle round the corner and behind the trees. A Lesser Redpoll was in the area again but I only saw it in flight today. Further up at the Borrow Pit pool there were three Little Grebes and a family party of Mute Swans. I assumed it was the same group as before but there were six juveniles, so it is either another group or they have adopted one from somewhere else...

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.

14th Nov 2015

It was a funny old day today and the weather forecast put me off going out too early. Unfortunately the weather forecast was quite wrong and the weather was much better than I had expected. So, it was mid morning before I got myself going to have a stroll around the patch.

There were not many highlights, I have to be honest. At one Lesser Redpoll was heard at the back of the woods and a Herring Gull was in the Upper Cherwell Valley. Otherwise it was pretty much business as usual.

12th and 13th Nov 2015

12th:

John was out yesterday morning for a look around. There wasn't a lot around, but he did see a ringed Black-headed Gull. Unfortunately it only had a metal ring and no details could be obtained. He also saw twelve Cormorants, so the numbers are definitely building as we head into winter.

13th:

I headed out twice today. This morning as I approached the reservoir a flock of seventeen Lapwing flew up, possibly from the reservoir but more likely from the cattle field. Other than that it was ridiculously quiet. The family group of Mute Swans dropped in, so it was nice to see they are still doing well.

This afternoon I went to look for gulls. There wasn't many around today. A few Common gulls was the highlight. There was the same, or possibly another, metal ringed Black-headed Gull too.

11th Nov 2015

A quick walk this morning before work was quite productive, but only for anyone interested in gulls and I have to admit I'm really getting the bug! The only other birds that caught my attention were several Meadow Pipits and a couple of Skylarks going over. There was also a few reasonably sized flocks of Wood Pigeons going over, each flock being  around a hundred birds.

To start with I scanned through the Black-headed Gulls looking for leg rings. I did spot one ring but it flushed before I could get the details. So I moved on to the Lesser Black-backs that were beginning to gather. There was at least seven Common Gulls with them, with a few birds coming and going. It wasn't long before and adult Yellow-legged Gull dropped in.

Next I spotted a third calender year bird amongst the group.

I had been looking at them for a while before I noticed the third, which is a second calender year bird. I took my time with this one to be sure of the identification (and I think I've got it right). It was often next to Lesser Black-backs of the same age for comparison. I managed to see all three close together before I left.

Mark Ribbons visited this afternoon and had a good haul of birds. The best of which was a Willow Tit in the wood by the railway bridge but there was also two Siskins, two Treecreepers, Kingfisher and a nice list of commoner species.

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.