So we're into February already, often quite a slow month on the birding calendar with all the excitement of new year ticks more or less died down and yet no migrants to look forward to for another month at least. For this last week there hasn't been much to report: the gull roost has been a rather modest affair with just one or two YELLOW-LEGGED GULLS each evening worthy of note. There hasn't been much change on the wildfowl and wader front either though on Friday I did manage to find the first BLACK-TAILED GODWIT of the year tucked up asleep in amongst the Lapwing flock. The pair of SHELDUCK did visit the floods one day this week, we've a handful of PINTAIL with us still and we're still getting modest counts of GOOSANDER roosting with us each evening.
 |
| The over-wintering Stonechat is still around down by the bridge neat the boat moorings |
After my posting of the wanted list for the year list last week I have had a few sightings reported to me with Coot and TUFTED DUCK both found by Ian Curtis as predicted at Wolvercote. A flock of 8 SNIPE were seen by Thomas Miller on the floods one day recently and BUZZARD was reported by both Mary MacDougall in Burgess Field and Nicola Devine over the Trap Grounds. So below is a list of the remaining birds that I might expect at this time of year.
Brambling
Curlew
Dunlin
Skylark
Oystercatcher
Lesser Redpoll
 |
| The Winter Heliotrope has been in flower in the Trap Grounds for some time now |
Saw a teal on Wednesday. Could it possibly have been a green winged?
ReplyDeleteUnlikely Ian, there are hundreds of Eurasian Teal that spend the winter on the Meadow so unless you specifically saw the diagnostic vertical white breast marks that distinguishes GW Teal from Eurasian then the answer is going to be no.
ReplyDeleteI've seen and heard Skylark over the northern end of the Meadow. No Bramblings or Lesser Redpolls in the garden yet, though I'm keeping my eyes peeled.
ReplyDelete