tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4371037499003066912024-03-16T18:13:02.788+00:00Port Meadow BirdingAdam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.comBlogger796125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-1421955380471625882024-02-05T18:22:00.002+00:002024-02-05T18:22:50.115+00:00January Update<p style="text-align: justify;">So here we are into February already. January is generally a time for catching up with the usual residents and winter visitors for the purposes of the year list but this month we've had some really nice birds. In fact there were two species which didn't make it onto the record breaking year list total of last year so they must be pretty good! The weather has been mixed with lots of floods at the start of the year, then a severe cold snap which froze everything over and then some mild but rather dry weather to see the month out.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We have to start our report with <b>Waxwings</b>. As I'm sure many readers will already be aware, this winter is a "Waxwing Winter" (see <a href="http://oxfordbirder.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-waxwing-winter.html">here</a>) where sufficient numbers of these Scandinanvian berry bandits have invaded the country for there to be a fighting chance of Oxon getting some. However it wasn't until January that we finally got some twitchable birds in the county and fortunately they were on the Port Meadow patch! There were between 2 and 8 birds, most easily seen at the end of Plater Drive where they would launch raids on a Sorbus Tree there. They stayed on and off for about a week and were much enjoyed by many people.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mYK0fLfqi8H8zcOtng7gIUTf3T5mpEQjOakgOb3hRtEWTUv3ODN7H3RIRFPDd_M-rEi_YXnJyl4brGmgvVGx7vdu-rSvGpoyCxbj9drQARJ0qwWMZ2_7iwFPVBifrxYpZ03z06TnMak8S20z2SuHSw5qcYNWanvJKu1b6yD_9puw2lEGwTwyyMSmjYgj/s600/_WW1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mYK0fLfqi8H8zcOtng7gIUTf3T5mpEQjOakgOb3hRtEWTUv3ODN7H3RIRFPDd_M-rEi_YXnJyl4brGmgvVGx7vdu-rSvGpoyCxbj9drQARJ0qwWMZ2_7iwFPVBifrxYpZ03z06TnMak8S20z2SuHSw5qcYNWanvJKu1b6yD_9puw2lEGwTwyyMSmjYgj/s16000/_WW1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Waxwing on the lookout</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhyphenhyphen5hCqu1yIK3ydwuDhmEt0p0oP04nNKkSPHF-1LiQKGEocikgcUVXzDfWnJESAwoclQbLIDlov0F_YsW2p7Eb10wSBSWGk0F4341EmKD6LMdRdZVhrm_CIIdM3t1d-SKWyGrV_ukESBgzPUR18FRvVeeI8wBkuqc35ZlKLs4DkJH_hDyCJfp6a7F2RU/s640/_WW_BS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="640" height="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhyphenhyphen5hCqu1yIK3ydwuDhmEt0p0oP04nNKkSPHF-1LiQKGEocikgcUVXzDfWnJESAwoclQbLIDlov0F_YsW2p7Eb10wSBSWGk0F4341EmKD6LMdRdZVhrm_CIIdM3t1d-SKWyGrV_ukESBgzPUR18FRvVeeI8wBkuqc35ZlKLs4DkJH_hDyCJfp6a7F2RU/w640-h566/_WW_BS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Courtesy of Ben Sheldon</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wXpitRmttNk?vq=hd720" title="Oxford Waxwings" width="560"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>A compilation video</i></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sadly, there have been no further reports at all for a couple of weeks now anywhere within the county. One almost has the feeling that they are on their way back north now already.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The second bird of note was <b>Jack Snipe</b>. This species is presumably annual on the patch though it is not recorded every year given how elusive and hard to see they are. However, the unuusually extreme flooding gave the opportunity for some of the local ringers to find some of them using a thermal imager and even managing to trap one or two and ring them. I was lucky to be invited along to see one in the hand before it was released.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8tVzWbb6EmGn6RwX9kMtZyRUL2uSAh62DC0rczSI01MMmqhcuS4LUsOyamQQfQoYRhL3sX0IQYE4psfVT7_mEZ037u4mNeabn-RnFiIUbCNEfN-Cwd852jSD5F6Lx1-A2qecAwdwtHLyMly8c0EmTLDedjPUuBZBebd9ORXXLyNZdu_3LG6Mw2sbczM/s640/IMG_3749.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO8tVzWbb6EmGn6RwX9kMtZyRUL2uSAh62DC0rczSI01MMmqhcuS4LUsOyamQQfQoYRhL3sX0IQYE4psfVT7_mEZ037u4mNeabn-RnFiIUbCNEfN-Cwd852jSD5F6Lx1-A2qecAwdwtHLyMly8c0EmTLDedjPUuBZBebd9ORXXLyNZdu_3LG6Mw2sbczM/w480-h640/IMG_3749.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Jack Snipe "in the hand"</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We've had lots of <b>Chiffchaff </b>loitering around Burgess Field entrance gate with up to two <b>Siberian Chiffchaff</b> (the ringed and the unringed) in amongst them. It's wonderful that this striking subspecies is becoming annual on the patch. Talking of warblers, as for most years, I've had a pair of over-wintering <b>Blackcap</b> in my garden.<br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bg7kYjGgg-E" title="Siberian Chiffchaff courtesy of Thomas Miller" width="560"></iframe><br /><i>The ringed Siberian Chiffchaff courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKeNpYW6Zb_QRU3vttBDDKZ0ufpDafyARGqHH2hARJtSlSVZCcGZsvw-ArHird2UB-sn4T_D9DVhbF8Dve-CRpZAfkzorL-drNtusZ31kOFb4aB5pU7ti_2iTsbL4t7kvCYfJXfDM54V63hINgEz6bgYCXYGgveFbcLtIVQfdND8GdiBuSfadPKYeTukh/s2048/_rSC_BS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1628" data-original-width="2048" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKeNpYW6Zb_QRU3vttBDDKZ0ufpDafyARGqHH2hARJtSlSVZCcGZsvw-ArHird2UB-sn4T_D9DVhbF8Dve-CRpZAfkzorL-drNtusZ31kOFb4aB5pU7ti_2iTsbL4t7kvCYfJXfDM54V63hINgEz6bgYCXYGgveFbcLtIVQfdND8GdiBuSfadPKYeTukh/w640-h508/_rSC_BS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>..and a photo courtesy of Ben Sheldon</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from these star birds it was much more ordinary fare that we might expect at this time of year. Winter is typically about wildfowl and there were plenty of those about with good number of <b>Wigeon</b>, <b>Teal </b>and <b>Shoveler </b>about. There was a noticeable influx of <b>Pintail </b>with an amazing peak count of 84 bird at one point. <b>Shelduck </b>numbers have started to build already with a peak count of 8 and the first few <b>Gadwall </b>(normally seen much later on) have already appeared. The first 4 <b>Egyptian Geese</b> have also been seen along with some <b>Goosander </b>on the river. The overwintering <b>Barnacle Geese</b> have been seen in amongst the other usual geese species though they have not been around as much this month as in previous Januarys. The highlight of the month from the duck perspective was the appearance of 5 <b>Pochard </b>for a couple of days. Diving ducks are normally much rarer on the floods so these were most welcome. Another diving species, <b>Great Crested Grebe</b>, was also seen for a few days when the floods were particularly deep.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the wader front the main point of interest was a single <b>Grey Plover</b> in amongst the <b>Golden Plover </b>flock. This species, normally seen towards the end of the spring passage on the Meadow, was seen on a couple of occasions in the month. Apart from that there were good numbers of <b>Dunlin </b>present with a peak count of 50 this month. There were also one or two <b>Redshank </b>seen sporadicallly during the course of the month</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJGBj6UhUxL4R33YDzo5m1lx5ngibwIhVrEV-kQomB37e9dQShge6GOHdWExCjRqP8e2Etg9huHDlW88AtG_J9xUVLfdBrlr_WujYpOTKrGfeqX1pShJqkzULlQt6pcgJRNFP3x9eC8VSjRxjwwFl_5sGz_HiTsb537urTQ9GAtjjAxOqBH7z0QEX0ID3/s1600/_icedDunlin_ML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJGBj6UhUxL4R33YDzo5m1lx5ngibwIhVrEV-kQomB37e9dQShge6GOHdWExCjRqP8e2Etg9huHDlW88AtG_J9xUVLfdBrlr_WujYpOTKrGfeqX1pShJqkzULlQt6pcgJRNFP3x9eC8VSjRxjwwFl_5sGz_HiTsb537urTQ9GAtjjAxOqBH7z0QEX0ID3/w640-h428/_icedDunlin_ML.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Dunlin on ice courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">January is traditionally a good gulling month though we have not had any really huge roosts this month, symptomatic of a general decline in gull numbers in the county over recent years. However we have been graced with a few <b>Caspian Gulls</b>: the regular 1st winter being joined occasionally by another 1w and a 3w. There have been the usual <b>Yellow-legged Gulls</b> of various ages but once again we have not managed a white-winger so far. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Finally, onto other species and a <b>Great White Egret</b> has been finding the patch to its liking this month. It's been seen regularly from New Year's Day onwards in various parts of the Meadow, including along the Burgess Field border ditch, up at Wolvercote Lakes as well as on the main floods themselves. We have had <b>Cattle Egret</b> on New Year's Day and <b>Little</b>, thereby completing the Egret set on day one!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The two <b>Stonechat </b>have been seen sporadically throughout the month down in their favoured thistle patch between the Walton Well Rd and Aristotle Lane entrances. There have been some <b>Siskin </b>reports during the month with large numbers reported up at the lake at the north end of the Waterside development. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So onto February, which is traditionally a very quiet month when most of the winter species have already been seen but it's still too early for migrants. Still, you never know what might turn up and it only takes one left-field bird to make things exciting!<br /></p><br /><p></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-42258308727855977122024-01-05T18:31:00.002+00:002024-01-05T18:31:57.250+00:002023 End of Year Review<p style="text-align: justify;">It's time once again for the fashionably late end of year review for Port Meadow. And what a year it's been! The year list total has been absolutely smashed with a stonking 148 birds. Truly remarkable!<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">January is traditionally a fairly quiet month of gulling and catching up on winter residents but this year things started with a bang with a drake American Wigeon - a pretty rare county bird with only a handful of county records. Sadly the bird was only seen on the patch one evening by a single observer but it later relocated to Otmoor where it stayed quite a while.<br /></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6ye8UQDeu6x-NQ5DkoZMYzF8VIsh8zmNEBI4_OFqTgKOxJZo4uaREfFVE99cdU_jdP7gmGLas-MYLBorb6Sou8jAGxcxeQ25VHKGEjjs1G8qknAuNysMSapDBHf5lz4mtWaX6A4NybHipps_DDzdiJCEUpytmesskKgEef_N59KYCRiDcBvkg6WKBg/s640/AW_PM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6ye8UQDeu6x-NQ5DkoZMYzF8VIsh8zmNEBI4_OFqTgKOxJZo4uaREfFVE99cdU_jdP7gmGLas-MYLBorb6Sou8jAGxcxeQ25VHKGEjjs1G8qknAuNysMSapDBHf5lz4mtWaX6A4NybHipps_DDzdiJCEUpytmesskKgEef_N59KYCRiDcBvkg6WKBg/w640-h360/AW_PM2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The drake American Wigeon courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from this star bird it was the usual Caspian Gulls with an adult Mediterranean Gull as an early season bonus. There were also a couple of White-fronted Geese which appeared to be genuine (though it's always hard to tell).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">February, which is usually a quiet month, held a surprise Avocet for one morning on the floods. There were also more Caspian Gulls on the floods and up to two Siberian Chiffchaff hanging out by Burgess Field gate.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx9mLgKNwZ999gASGLlps9BipLwwX-z2OQJ2gyesPBal3bt9RpsBTHBF90H8CTXfviefpDe1wv6YRlzd3SowfMzM4hJJl6teMDhG0fnT9kTwb5qETf64ydvHFjcXP-yLaeEXJQLf9LFcF7jsnXJwTYInZHqWYTKy6IX4gtXin5w-XOAZUwfiMvwgoyg/s640/Avo_ML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx9mLgKNwZ999gASGLlps9BipLwwX-z2OQJ2gyesPBal3bt9RpsBTHBF90H8CTXfviefpDe1wv6YRlzd3SowfMzM4hJJl6teMDhG0fnT9kTwb5qETf64ydvHFjcXP-yLaeEXJQLf9LFcF7jsnXJwTYInZHqWYTKy6IX4gtXin5w-XOAZUwfiMvwgoyg/w640-h428/Avo_ML.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Avocet, courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlNRE816hDZw57kgnUHJd0pwkPW5qnmHZXCsGqG-41lzHx2mUb8il1AFaRo0qdl8jKLrK-L6xxkM91oSHWrbQpu96GrmWQhZn1BGp1BQYmn9E6WdfR3HVtngGVfxwlyeiovxuP2ozB-2HBpgGkJwli9y0EEptTvykOhGlBH8ICfHeMuBwlU3NU830IA/s640/_SibeC_ML1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlNRE816hDZw57kgnUHJd0pwkPW5qnmHZXCsGqG-41lzHx2mUb8il1AFaRo0qdl8jKLrK-L6xxkM91oSHWrbQpu96GrmWQhZn1BGp1BQYmn9E6WdfR3HVtngGVfxwlyeiovxuP2ozB-2HBpgGkJwli9y0EEptTvykOhGlBH8ICfHeMuBwlU3NU830IA/w640-h428/_SibeC_ML1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Siberian Chiffchaff courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">More unusually, there was a single brief visit of a Willow Tit passing through the gardens near Kingston Road.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">March is when things start to kick off with the first returning waders. In addition to this there was some really good gulling this month with loads of Caspian Gulls and several Mediterranean Gulls as well, mostly adults with one 2w bird one evening.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVtb8jcKZlPK59un-Og-aIriJ8XwCind2yTdDyksE38UksAsTpYrqvtXzex2O3n6FHbOiVc-ie2fqor3Ycj-noirn34mzsgc3Hzel-BrUuqvZB8Nu5dRMiEBxHowZRVDg4HgqAWMu3W3YtIWy4XYTXLpgGnb1X4k93fGXUNOleUWvcj21v6KGtRAr/s640/Casp1w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVtb8jcKZlPK59un-Og-aIriJ8XwCind2yTdDyksE38UksAsTpYrqvtXzex2O3n6FHbOiVc-ie2fqor3Ycj-noirn34mzsgc3Hzel-BrUuqvZB8Nu5dRMiEBxHowZRVDg4HgqAWMu3W3YtIWy4XYTXLpgGnb1X4k93fGXUNOleUWvcj21v6KGtRAr/w640-h360/Casp1w.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1w Caspian Gull courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdUw4wpHBGe2cZOFYNQ1Sm9v5eiFEKbLQJJkVwhA1SHrxq_rLivkbXBH0Pogkxf-s9cZA2k3-6wndrDihG6a87uQHcORTjiwYaSL3bOMgFZci7_IXEtMJoBRCVjG717S6EXCaoKBudETT2w9otZbbhimfL6kOwXRHPNAmv8vdzVvX4OQSbs16mga2/s640/Meds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdUw4wpHBGe2cZOFYNQ1Sm9v5eiFEKbLQJJkVwhA1SHrxq_rLivkbXBH0Pogkxf-s9cZA2k3-6wndrDihG6a87uQHcORTjiwYaSL3bOMgFZci7_IXEtMJoBRCVjG717S6EXCaoKBudETT2w9otZbbhimfL6kOwXRHPNAmv8vdzVvX4OQSbs16mga2/w640-h360/Meds.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Two adult Med Gulls courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Spring migrants seemed to arrive early this year with the first Willow Warblers and White Wagtails quite a bit ahead of schedule. There were also another pair of White-fronted Geese that looked genuine. A fly-over Sandwich Tern was a really good record. There was another left-field record this month in the form of a Merlin (a patch Mega) being chased down Leckford Rd by a pair of Peregrine!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">April is usually the most exciting month in terms of migrant arrivals and this year was no exception. Apart from the usual fare we had a Grey Plover (more usually seen in May) and an amazing record of a fly-over Mandarin Duck (a patch Mega) seen by a couple of lucky observers. There was still some good gulling to be had when the Meadow got in on the influx of Kittiwakes to the county when two birds turned up one morning.<br /></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrjvL1Il5a200TRhUNAaEYTtTbslX6lE5uZt3za71WVJZJt7AEmFJbTDKJCQdF99NJlITdx4Iib_vtNEb-x86PakIH8Rh5EoxXqffHJkhUqypskdWUxeiCKU2Wdml0V7AMt8EnfBS9VmR-pQkW0Fos8tLCudF6CSazTj0EdGLTCQxvf6FjdvsW43n/s600/K2_SL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="600" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrjvL1Il5a200TRhUNAaEYTtTbslX6lE5uZt3za71WVJZJt7AEmFJbTDKJCQdF99NJlITdx4Iib_vtNEb-x86PakIH8Rh5EoxXqffHJkhUqypskdWUxeiCKU2Wdml0V7AMt8EnfBS9VmR-pQkW0Fos8tLCudF6CSazTj0EdGLTCQxvf6FjdvsW43n/w640-h492/K2_SL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The two Kittiwakes, courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also had numerious Garganey records this spring. This species is always a delight to see.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybq-6oqvkXP7aYNQWuTrpvNiDZ5CNHs9PJGZ6V-9hivaotlGoYJS9zsyq8_8AvVyFEbYghR48Q7v7ANLMhv8R9UoRP6EFf_s4rdVICmZLbovn5wesIVFqZifzvgBhH1A-o-4pTF4BTBDqlGTZxwI9VC8dv5iP-FEbKTDUCKF53GcJmc6EU5yXhg8YsA/s640/Garg_tm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybq-6oqvkXP7aYNQWuTrpvNiDZ5CNHs9PJGZ6V-9hivaotlGoYJS9zsyq8_8AvVyFEbYghR48Q7v7ANLMhv8R9UoRP6EFf_s4rdVICmZLbovn5wesIVFqZifzvgBhH1A-o-4pTF4BTBDqlGTZxwI9VC8dv5iP-FEbKTDUCKF53GcJmc6EU5yXhg8YsA/w640-h360/Garg_tm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also had a couple of flocks of 6 Arctic Tern fly over. This is another rare Meadow bird but thanks to increased vis mig coverage this year we managed to get it on the list. A delightful flock of 13 Little Gulls dropped in on the Meadow for a short while.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihi4toDBaE5EtbRgxWIdU_T1qhHYTJLZ26qB54L7-buQ7ss3AqJjjaHUPvMm6TPwZE1r8eDztIvIZWAagKGZURpgn1VnhNP3vwqHzlPQ0-FnHK8jmKv4xEBaMrrSbTqFp0HU3Wfw-bm1UhAOgPFREBZ5fUNpu3v47tFn2mouKWGh5lW8fc_SGN1jbnOA/s640/lg_tm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihi4toDBaE5EtbRgxWIdU_T1qhHYTJLZ26qB54L7-buQ7ss3AqJjjaHUPvMm6TPwZE1r8eDztIvIZWAagKGZURpgn1VnhNP3vwqHzlPQ0-FnHK8jmKv4xEBaMrrSbTqFp0HU3Wfw-bm1UhAOgPFREBZ5fUNpu3v47tFn2mouKWGh5lW8fc_SGN1jbnOA/w640-h640/lg_tm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the Little Gulls courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Other noteworthy records this month was our first Osprey sighting, an usually late Short-eared Owl and the first Cattle Egret of the year. We also managed to get Wood Sandpiper and Whimbrel on the year list through a couple of birds that didn't stay long or just flew through. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The star bird of the month however was a singing male Wood Warbler in Burgess Field. This species is annual in the county, almost always in spring but usually just a single observer, hard to twitch, sighting. So to get one passing through Port Meadow was quite something!<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReD9fQHNNwDAMzEutFD6B3-CSwgW03XvBinH7mJvQ6k6jTH3B4mR5H3-nUOvZrj0rZw2xe_Fc2aX3UnG7uBmM6FUrC_tOADTk0Yu_uHl4CQ2Wgn7nJLqqrEYiwHqWtd5uUuA-Hx4FC0Clt2afB4wr6lh-5t6Zh2Dg7ZsRPus1ASC1DnUM2NB5zjCN3w/s640/B16B3882-E7FA-4174-BCB4-8D0E8CA6B959.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReD9fQHNNwDAMzEutFD6B3-CSwgW03XvBinH7mJvQ6k6jTH3B4mR5H3-nUOvZrj0rZw2xe_Fc2aX3UnG7uBmM6FUrC_tOADTk0Yu_uHl4CQ2Wgn7nJLqqrEYiwHqWtd5uUuA-Hx4FC0Clt2afB4wr6lh-5t6Zh2Dg7ZsRPus1ASC1DnUM2NB5zjCN3w/w640-h480/B16B3882-E7FA-4174-BCB4-8D0E8CA6B959.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Wood Warbler, courtesy of Pete Roby</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">We also managed to get Redstart on the year list in spring. Normally autumn is when we get this species, so that was rather unusual.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">May is usually quieter but when we often get the rarer wader species and a Bar-tailed Godwit duly obliged along with our second Grey Plover of the year.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWDnTmmfNvr9NymKlqQ3z9E8PR4mpYHXaT1gZN0teSGX3AHR1KDhMC1FVhkH-1lHMiOko_htb4nyIc4E5ikP4aZCrP8i4d7Zdljjbe5BA-2sqMnZ_qC2l_SPwPdp6NRqyIW0IiKKckFlobaRwVl-jJwWxgdX-AvJZPsUhdKXfNSATqRz5wmGe8MpWtw/s640/Bar2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWDnTmmfNvr9NymKlqQ3z9E8PR4mpYHXaT1gZN0teSGX3AHR1KDhMC1FVhkH-1lHMiOko_htb4nyIc4E5ikP4aZCrP8i4d7Zdljjbe5BA-2sqMnZ_qC2l_SPwPdp6NRqyIW0IiKKckFlobaRwVl-jJwWxgdX-AvJZPsUhdKXfNSATqRz5wmGe8MpWtw/w640-h428/Bar2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bar-tailed Godwit courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_AtefAL-CWd82kDCE0v0EnhvSIjBZepaOrBEQycc60-AOJwKjVar4heWLf0tZOzJewBO1o53T8sgN6-JiEsU67G5tgjlG8xexbJL-41yGGMi-1upbLvNf_EJN3k9JyiTDa-pAapn1RMusCm7PIjipSn7bCVMY-rDzfEfUEwZ4hCX8WFZYNpYbAXllg/s640/GyP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_AtefAL-CWd82kDCE0v0EnhvSIjBZepaOrBEQycc60-AOJwKjVar4heWLf0tZOzJewBO1o53T8sgN6-JiEsU67G5tgjlG8xexbJL-41yGGMi-1upbLvNf_EJN3k9JyiTDa-pAapn1RMusCm7PIjipSn7bCVMY-rDzfEfUEwZ4hCX8WFZYNpYbAXllg/w640-h360/GyP.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grey Plover courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">There were also a couple more Osprey sightings, one of which was twitchable as it lingered for about an hour. Great White Egret made it onto the year list as well. We also had a Nightingale singing along the canal one evening. This is a rare patch and county species though over the years there have been a few records along the canal.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">June was quiet on the birding front as you would expect though we did get a fly-over Crossbill record, a real patch Mega! Our Little Owls bred again this year and it was a delight to see the youngster being fed at dusk. On the Odonata front we had a good season once again with Downy Emerald seen again, as well as Small Red-eyed Damselfly and several Hairy Hawkers along with the usual species.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">July and August were quiet with a Redstart and a Spotted Flycatcher the pick of the birds along with the first returning Common Sandpipers. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">September was also a quiet month with just another Redstart to show for it. Cattle Egrets started to be seen in greater numbers and the Willow Emeralds appeared in the Trap Grounds once again.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uWnfbgZ0XZcqTzg_iQLq5VToYJ2wmMvOuw0NsmM43zAJB01w10NGQBzDi4DVduQfezzdkK5XFAY0VmhfCFbq7wOIB1YC8i_daEJHSUmU1mkbMHCZQYm2SC0CVHPClhbS_nwhfovbDGH6oi7X-NYBO17QF8QQ6n6Cgxbc_Iz7VEqOUTC9Nyz-nFYsb1aB/s600/_WE1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="600" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uWnfbgZ0XZcqTzg_iQLq5VToYJ2wmMvOuw0NsmM43zAJB01w10NGQBzDi4DVduQfezzdkK5XFAY0VmhfCFbq7wOIB1YC8i_daEJHSUmU1mkbMHCZQYm2SC0CVHPClhbS_nwhfovbDGH6oi7X-NYBO17QF8QQ6n6Cgxbc_Iz7VEqOUTC9Nyz-nFYsb1aB/w640-h500/_WE1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Trap Grounds Willow Emerald</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">October was also quiet though at least we got the floods back and had more gulls to look at.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXMHyygCYkY7XV24TUqXatpaqHflccGUyi1AlNiWF10_QP9NvEZKo2s2uJt4I31I510nExo-lEUivqBcSnq8X3HtvQfRI5WOi5lJrM4fzBZ03tUWWZ5uM6jodY78hr51rC0Qae9BstRL90DcvTrTqOVNujYLj2uPCXRNuEVTTJKbkArk-fvvV9ZBFjQVk/s640/CG_SL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXMHyygCYkY7XV24TUqXatpaqHflccGUyi1AlNiWF10_QP9NvEZKo2s2uJt4I31I510nExo-lEUivqBcSnq8X3HtvQfRI5WOi5lJrM4fzBZ03tUWWZ5uM6jodY78hr51rC0Qae9BstRL90DcvTrTqOVNujYLj2uPCXRNuEVTTJKbkArk-fvvV9ZBFjQVk/w640-h480/CG_SL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1w Caspian Gull courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">There were two stand-out records this month: firstly a Marsh Harrier was spotted over Wytham Hill. This is yet another Patch Mega. Another good records was a Rock/Water Pipit fly-over that was never nailed down to exact species.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">After a very quiet autumn, it was left to November to bring in some good birds. This happened in no small measure when an amazing record of a red-head Smew was found on the much extended flood waters. A truly incredible record!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5Zg6_h9k_yJASwiPHQCkpq4bcYn_zwQbSsPahl02I0wWRKoJP7f1NzvRQdEokT15lGOcERf0OGzLxIhKsg0-IdWcnCsyAjBLOQGXrCMzJWbi7ee-HthDxihOS-qTBqTRWZlgvpWmW47LogcRAlnQMUzuoRgyBmNJifyex75a2rM0RIr7zond6DiRuXU/s600/Smew_SL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="600" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5Zg6_h9k_yJASwiPHQCkpq4bcYn_zwQbSsPahl02I0wWRKoJP7f1NzvRQdEokT15lGOcERf0OGzLxIhKsg0-IdWcnCsyAjBLOQGXrCMzJWbi7ee-HthDxihOS-qTBqTRWZlgvpWmW47LogcRAlnQMUzuoRgyBmNJifyex75a2rM0RIr7zond6DiRuXU/w640-h548/Smew_SL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The red-head Smew courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The swollen floods also drew in both Pochard and Red-crested Pochard. As diving ducks these are comparatively rare on the patch. There was more good gulling with quite a few Caspian Gulls and another (our third of the year) fly-over Grey Plover. A ringed Siberian Chiffchaff was an excellent record for Burgess Field.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQIUFrzRlUvCXGhBLgMh6cEMmiQjaeMzSsATt5WSpYPURRyjSD9w5Z96d55sbn3zYUWIuwEhYe_eCxCsZZbcpiOp8QoE2GCusc1kly1s6vqAJAfwU6UY5J3sMsYhBX2vMEbrkSjN6gRfJu5SfnaB_BYdFF2svLCoWpoBCkJzVXkuPPj3L6FyzWTWpe7Qy/s640/_SC_TM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQIUFrzRlUvCXGhBLgMh6cEMmiQjaeMzSsATt5WSpYPURRyjSD9w5Z96d55sbn3zYUWIuwEhYe_eCxCsZZbcpiOp8QoE2GCusc1kly1s6vqAJAfwU6UY5J3sMsYhBX2vMEbrkSjN6gRfJu5SfnaB_BYdFF2svLCoWpoBCkJzVXkuPPj3L6FyzWTWpe7Qy/w480-h640/_SC_TM.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Siberian Chiffchaff courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">After the excitment of November, things got pretty quiet again for December though there was an amazing record of a Marsh Harrier (our second of the year!!) hunting over the floods briefly. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKaV7MSW1sJDmWBYEo3c7oM2A0vs8qeEc-207-BJxBE4udp7ESJi6PcDz0r5RyDKw7ijRJK1wDdEr2gSaXeOj4ZwgxKgHYSxwheiHQ84haKiRIz_JvzBUxl90AzvnkcyPx1_x9P4CGvlpHyNsfuBW4PAmBpVAGgYTGFNwZzQEre8iK1Tx-UcHpFNi0kmq/s639/MH_ML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="639" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKaV7MSW1sJDmWBYEo3c7oM2A0vs8qeEc-207-BJxBE4udp7ESJi6PcDz0r5RyDKw7ijRJK1wDdEr2gSaXeOj4ZwgxKgHYSxwheiHQ84haKiRIz_JvzBUxl90AzvnkcyPx1_x9P4CGvlpHyNsfuBW4PAmBpVAGgYTGFNwZzQEre8iK1Tx-UcHpFNi0kmq/w640-h426/MH_ML.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Marsh Harrier courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The ringed Siberian Chiffchaff stuck around and a second unringed bird was seen in Burgess Field one afternoon.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So that was 2023. As you can see, most of the action happened in the first half of the year though there was just enough of interest in the second half to keep things ticking over. In terms of bird of the year it has to go to the American Wigeon though the Smew, the Wood Warbler, the two Kittiwakes and the Marsh Harriers the certainly deserve honerable mentions.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So it only remains for me to wish readers of this blog a Happy New Year and for me to thank the many dedicated birders who work the Port Meadow patch alongside me. Here's to another amazing patch year for 2024!<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-5282284276400164662024-01-03T18:29:00.000+00:002024-01-03T18:29:09.351+00:00December Update<div style="text-align: justify;">I thought that I'd better do the usual monthly round-up for December before I do the review of the year. It was a reasonable month with some good birds though nothing outstanding and we didn't manage to add any more year ticks to the tally. The floods were reasonably large all month so there were plenty of duck around including up to 30 <b>Pintail </b>and 3 <b>Shelduck</b>. On the wader front we managed up to 16 <b>Dunlin</b> along with a <b>Black-tailed Godwit</b> at the start of month. There were also up to 150 <b>Snipe </b>and about 400 <b>Golden Plover</b>.</div><p style="text-align: justify;">December is the month when winter gulling gets going properly and we were rewarded with several <b>Caspian Gulls</b> over the month. There was a another 1w Caspian which joined the usual bird on a couple of evenings, a 3w bird one evening and an adult another evening. There were also a few <b>Yellow-legged Gulls</b> of various ages.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrs6T41tWRofnT2xNUIXMH4zdtXyL_MTnLXuIaY_9ixmvccWzDsDxXAylMzQyAcsMnTc0CRhcJNg-to7dJcY1vYG85k0mX33zNwmvypxEbxTXVb0Kz4HZcW5dJhYpn9TylzBp0yCdJJfrifV5CPtqPAlcc8vYgpnRBBLkY97XcS2j-gdImL-2JCaYg6uY/s2560/CG_TM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="2560" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrs6T41tWRofnT2xNUIXMH4zdtXyL_MTnLXuIaY_9ixmvccWzDsDxXAylMzQyAcsMnTc0CRhcJNg-to7dJcY1vYG85k0mX33zNwmvypxEbxTXVb0Kz4HZcW5dJhYpn9TylzBp0yCdJJfrifV5CPtqPAlcc8vYgpnRBBLkY97XcS2j-gdImL-2JCaYg6uY/w640-h360/CG_TM.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The adult Caspian Gull courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The ringed <b>Siberian Chiffchaff</b> was seen a few times near to Burgess Field gate along with quite a few normal <b>Chiffchaff</b>. On one occasion a second un-ringed Siberian Chiffchaff was found (and heard to call) in Burgess Field. Also on the passerine front, there were up to 3 <b>Stonechat </b>in the thistle patch in the south east corner of the Meadow.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The highlight of the month was the brief appearance of a <b>Marsh Harrier</b> hunting over the floods, sending everything up. Whilst this isn't a year tick thanks to the bird seen over Wytham Hill, having one hunting over the actual floods themselves is a great record!</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKaV7MSW1sJDmWBYEo3c7oM2A0vs8qeEc-207-BJxBE4udp7ESJi6PcDz0r5RyDKw7ijRJK1wDdEr2gSaXeOj4ZwgxKgHYSxwheiHQ84haKiRIz_JvzBUxl90AzvnkcyPx1_x9P4CGvlpHyNsfuBW4PAmBpVAGgYTGFNwZzQEre8iK1Tx-UcHpFNi0kmq/s1554/MH_ML.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1554" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKaV7MSW1sJDmWBYEo3c7oM2A0vs8qeEc-207-BJxBE4udp7ESJi6PcDz0r5RyDKw7ijRJK1wDdEr2gSaXeOj4ZwgxKgHYSxwheiHQ84haKiRIz_JvzBUxl90AzvnkcyPx1_x9P4CGvlpHyNsfuBW4PAmBpVAGgYTGFNwZzQEre8iK1Tx-UcHpFNi0kmq/w640-h426/MH_ML.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Matthew Lloyd took this cracking photo of the Marsh Harrier as it hunted over the floods</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">To round things off a couple of <b>Cranes </b>were seen flying over the Meadow one day, presumably commuting to Otmoor.<br /></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-17135936915889823922023-12-02T17:45:00.003+00:002023-12-02T17:45:51.703+00:00November Update<p style="text-align: justify;">It's been a really good month on the Port Meadow patch, especially if you consider that it's November which is not normally known for producing lots of good birds. The clear highlight of the month was a red-head <b>Smew</b>, found by Steve Lavington in the gloom late on the afternoon of the 16th. Those who were able to get out quickly got to see it but it disappeared before sunset and wasn't seen again the next day. Smew is a less than annual county bird and the last bird in the city was 75 years ago at Godstow Lock!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5Zg6_h9k_yJASwiPHQCkpq4bcYn_zwQbSsPahl02I0wWRKoJP7f1NzvRQdEokT15lGOcERf0OGzLxIhKsg0-IdWcnCsyAjBLOQGXrCMzJWbi7ee-HthDxihOS-qTBqTRWZlgvpWmW47LogcRAlnQMUzuoRgyBmNJifyex75a2rM0RIr7zond6DiRuXU/s600/Smew_SL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="600" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5Zg6_h9k_yJASwiPHQCkpq4bcYn_zwQbSsPahl02I0wWRKoJP7f1NzvRQdEokT15lGOcERf0OGzLxIhKsg0-IdWcnCsyAjBLOQGXrCMzJWbi7ee-HthDxihOS-qTBqTRWZlgvpWmW47LogcRAlnQMUzuoRgyBmNJifyex75a2rM0RIr7zond6DiRuXU/w640-h548/Smew_SL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The distant Smew, courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">While we are talking about ducks, the extended flood waters have been pulling in some other diving duck species as well as the Smew. A <b>Red-creasted Pochard</b>, which is less than annual on the patch, was seen for half a day on the 29th. In addition on the day after the Smew was found there were 4 <b>Pochard </b>and 10 <b>Tufted Duck</b> in the morning. Apart from these, it's been more of the usual fare with up to 20 <b>Pintail </b>and up to 4 <b>Shelduck </b>in amongst the usual <b>Wigeon</b>, <b>Teal </b>and <b>Shoveler</b>. The 7 dodgy <b>White-fronted Geese</b> turned up one evening though the <b>Barnacle Geese</b> seem largely to have moved on to pastures new and were only seen on one or two days.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Onto waders next and we've had a bit more interest this month with a <b>Black-tailed Godwit</b> for the end of the month, up to 15 <b>Dunlin</b>, up to 100 <b>Snipe</b>, up to 500 <b>Golden Plover</b> and a single fly-over <b>Grey Plover</b>. There was also a <b>Cattle Egret</b> sighting though the flock seems to have moved on now.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the gull front, the roost is gradually building though at the moment there are not very many large gulls about. We have been fortunate enough to host a 1st winter <b>Caspian Gull</b> most evenings in the roost though. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjjfI_mB9AvGtK1n7Drn3dYZOg84BL9uhKi5FKZOiajIJfKBynXNWU1Z7mtU0Q77X9jTmoxQy05zwhP1rusWt4lGHqNVpg-iOxSebrKpFzNxF59KDWvNyeODloBdmkt0yo98pxqpAVXljBwxpvqYRzF6zi4QKQOn2o5fmznXqlCuznL3xxWQDrp6dlFE/s640/_CG_YLG_TM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjjfI_mB9AvGtK1n7Drn3dYZOg84BL9uhKi5FKZOiajIJfKBynXNWU1Z7mtU0Q77X9jTmoxQy05zwhP1rusWt4lGHqNVpg-iOxSebrKpFzNxF59KDWvNyeODloBdmkt0yo98pxqpAVXljBwxpvqYRzF6zi4QKQOn2o5fmznXqlCuznL3xxWQDrp6dlFE/w640-h360/_CG_YLG_TM.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1w Yellow-legged Gull and 1w Caspian Gull, courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of passerines, we had the first <b>Siberian Chiffchaff</b> of the season with a gorgeous bird trapped and ringed in Burgess Field. There is speculation as to whether this might be the returning bird from last year. A pair of <b>Stonechat </b>have been faithful to the thistles at the southern end of the Meadow all month. A <b>Cetti's Warbler</b> has taken up residence in the Trap Grounds. Let's hope it finds it to its liking and sticks around.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQIUFrzRlUvCXGhBLgMh6cEMmiQjaeMzSsATt5WSpYPURRyjSD9w5Z96d55sbn3zYUWIuwEhYe_eCxCsZZbcpiOp8QoE2GCusc1kly1s6vqAJAfwU6UY5J3sMsYhBX2vMEbrkSjN6gRfJu5SfnaB_BYdFF2svLCoWpoBCkJzVXkuPPj3L6FyzWTWpe7Qy/s1600/_SC_TM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQIUFrzRlUvCXGhBLgMh6cEMmiQjaeMzSsATt5WSpYPURRyjSD9w5Z96d55sbn3zYUWIuwEhYe_eCxCsZZbcpiOp8QoE2GCusc1kly1s6vqAJAfwU6UY5J3sMsYhBX2vMEbrkSjN6gRfJu5SfnaB_BYdFF2svLCoWpoBCkJzVXkuPPj3L6FyzWTWpe7Qy/w480-h640/_SC_TM.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Siberian Chiffchaff, courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Predators include a <b>Tawny Owl </b>calling up in Wolvercote one evening and a <b>Peregrine </b>seen hunting over the floods. A <b>Great-White Egret</b> was seen flying along the river one day and a pair of <b>Water Rail</b> are in residence in the Trap Grounds reedbed for the winter. Finally, a <b>Woodcock </b>was flushed from Burgess Field one evening.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We are now into the last month of the year. The year list is currently on an astonishing 148, absolutely smashing last year's record total of 141. In fact, I am wondering if we can top 150 this year. With Marsh Tit, Jack Snipe, Brambling, both Partridges and both winter Swans still needed there are plenty of potential ticks that could get us across the line. There's even the chance of a Waxwing, given that it seems to be a good year for them. With the gull season properly kicking off this month as well, there's still plenty to look for out there.<br /></p><br /><p> </p><p></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-78868563383501696602023-11-06T16:34:00.002+00:002023-11-06T16:39:32.773+00:00October Update<p style="text-align: justify;">We've been blessed with a pretty wet October which has restored the floods to their full glory. With the returning waters have come the wild fowl once again and the Meadow is once more back to its birdy best. In terms of what's actually been seen this last month, if truth be told, things have been rather quiet though there has been enough to keep things ticking over as well as one real patch mega. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Starting with the ducks, the usual species are back with mostly <b>Wigeon </b>and some <b>Teal </b>about in reasonable numbers. A few <b>Shoveler </b>are about as well as some <b>Gadwall </b>and <b>Pintail</b>. All the usual geese are about including our <b>Barnacle Goose</b> flock which are now pretty much resident here for the time being. Four <b>Shelduck </b>have been an unusual sighting for this time of year. There have also been some <b>Goosander </b>sightings on the river.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Ltgptq6hxlj6GdUFp3A2hYM8J1ND09pCqoxUPZyuBCOdcKdkCU3zL3jQs8puW_o6UL_iQO3cmHDfN_CDX21OiwfmZkrU3uIBSew5ss6-FXrhLej1TGKddzvAg5fpHm4GZm1Q8HONRk7tljFJc8YzQfcbqMuAiSVR7sL26XXmcrqjiho7P9CA6DSZefcI/s2048/WFG_SL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Ltgptq6hxlj6GdUFp3A2hYM8J1ND09pCqoxUPZyuBCOdcKdkCU3zL3jQs8puW_o6UL_iQO3cmHDfN_CDX21OiwfmZkrU3uIBSew5ss6-FXrhLej1TGKddzvAg5fpHm4GZm1Q8HONRk7tljFJc8YzQfcbqMuAiSVR7sL26XXmcrqjiho7P9CA6DSZefcI/w640-h480/WFG_SL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The usual dodgy White-fronted Geese have paid occasional visits to the Meadow this month (photo courtesy of Steve Lavington)</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With the returning waters we've also started to attract some gulls again and a 1st winter <b>Caspian Gull</b> has rather taken a liking to the floods and has been seen fairly regularly. At the moment the gull roost is mostly <b>Black-headed Gulls</b> but in past years, it's not really until December that the gull roost gets going properly.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXMHyygCYkY7XV24TUqXatpaqHflccGUyi1AlNiWF10_QP9NvEZKo2s2uJt4I31I510nExo-lEUivqBcSnq8X3HtvQfRI5WOi5lJrM4fzBZ03tUWWZ5uM6jodY78hr51rC0Qae9BstRL90DcvTrTqOVNujYLj2uPCXRNuEVTTJKbkArk-fvvV9ZBFjQVk/s1317/CG_SL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="1317" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiXMHyygCYkY7XV24TUqXatpaqHflccGUyi1AlNiWF10_QP9NvEZKo2s2uJt4I31I510nExo-lEUivqBcSnq8X3HtvQfRI5WOi5lJrM4fzBZ03tUWWZ5uM6jodY78hr51rC0Qae9BstRL90DcvTrTqOVNujYLj2uPCXRNuEVTTJKbkArk-fvvV9ZBFjQVk/w640-h480/CG_SL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1w Caspian Gull, courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We've not had much on the wader front though we did have up to 4 <b>Dunlin </b>for a couple of days. We are started to get a gathering of <b>Lapwing </b>and <b>Golden Plover</b> now as well, though it's still early days, especially for the latter species which has been rather sporadic.</p><p>Onto raptors and it's this category in which we got our patch mega when a <b>Marsh Harrier</b> was spotted soaring over Wytham Hill on the 14th. I've long thought that this would be a reasonable species to get in transit over Wytham but it's thanks to the vigilence of Steve Lavington for putting the hours in that it goes on the patch list.</p><p>Steve also managed to get a probable fly-over heard-only <b>Rock Pipit</b> though he couldn't rule out Water Pipit from what he heard. Either species is a great record for the Meadow though Water is certainly the rarer of the two in the county.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's been plenty of Egret action this last month. When the floods were just starting to return and the newly formed water was flooding out all the worms, this attracated an amazing total of 27 <b>Cattle Egret</b>! We've had more modest counts quite a few times over the month though they now mostly seemed to have moved on. We also had a couple of <b>Great White Egret</b> seen flying along the river one morning this month.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Finally, on to passerines where we've had up to 4 <b>Stonechat </b>hanging out in the uncut Thistles at the southern end of the Meadow. Two of these are still hanging about and might even over-winter as long as the weather doesn't get too severe.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2-75wx8TNAdUc_Joz_TJ-MzX9VlNOm4R0tXGI5yyAiOp-cAY5ZSRChm_VJmJKY8ck871O8uqttA-uLpovpmIqVeS70Zvc7gYXYJKV-oAYHAzJueUsAhsR5PArMYVBeapK1JWXaHUUPDdZ5I0qjK5G4QW4xbMKn7f4TUqortz0UPPGNBTxFYm0qgL70gR/s1600/SC2_SL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2-75wx8TNAdUc_Joz_TJ-MzX9VlNOm4R0tXGI5yyAiOp-cAY5ZSRChm_VJmJKY8ck871O8uqttA-uLpovpmIqVeS70Zvc7gYXYJKV-oAYHAzJueUsAhsR5PArMYVBeapK1JWXaHUUPDdZ5I0qjK5G4QW4xbMKn7f4TUqortz0UPPGNBTxFYm0qgL70gR/w640-h426/SC2_SL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Female Stonechat courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbctAp04jRN8ijeP3lLXOcTrBzkEKSQXwa6GSoJ41mnihKnoZbyK0RiLb30_lNf6y14vmX3w2vb2s45gAqszr9fVhIfOs4krHKd3EdiiDkBHZFuxyrwxGQf4yXc_FnO7jXVgnBKydOdvF9TDe8SUtE4vRP5ulWQMsUO0WoTg94xMrXS-pdJyMjuhVEi2Z/s1024/MMcD.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbctAp04jRN8ijeP3lLXOcTrBzkEKSQXwa6GSoJ41mnihKnoZbyK0RiLb30_lNf6y14vmX3w2vb2s45gAqszr9fVhIfOs4krHKd3EdiiDkBHZFuxyrwxGQf4yXc_FnO7jXVgnBKydOdvF9TDe8SUtE4vRP5ulWQMsUO0WoTg94xMrXS-pdJyMjuhVEi2Z/w480-h640/MMcD.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>There has been an unprecedented number of Money Spiders about this month with their gosamer threads absolutely everywhere. It's been quite a sight!<br />(photo courtesy of Mary McDougal)</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><br />Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-26796148994615935312023-10-08T18:19:00.000+01:002023-10-08T18:19:25.052+01:00September (& a bit of October) Update<p style="text-align: justify;">It's a testimony to the lack of much in the way of sightings that what should have been a more active month is reduced to an end of month summary. We did have some embryonic flood waters form during the wetter period at the start of September but now we are back to unseasonably warm, dry conditions and they have gone again. This has left us scratching around for much to report at all. Sad times!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Starting with wild fowl, as you would expect with the lack of flood waters there is precious little to report. The flock of 80 or so <b>Barnacle Geese</b> are back grazing on the Meadow and we did briefly attract the first <b>Teal </b>and <b>Wigeon </b>on the flood waters before they disappeared. The first red-head <b>Goosander </b>of the autumn has been seen on the river. On Wolvercote Lake, the first couple of <b>Tufted Duck</b> have appeared there as well as a handful of <b>Teal</b>, one <b>Wigeon </b>and one <b>Shoveler</b>.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Normally at this time of year you can at least rely on passerine passage in Burgess Field for some points of interest though we've only managed one <b>Redstart </b>record this month and no Spotted Flycatchers. To be honest, I'm not sure how well watched Burgess Field has been this last month - I know that I haven't been that often myself. Sadly, <b>Yellow Wagtails</b> were noticable by there absence this year with very few reported all month on the Meadow.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We did have a brief <b>Whinchat </b>on the Meadow one morning and up to 5 of this species were seen north of King's Lock along the river. There were a couple of <b>Stonechat </b>pairs in the same area along with at least four <b>Cetti's Warbler</b> males on territory along the river. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On a brighter note, <b>Cattle Egrets</b> are back in the Wytham area with up to 15 loitering along the approach road to the field station. Five of them did appear on Wolvercote common one morning in amongst the cattle there.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-ViulwoE0U01njAMhMlvtviSrR9C_TVLiq5aq2Ef5qTdgy7Estk9vs3koGYxuaKSoAHwTtfVs7p5kBScmiin3vx0Hy6Mzl90l6BREoURH1R9fC3jvF7E2wjCP7B2sWy6p-0I-oREmB0Ena4i1oO75kR0vmvo7jEIgv5rwE0X09q83HpISR7m0NJaENQ0/s600/_CE1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-ViulwoE0U01njAMhMlvtviSrR9C_TVLiq5aq2Ef5qTdgy7Estk9vs3koGYxuaKSoAHwTtfVs7p5kBScmiin3vx0Hy6Mzl90l6BREoURH1R9fC3jvF7E2wjCP7B2sWy6p-0I-oREmB0Ena4i1oO75kR0vmvo7jEIgv5rwE0X09q83HpISR7m0NJaENQ0/s16000/_CE1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the five Cattle Egrets that were on Wolvercote Common one morning</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The first of the winter passerines are now starting to be seen or at least heard with <b>Siskin </b>and <b>Redpoll </b>flying over. A couple of Redpoll were even caught in the ringing nets in Burgess Field. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgu8RAFr1hvSzi8rR52WH6W9FGaqaxNnaYQ0nWssfrwfWjvLtzRgR3rmH-Aj6uuKlx_u3OHDJ40MSp1sY_WeG9kEqqvcbOWWARftPBiNo6K6bGlkn9hESpLcQQkR1Ywz_z6YqCY9sylwNacTXkBejUlwOQ3O-jrCuog96UD7dxZaZASCDDuXi_DQbbhBX/s1600/LsrRp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgu8RAFr1hvSzi8rR52WH6W9FGaqaxNnaYQ0nWssfrwfWjvLtzRgR3rmH-Aj6uuKlx_u3OHDJ40MSp1sY_WeG9kEqqvcbOWWARftPBiNo6K6bGlkn9hESpLcQQkR1Ywz_z6YqCY9sylwNacTXkBejUlwOQ3O-jrCuog96UD7dxZaZASCDDuXi_DQbbhBX/w480-h640/LsrRp.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Lesser Redpoll in the hand courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The unseasonaly warm weather has been great for insects with <b>Willow Emerald</b> at last being recorded in the Trap Grounds and along the Castle Mill Stream. <b>Migrant Hawkers</b> are to be found buzzing around the various nooks and crannies of the patch and there are still plenty of <b>Common Darters</b> around. The last week or so there have been loads of <b>Red Admirals</b> about, encouraged by the bright sunshine and calm conditions.</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uWnfbgZ0XZcqTzg_iQLq5VToYJ2wmMvOuw0NsmM43zAJB01w10NGQBzDi4DVduQfezzdkK5XFAY0VmhfCFbq7wOIB1YC8i_daEJHSUmU1mkbMHCZQYm2SC0CVHPClhbS_nwhfovbDGH6oi7X-NYBO17QF8QQ6n6Cgxbc_Iz7VEqOUTC9Nyz-nFYsb1aB/s600/_WE1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uWnfbgZ0XZcqTzg_iQLq5VToYJ2wmMvOuw0NsmM43zAJB01w10NGQBzDi4DVduQfezzdkK5XFAY0VmhfCFbq7wOIB1YC8i_daEJHSUmU1mkbMHCZQYm2SC0CVHPClhbS_nwhfovbDGH6oi7X-NYBO17QF8QQ6n6Cgxbc_Iz7VEqOUTC9Nyz-nFYsb1aB/s16000/_WE1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Trap Grounds Willow Emerald</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead, unless we get a period of heavy rainfall we are going to continue to be scratching around for things to report this month. Hopefully we might at least get some more Redstart and Spotted Flycatchers in Burgess Field. Dare we hope for another Yellow-browed Warbler on the patch this year? It's not impossible!<br /></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-10191531298801323102023-08-31T17:04:00.001+01:002023-08-31T17:04:58.663+01:00August Update<p style="text-align: justify;">I had meant to do a post at the end of July but somehow I never got around to it. So this will be an update over the last two months. Not that there is much to report: this time of year is always rather quiet thought there is still usually something to see.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Starting with birds and the <b>Little Owl</b> family hung around for a fair while, gradually dispersing further away from their original location. It's good to know that they've had another successful year. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjG3eD8JTyPrAbfXoqaH1AqG31GAB3IwcYvIuipT_jQVQCQ6YNGIJP7A_sasWpNu51ey2mnU87e7Xu2m0XkXZibiI4-AN154XFH8hmszPLqMHy0tyTWQh9LwFRf7w92-9Ep3dL1HlI20-y2tNjGQGBJCdZUCIEQGMT2huouhlA-ouqp5w__o9-of1SFy3t/s600/_LO3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjG3eD8JTyPrAbfXoqaH1AqG31GAB3IwcYvIuipT_jQVQCQ6YNGIJP7A_sasWpNu51ey2mnU87e7Xu2m0XkXZibiI4-AN154XFH8hmszPLqMHy0tyTWQh9LwFRf7w92-9Ep3dL1HlI20-y2tNjGQGBJCdZUCIEQGMT2huouhlA-ouqp5w__o9-of1SFy3t/s16000/_LO3.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A rather blurry Little Owl, taken at dusk</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Talking of successful breeding, the <b>Egyptian Geese</b> have done well: I recently counted a total of 12 birds, a mix of adults and young so the Port Meadow colony is growing rapidly! We had yet another <b>Crossbill </b>flyover over Jericho though this was only a "possible". There was also a flyover <b>Peregrine </b>on one occasion as well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7YImZrvzjz-t9jl4RA2GtiWsCB68xyy0_MUMJu6t8bJlOLN6jgrNgjKDmP2vib9JYJOjpnJJ9ETWhs2lzzcDuve8JmEXvbOyTKREH95iAAJ2Tp6sVbXPhTjxCFuYFAPGEIzQiE-rvzCYaDYcAweNPTF788Nk9r8S13MYJJL-IVJtj5yuQL_LvI3L7SHz/s600/_EG1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ7YImZrvzjz-t9jl4RA2GtiWsCB68xyy0_MUMJu6t8bJlOLN6jgrNgjKDmP2vib9JYJOjpnJJ9ETWhs2lzzcDuve8JmEXvbOyTKREH95iAAJ2Tp6sVbXPhTjxCFuYFAPGEIzQiE-rvzCYaDYcAweNPTF788Nk9r8S13MYJJL-IVJtj5yuQL_LvI3L7SHz/s16000/_EG1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of several Egyptian Goose family groups</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Autumn is now very much upon us in the bird world. Without any flood waters we have to rely on the river shoreline for wader sightings which tends only to pull in <b>Common Sandpipers</b> rather than any other species. Still we had up to 7 of these in the King's Lock area as well as one or two others near the Perch area. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSXAKR7Z0WUyfp80e4I9GMX8OXIGuGUYNLvlMhVu5CyYqZFiCfkBj9c8cr-TwTVc0kBFOwRBfnwgcQTd7MzugX7ppJgWfi6qgYX4dlbiVtjrSsgjoZQCOMFXCdvT_L98iwvOk3B8F2JaOZyiTqta3R1GamV19ypzgydU_j5hJhaK9ttg6owW5BuN5K4pr/s600/_CmnSnd1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="516" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXSXAKR7Z0WUyfp80e4I9GMX8OXIGuGUYNLvlMhVu5CyYqZFiCfkBj9c8cr-TwTVc0kBFOwRBfnwgcQTd7MzugX7ppJgWfi6qgYX4dlbiVtjrSsgjoZQCOMFXCdvT_L98iwvOk3B8F2JaOZyiTqta3R1GamV19ypzgydU_j5hJhaK9ttg6owW5BuN5K4pr/s16000/_CmnSnd1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Common Sandpiper along the river north of the Perch</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also had another <b>Redstart </b>in Burgess Field as well as a <b>Spotted Flycatcher</b>. The first <b>Yellow Wagtails</b> of autumn have started to appear in amongst the livestock on the Meadow. Finally we had three <b>Whinchat </b>up near Hagley Pool past King's Lock a few days ago. This is actually a year tick for us.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw3grNsgPKIwN2RqAKcwt2ywaLiyEwtxj9DMvwy8tMtM0DkqhewSg767LPcufV3MuJDKcT_ubyz6TIrSBGCjBc0PkqpO3f_lVzcQ3B-U2W9Nxpcs6lUnM-AMkQogIQlNR8rVGORk5mlMpTVvhiZnMExdSIPT37VPWwHD9g5sPtq2R6JtU0xr0Mwd9rSzf/s600/RS_ML.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="488" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw3grNsgPKIwN2RqAKcwt2ywaLiyEwtxj9DMvwy8tMtM0DkqhewSg767LPcufV3MuJDKcT_ubyz6TIrSBGCjBc0PkqpO3f_lVzcQ3B-U2W9Nxpcs6lUnM-AMkQogIQlNR8rVGORk5mlMpTVvhiZnMExdSIPT37VPWwHD9g5sPtq2R6JtU0xr0Mwd9rSzf/s16000/RS_ML.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Redstart courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Onto flowers and I have to report that, contrary to what I stated in my previous post, there were in fact some <b>Pyramidal Orchids</b> in Burgess Field which Mary MacDougal managed to find. It's nice to know that they somehow managed to flower despite the very dry conditions. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN02-Ry05kYYlUtasGFqhiS9O_HO3mrd7OvpO_42-plt5bquWMf0RLNkVeClzNwmMilYAhfl_1fwGujV4JdsNDfJTHf31XEKVtpsYZ5jliFp3Iwq3zgiGAjSVSzSJgwxyLamXzW1ANlCGISKsLG7qagcWsAWPwNrnin0raijQKV_ZRHglfp6G1o9qN2V9E/s611/_PO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN02-Ry05kYYlUtasGFqhiS9O_HO3mrd7OvpO_42-plt5bquWMf0RLNkVeClzNwmMilYAhfl_1fwGujV4JdsNDfJTHf31XEKVtpsYZ5jliFp3Iwq3zgiGAjSVSzSJgwxyLamXzW1ANlCGISKsLG7qagcWsAWPwNrnin0raijQKV_ZRHglfp6G1o9qN2V9E/s16000/_PO.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the Pyramidal Orchids, well past its best</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been visiting the Trap Grounds regularly over the last couple of months looking out for the Odonata there. We've had <b>Souther Hawker</b>, <b>Brown Hawker</b> and <b>Migrant Hawker</b> as well as <b>Common </b>and <b>Ruddy Darters</b>. The <b>Small Red-eyed Damselflies</b> finally turned up midway through August though we have yet to have any Willow Emeralds. In previous years they have often not turned up until September so it's certainly possible that they will start to appear shortly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwFS_K20QHkHJri-HxSVk_gBxaphsJzwpMy0HTlD31GEAS_JIfa15N8wLrmk38eBbLKMj7VN444bcfKLV1oeCy9-hN5Ft7QQJa899IbEWuc2O9b6Zj6y62y2ZvDMih_mcfhZnvaUKhvamEMTQ2MtiP3gghbt290vYlKjGF-dR3wqe5U4tkwRajZVHkh8L/s600/_MH1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwFS_K20QHkHJri-HxSVk_gBxaphsJzwpMy0HTlD31GEAS_JIfa15N8wLrmk38eBbLKMj7VN444bcfKLV1oeCy9-hN5Ft7QQJa899IbEWuc2O9b6Zj6y62y2ZvDMih_mcfhZnvaUKhvamEMTQ2MtiP3gghbt290vYlKjGF-dR3wqe5U4tkwRajZVHkh8L/s16000/_MH1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Trap Grounds Migrant Hawker</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The usual butterflies have been around. Whilst there tends not to be much change in what species appear each year it's always nice to see them. <br /></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Q2oVPJ-4_4xVOJmufmsBV3IiJgzpGWe9Is_NCTKzBkjcA2npcoWyHXsGYSl1f2NZe4wOsdjotbrRCFZuyNsHVouxNUnHf3CYccCLz1iZS7OiZICwa3OY5LONbIAxE8XQ_QvD7yNNGJOrwpMafSGpt7xAn75UMsZvgXQAeBIXlpwan8ivtDHUeKxJiGpD/s600/_Rl.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Q2oVPJ-4_4xVOJmufmsBV3IiJgzpGWe9Is_NCTKzBkjcA2npcoWyHXsGYSl1f2NZe4wOsdjotbrRCFZuyNsHVouxNUnHf3CYccCLz1iZS7OiZICwa3OY5LONbIAxE8XQ_QvD7yNNGJOrwpMafSGpt7xAn75UMsZvgXQAeBIXlpwan8ivtDHUeKxJiGpD/s16000/_Rl.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Ringlet in the Trap Grounds</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Finally,
still on the insect front, Andrew Siantonas managed to find up to 7
<b>Glow Worms</b> in Burgess Field in July. It's good to know that they were
around again this year.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead now that we are heading into September we should get the peak passerine autumn passage. This should hopefully include more Redstarts and Spotted Flycatchers. We can also hope for some chats and maybe even a Tree Pipit. The Yellow Wagtail flock should hit peak numbers this month and it is always worth rummaging through them for something rarer. Beyond that we really need to hope for a very wet month so that we can start to get some more flood waters.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><br />Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-73549080187706161212023-07-08T17:45:00.001+01:002023-07-08T17:45:08.103+01:00June Update<p style="text-align: justify;">I thought I would do a (slightly late) end of June update on the Port Meadow flora and fauna. We are now firmly in the summer doldrums with not much to be expected on the bird front and it still being too early for any autumn return passage migrants. Still there have been a few things to report.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">To start with we have a fantastic record of a <b>Crossbill </b>that flew over Leckford Road on the 1st of June. To my knowledge this is the first record of this species, at least during the time that I have birded here (so since 2007). It's not impossible that we could have more records in the future, after all we've now had a couple of flyover Hawfinch records in the last few years.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There was good news on the<b> Little Owl</b> front where our resident pair once more successfully fledged a family in the usual place. To top this off, we had another summer record of a hunting <b>Barn Owl</b> near the Perch, just as we did last year. Maybe this species breeds somewhere within the patch boundaries as well. Talking of breeding, there are two family groups of <b>Egyptian Goose</b> around on the Meadow this summer with a total of ten birds (3 adults and 7 young) now gracing the Meadow. There are also lots of young birds around in the Trap Grounds with busy <b>Reed Warbler</b> parents to be seen gathering food for their young.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7V6YvIAO8U4fDBErld4db7MPjQ_nSr3uOrxvGho6Wq2MAOqGLiOJsNS66KbH7qlHkXxqVyXEsFIXooxYS9mhNO4IRtCK4-ysX-L0dEbGSFUZhqbKELuerKn45-xJ2jnetg3SAFihuIBlfkHXQMHsfv00LO4QBlzGuy2x5JLKP0uBXVYKIQjimnsg99og/s1024/_LO_BS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1024" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7V6YvIAO8U4fDBErld4db7MPjQ_nSr3uOrxvGho6Wq2MAOqGLiOJsNS66KbH7qlHkXxqVyXEsFIXooxYS9mhNO4IRtCK4-ysX-L0dEbGSFUZhqbKELuerKn45-xJ2jnetg3SAFihuIBlfkHXQMHsfv00LO4QBlzGuy2x5JLKP0uBXVYKIQjimnsg99og/w640-h562/_LO_BS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the parent Little Owls courtesy of Ben Sheldon</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">To round off the birding news there was a <b>Cuckoo </b>heard up near King's Lock on the 2nd and we had a pair of <b>Common Sandpipers</b> along the river shorline opposite the poplars for one day - the first clear sign of autumn!</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJRU5f0c5qzQAMdWU_c5zY7GSjBpcycBCDo0xOyrZLSvUQ2DkUaIzIQX1Q3gy6gZdyV1RAwCP-x8sqqETxHkN1phYAkup1XJrMorKNcVXVfhx0jIil5o1b_Adxj14IDTiW61GpkQ_L5q65QvT1FTR-aJHg6WSDSlasLLuo4nPS_2u6ojRNAqyovDaffhk/s600/_LE.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="587" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJRU5f0c5qzQAMdWU_c5zY7GSjBpcycBCDo0xOyrZLSvUQ2DkUaIzIQX1Q3gy6gZdyV1RAwCP-x8sqqETxHkN1phYAkup1XJrMorKNcVXVfhx0jIil5o1b_Adxj14IDTiW61GpkQ_L5q65QvT1FTR-aJHg6WSDSlasLLuo4nPS_2u6ojRNAqyovDaffhk/s16000/_LE.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Little Egret hunting in the river</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Onto flowers and sadly there don't seem to be any orchids in Burgess Field this year. My guess is that it was just too dry for them this year during the crucial growing period. However, it's been a good year for <b>Birthwort </b>with plenty of this nationally scarce flower growning in the usual location.<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xMuzcamDVYwtEanKmhFI5U2VmdUc38THcxcXd7OGa17utI149i3PIJQ0wvRwLIwdUHjp_EPE3nrDIGkulCNzP4dUqgYM-vWVjcpIcv0KvHjwTju9rvwiMUaIuLbSStMqRxAqnPz8X7FG32bfSci3DP-vtNBjP-F5HYEMgxr2A8FWoPOAODXkKbF_A9s/s4032/IMG_2853.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5xMuzcamDVYwtEanKmhFI5U2VmdUc38THcxcXd7OGa17utI149i3PIJQ0wvRwLIwdUHjp_EPE3nrDIGkulCNzP4dUqgYM-vWVjcpIcv0KvHjwTju9rvwiMUaIuLbSStMqRxAqnPz8X7FG32bfSci3DP-vtNBjP-F5HYEMgxr2A8FWoPOAODXkKbF_A9s/w480-h640/IMG_2853.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Birthwort, a nationally scarce plant</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">I've been spending a fair bit of time at the Trap Grounds over the last month looking at the damselflies and dragonflies. It's been the usual stuff to see but it is surprising what a variety of different species can be seen just in the small site. The <b>Downy Emeralds</b> seemed to disappear rather quickly but the <b>Hairy Hawkers</b> have been around for much of the month. A <b>Brown Hawker</b> was seen in recent days and there have been quite a few <b>Four-spotted Chasers</b> and <b>Broad-bodied Chasers</b>. The first <b>Ruddy Darters</b> have now also started to appear. On the damselfly front, we've had <b>Azure</b>, <b>Blue-tailed</b>, <b>Red-eyed</b> and <b>Large Red</b> so far. I've been looking out for Small Red-eyed which should start appearing soon but as yet have not seen any. Along the canal there are plenty of <b>Banded Demoiselles</b> and I did have a very exciting sighting of a <b>possible Southern Migrant Hawker</b>. This species is spreading rapidly across the country and having been seen just at Otmoor over the last couple of years has started to be seen elsewhere this year as well. Sadly I only saw this "possible" in flight briefly over the canal and haven't seen it since so I have been unable to firm it up yet.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYC2EIw_aPoSfEqkPIPUZVQV25a0XEnn0JJGZihpP1b6WNjG4rlxaMPV3QyjPGFdkcyOVH9PxO2ScHoqnxEeKEEBCFRP0b9CCz7Ta3mpxvtx63nbFT6FkZqfnPsCZ0CgnYnuai_F_yRnWNwpbqkTHmBq-xdKYvjV3EMR8sfkGyWABnxpIFvgco6f1iNY/s600/_BDem.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNYC2EIw_aPoSfEqkPIPUZVQV25a0XEnn0JJGZihpP1b6WNjG4rlxaMPV3QyjPGFdkcyOVH9PxO2ScHoqnxEeKEEBCFRP0b9CCz7Ta3mpxvtx63nbFT6FkZqfnPsCZ0CgnYnuai_F_yRnWNwpbqkTHmBq-xdKYvjV3EMR8sfkGyWABnxpIFvgco6f1iNY/s16000/_BDem.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Banded Demoiselle along the canal near the Trap Grounds</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_nO0b_4W1xS_2qTGz4McyS4r_CKNpTcN7-_FxPpTrBtoK6EFfGHV_2NFyE__Kykk_v5UqaRxfC1cIkZCdMsIM8JREhhM5fAiAH5PjL_AKszMMCt4fZPEgO3WADYcYLQV20A2MXRv7rGh0FPdXwycpIdguxH8HaOwYcZlfRR40m-VeEgcTiYI1WTK7XE/s600/_RD.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_nO0b_4W1xS_2qTGz4McyS4r_CKNpTcN7-_FxPpTrBtoK6EFfGHV_2NFyE__Kykk_v5UqaRxfC1cIkZCdMsIM8JREhhM5fAiAH5PjL_AKszMMCt4fZPEgO3WADYcYLQV20A2MXRv7rGh0FPdXwycpIdguxH8HaOwYcZlfRR40m-VeEgcTiYI1WTK7XE/s16000/_RD.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Ruddy Darter in the Trap Grounds</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead, July is still a bit too early for any proper autumn passage on the bird front so it will in all likelihood still be slim pickings. As far as Odonata are concerned we should have Southern and Brown Hawker on the wing as well as Common and Ruddy Darter. Small Red-eyed Damselfly should also be getting going as well<br /></p><p> </p><br />Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-16783742466374627972023-06-01T14:00:00.002+01:002023-06-01T14:01:58.823+01:0031st May<p style="text-align: justify;">So here we are at the end of the month. In the event, the second week of May (which in the past has been OK) was unusually quiet and the second half of the month rather limped its way to the close.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Starting with waders, the highlight was another <b>Grey Plover</b> on the floods (our second of the year). Arriving on the 15th it stayed for a while, occasionally popping over the hill to Farmoor. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_AtefAL-CWd82kDCE0v0EnhvSIjBZepaOrBEQycc60-AOJwKjVar4heWLf0tZOzJewBO1o53T8sgN6-JiEsU67G5tgjlG8xexbJL-41yGGMi-1upbLvNf_EJN3k9JyiTDa-pAapn1RMusCm7PIjipSn7bCVMY-rDzfEfUEwZ4hCX8WFZYNpYbAXllg/s1587/GyP.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="893" data-original-width="1587" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_AtefAL-CWd82kDCE0v0EnhvSIjBZepaOrBEQycc60-AOJwKjVar4heWLf0tZOzJewBO1o53T8sgN6-JiEsU67G5tgjlG8xexbJL-41yGGMi-1upbLvNf_EJN3k9JyiTDa-pAapn1RMusCm7PIjipSn7bCVMY-rDzfEfUEwZ4hCX8WFZYNpYbAXllg/w640-h360/GyP.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grey Plover, courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also had a couple of <b>Greenshank </b>that stayed with us until the end of the month, joined by another two birds on one day. This spring has been noticeable for the low counts of small waders, not only here but also across the county. We did have a smattering of <b>Dunlin</b>, <b>Ringed Plover</b> and <b>Little Ringed Plover</b> but never more than a couple at a time. The only other waders of note were a <b>Common Sandpiper</b> or two.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">What we lacked in waders we more than made up for with Egrets. Now that the floods are getting to the end of their life the great fish eating bonanza has begun. This has drawn in good numbers of <b>Little Egrets</b> (up to 19), <b>Grey Herons</b> and even a <b>Great White Egret</b> on a number of occasions. All have been feasting on the trapped fish in the floods. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmFaUUsftopHtETPCnPhJgCWL5G7IA_Scs1jAAkslenA5b7inlG1LVHQi8UolDEGZHns_2CVqUwpv8Yf3qye61zy1LsRqGGZcuSk7nMVA0VafjoGav-S_rCLAVX883d-SS3RaLG9_UKCGNvd2fBf_2kPERH9E8T3uRzWB2jgIKXGwL0F9zrQ0cAkpkOw/s1024/GWEe.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="702" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmFaUUsftopHtETPCnPhJgCWL5G7IA_Scs1jAAkslenA5b7inlG1LVHQi8UolDEGZHns_2CVqUwpv8Yf3qye61zy1LsRqGGZcuSk7nMVA0VafjoGav-S_rCLAVX883d-SS3RaLG9_UKCGNvd2fBf_2kPERH9E8T3uRzWB2jgIKXGwL0F9zrQ0cAkpkOw/w439-h640/GWEe.jpg" width="439" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Great White Egret on the floods</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of passerines we've had a few late <b>Yellow Wagtail</b> records and we also had our first <b>Spotted Flycatcher</b> of the year thanks to a bird seen up along the river towpath towards Godstow Lock. There is also a record of a <b>Nightingale</b>, heard by the Trap Grounds over a few evenings by Mary MacDougall and her son. This species seems to like commuting up the canal as there have been occasional records in previous years, all at various locations along the canal.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilw4l5R-TZ8vYLzhwSgyn0NWMZtJ9yCVTiVxxqsoostPc3tE_R9J8SX03ifRMjrOWM7Sizrzj86xmKPJ990pukWkf2gULiVC-Ct0s18Uce8_Sg0s-wTyr-mULTzD8JSoanb1kKTiTsNNKalFfYbbXvnOJzl5QfEMaYyofuubnpkYKRk_pknj8zI2o_gg/s600/_LE1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilw4l5R-TZ8vYLzhwSgyn0NWMZtJ9yCVTiVxxqsoostPc3tE_R9J8SX03ifRMjrOWM7Sizrzj86xmKPJ990pukWkf2gULiVC-Ct0s18Uce8_Sg0s-wTyr-mULTzD8JSoanb1kKTiTsNNKalFfYbbXvnOJzl5QfEMaYyofuubnpkYKRk_pknj8zI2o_gg/s16000/_LE1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Little Egret enjoying the feast</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As far as ducks are concerned, we've had up to 5 <b>Shelduck </b>sill hanging around and two broods of <b>Egyptian Geese</b>. At this rate this latter species will soon become well established on the Meadow. A drake <b>Garganey </b>(perhaps a failed breeder) has been seen on and off on the floods over the period.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rounding things off we've had a few <b>Hobby </b>sightings and what was probably the rarest record of the period with a fly-through <b>Arctic Tern</b> that was seen briefly on the 22nd.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Odonata season has kicked off and there is now good activity in the Trap Grounds. The highlight has been a couple of <b>Downy Emerald</b> once again, cementing this site's position as a premier location for this species. We've also had <b>Hairy Hawker</b> and a <b>Four-spotted Chaser</b> along with large numbers of <b>Azure Damselflies</b> and a few <b>Large Red Damselflies</b>. Along the Castle Mill Stream there are plenty of <b>Red-eyed Damselflies</b> and <b>Banded Demoiselles</b> to be seen as well as a few <b>Hairy Hawkers</b>. I did also see a <b>Broad-bodied Chaser</b> near the allotment hedge on the Meadow itself.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJmwGBcXLu5Hoojd7r97BJnaXw9qZ6NXuqvNvLqHBQyXH_KjkUgPZK2aUnenoB7Pk-UGlTAlfXaJ_IPEolzDQt0wgIwcMBLCgKIBwx5UslqRDI_YfORKPzJYxFCrE9fzDT7Ou-VZioeeOT8JdFD1n9rvgn1HlgHVMVXQdf4LgHxXZYXpsXP5zwQDhpw/s1312/_AzDmsl.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1312" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJmwGBcXLu5Hoojd7r97BJnaXw9qZ6NXuqvNvLqHBQyXH_KjkUgPZK2aUnenoB7Pk-UGlTAlfXaJ_IPEolzDQt0wgIwcMBLCgKIBwx5UslqRDI_YfORKPzJYxFCrE9fzDT7Ou-VZioeeOT8JdFD1n9rvgn1HlgHVMVXQdf4LgHxXZYXpsXP5zwQDhpw/s320/_AzDmsl.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Azure Damselfly</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjw5eN6rEV_zOFMPhHsfiQxDHqfLWZ1f0YWL8ay9a_bJAqVqfrxGSZL3uhYWDKzVMHkKUAwvJJdQ1Gno1zFJgVh9xyMPCIt7cQwbfZDWDmygbGW3F1jtSYM4-7D4ClDnfwPXZXYDqbZfOe7Hj0WAb5xBY-_owhyo5FGdekMrN_TXvHsCnlJPPIL5y6A/s1212/_LRDmsl2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1212" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjw5eN6rEV_zOFMPhHsfiQxDHqfLWZ1f0YWL8ay9a_bJAqVqfrxGSZL3uhYWDKzVMHkKUAwvJJdQ1Gno1zFJgVh9xyMPCIt7cQwbfZDWDmygbGW3F1jtSYM4-7D4ClDnfwPXZXYDqbZfOe7Hj0WAb5xBY-_owhyo5FGdekMrN_TXvHsCnlJPPIL5y6A/s320/_LRDmsl2.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Large Red Damselfly</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Looking ahead, we are now into the summer doldrums as far as birding is concerned. Whilst the floods have lasted well this year, their days are certainly numbered now. Still, there is plenty of other stuff to look at with summer flowers and insects to enjoy for the next couple of months..<br /><p></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-1021301112415889822023-05-07T23:14:00.002+01:002023-05-07T23:14:54.867+01:007th May<p>We've now had the first week of May. Usually there is one more week of good potential birding before things start to tail off. This week has been solid enough without anything really stellar. As a mark of this, there have been no new additions to the year list.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Starting off with waders, the star of the week was a <b>Bar-tailed Godwit</b> that spent the day on the floods midweek. Unlike the large flock that flew over last month, this singleton on the floods in May is the more usual way that this species gets onto the year list. In any event it was a nice opportunity for local birders to catch up with this species on the Meadow.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QX8gEo40W48Sh9mU7vbFbZwsPX_5vF4esqLlDewRe8t01lslTZDLEwCBHzWIxqCBsC6-plg9t8RqWbxR8po7Lwi4kMC-YoGa8fKZuwpJYEdkevzDHL5BEA1OV_l6xFbMk8zeh-DJuPP1REUxjXfpoI03Uithdw0YffK8KM17UkK8a9-Q-SeVxIgftQ/s1600/Bar1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2QX8gEo40W48Sh9mU7vbFbZwsPX_5vF4esqLlDewRe8t01lslTZDLEwCBHzWIxqCBsC6-plg9t8RqWbxR8po7Lwi4kMC-YoGa8fKZuwpJYEdkevzDHL5BEA1OV_l6xFbMk8zeh-DJuPP1REUxjXfpoI03Uithdw0YffK8KM17UkK8a9-Q-SeVxIgftQ/w640-h426/Bar1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Barwit above and below courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWDnTmmfNvr9NymKlqQ3z9E8PR4mpYHXaT1gZN0teSGX3AHR1KDhMC1FVhkH-1lHMiOko_htb4nyIc4E5ikP4aZCrP8i4d7Zdljjbe5BA-2sqMnZ_qC2l_SPwPdp6NRqyIW0IiKKckFlobaRwVl-jJwWxgdX-AvJZPsUhdKXfNSATqRz5wmGe8MpWtw/s1600/Bar2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNWDnTmmfNvr9NymKlqQ3z9E8PR4mpYHXaT1gZN0teSGX3AHR1KDhMC1FVhkH-1lHMiOko_htb4nyIc4E5ikP4aZCrP8i4d7Zdljjbe5BA-2sqMnZ_qC2l_SPwPdp6NRqyIW0IiKKckFlobaRwVl-jJwWxgdX-AvJZPsUhdKXfNSATqRz5wmGe8MpWtw/w640-h428/Bar2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also had up to 7 <b>Ruff </b>(actually Reeves) on the floods. The two sexes of this species migrate separately which is why the flock was all female. Apart from that we had two <b>Whimbrel </b>fly over, a single <b>Redshank </b>on the floods, and a smattering of <b>Dunlin </b>and <b>Ringed Plover</b>. 4 <b>Oystercatcher </b>also dropped in one day. This last species seems to have disappeared from the floods of late after being regular visitors earlier in the spring.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCDN1BTCTB22QIVgEiwtcqO1aFfYTvqTP75GYsjJStReZy9d65fybfqZ6vWD_RSIEnjQKOlppnCT11BUWRQeWE293T-0YmpfwiTSb3VkSBFoRn8JnHGUL4Ianl_QiZwGmX1GdS5vP819T8xlXgRZtQTyqXqI8p8sCHGmAFTkcbDB6MNDDsJQwWY3_fA/s1600/Ruff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCDN1BTCTB22QIVgEiwtcqO1aFfYTvqTP75GYsjJStReZy9d65fybfqZ6vWD_RSIEnjQKOlppnCT11BUWRQeWE293T-0YmpfwiTSb3VkSBFoRn8JnHGUL4Ianl_QiZwGmX1GdS5vP819T8xlXgRZtQTyqXqI8p8sCHGmAFTkcbDB6MNDDsJQwWY3_fA/w640-h428/Ruff.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The seven Reeves courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The only news on the duck front was the continuing presence of up to 9 <b>Shelduck</b> and a few <b>Egyptian Geese</b>. Actually there was a report of some goslings recently so they may well have bred once again on the Meadow. We've also got the usual non-breeding gathering of <b>Mute Swans</b> with over 50 counted at a peak. There are a few <b>Gadwall</b> and <b>Mallards</b> still about but no more Wigeon or Teal.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the raptor front we were lucky to get two further <b>Osprey</b> sightings. We had the usual brief fly-over on Friday but on Saturday, one lingered for about half an hour in the pouring rain where it was seen to hunt and catch a fish in the river. It even landed on the grass in the Hinterland for a bit. Apart from that there was a <b>Hobby</b> seen hunting <b>House Martins</b> over Southmoor Rd one evening.<br /></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jq9S6mE4Dys?vq=hd1080" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><i><br />The Osprey hunting along the river in the pouring rain</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Rounding things off, a <b>Great White Egret</b> was seen flying over
the floods mid morning today and was in fact reported first thing on the
floods. There have also been a few late <b>Yellow Wagtail </b>seen though numbers have predicatably dropped right off now. Finally, we had a singing male <b>Redstart</b> and another male <b>Cuckoo</b> in Burgess Field one day. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">While it's always dangerous to make any kind of prediction with birding, as I said at the beginning, we've probably got one more good week before things start to tail off. In terms of waders that we still need for the year list Knot and Sanderling are the two remaining ones. As a sign of how tough these two are, neither has been recorded at all in the last three years on the Meadow. We've yet to have Glossy Ibis and as I mentioned last time, Spoonbill is an outside possibility. Actually some of the Meadow locals have been talking about Black-winged Stilt as a possibility and indeed one did turn up reasonably close at Otmoor so it's not impossible. The reality is that it's going to get a lot tougher from now on to add new year list ticks. Let's see what this coming week brings.<br /></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-49489251922382044632023-04-30T20:09:00.000+01:002023-04-30T20:09:52.047+01:0030th April<p style="text-align: justify;">So we've come to the end of what is probably the most exciting month of the year in terms of year ticks and variety. Fortunately, this year April certainly lived up to expectations with a superb month of all sorts of goodies. What's more, the time since my last post certainly pulled its weight in terms of contributions.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Starting with waders, there has been a bit of slow down this last week or so as we move past the peak passage time. We had up to 7 <b>Dunlin </b>and a few <b>Ringed Plover</b> pass through though I think the lack of shoreline isn't really suiting the smaller species much. In any event they are currently harder to see because of all the vegetation cover. We finally got <b>Ruff</b> on the year list with a female that spent a day on the floods. We had a few <b>Common Sandpipers</b> at last with up to 6 recorded on one day. A <b>Wood Sandpiper</b> put in a brief appearance on the 28th though only stayed about half an hour. A <b>Greenshank</b> dropped in for a few hours one day. Finally today we had a couple of <b>Whimbrel </b>fly over calling so that got onto the year list as well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the duck front, we had a few more <b>Garganey </b>turn up and stay for a few days since my last post. Estimates are that we've had up to 9 individuals now this spring! Apart from this there has been little else to report with almost all the winter duck now gone. There are some lingering <b>Gadwall </b>still and we've still had up to 9 <b>Shelduck </b>and up to 3<b> Egyptian Geese</b> but little else of note.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">What we've lacked on the duck front we've more than made up for with Warblers. We have to start with an absolutely stellar find in the form of a singing male <b>Wood Warbler</b>. This was found on the 24th in Burgess Field by a visiting European birder who didn't know the English name for it. Fortunately Thomas Miller was on hand to check it out. Sadly it didn't linger long enough for more than the most quick off the mark locals to twitch it and there was no further sign that day. However the next day, remarkably it was found again still singing in a slightly different place. Once again it soon stopped singing after which it became almost impossible to locate. However the bird may have relocated to Wytham as a singing male has subsequently been found there and has stayed several days already. Our star bird was only the second ever on the patch to my knowledge after a single observer record a couple of years ago. Just to add icing on the cake, another singing male was reported along the canal by the back of Worcester College gardens near the lock one day though there was no subsequent reports or sightings of this bird. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReD9fQHNNwDAMzEutFD6B3-CSwgW03XvBinH7mJvQ6k6jTH3B4mR5H3-nUOvZrj0rZw2xe_Fc2aX3UnG7uBmM6FUrC_tOADTk0Yu_uHl4CQ2Wgn7nJLqqrEYiwHqWtd5uUuA-Hx4FC0Clt2afB4wr6lh-5t6Zh2Dg7ZsRPus1ASC1DnUM2NB5zjCN3w/s640/B16B3882-E7FA-4174-BCB4-8D0E8CA6B959.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReD9fQHNNwDAMzEutFD6B3-CSwgW03XvBinH7mJvQ6k6jTH3B4mR5H3-nUOvZrj0rZw2xe_Fc2aX3UnG7uBmM6FUrC_tOADTk0Yu_uHl4CQ2Wgn7nJLqqrEYiwHqWtd5uUuA-Hx4FC0Clt2afB4wr6lh-5t6Zh2Dg7ZsRPus1ASC1DnUM2NB5zjCN3w/w640-h480/B16B3882-E7FA-4174-BCB4-8D0E8CA6B959.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Wood Warbler courtesy of Pete Roby</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhgLkfhLCkjnmlGG9D7F2O-eL2k8vG3LcqTy0HmwcJXlyOUohO2m3TaDG4U6IE6JT5lnffo2p3ULzqB8hy_DI6sbgtU-PntiUb51PMs8B0WL33va0zY2vt38cGhiqWVx3AViGaOgUIkmyO1PQOxvQcnoQ1ZIqNycJ82Z_fwDzVCwPkwaP-UsqSNMEaA/s1024/WdW_BS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhgLkfhLCkjnmlGG9D7F2O-eL2k8vG3LcqTy0HmwcJXlyOUohO2m3TaDG4U6IE6JT5lnffo2p3ULzqB8hy_DI6sbgtU-PntiUb51PMs8B0WL33va0zY2vt38cGhiqWVx3AViGaOgUIkmyO1PQOxvQcnoQ1ZIqNycJ82Z_fwDzVCwPkwaP-UsqSNMEaA/w640-h360/WdW_BS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Wood Warbler courtesy of Ben Sheldon</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from this the other warblers that we might expect duly turned up with <b>Reed Warbler</b>, <b>Lesser Whitethroat</b>, <b>Garden Warbler</b> and <b>Sedge Warbler</b> all being seen. Indeed it's been a rather good spring for the latter species which is normally rather hard to record in the patch. There have been at least 5 records already this month alone. This also applies to <b>Willow Warbler</b>: I don't think I ever remember so many records of this species passing through on the patch. I'm not quite sure why this should be but it's very welcome all the same.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There was some more hot Tern action this week when 6 <b>Arctic Terns</b> flew through. Added to this Thomas Miller had an outrageous garden tick when a <b>Sandwich Tern</b> flew over his house in Abbey Road, just south of the Meadow. Apart from that, there have been regular <b>Common Tern</b> sightings all week. Nothing to report on the gull front apart from a 1st summer <b>Mediterranean Gull</b> in amongst the lingering <b>Black-headed Gulls</b> one evening.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y1X32Oc9Yw0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>The first summer Med Gull</i><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of other sightings, a male <b>Redstart</b> was spotted in
Burgess Field one evening though didn't linger. We had a couple of
fly-over Great White Egret sightings as well. There have been several
calling <b>Cuckoo</b> records in Burgess Field. <br /><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeQv8lUTJDMdc-YmZTwZsKZn7glD68bjCKj-ATP3LN_d9JzrimLEk4DJPZZhXDABnJTcc69jDBBaMXo3NRyMVuOPLeP5aUO4fjTedumoQsdyyUHDJK-kGhBsImPwtczilLNO29SUvj59oWGJNlQH7ASCqpsrqOgxJu1y25knc9AkCyolQEONh6RL3aA/s600/_RS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="600" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeQv8lUTJDMdc-YmZTwZsKZn7glD68bjCKj-ATP3LN_d9JzrimLEk4DJPZZhXDABnJTcc69jDBBaMXo3NRyMVuOPLeP5aUO4fjTedumoQsdyyUHDJK-kGhBsImPwtczilLNO29SUvj59oWGJNlQH7ASCqpsrqOgxJu1y25knc9AkCyolQEONh6RL3aA/w640-h578/_RS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Redstart</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> The first <b>Hobby </b>of the year was seen over the Meadow. We've had some more <b>Yellow Wagtails</b> (up to 20) hiding away in the long vegetation on the river side of the floods. Finally a <b>Wheatear </b>was seen in the Hinterland this week - I can't help but wonder how many of these we are missing as this area is birded far less often.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_XumWdR4bO-XBdYERmuoiXfR3sXiuWaCVu9LYBDwGuc_MeqMdlBXPU8nuEj70u-Y2j_0LMKaL6bq_oJ_s0x8lJKJXo8B5MHQn3ESiq51x-roiw6DQTWBBab0_L9jGSaHEJGoEwI8hmw7r1LvSnwQIM4ZvnmbFNSSyBcyE8PCor1fXAMFaLFzBTtNUg/s1531/Hob_ML.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="1531" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_XumWdR4bO-XBdYERmuoiXfR3sXiuWaCVu9LYBDwGuc_MeqMdlBXPU8nuEj70u-Y2j_0LMKaL6bq_oJ_s0x8lJKJXo8B5MHQn3ESiq51x-roiw6DQTWBBab0_L9jGSaHEJGoEwI8hmw7r1LvSnwQIM4ZvnmbFNSSyBcyE8PCor1fXAMFaLFzBTtNUg/w640-h428/Hob_ML.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hobby courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead, we've already amassed a pretty reasonable year list total and it's only the end of April! However, this does mean that there is not much "low hanging fruit" left in terms of year ticks. Glossy Ibis, Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat, Tree Pipit, Knot and Sanderling are the main ones which spring to mind. I also can't help but wonder about Spoonbill which used to be a bit of a patch speciality back in the day. Of course May is also the peak month for rarities in the first half of the year so something much juicier could always turn up. Let's hope so!<br /></p><br />Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-67201474089965383752023-04-22T22:17:00.000+01:002023-04-22T22:17:19.057+01:0022nd April<p style="text-align: justify;">I've been meaning to do more frequent updates during this key month but somehow records keep getting ahead of me and I'm always thinking "I'll just wait so I can include today's sightings" and it never quite happens. So in the end I'm doing it at the end of the day where I know what's what.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As expected, there have been a lot of sightings since my last post. With the flood waters still large there's been plenty of wader action though often they haven't lingered. We had 4 <b>Common Sandpipers</b> drop in for the morning only of the 11th. Up to 8 <b>Black-tailed Godwits</b> have dropped in and then moving on during the period. We had a flock of 16 <b>Redshank </b>that stayed for a while. 3 <b>Greenshank</b> also visited the floods. The highlight on the wader front was a flock of 50 <b>Bar-tailed Godwits</b> that were seen to fly over the floods on the morning of the 19th. This was during a period where a lot of Barwit action was happening across the county so it was good to get in on that. Usually Meadow records just comprise of singleton sightings so a flock this large is really unusual for us.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the waterfowl front, we had two more pairs of <b>Garganey </b>turn up, now making 6 birds in total so far this spring. There have been up to 8 <b>Shelduck </b>and the usual spring <b>Gadwall </b>flock though there are now only a few lingering <b>Teal </b>and <b>Wigeon </b>left on the floods. The exotic pair of <b>Black Swans</b> returned to the floods after a few days away.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybq-6oqvkXP7aYNQWuTrpvNiDZ5CNHs9PJGZ6V-9hivaotlGoYJS9zsyq8_8AvVyFEbYghR48Q7v7ANLMhv8R9UoRP6EFf_s4rdVICmZLbovn5wesIVFqZifzvgBhH1A-o-4pTF4BTBDqlGTZxwI9VC8dv5iP-FEbKTDUCKF53GcJmc6EU5yXhg8YsA/s1421/Garg_tm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1421" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybq-6oqvkXP7aYNQWuTrpvNiDZ5CNHs9PJGZ6V-9hivaotlGoYJS9zsyq8_8AvVyFEbYghR48Q7v7ANLMhv8R9UoRP6EFf_s4rdVICmZLbovn5wesIVFqZifzvgBhH1A-o-4pTF4BTBDqlGTZxwI9VC8dv5iP-FEbKTDUCKF53GcJmc6EU5yXhg8YsA/w640-h360/Garg_tm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the three pairs of Garganey courtesy of Thomas Miller. <br />The drake has rather distinctive spotty flanks and had been seen over at Day's Lock previously. </i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As far as gulls and terns are concerned, we were lucky to have 5 <b>Arctic Terns</b> fly over the Meadow. This is a real Meadow rarity but thanks to eager eyes on the skies this is the second year in succession that we've had this species on the year list. <b>Common Terns</b> have started to be seen again in small numbers in amongst the lingering <b>Black-headed Gulls</b>. One of the highlights of the period was a wonderful flock of 13 <b>Little Gulls</b> that dropped into the floods for a few hours before being lured away by 3 over-flying others.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihi4toDBaE5EtbRgxWIdU_T1qhHYTJLZ26qB54L7-buQ7ss3AqJjjaHUPvMm6TPwZE1r8eDztIvIZWAagKGZURpgn1VnhNP3vwqHzlPQ0-FnHK8jmKv4xEBaMrrSbTqFp0HU3Wfw-bm1UhAOgPFREBZ5fUNpu3v47tFn2mouKWGh5lW8fc_SGN1jbnOA/s1078/lg_tm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1078" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihi4toDBaE5EtbRgxWIdU_T1qhHYTJLZ26qB54L7-buQ7ss3AqJjjaHUPvMm6TPwZE1r8eDztIvIZWAagKGZURpgn1VnhNP3vwqHzlPQ0-FnHK8jmKv4xEBaMrrSbTqFp0HU3Wfw-bm1UhAOgPFREBZ5fUNpu3v47tFn2mouKWGh5lW8fc_SGN1jbnOA/w640-h640/lg_tm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Little Gull courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We managed to get <b>Osprey </b>on the year list with a bird that flew over on the 21st. What was altogether more left field was a <b>Short-eared Owl</b> that was seen to fly out of Burgess Field and off to the north this morning. This is a scarce patch species which is more usually seen in the winter than in the spring.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The more usual spring fare has been turning up gradually as well. We finally got <b>Wheatear </b>on the year list with a couple of birds on the 17th. The relative lack of grass has meant that there is less area for this species to be seen on. This also applies to <b>Yellow Wagtails</b> which have only been seen in modest numbers so far as well. We had the first calling <b>Cuckoo </b>heard from Burgess Field today as well. The usual warblers are gradually being ticked off with <b>Whitethroat</b>, <b>Sedge Warbler</b> and <b>Reed Warbler</b> all being recorded now. More interested was a singing <b>Grasshopper Warbler</b> in the scrub fields along the canal opposite St Edwards playing fields. This species is now sadly less than annual so it's good to get it on the list. We also has the first <b>Swifts </b>over the last couple of days.</p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVGwrmdWq7kNuCpNO50d35KJYUo75Pj4craOAfD5TMIVaTs_kLwZevPi_nPcXE35QXEYOboSLAvgmfWpWk7WzZ1hRxEEFXENUwYJtNzohvDZ49EsO4ePpC32kP4ezETJVsrPTVOw63K9V1sZsNoEE63i5ixCjS7kULKJQpXmiXHE9U0ih2EomW8lXpPg/s612/Wr_ml_e.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVGwrmdWq7kNuCpNO50d35KJYUo75Pj4craOAfD5TMIVaTs_kLwZevPi_nPcXE35QXEYOboSLAvgmfWpWk7WzZ1hRxEEFXENUwYJtNzohvDZ49EsO4ePpC32kP4ezETJVsrPTVOw63K9V1sZsNoEE63i5ixCjS7kULKJQpXmiXHE9U0ih2EomW8lXpPg/s16000/Wr_ml_e.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wheatear courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Just to round things off we finally got <b>Cattle Egret</b> on the year list with one being seen briefly on the 14th and two <b>Cranes </b>flew over today (presumably on their way to Otmoor). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">So looking ahead we have perhaps three weeks or so left of prime passage action before things start to tail off. With plenty of flood waters we might hope to get some more waders on the year list as there are quite a few we haven't had yet. Given the state of the floods one might even hope for something like a Spoonbill, which used to be a bit of Meadow speciality back in the day though it's been a few years now since we last had one. There are various other more or less to be expected species still to get and there's always the chance of something left-field at this time of year.<br /></p><br /><br />Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-44275387880632189282023-04-10T15:55:00.001+01:002023-04-10T15:59:40.327+01:009th April<p style="text-align: justify;">We are now well into what is probably the most exciting month of the year in terms of year ticks with summer migrants now arriving thick and fast. It is also the peak time for passage waders though records for them depend very much on the state of the floods. Talking of which, as mentioned in the previous post, the incredibly wet March has meant that they are if anything too full at the moment. They were all the way up to Wolvercote at the start of the month though have been dropping fast as the continuous rain finally eased off. In terms of actual sightings its been an eventful time since my last update with some top draw patch birds.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Starting with the waders: the large flock of <b>Black-tailed Godwits</b> lingered for a few days in the end. Ben Sheldon did spot a smaller, smarter bird with a rather up-turned bill in amongst them and there was some speculation that it might be the Asian subspecies. This would have been a first for Britain had it been confirmed but there just wasn't enough to go on given the distances involved. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHdmApJDGG7iLzCNUrB5cPDVU5DHCzMVSOa4L13jGjlxhT7DYbN_nGZ_fxke43kQc3AMDMzeSmt_EpaT_H3DrOqUcLIcHh67pOMK9NFIYBwL8FXKvHhmbQMv9MhOABlseH8PXppckRmmWtFD2ZeOQq3p2g6vIgs7bLV0T5AkffnKMl7In7Ec_4VzxLQ/s708/_Asian_BktG.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="579" data-original-width="708" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHdmApJDGG7iLzCNUrB5cPDVU5DHCzMVSOa4L13jGjlxhT7DYbN_nGZ_fxke43kQc3AMDMzeSmt_EpaT_H3DrOqUcLIcHh67pOMK9NFIYBwL8FXKvHhmbQMv9MhOABlseH8PXppckRmmWtFD2ZeOQq3p2g6vIgs7bLV0T5AkffnKMl7In7Ec_4VzxLQ/w640-h524/_Asian_BktG.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The possible Asian Black-tailed Godwit, courtesy of Ben Sheldon</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We have had a few <b>Oystercatchers </b>still knocking about as well as a single <b>Redshank </b>but the star wader of the month so far has been a <b>Grey Plover</b>
which spent the day on the floods. This species is pretty much annual
on the Meadow though usually only by virtue of a single record so it's
by no means certain. It also normally turns up a bit later in the month
so it's rather an early record. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Moving on to ducks now and the extended floods have been drawing in some ducks (and Grebes) that we might not normally see on the Meadow that often. Four <b>Tufted Ducks</b> lingered for a bit, feeding on the trapped fish within the flood waters. There have also been a few <b>Great Crested Grebes</b> feeding on the floods. The numbers of <b>Teal </b>and <b>Wigeon </b>have dropped dramatically, with the too-deep flood waters no doubt hastening their departure. We've had the usual <b>Shelduck </b>still lingering as well as a few <b>Egyptian Geese</b> and a pair of late <b>Pintail</b>. Right on cue a pair of <b>Garganey </b>turned up - it's great to have this charismatic duck back on the year list. However the best duck sighting since the last post was a stonking flyover drake <b>Mandarin </b>that two lucky observers had go low over towards Burgess Field one morning. This is a pretty rare record for the Meadow with just one "possible" previous record from last year up at Wolvercote Lakes.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Gulls next, not normally a category that I have much to say on at this time of year. However, there was a huge surge in inland <b>Kittiwake </b>records across the midlands recently and the Meadow was lucky enough to get in on this action when a pair of birds turned up just over a week ago. This is a really rare bird for the Meadow with just a handful of records by one observer over previous years. Apart from that we've had an adult <b>Mediterranean Gull</b> still being seen regularly and several hundred <b>Common Gulls </b>seen during their spring passage.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrjvL1Il5a200TRhUNAaEYTtTbslX6lE5uZt3za71WVJZJt7AEmFJbTDKJCQdF99NJlITdx4Iib_vtNEb-x86PakIH8Rh5EoxXqffHJkhUqypskdWUxeiCKU2Wdml0V7AMt8EnfBS9VmR-pQkW0Fos8tLCudF6CSazTj0EdGLTCQxvf6FjdvsW43n/s600/K2_SL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="600" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrjvL1Il5a200TRhUNAaEYTtTbslX6lE5uZt3za71WVJZJt7AEmFJbTDKJCQdF99NJlITdx4Iib_vtNEb-x86PakIH8Rh5EoxXqffHJkhUqypskdWUxeiCKU2Wdml0V7AMt8EnfBS9VmR-pQkW0Fos8tLCudF6CSazTj0EdGLTCQxvf6FjdvsW43n/w640-h492/K2_SL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The two Kittiwakes courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of spring migrants we've had a good passage of <b>Willow Warblers </b>moving through, particularly along the allotment hedge which seemed full of them on some days. Talking of warblers, the <b>Siberian Chiffchaff</b> is still with us though looking more scruffy by the day. This subspecies seems to do a spring moult unlike their more common cousins. </p><p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTmNurgq2SOLcMgRNyyLjjSuhNGJIWka6BO8R2JwxW5S0Osq2nbt8vSuWjAb9T5Z7d07ECAh6qZV56Q3Q4y8AHzrrT5PGrbdGogPSqdZaorJq5h9Q-J7yqrUPG2vd_GQ6XnLO06tKlOu-ppnIm0OT9GfK_uC8yt6y86TAEA_07P8_flJUY9d2m-UfhA/s1600/_SC_SL.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTmNurgq2SOLcMgRNyyLjjSuhNGJIWka6BO8R2JwxW5S0Osq2nbt8vSuWjAb9T5Z7d07ECAh6qZV56Q3Q4y8AHzrrT5PGrbdGogPSqdZaorJq5h9Q-J7yqrUPG2vd_GQ6XnLO06tKlOu-ppnIm0OT9GfK_uC8yt6y86TAEA_07P8_flJUY9d2m-UfhA/w640-h426/_SC_SL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The scruffy Siberian Chiffchaff courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">A couple of singing <b>Cetti's Warblers </b>have been heard up in Wolvercote. We've also had small counts of <b>Sand Martins</b> and <b>Swallows </b>passing through and the first <b>House Martins</b> are now starting to be seen as well. The spring <b>Yellow Wagtail</b> passage has been rather curtailed by the lack of grass at the southern end for them to feed on though we've still had some flyovers and the odd lingering bird in various places.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjadCg-ccf8hV_rcznKLM8RGNs6ZOWZ8RAzCLeJv93IfWVj6uk6qtqiy5cg0DLksuDkc1l8camj_lo8X4h7UmWVPcpdbnCTxAkqyBlz4jXMaVv5YVsWKUuuopZfhDf_vq8mv3PKpIe5lUWg37SwWXD14xnwSztOY1L0l3iu8vz8NnPfTLlSQZA5Jv0a7w/s2048/_YW_BS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1282" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjadCg-ccf8hV_rcznKLM8RGNs6ZOWZ8RAzCLeJv93IfWVj6uk6qtqiy5cg0DLksuDkc1l8camj_lo8X4h7UmWVPcpdbnCTxAkqyBlz4jXMaVv5YVsWKUuuopZfhDf_vq8mv3PKpIe5lUWg37SwWXD14xnwSztOY1L0l3iu8vz8NnPfTLlSQZA5Jv0a7w/w640-h400/_YW_BS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Yellow Wagtail, courtesy of Ben Sheldon</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;">I can finally report a Water Rail record on the year list. Normally we get this each winter in the Trap Grounds but due to the extensive reed cutting, we've not managed one this year so far. However, there was a singing male in the scrub by the start of the boat moorings along the canal near St Edward's palying fields last week so we can finally relax on that front.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, a couple of more "feral" sightings have included a <b>Crane </b>that flew low over Leckford Road (probably one of the Otmoor release scheme birds) and a pair of <b>Black Swans</b> (not tickable) have been lingering on the floods recently.<br /></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead, we've got plenty (almost too much) water for the key spring passage so hopefully we should be able to pull down some good waders. With the rest of the returning summer visitors to look out for as well, there's a lot to look forward to.<br /></p><p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p></div>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-59285253941660298962023-03-31T15:34:00.001+01:002023-03-31T15:34:20.450+01:0031st March<p>It's the end of March but it seems more like mid April: everything is a good couple of weeks early at the moment. In fact we have a fair bit of early spring migrant action to report already. Testamony to this is the fact that we've had the first singing <b>Willow Warbler</b> working its way north already - normally it's towards the end of the second week of April when we might start to expect this species. <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Another key development has been how wet March is. In stark contrast to the drought that was Feburary, this month has been extremely wet which has meant that the floods are very full. This bodes very well for the crucial spring passage period but at the moment there is no smooth shoreline for the smaller waders to feed along so it's got a different feel to it. Also birds are a long way away as far as viewing is concerned. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Let's start by giving a round-up of the waders that have graced the floods. We've had up to four <b>Little Ringed Plover</b> before the floods got too large. There were also a couple of <b>Redshank</b>, up to 4 <b>Oystercatchers </b>and one or two <b>Dunlin</b>. The main wader happening was right towards the end of the month when a flock of 29 <b>Black-tailed Godwits</b> turned up along with a single <b>Greenshank</b>. Again March is very early for the latter species which I tend more to associate with mid to late April.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dHzqwBFS47SeQRQmWh-aFUZipA9KnvpCKYRRx_8Au1z6XV3xcxfIRdSqeFKsOSpKq3p5t-GEhKOAwxKrQNnbBLXyru1YN3orQuaZMiirI-QT8LUQFM5-xiQWBQNQJ7Nsn9fPmc2TPPlwlHXj5fQ2Mh9-XCkrIOCKNkykuus4pjydJsv4ThvxnDqV7A/s1600/BktG.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dHzqwBFS47SeQRQmWh-aFUZipA9KnvpCKYRRx_8Au1z6XV3xcxfIRdSqeFKsOSpKq3p5t-GEhKOAwxKrQNnbBLXyru1YN3orQuaZMiirI-QT8LUQFM5-xiQWBQNQJ7Nsn9fPmc2TPPlwlHXj5fQ2Mh9-XCkrIOCKNkykuus4pjydJsv4ThvxnDqV7A/w640-h426/BktG.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Black-tailed Godwit flock courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvH8itxe8bBCaPbCPIRF9CJpSlmuRwobay8WwZIy9oGPMrzdoNL24yurHMB-5Mj3_3tH0A_mWL2f9BRBOXkCC7judORbHkTrx7Hrieqlw7V2JbI3aCboZkn2VOPB17uZ_nHSIySKKTo5hi-fPkTpKmRmPZOEzxA9JOVpntTk-YWjgwTHMQdtzZVXhMA/s600/_LRP.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvH8itxe8bBCaPbCPIRF9CJpSlmuRwobay8WwZIy9oGPMrzdoNL24yurHMB-5Mj3_3tH0A_mWL2f9BRBOXkCC7judORbHkTrx7Hrieqlw7V2JbI3aCboZkn2VOPB17uZ_nHSIySKKTo5hi-fPkTpKmRmPZOEzxA9JOVpntTk-YWjgwTHMQdtzZVXhMA/s16000/_LRP.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Two Little Ringed Plover</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the Gulls and Terns front the highlight was a fly-through <b>Sandwich Tern</b>. This is a realy patch rarity though in recent years there have been a smattering of records so I think this is the fourth one for the Meadow since my time birding it. There has also been an adult <b>Mediterranean Gull</b> in the roost regularly, joined by a 2nd winter bird one evening.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fv8OgvYY0us" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><i>The adult Mediterranean Gull</i><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We've had a few small flocks of <b>Sand Martins</b> starting to come through though none have lingered so far. We also had our first <b>Swallow </b>pass through as well. Another sign of spring is the arrival of the first <b>White Wagtails</b> with a couple having been seen already. Again this is normally an April species so it too is early. The <b>Siberian Chiffchaff</b> has been seen on and off until the end of the month in its usual place along the allotment hedgerow.<br /></p><p>There's not been much to report amongst the waterfowl, with some dodgy <b>White-fronted Geese</b> having been seen again. There have been up to 4 <b>Egyptian Geese</b> about - they may well breed in the area again like last year. Sadly there have been no Garganey so far.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Finally a really left-field record of a <b>Merlin </b>(a patch Mega) being chased by a couple of <b>Peregrines</b> along Leckford Rd!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead, we are now heading into what is arguable the most exciting month of the year on the Meadow with a lot of passage birds to look out for whilst we still have the flood waters. This month and the first couple of weeks of May are when we would look to bank the majority of our year list ticks including those crucial wader records. It's an exciting time of year!<br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><br />Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-89681448284966534732023-03-14T10:36:00.002+00:002023-03-14T10:38:38.383+00:0013th March<p style="text-align: justify;">You can tell that things are picking up as I'm doing a mid month update. There has been a noticable change in bird activity with things starting to pass through after a relatively static period up until the end of February. With the first migrants now starting to appear it's getting to an exciting time of year!</p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Starting with gulling, we've had a really purple patch with some great roosts. We've had good numbers of <b>Caspian Gulls</b> of various ages pass through. Below are some photos of some of them.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVtb8jcKZlPK59un-Og-aIriJ8XwCind2yTdDyksE38UksAsTpYrqvtXzex2O3n6FHbOiVc-ie2fqor3Ycj-noirn34mzsgc3Hzel-BrUuqvZB8Nu5dRMiEBxHowZRVDg4HgqAWMu3W3YtIWy4XYTXLpgGnb1X4k93fGXUNOleUWvcj21v6KGtRAr/s1920/Casp1w.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVtb8jcKZlPK59un-Og-aIriJ8XwCind2yTdDyksE38UksAsTpYrqvtXzex2O3n6FHbOiVc-ie2fqor3Ycj-noirn34mzsgc3Hzel-BrUuqvZB8Nu5dRMiEBxHowZRVDg4HgqAWMu3W3YtIWy4XYTXLpgGnb1X4k93fGXUNOleUWvcj21v6KGtRAr/w640-h360/Casp1w.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>1st Winter</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvB0-HnX3hf8uEmikTU4yfcmIuOWxnYsc-oxH1OeWatQNtv2-5LMg3w8dbu89It60l41rAlV5XF0vQtizSyMCW4jA5YjeK7AIzDY99YHwmiOL6GSoqBucFgJs9fhcM6JGwC9z3SZuuSDzFKS6xTqkowzreIqWSa0_uY2VqEFCZExJgZGreF3soOiEu/s1920/Casp3w.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvB0-HnX3hf8uEmikTU4yfcmIuOWxnYsc-oxH1OeWatQNtv2-5LMg3w8dbu89It60l41rAlV5XF0vQtizSyMCW4jA5YjeK7AIzDY99YHwmiOL6GSoqBucFgJs9fhcM6JGwC9z3SZuuSDzFKS6xTqkowzreIqWSa0_uY2VqEFCZExJgZGreF3soOiEu/w640-h360/Casp3w.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>3rd Winter</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87M7qdAj_I2EKH99cr3dGXbM-a1JBk0FxrY9lCE7QbBjGab7PQQcjGdQwA6aEvGLhlXHJhsvB9WIYXVDzMFvKi1UjFJxv-Ope4xEiEOMJrZkxJDUpfb2j_6t56mx2gjof96B7nITm_4DjYDIP0QwOOtVt9TYtNu1yJ-jTGQmDYHuVnoa41tKKmGKq/s1845/CaspAd.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="1845" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87M7qdAj_I2EKH99cr3dGXbM-a1JBk0FxrY9lCE7QbBjGab7PQQcjGdQwA6aEvGLhlXHJhsvB9WIYXVDzMFvKi1UjFJxv-Ope4xEiEOMJrZkxJDUpfb2j_6t56mx2gjof96B7nITm_4DjYDIP0QwOOtVt9TYtNu1yJ-jTGQmDYHuVnoa41tKKmGKq/w640-h360/CaspAd.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>...and adult Caspian. All courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />We have also been blessed with some regular sightings of one or sometimes two Mediterranean Gulls in the roost. One evening there was even some attempted courting going on.<br /><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdUw4wpHBGe2cZOFYNQ1Sm9v5eiFEKbLQJJkVwhA1SHrxq_rLivkbXBH0Pogkxf-s9cZA2k3-6wndrDihG6a87uQHcORTjiwYaSL3bOMgFZci7_IXEtMJoBRCVjG717S6EXCaoKBudETT2w9otZbbhimfL6kOwXRHPNAmv8vdzVvX4OQSbs16mga2/s1600/Meds.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdUw4wpHBGe2cZOFYNQ1Sm9v5eiFEKbLQJJkVwhA1SHrxq_rLivkbXBH0Pogkxf-s9cZA2k3-6wndrDihG6a87uQHcORTjiwYaSL3bOMgFZci7_IXEtMJoBRCVjG717S6EXCaoKBudETT2w9otZbbhimfL6kOwXRHPNAmv8vdzVvX4OQSbs16mga2/w640-h360/Meds.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The two Mediterranean Gulls courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from that there have been good numbers of <b>Yellow-legged Gulls</b> most evenings. On recent visits, there is a definite sense that the roost is now starting to wind down as we move into the second half of the month.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As the gulling winds down so wader action is picking up. The first migrants have started to appear with a<b> Ringed Plover</b> and a <b>Little Ringed Plover</b> both having been seen. In addition we've had up to 7 <b>Redshank </b>and up to 4 <b>Dunlin </b>as well as regular visits from a pair of <b>Oystercatchers</b>. As we move into spring proper we can expect the wader passage to kick off properly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's not been much to report on the duck and geese front. It's been pretty much the same birds as usual. We were visited by a pair of <b>White-fronted Geese</b> on a couple of occasions. As I've said before here, due to the presence of the Blenheim hybrid birds, it's hard to tell the authenticity of bird on the Meadow though these ones appeared to look OK . We already have this species on the year list from the start of the year so it doesn't make much difference either way.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">At least one of the <b>Siberian Chiffchaff</b> has been around in the allotment hedge still though sightings are starting to taper off now. The <b>Stonechats </b>were seen once more at the start of the month but have not been seen since.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">One cause for concern was the state of the floods. With February having been the driest on record (yet another weather record being set as climate change continues to bite) the floods were looking decidedly thin. Thankfully the recent wetter weather has helped a bit though we do still really need some prolonged decent rain during these next few weeks for the critical spring passage period. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead, we can start expecting more spring wader passage
and also the first Sand Martins though so far there has only been a
smattering of sightings in the county so it's early days yet. It's also time to look out for Garganey - last year was really good for this charming duck. We're coming up to the most exciting birding time of the year on the Patch so it's time to get out there!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-15508456730045638872023-03-01T12:50:00.000+00:002023-03-01T12:50:02.190+00:001st March<div><p style="text-align: justify;">Here we are in March already and the start of the meteorological Spring (though for me it will still be the spring equinox which marks the start). Back in the day I would of course do far more posts than the one per month that I am presently doing over the winter. However, times have changed and methods of communication have shifted to WhatsApp so there is less need for regular updates on the blog. Also, to be honest, it becomes a bit of a chore to do blog updates too frequently and the heady days of youthful enthusiasm have now given way to the jaded reluctance of middle age. Also, February is usually a fairly quiet month with the same winter birds being seen each day. Still, we've had some good birds this month to keep interest ticking over.<br /></p><p>Let's start with waders where it's been a good month. The highlight was an <b>Avocet </b>which dropped into the floods just for the morning where it was a much welcomed year tick addition. This species is a bit less than annual on the Meadow but is always a treat to see.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx9mLgKNwZ999gASGLlps9BipLwwX-z2OQJ2gyesPBal3bt9RpsBTHBF90H8CTXfviefpDe1wv6YRlzd3SowfMzM4hJJl6teMDhG0fnT9kTwb5qETf64ydvHFjcXP-yLaeEXJQLf9LFcF7jsnXJwTYInZHqWYTKy6IX4gtXin5w-XOAZUwfiMvwgoyg/s1600/Avo_ML.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqx9mLgKNwZ999gASGLlps9BipLwwX-z2OQJ2gyesPBal3bt9RpsBTHBF90H8CTXfviefpDe1wv6YRlzd3SowfMzM4hJJl6teMDhG0fnT9kTwb5qETf64ydvHFjcXP-yLaeEXJQLf9LFcF7jsnXJwTYInZHqWYTKy6IX4gtXin5w-XOAZUwfiMvwgoyg/w640-h428/Avo_ML.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Avocet courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VkhG1xCtN8o" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><i><br />Some video footage of the Avocet</i><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We had the first <b>Black-tailed Godwit</b> for the year (and the county year) on the Meadow this month. We also had some returning <b>Oystercatchers</b> with up to 3 birds seen and a couple of <b>Redshank</b>. Another good bird was a Curlew which dropped in one evening. February is the typical month where we get this species but it can be suprisingly hard to connect with unless you happen to be there when one drops in.<br /></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V-8mEr1sb_Q" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><i><br />Curlew on the floods</i><br /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Next onto gulling, which is serving up the usual mix of good county gulls. We've had a number of <b>Caspian Gulls</b> this month of various ages and an adult <b>Mediterranean Gull</b> which is has been putting in a regular appearance in the roost along with a supporting cast of plenty of <b>Yellow-legged Gulls</b>. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlNXwZw5Bblysgke3WuOXnmcJJ9_y1jAd-7WPE0M9zeEoQgwmTDMESeLOdQkNkdUOvB6Or6jDV2Y_1toArrpeZtIy4OWW0mu7iPWnlLbeEDsZzmJdSBBZMjyVrbZ5icqU-qf1oePusvDEGuacQivsrtIupBEF9NNnbDHcqMBfcY9Say_zpNlOSpzr4w/s1600/CG_TMa.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlNXwZw5Bblysgke3WuOXnmcJJ9_y1jAd-7WPE0M9zeEoQgwmTDMESeLOdQkNkdUOvB6Or6jDV2Y_1toArrpeZtIy4OWW0mu7iPWnlLbeEDsZzmJdSBBZMjyVrbZ5icqU-qf1oePusvDEGuacQivsrtIupBEF9NNnbDHcqMBfcY9Say_zpNlOSpzr4w/w640-h360/CG_TMa.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>3w Caspian Gull courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyJro3i6yv6SsQXtA1bLbewk-fBMOO6VTeAXYnv4DXVrHOP9q23qFx8vVKpIG9YsRDxLIl1vaoAjr20CA_NkXLRg4MCUjkAWbhNgsRaPjUWx83SiAJo5-HAzZ5fnTjtincxagZy19VO2LQjhv7d1LpgX2h-UbxRYmvXsaJTnVR99BN2PtEAGy7CMsTw/s1920/_CG_TM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLyJro3i6yv6SsQXtA1bLbewk-fBMOO6VTeAXYnv4DXVrHOP9q23qFx8vVKpIG9YsRDxLIl1vaoAjr20CA_NkXLRg4MCUjkAWbhNgsRaPjUWx83SiAJo5-HAzZ5fnTjtincxagZy19VO2LQjhv7d1LpgX2h-UbxRYmvXsaJTnVR99BN2PtEAGy7CMsTw/w640-h360/_CG_TM2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Above and below, a couple of 1w Caspian Gulls, courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d6J6bKBiIGHzjltWVsqVrq8jo3T8UyHQJJ0gcV8CfHUtFFcosL-pAldrRiMVsCyLN6ALNr93-pknGdyPJEC2x7BMAvboO9sVbXOSIitsICMz7h6qIyfAVpKfoS_YgOTr5nrgb_l-2rhkMCq-m1Hneplql1y3-H8yXx6hWEbmHMOyKvRpoIVQl4VlyA/s1920/_CG_TM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4d6J6bKBiIGHzjltWVsqVrq8jo3T8UyHQJJ0gcV8CfHUtFFcosL-pAldrRiMVsCyLN6ALNr93-pknGdyPJEC2x7BMAvboO9sVbXOSIitsICMz7h6qIyfAVpKfoS_YgOTr5nrgb_l-2rhkMCq-m1Hneplql1y3-H8yXx6hWEbmHMOyKvRpoIVQl4VlyA/w640-h360/_CG_TM.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">On the wildfowl front where last month's heady excitment of the American Wigeon was not reprised with that star bird instead relocating to Otmoor. So we've had to be content with the usual species. There have been up to 12 <b>Shelduck</b>, up to 5 <b>Egyptian Geese</b> and up to 31 <b>Pintail </b>in amongst the numerous <b>Wigeon </b>and <b>Teal</b>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It's been quiet on the raptor front though a regular 1w <b>Peregrine </b>has been hunting over the floods. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Onto passerines where last month's 3 allotment hedge <b>Chiffchaffs </b>have swollen in number considerably and now include no less than two <b>Siberian Chiffchaffs</b>. Could one be last year's Sibe chiffy returning - who knows? There are at least 10 Siberian Chiffchaffs in the county at the moment which is pretty good! Maybe they are going the way of Yellow-browed Warblers in starting to view the UK as an over-wintering location rather than just heading south. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoFNjt7nA0fr9VUdc74RJtdPo4KLI_2sc4AVmreqgTgOGiLi6nICQAhqIgz8dHYX1GORfqyM91KQTWcGUjbR9VDevOsqoTiZwrg_CPwniNbIy4_Bro8_-PDJgUbLxoS70k3C3toNsdtyJnWB1EKjoLbFXVVgJ6gOWwGcBQ_WC9rKdL3n1qtsBBKA23A/s1024/_SibeC_BS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="1024" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoFNjt7nA0fr9VUdc74RJtdPo4KLI_2sc4AVmreqgTgOGiLi6nICQAhqIgz8dHYX1GORfqyM91KQTWcGUjbR9VDevOsqoTiZwrg_CPwniNbIy4_Bro8_-PDJgUbLxoS70k3C3toNsdtyJnWB1EKjoLbFXVVgJ6gOWwGcBQ_WC9rKdL3n1qtsBBKA23A/w640-h504/_SibeC_BS.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Siberian Chiffchaff: above Ben Sheldon & below Matthew Lloyd</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlNRE816hDZw57kgnUHJd0pwkPW5qnmHZXCsGqG-41lzHx2mUb8il1AFaRo0qdl8jKLrK-L6xxkM91oSHWrbQpu96GrmWQhZn1BGp1BQYmn9E6WdfR3HVtngGVfxwlyeiovxuP2ozB-2HBpgGkJwli9y0EEptTvykOhGlBH8ICfHeMuBwlU3NU830IA/s1600/_SibeC_ML1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIlNRE816hDZw57kgnUHJd0pwkPW5qnmHZXCsGqG-41lzHx2mUb8il1AFaRo0qdl8jKLrK-L6xxkM91oSHWrbQpu96GrmWQhZn1BGp1BQYmn9E6WdfR3HVtngGVfxwlyeiovxuP2ozB-2HBpgGkJwli9y0EEptTvykOhGlBH8ICfHeMuBwlU3NU830IA/w640-h428/_SibeC_ML1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two <b>Stonechats </b>have been seen occasionally on the Meadow this month though they can often be surprisingly elusive and I suspect that they spend time in the allotments where they won't be seen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfdF8iNZgdZmkHNfuL9qrFMr-IIoLUKbXMNOO_K_vL0_vAXGomHlV6OHnElJ4woU265UhPgFNy6s_TgeN3xg7TZv4xfinr20hheWu3o6ZOpAmgITsp5oqsbXz_mAZvPY08ZXN7bFh48dYVvi2sMUkIwzY9htSgXriEm5MWJ4TES9amKx7rhS2x2m8MQ/s600/_Scht.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="600" height="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfdF8iNZgdZmkHNfuL9qrFMr-IIoLUKbXMNOO_K_vL0_vAXGomHlV6OHnElJ4woU265UhPgFNy6s_TgeN3xg7TZv4xfinr20hheWu3o6ZOpAmgITsp5oqsbXz_mAZvPY08ZXN7bFh48dYVvi2sMUkIwzY9htSgXriEm5MWJ4TES9amKx7rhS2x2m8MQ/w640-h616/_Scht.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The female Stonechat</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div><p style="text-align: justify;">There is one more passerine record to report, a totally left-field record of a <b>Willow Tit</b> seen briefly in Warnborough road. This is such an unlikely location for this species which is now unfortunately no longer resident in this county that, had it not been myself who saw and heard it, I wouldn't have believed it. Truly a "bonkers" record, but part of what makes birding such a fascinating pastime.<br /></p><br /></div>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-7114212644319030052023-01-29T13:30:00.000+00:002023-01-29T13:30:55.268+00:0028th January<p style="text-align: justify;">As usual, the first blog post on the new year is not until towards the end of the month. Normally, January consists of little more than catching up with the usual species that are around at this time of year for the purposes of the year list. However, this time we've had a proper top draw rarity on the Meadow, almost certainly a shoe-in for the Port Meadow Bird of the Year no less. I am of course referring to the drake <b>American Wigeon</b> that was found by Thomas Miller on the evening of the 12th. </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDbh1OOEvFAiXhXKzZnE33hiH1gh4IsfDNGoZkd9iBfqcx0zmvWnFCK6A15QOVonR4UTbA3oadU7CXR_Zuy90cVrjtrmnDGZ1gUonaf-T6cJBdlDwv5aqccbGtRTvsneAQQc_wobinJ9rNBw_x5SPlpv5D59JAYTnL5ePkaiME9Y6FHdmQUaWuCXgxA/s1600/AW_PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeDbh1OOEvFAiXhXKzZnE33hiH1gh4IsfDNGoZkd9iBfqcx0zmvWnFCK6A15QOVonR4UTbA3oadU7CXR_Zuy90cVrjtrmnDGZ1gUonaf-T6cJBdlDwv5aqccbGtRTvsneAQQc_wobinJ9rNBw_x5SPlpv5D59JAYTnL5ePkaiME9Y6FHdmQUaWuCXgxA/w640-h360/AW_PM.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6ye8UQDeu6x-NQ5DkoZMYzF8VIsh8zmNEBI4_OFqTgKOxJZo4uaREfFVE99cdU_jdP7gmGLas-MYLBorb6Sou8jAGxcxeQ25VHKGEjjs1G8qknAuNysMSapDBHf5lz4mtWaX6A4NybHipps_DDzdiJCEUpytmesskKgEef_N59KYCRiDcBvkg6WKBg/s1157/AW_PM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="1157" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6ye8UQDeu6x-NQ5DkoZMYzF8VIsh8zmNEBI4_OFqTgKOxJZo4uaREfFVE99cdU_jdP7gmGLas-MYLBorb6Sou8jAGxcxeQ25VHKGEjjs1G8qknAuNysMSapDBHf5lz4mtWaX6A4NybHipps_DDzdiJCEUpytmesskKgEef_N59KYCRiDcBvkg6WKBg/w640-h360/AW_PM2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A couple of record shots of the American Wigeon courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">This species has been a long anticipated find on the Meadow in amongst the large number of Eurasion Wigeon that we have each winter but it's to Thomas' credit that he found it at all given that we were in proper "lake mode" at the time and the birds were about half a mile away from where he was viewing. Sadly it was only found untwitchably late at dusk and was not seen again the next day (much to the chagrin of the other patch birders - myself included!).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from this star bird, there has been a good supporting cast, mostly of water fowl, as you would expect at this time of year. The best of the rest was a pair of <b>White-fronted Geese</b> that was found whilst the Meadow was in "lake mode". WF Geese are always a headache on the Meadow due to the regular visits of the mongrel Blenheim birds but they normally travel together in a flock of 6 or more birds. This pair seemingly relocated to Standlake at Pit 60 where they appeared to be genuine and so are going to go on the year list.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Other worthy mentions on the waterfowl front are: a <b>Little Grebe</b> at Wolvercote Lake; a <b>Great-crested Grebe</b> that enjoyed fishing on the "lake" for quite a period of time; four <b>Egyptian Geese</b>; up to 10 <b>Pintail; </b>up to 5 <b>Shelduck</b> and up to 8 <b>Goosander</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As you would expect at this time of year, there has been some good gulling with a couple of <b>Caspian Gulls</b> (3w & 2w), several <b>Yellow-legged Gulls</b> and an adult <b>Mediterranean Gull</b> all already on the year list.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96eh1R3EMv87basxkKJgbLuunSfrai6DAoqHyWkTx8W5KfEPCrynQl6TZtA7yxCCYo0cM0QwnyX34rAW524zyuPCEd8X9qJdaFx2yIe59DnWM0BzXVWeVue5cZwX39-IP0ZXIJSGr0nUTq4FvyFQDtkZg90Xk2lBXgnSm3DCJydhMUfjL1LhpW3RRkQ/s1920/3wCasp_TM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi96eh1R3EMv87basxkKJgbLuunSfrai6DAoqHyWkTx8W5KfEPCrynQl6TZtA7yxCCYo0cM0QwnyX34rAW524zyuPCEd8X9qJdaFx2yIe59DnWM0BzXVWeVue5cZwX39-IP0ZXIJSGr0nUTq4FvyFQDtkZg90Xk2lBXgnSm3DCJydhMUfjL1LhpW3RRkQ/w640-h360/3wCasp_TM.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>3w Caspian Gull courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We've not had any waders so far apart from two resident <b>Redshank</b> on the river, one flock of 15 <b>Dunlin </b>and a singleton Dunlin. We might well still get a Black-tailed Godwit before spring arrives.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Other birds of note include the return of the pair of <b>Stonechat </b>that graced the thistle scrub between the Aristotle Lane and Walton Well Road entrances for some time in December. It's nice to have them back again. This does beg the question as to where they have been in the meantime - I wonder if they've been spending time in the Trap Ground allotments which is not generally accessible. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCn8TIbYWpK-CNRrtWYw_PsQUtHEA2QQBDxd7aKrH8JIqjFbAVi7WHpfrXYcBf7hqZ06XHuQYBydRWneDicw3WmsQwyl75giHvl4MxziEnr_nC8S5C6UAxGgKr67Zxd07NcbO7Kxxae0fmrswJV-cmvmmeDREdvmVEgQIH2zXActnABwMxISGgp7Fpvg/s600/_SC1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCn8TIbYWpK-CNRrtWYw_PsQUtHEA2QQBDxd7aKrH8JIqjFbAVi7WHpfrXYcBf7hqZ06XHuQYBydRWneDicw3WmsQwyl75giHvl4MxziEnr_nC8S5C6UAxGgKr67Zxd07NcbO7Kxxae0fmrswJV-cmvmmeDREdvmVEgQIH2zXActnABwMxISGgp7Fpvg/s16000/_SC1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The female Stonechat</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">There have also been some <b>Cetti's Warbler</b> reports up at
Wolvercote Lake. Talking of Warblers, we've had up to 3 delightful
<b>Chiffchaff</b>, showing very nicely in the allotment hedgerow and coming
down to the ice to pick off insects. They've been a pleasure to watch! I've had a male <b>Blackcap </b>in my garden over the winter which has jealously been guarding the feeders from all comers - he has been most agressive! It's a shame as it means that I am no longer seeing the large flocks of <b>Goldfinch </b>and <b>Greenfinch </b>that I normally get in my garden.<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pJqOscm5pjKaJFA37zsuF8kxlmYCPOoabFGrAGE75m6AoxwsNHkieKjOqR13fsZp_XdP0PSvhERs_cUqJYfvWbg0hVdlek-vpzPuTgQytA5KAzPvmYo6WNpQL9ZlZpCe0nOZzc9OPIYC7G0Xxn0zWAsxd2b9CX8L9zjKJ4wQBctA1kuckVZcNuLgMA/s600/_CC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="521" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0pJqOscm5pjKaJFA37zsuF8kxlmYCPOoabFGrAGE75m6AoxwsNHkieKjOqR13fsZp_XdP0PSvhERs_cUqJYfvWbg0hVdlek-vpzPuTgQytA5KAzPvmYo6WNpQL9ZlZpCe0nOZzc9OPIYC7G0Xxn0zWAsxd2b9CX8L9zjKJ4wQBctA1kuckVZcNuLgMA/s16000/_CC.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the three Chiffchaff</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead, February is generally a pretty quiet month before the spring passage begins. There will still be the Wigeon and Teal flock to look through in case our star bird happens to return and you never know what else might turn up.<br /></div>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-17612641268562761472023-01-04T14:40:00.001+00:002023-01-04T14:40:45.992+00:002022 End of Year Review<p style="text-align: justify;">Here is the traditional Port Meadow review of the year post. As I mentioned in my last post, despite the severe drought at the time of the crucial spring passage, we still ended up amassing a reasonable end of year total of 137 + 1 extra in the form of a Red-breasted Goose. Whilst there wasn't a stand-out national rare there were enough good county and patch birds to make it an exciting year with plenty to keep us interested.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p></p><p></p><p><b>Winter</b><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Winter is usually the best time of year in terms of sheer bird numbers with lots of water fowl as well as plenty of gulls to look at. In terms of gulls we had a good season with lots of Caspian and Mediterranean Gulls found though sadly once again we failed to turn up any white-wingers. It's been far too many years since we've had one of those beauties on the Meadow (or indeed in the county).</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjf6pQGaWkkKPST3yJ1ZGob4PH9TRAy1ZbJed2pURYLr1Gf2TSKqe56pemyZbjM0b5wT6pUIUsD6JPLnrknPoaNX1F4-a64ZB8QNKCsbkh-8CNoCNBbGVfXHyYkEfkKEVAqfphHxzEFUUdmFb8XobxKmn7uk2ZoKCXa5pV74Nox8F3Qjt5fPhvgFLMNIg=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjf6pQGaWkkKPST3yJ1ZGob4PH9TRAy1ZbJed2pURYLr1Gf2TSKqe56pemyZbjM0b5wT6pUIUsD6JPLnrknPoaNX1F4-a64ZB8QNKCsbkh-8CNoCNBbGVfXHyYkEfkKEVAqfphHxzEFUUdmFb8XobxKmn7uk2ZoKCXa5pV74Nox8F3Qjt5fPhvgFLMNIg=w640-h360" width="640" /></a> <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZn8vfF65JDS0niapuRccjXJva7L_yCFZxufdFHoNrdxPyLL_EkbuUrU57RcPi6vIrE_09BADC7OULr7TT7m8nk-YMuW0SOgTYs8G9qWVpW3B0cce8Tt4a-oZlqLtM46qV_taMT0JN_3kGaTYrhftFFY91HzJOCIapq3umZC5-QvLHmg00egyuDvy_=s640" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZn8vfF65JDS0niapuRccjXJva7L_yCFZxufdFHoNrdxPyLL_EkbuUrU57RcPi6vIrE_09BADC7OULr7TT7m8nk-YMuW0SOgTYs8G9qWVpW3B0cce8Tt4a-oZlqLtM46qV_taMT0JN_3kGaTYrhftFFY91HzJOCIapq3umZC5-QvLHmg00egyuDvy_=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Above two photos, Caspian Gulls, Below: Mediterranean Gull, all courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"> </p><p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUMXvieKd-Z-Ml940uaYU8KpPj_AehiFxUJqIW0EJD2opfMrhQbJa9BwJIKyEZP4p77LBTD8VQsce3S9pbd8kJf5KMzaNp_07-PrvzMkfyxsGyUl1MnxbirsvW_Bre34u12oRxhLTLUII3Bt5ynlPMWZ6C3a_ybnt7bPZ3slvaFxlsPk2DEkiOm6kr=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUMXvieKd-Z-Ml940uaYU8KpPj_AehiFxUJqIW0EJD2opfMrhQbJa9BwJIKyEZP4p77LBTD8VQsce3S9pbd8kJf5KMzaNp_07-PrvzMkfyxsGyUl1MnxbirsvW_Bre34u12oRxhLTLUII3Bt5ynlPMWZ6C3a_ybnt7bPZ3slvaFxlsPk2DEkiOm6kr=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We had at least one of the Red-breasted Geese stay with us for a while in January, adding a splash of colour to the large numbers of geese. Thanks to the feeding station in Burgess Field it turned out to be a great year for Bramling with well into double figures seen for this charismatic finch.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxXz043LWFjzc-oVbU0AeKnMoobBOxTv3KALRI2SyPofNSmpGFQe3_3CYUkDjQ3oR9dvJcl393pNunrvrtli9UTykDkNwUh1LtDBuimi_AS8jo9D38M03PeZecl5XwbvPKoKKv2q4r7WzsCb3Z02BJPLl2_EEsqEjuU_3Gh6eJH7xx6Jpj5CvM7fX9SA=s600" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="600" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgxXz043LWFjzc-oVbU0AeKnMoobBOxTv3KALRI2SyPofNSmpGFQe3_3CYUkDjQ3oR9dvJcl393pNunrvrtli9UTykDkNwUh1LtDBuimi_AS8jo9D38M03PeZecl5XwbvPKoKKv2q4r7WzsCb3Z02BJPLl2_EEsqEjuU_3Gh6eJH7xx6Jpj5CvM7fX9SA=w640-h558" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of many Brambling</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We managed to get Glossy Ibis on the year list for the third year running when one dropped in briefly at dusk. It then decamped to Otmoor where it stayed for a while.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCuCfR82BwPdd6rt46HYS9Ix9VoFBNPptOR6EvRl18KIzctG-KK1TLn3Z6JaX14S8gQLrxQVcqOcn50WAEVvrr_3xrXvPebxyb7CEaryfqV8KE_7kItmMxUrm08oucIV5MaMGmkBdLp57WpsNxilJHwm_LmxIxPt-9FNq-wiBfFAmZINgtUvRk--W0Sw=s583" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="583" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjCuCfR82BwPdd6rt46HYS9Ix9VoFBNPptOR6EvRl18KIzctG-KK1TLn3Z6JaX14S8gQLrxQVcqOcn50WAEVvrr_3xrXvPebxyb7CEaryfqV8KE_7kItmMxUrm08oucIV5MaMGmkBdLp57WpsNxilJHwm_LmxIxPt-9FNq-wiBfFAmZINgtUvRk--W0Sw=w640-h542" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The brief visit of the Glossy Ibis </i><i>courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><b>Spring</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Spring started off with a bang with the discovery of a Siberian Chiffchaff loitering by Burgess Field gate. This is the first record of what is currently a subspecies of Chiffchaff for Port Meadow. Fortunately it ended up lingering for quite a while and was much enjoyed.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTLZTJgWmjpc8lf70Jn9msLpXCdfkKCcO4CDk-JjMgV69GmPqFSvA7qJQPOnzVOgAK8s8VJ-wVXZ1WPCC8iwd2ngdFAkEKQ4wTECyAF5u3FZcSkXAjhjkmfvQueObsdo5uN0KYyD7yBZ4BbfD-HIkGuqiBJtprnzMFPFVwzttA17r0ZTMSdpowNXXkA/s640/_SC_JT.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="640" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTLZTJgWmjpc8lf70Jn9msLpXCdfkKCcO4CDk-JjMgV69GmPqFSvA7qJQPOnzVOgAK8s8VJ-wVXZ1WPCC8iwd2ngdFAkEKQ4wTECyAF5u3FZcSkXAjhjkmfvQueObsdo5uN0KYyD7yBZ4BbfD-HIkGuqiBJtprnzMFPFVwzttA17r0ZTMSdpowNXXkA/w640-h444/_SC_JT.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Siberian Chiffchaff, courtesy of Joe Tobias</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>It was an unusually good spring for Garganey on the Meadow with quite a few records whilst the floods were still with us.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvjbg1vL--I7GVJKazxB3jmIT1AsgLZPQyMntqnjLmAgo6BHOmwKqLYZ4KKHSkL-KLz29HZL5tUb8KZiUyv5eeEQ_2UQcRWQXdXt5LqTjp3Ccod1mc2MdCp4SjD-IOdWOAdUzf0d3475osVudWZ_VOpwkiVDEbFMS8RMcmp1qvwsKIPlkDAGKQ2HzcA/s600/_G_MT.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="600" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvvjbg1vL--I7GVJKazxB3jmIT1AsgLZPQyMntqnjLmAgo6BHOmwKqLYZ4KKHSkL-KLz29HZL5tUb8KZiUyv5eeEQ_2UQcRWQXdXt5LqTjp3Ccod1mc2MdCp4SjD-IOdWOAdUzf0d3475osVudWZ_VOpwkiVDEbFMS8RMcmp1qvwsKIPlkDAGKQ2HzcA/w640-h578/_G_MT.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Garganey pair, courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">As mentioned above, due to the unusually dry spring, the floods were
gone by the start of May which is usually the best time to get some
quality species. Still we managed to get Bar-tailed Godwit and Wood Sandpiper, two of the rarer waders that we might hope to add to the year list. However we ended up missing out on quite a few waders (Sanderling, Whimbrel, Knot and Avocet) that we might reasonably hope to get in a good year.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZySfYnlK5Qh-ArjacLpg-oDgdsC9W3G42Ed1gAGiXjMX5_P6FMA6ijORpzVfKeZJEEYQhVb_XAztS4lwzi6j1giriuezWBV0iSnQYpnUy-SLdbos9m-WrVTNPC3FgB9tmqHirIXrDdGO-LJIqIWz59GxjjgvAcWCkY28yLDPmbd2SYOLJpTMZ99qKJg/s640/barwit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZySfYnlK5Qh-ArjacLpg-oDgdsC9W3G42Ed1gAGiXjMX5_P6FMA6ijORpzVfKeZJEEYQhVb_XAztS4lwzi6j1giriuezWBV0iSnQYpnUy-SLdbos9m-WrVTNPC3FgB9tmqHirIXrDdGO-LJIqIWz59GxjjgvAcWCkY28yLDPmbd2SYOLJpTMZ99qKJg/w640-h360/barwit.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Bar-tailed Godwit, courtesy of Thomas Miller</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"> <br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KweoCr0RInI" title="Wood Sandpiper, Port Meadow" width="560"></iframe> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>Wood Sandpiper</i> <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also scored some stonking spring fly-over ticks with Little Gull and Arctic Tern both seen on the same day.<br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><p><b>Summer</b> <br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Summer is traditionally a quiet season for birding on the Meadow so the sighting of a Little Tern briefly on the the patch was a stand-out record. This was almost certainly the Farmoor bird popping over the hill for a visit but at only the second record ever on the patch it is a really great record. It's just a shame that only one observer saw it.<br /></p><p>We were also entertained by a family of Little Owls in the summer which showed well at dusk for quite a number of days before dispersing.<br /></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXsnF-DYIjkN9wK5-Y6OU0v0CPRRODqssTtC6E3lNty3H-lZZU6TMrTRxYXf7jKcPRXFJ3Zh9OfuasIA7J4_HCQsyWQZK7bnqwJ_VEDgKIstOrpf6q-FXNr7p3Tcf9MgAyacPzA2uv00p06ixR0XwNrIytr-f4QdSzq2W7Fxoqs1EjxgGtiLRVt5BjQ/s640/LtlOwl.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="640" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXsnF-DYIjkN9wK5-Y6OU0v0CPRRODqssTtC6E3lNty3H-lZZU6TMrTRxYXf7jKcPRXFJ3Zh9OfuasIA7J4_HCQsyWQZK7bnqwJ_VEDgKIstOrpf6q-FXNr7p3Tcf9MgAyacPzA2uv00p06ixR0XwNrIytr-f4QdSzq2W7Fxoqs1EjxgGtiLRVt5BjQ/w640-h532/LtlOwl.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Little Owl, courtesy of Joe Tobias</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, as the birding slows down, summer is traditionally the time for insects and we had a very good season in that respect. We started off with a Club-tailed Dragonfly photographed along the Thames. This is a rare dragonfly in this part of the river with not many records at all.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxqag3U0-NhbcaazYGmtXXqfcYGgo6MRK43_HkpphYoFxNwmS4F4bT9gZdXcMrboECJNmljyQqJ8ziqbhjYmVphaw3uRLP0GwfIvewCJh2gUyJ52MBCdG1hgKToDSKjHgZgOslNaQDvH5GXM-6kpL8ebr3gcmLD7aIjofZU5cZG5oaPnHE6rTj0vZbg/s640/_CTD.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxqag3U0-NhbcaazYGmtXXqfcYGgo6MRK43_HkpphYoFxNwmS4F4bT9gZdXcMrboECJNmljyQqJ8ziqbhjYmVphaw3uRLP0GwfIvewCJh2gUyJ52MBCdG1hgKToDSKjHgZgOslNaQDvH5GXM-6kpL8ebr3gcmLD7aIjofZU5cZG5oaPnHE6rTj0vZbg/w640-h428/_CTD.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Club-tailed Dragonfly </i><i>courtesy of Michael Enticott</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Our new Downy Emerlad colony seems well established now with several seen in the Trap Grounds on the main pond. The same can also be said of our Willow Emerald population with plenty of sightings around the various Trap Ground ponds. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJTLhz1Ku-NUAOGuBl40NJXiVdGdaDoRKrzPgKZn5cj8T90co8Xrvz_lcRxbTq7dlzWKyJ6-GdioONSi_EjEYD--A6SyTLHPE7I2cmHvUoj2lKR8_ZDczNJdgW_UGkTY7nM407JAtnlvPZoGmOXvIpnAfGqcg_mRiQTsP2cBnzRG0rLl8vLou61K7UA/s614/_WEm2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJTLhz1Ku-NUAOGuBl40NJXiVdGdaDoRKrzPgKZn5cj8T90co8Xrvz_lcRxbTq7dlzWKyJ6-GdioONSi_EjEYD--A6SyTLHPE7I2cmHvUoj2lKR8_ZDczNJdgW_UGkTY7nM407JAtnlvPZoGmOXvIpnAfGqcg_mRiQTsP2cBnzRG0rLl8vLou61K7UA/w626-h640/_WEm2.jpg" width="626" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Willow Emerald</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>We also had a new colonist this year with a population of Small Red-eyed
Damselflies seen in good numbers. Let's hope they become regulars as
well.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQchg2FMbnuhNYKHG2UFg_q2VyqNm0m9_PpyIIshO52xSt_CLeiF1TCHN3JQHhK208EjjaL2RvmzwPPxj5-GBN-nK7Rbt_uZDsQAJrSVAoI47D96M8NvBZyvIgiv2P7Fc-XYO_9Lkxi-73YACrRfmQPa7zojf9xvzc8OjJL6J8ajcSdtUmFyU5xs7vFw/s600/_SREDm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQchg2FMbnuhNYKHG2UFg_q2VyqNm0m9_PpyIIshO52xSt_CLeiF1TCHN3JQHhK208EjjaL2RvmzwPPxj5-GBN-nK7Rbt_uZDsQAJrSVAoI47D96M8NvBZyvIgiv2P7Fc-XYO_9Lkxi-73YACrRfmQPa7zojf9xvzc8OjJL6J8ajcSdtUmFyU5xs7vFw/s16000/_SREDm.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Small Red-eyed Damselfly</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once again we managed one or two sightings of Brown Hairstreak thanks to the eagle eyes of Nicola Devine. Sadly Nicola is no longer with us, having died this year. We will all miss her wonderful photos and great enthusiasm for the Trap Grounds.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlB_YwD1q4hqA_0wklI2s8QZ9NeXAva5I79KsDfHu71_yM8JFu5MIZTioVAI63gzJzPXmUxeJNjemq6j8aAqUmhRsPI1zB6-horPz3yxDyXBatb3IDdUZdjFfNtDs7mwetksT81RYz6nDcSeIPOjsI-jtUDaFkfo6Ou1ky6cNH1X7gS-trvmZI9lqVw/s639/Brown%20Hairstreak%20Butterfly%20Waterways%2011th%20August%202022.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="639" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlB_YwD1q4hqA_0wklI2s8QZ9NeXAva5I79KsDfHu71_yM8JFu5MIZTioVAI63gzJzPXmUxeJNjemq6j8aAqUmhRsPI1zB6-horPz3yxDyXBatb3IDdUZdjFfNtDs7mwetksT81RYz6nDcSeIPOjsI-jtUDaFkfo6Ou1ky6cNH1X7gS-trvmZI9lqVw/w640-h426/Brown%20Hairstreak%20Butterfly%20Waterways%2011th%20August%202022.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brown Hairstreak, courtesy of Nicola Devine</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Once again we had some Glow Worm sightings in Burgess Field in the summer.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSgTAtSnwdWd5W_t-Twx8u8OoHF8vo1_4v5Z0NNhmBDzBrjMkDPgYFBjHcTmAXqXRuK0r8Pb8waZ7CD9vOihniKAfZu0vLWWtBfsw-RpJkP5_fHj1HNOZrDsHYuwJtwqYVL0lspRlETR99U3euUbwrfze9zgmuulRrKFarBCixAsWP7er8WPQI1BlTg/s640/GlwWrm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSgTAtSnwdWd5W_t-Twx8u8OoHF8vo1_4v5Z0NNhmBDzBrjMkDPgYFBjHcTmAXqXRuK0r8Pb8waZ7CD9vOihniKAfZu0vLWWtBfsw-RpJkP5_fHj1HNOZrDsHYuwJtwqYVL0lspRlETR99U3euUbwrfze9zgmuulRrKFarBCixAsWP7er8WPQI1BlTg/w640-h360/GlwWrm.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Burgess Field Glow Worm, </i><i>courtesy of Zichen Zhou</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p><b>Autumn</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Whereas spring was somewhat disappointing, we ended up having a very good autumn. There were unusually good numbers of Spotted Flycatchers and Redstart within Burgess Field this autumn which made for great birding. <br /></p><p><b> </b></p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76ruZVZWsjCWEpJ1MOIpPv5SmQmQD9Rb1OEUyMn1ShJS9Dpr94pN47vDTtYVs1EjD0bCA5-d9WIPn9HMEAGUkPWlBDdmyeWWrl2Ng77m9aVZi298P1ifQNzKycQ05m8UnONYNFgTI3YdlEtOW9VFvxbQ3Bl_iHlVnAbU1cNsgbVYmLsW_eQspcSxcow/s600/+SptF1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="600" height="634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76ruZVZWsjCWEpJ1MOIpPv5SmQmQD9Rb1OEUyMn1ShJS9Dpr94pN47vDTtYVs1EjD0bCA5-d9WIPn9HMEAGUkPWlBDdmyeWWrl2Ng77m9aVZi298P1ifQNzKycQ05m8UnONYNFgTI3YdlEtOW9VFvxbQ3Bl_iHlVnAbU1cNsgbVYmLsW_eQspcSxcow/w640-h634/+SptF1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Burgess Field Spotted Flycatcher (one of nine seen this autumn)</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9b3qVY_dAIvSELttqnUQBVLUSlvLRLJW7ZKcQRWXtxSCUh4RMCnT0l0vhZuC8zPx3YHJRPdYsy7LTfwe_0LyZnpibxbk-yVDgqMQfZyvINUy8ZP5oAUqLzBnUgNlsyaPGU8ojJUdVT7iQZWqE34Xr3qo9O8j7rsGiyJ-AaVSfvQfP5K00hAFz9PIBcg/s625/_RS1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9b3qVY_dAIvSELttqnUQBVLUSlvLRLJW7ZKcQRWXtxSCUh4RMCnT0l0vhZuC8zPx3YHJRPdYsy7LTfwe_0LyZnpibxbk-yVDgqMQfZyvINUy8ZP5oAUqLzBnUgNlsyaPGU8ojJUdVT7iQZWqE34Xr3qo9O8j7rsGiyJ-AaVSfvQfP5K00hAFz9PIBcg/w614-h640/_RS1.jpg" width="614" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the Four Redstarts seen this autumn</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Hr-YKUIT4FJZmkUEDxkj-5GcNBbOYSTq90hdSSWbsYRViuta_OClRcLLNk4V-sldfKiNg_ch3yi0Ky97OOxjtY-9Oqv7jopljYHwoioPDZKzWniIKm6L5iEs6SDSEQ747ypL38DyEf56U5uIo_8V9U1MLjV8fJ8tP_fBRyDjvUIXiFmfB-wR0ozc/s640/received_469754401636590.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Hr-YKUIT4FJZmkUEDxkj-5GcNBbOYSTq90hdSSWbsYRViuta_OClRcLLNk4V-sldfKiNg_ch3yi0Ky97OOxjtY-9Oqv7jopljYHwoioPDZKzWniIKm6L5iEs6SDSEQ747ypL38DyEf56U5uIo_8V9U1MLjV8fJ8tP_fBRyDjvUIXiFmfB-wR0ozc/w640-h428/received_469754401636590.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This flyover Osprey in Wolvercote made for a great photo, courtesy of Joe Taylor</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Despite the complete lack of flood waters the grassy plains of Port Meadow attracted some good birds this autumn. We had a Grey Plover grace the area for several days.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTwmcyz-lmcn8cN4TvktkI0r7Ftk1c4OAM-QFVZV0wohn7qSpJAy_F1DuPXmLu4adgd08OeDsNDooRsJ4RjD61k7OlyRKKXkuqoix9YfJsrAvJLVuY9YsRaGeb-O6I3Oi8mzUSdvV6GNgr9IOp0VG6XVjhovm6MSbZ7tTHQ4e37BfLTVR2GIK5vrrGQ/s640/_BS_GPindex.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="640" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTwmcyz-lmcn8cN4TvktkI0r7Ftk1c4OAM-QFVZV0wohn7qSpJAy_F1DuPXmLu4adgd08OeDsNDooRsJ4RjD61k7OlyRKKXkuqoix9YfJsrAvJLVuY9YsRaGeb-O6I3Oi8mzUSdvV6GNgr9IOp0VG6XVjhovm6MSbZ7tTHQ4e37BfLTVR2GIK5vrrGQ/w640-h554/_BS_GPindex.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Grey Plover (courtesy of Ben Sheldon) hung around for a while,</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />On the Pipit front it was a stand-out autumn. A Rock Pipit was found in the Hinterland area north of the dried up floods. This only the fourth record for the Meadow with the last two being back in 2010.<br /><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwiu6Y2YRH8Il8VBSb59zlM4FMx5xXVtvDaRbeI4wuWd6YS-VDsrCE2iTJUjO09hl0bfhwYamwx0Xy2l871nb9HXUrqhKR-LSVny7RRZenRj9w2ZPez1_tHvooSKGMtesfxFZKrfHjuYfygJw9s6wbcdjnKsDeBsEbg4dp9YRSrwofv4Lim4toPgE7A/s639/_RP1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="639" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwiu6Y2YRH8Il8VBSb59zlM4FMx5xXVtvDaRbeI4wuWd6YS-VDsrCE2iTJUjO09hl0bfhwYamwx0Xy2l871nb9HXUrqhKR-LSVny7RRZenRj9w2ZPez1_tHvooSKGMtesfxFZKrfHjuYfygJw9s6wbcdjnKsDeBsEbg4dp9YRSrwofv4Lim4toPgE7A/w640-h552/_RP1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Rock Pipit, courtesy of Joe Tobias</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Following that we had an even rarer Pipit with a Water Pipit loitering near the returning flood waters. This was probably the Farmoor bird which seemed to navigate between that location, the Meadow and Wytham for a little while. This was only the second record, with the last being in 2007.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhW4LIZkZ94nya3prW8onkBfQzAe00iU7lLAJ1wKV95c-nM-sJA2v2txIjmrN0NlYANUH7YTkhpvFFBD9rD04KDiH7krQlUeOr0p94mdD391t6HrUMW0Dkk862qKv4PNEKdiQVIGrD6apg4OG2HRcTOMcpqWlTXL7b0aHwQIShB7B9GjbyC62p02vug/s400/_WP1_edt.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="393" data-original-width="400" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhW4LIZkZ94nya3prW8onkBfQzAe00iU7lLAJ1wKV95c-nM-sJA2v2txIjmrN0NlYANUH7YTkhpvFFBD9rD04KDiH7krQlUeOr0p94mdD391t6HrUMW0Dkk862qKv4PNEKdiQVIGrD6apg4OG2HRcTOMcpqWlTXL7b0aHwQIShB7B9GjbyC62p02vug/w640-h628/_WP1_edt.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Water Pipit, courtesy of Steve Lavington</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">We also had a Yellow-browed Warbler in the Trap Grounds for one day. This was the first of what proved to be a specacular autumn across the county for the once rare Siberian warbler. Another outstanding record was a flyover Hawfinch seen over the Meadow. The post breeding Cattle Egret colony relocated to a field north of Wytham for several weeks.<br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcVfFOMAFODdUMBmA1JJBMhxqW94jxjmct9tvtzEt5ZFXdz6L04tPxwviSthwYrtq5XTkj0zGSX9ss25zpAoS9id4C4V9ifsQ0DJH9Mb8ZaN-l_Jg2teiYTw2SfS7TlsepDFFO9KiluW6eVXGw9c2xd5NFTml-2TcOwNjG5qfzWDZEJMacUeP_3aN/s600/_CE1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="600" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcVfFOMAFODdUMBmA1JJBMhxqW94jxjmct9tvtzEt5ZFXdz6L04tPxwviSthwYrtq5XTkj0zGSX9ss25zpAoS9id4C4V9ifsQ0DJH9Mb8ZaN-l_Jg2teiYTw2SfS7TlsepDFFO9KiluW6eVXGw9c2xd5NFTml-2TcOwNjG5qfzWDZEJMacUeP_3aN/w640-h446/_CE1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Cattle Egrets near Wytham</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>We also had a dark-bellied Brent Goose drop in on the floods for one day. <br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2h-1Y5aLeZpc6KYsLDd646DuWhWk1qk6nGG-HG4-_w8UJqIdc_-Ji7KzaS76ATvwx9nJcLUjdgeTXspXAIRFmWVbT-Y-t3ymhwBl_m2w-1-EYra0dBrcItG07I8wpsiD6Xpe0dXHIfZ8mB-juyZaCz2JIR7oLaocFKq-N9nv1tYK87DY4VzKMx_6qcA/s600/_Brent.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="600" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2h-1Y5aLeZpc6KYsLDd646DuWhWk1qk6nGG-HG4-_w8UJqIdc_-Ji7KzaS76ATvwx9nJcLUjdgeTXspXAIRFmWVbT-Y-t3ymhwBl_m2w-1-EYra0dBrcItG07I8wpsiD6Xpe0dXHIfZ8mB-juyZaCz2JIR7oLaocFKq-N9nv1tYK87DY4VzKMx_6qcA/w640-h404/_Brent.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brent Goose, courtesy of Ben Sheldon</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><b>Bird of the Year</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Finally it's time to award the Port Meadow Bird of the Year award. This year it was rather difficult as there was no obvious stand-out bird. Below is the short list along with the number of previous records for the Meadow:<br /></p><p></p><p>Siberian Chiffchaff (first record)<br />Little Tern (second record)<br />Arctic Tern (first record for several years)<br />Water Pipit (second record)<br />Rock Pipit (fourth record)<br />Yellow-browed Warbler (fourth record)<br />Hawfinch (second record)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some of these contenders (e.g. Little Tern and Hawfinch) were single observer records which rather counts against them. The Sibe Chiffy is only a sub-species though still an excellent record. After due consideration I am going to give it to the Water Pipit (which was also a personal patch tick for me). I've long felt that this species should occur more often than it does on the Meadow so it's great finally to have another record.<br /></p>Let's hope 2023 proves to be at least as good as this last year.<br /><p></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-76131595677459119572022-12-31T16:12:00.000+00:002022-12-31T16:12:06.936+00:0031st December<p style="text-align: justify;">December has been unusually quiet, largely due to the Big Freeze that gripped the country over the first part of the month. It was so severe and prolonged that the Meadow became largely birdless though it did mean that my garden feeders suddenly became a much sought after source of food for the local <b>Goldfinches </b>and <b>Greenfinches</b>. They ended up in residence in the garden for the entire time - a welcome sight when everywhere else was frozen and barren. We've also had a pair of <b>Blackcaps</b> gracing the garden on a regular basis. This species is pretty much annual in my garden over the winter. After this frozen weather, it was back to mild and wet weather and a welcome return of the birds. Indeed the Meadow has been very "birdy" for the second half of the month with lots of the usual suspects.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps one of the highlights was a distinctly dodgy <b>Caspian Gull</b> which graced the roost one evening. Definitely with some mixed genes it was so marginal a call as to whether it could be classed as a Caspian or just a hybrid that even I (normally only too ready to claim a Casp when I see a candidate bird) thought it wasn't one. It was only our esteemed county recorder who said that it was "good enough" to be one. In any event it's not a year tick as we had plenty of this charismatic species at the start of the year, but it's nice to have the first of the season under our belt. There was not much else on the gull front apart from a few <b>Yellow-legged gulls</b>. The real gulling season kicks off properly the new year.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I_kw-pt2nO8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>The Dodgy Caspian Gull</i><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the waterfowl front it's been the usual species in fairly good numbers. There are plenty of <b>Wigeon </b>and <b>Teal </b>about with a dozen or so <b>Shoveler</b>. On some days we've had a few <b>Pintail </b>gracing the floods as well. A couple of <b>Shelduck </b>for several days running were an unusual sight for this time of year. There are plenty of geese about with the <b>Barnacle Goose</b> flock more or less in permanent residence and plenty of <b>Canada Geese</b>. The Blenheim <b>White-fronted Geese</b> (sadly not tickable) have been popping into the roost on occasion as well. There have been up to 8 <b>Goosander </b>along the river, with some occasionally appearing on the floods at dusk. There was an intriguing "reported" Ring-necked Duck on RBA recently though with a couple of <b>Tufted Duck</b> on the river and nothing more know about it than this one mention I can't really in all good conscience claim this as a tick.</p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz79SBjFrM1ebKysa3SaJwMENlx7Q8P_7dVUezwjl77hDWzBN_pZQPn8OvANQK47o_kAlMZ7rLCI72kCg-q-FUVkXhfUNwVz_hG_GwOfOcohBLBCO-HNM6e-EgAZ13v4oqv_NI5G4lDR19rO_WI6ZHHTCwkP9a6QU6pB4GtP0g1W3S1-TTE4JCwbL4vQ/s2000/PC206832-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz79SBjFrM1ebKysa3SaJwMENlx7Q8P_7dVUezwjl77hDWzBN_pZQPn8OvANQK47o_kAlMZ7rLCI72kCg-q-FUVkXhfUNwVz_hG_GwOfOcohBLBCO-HNM6e-EgAZ13v4oqv_NI5G4lDR19rO_WI6ZHHTCwkP9a6QU6pB4GtP0g1W3S1-TTE4JCwbL4vQ/w640-h480/PC206832-Edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueHEhaZzY-y6RjCWaRs9si9UqOZ7GazEnf4YfdHxjqaczSDTeDnG5fg0ZA8KozQj9XXiXXthR6EeSQlPtY010KzX4z-4OHVYGlG89FwDwaigQEMIKaB3ty85c053dceK6q4YauZiOcAxgRSa7wFkaeRqJ_OBaxD6Vjq0b6H1prwKH2Ik0CV_hAXdx3Q/s2000/PC206851-Edit-Edit-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjueHEhaZzY-y6RjCWaRs9si9UqOZ7GazEnf4YfdHxjqaczSDTeDnG5fg0ZA8KozQj9XXiXXthR6EeSQlPtY010KzX4z-4OHVYGlG89FwDwaigQEMIKaB3ty85c053dceK6q4YauZiOcAxgRSa7wFkaeRqJ_OBaxD6Vjq0b6H1prwKH2Ik0CV_hAXdx3Q/w640-h480/PC206851-Edit-Edit-Edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Winter Duck, courtesy of Peter Batty (www.batty.photos)</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Waders have been mostly represented by <b>Golden Plover</b> and <b>Lapwing </b>in modest numbers. We have had the odd <b>Black-tailed Godwit</b> and <b>Dunlin </b>record though none that have lingered. A couple of <b>Redshank </b>were seen along the river in their usual place near the fallen trees towards the end of the month. During the frozen period a lot (50+) of <b>Snipe </b>were seen in the Hinterland where presumably the ground was less frozen.<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">There's not been much else to report apart from the pair of <b>Stonechat </b>which seemed to be wintering in the thistle area between the Aristotle Lane and Walter Well Rd exits. However, the cold spell eventually proved too much and they seem to have departed now.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0bPoaE4z8CNuTC-V_AexqxuRC0lqvWSrKVNZkA9WRCplMphnKf-8NAKxvJKR8JbRIijmbU4dTcYo8w1RvFdCddJu6KSCr9jiMhn9vEfZqPWoCzuwaozE6XZQryywdGlFeAYGUmUa4uqQjb8QbTiFOM2_GW2CpJozaTTVvu_rIVbfE5X_xhRQ5o-mNg/s2000/PC205783-Edit-Edit.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="2000" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj0bPoaE4z8CNuTC-V_AexqxuRC0lqvWSrKVNZkA9WRCplMphnKf-8NAKxvJKR8JbRIijmbU4dTcYo8w1RvFdCddJu6KSCr9jiMhn9vEfZqPWoCzuwaozE6XZQryywdGlFeAYGUmUa4uqQjb8QbTiFOM2_GW2CpJozaTTVvu_rIVbfE5X_xhRQ5o-mNg/w640-h427/PC205783-Edit-Edit.jpg" width="640" /> </a></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNerd-rsrqhvFaTpGI67yWxPyTqN6abWSF_3v8WlCD3g8UUeJLd1zfzGs8HiLgG0bgxLxuCuipzI7EBsUZKjbz8tY6I3tIT9-VNdlEtE6Vyn7ZCKk3KKfAKDuB-jX-6vD8DNohGy1Roc3rfha-ewPa8olIyLAimECYiCWSsigiGVHRteikvdOoiO9UQ/s2000/PC207071-Edit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieNerd-rsrqhvFaTpGI67yWxPyTqN6abWSF_3v8WlCD3g8UUeJLd1zfzGs8HiLgG0bgxLxuCuipzI7EBsUZKjbz8tY6I3tIT9-VNdlEtE6Vyn7ZCKk3KKfAKDuB-jX-6vD8DNohGy1Roc3rfha-ewPa8olIyLAimECYiCWSsigiGVHRteikvdOoiO9UQ/w640-h480/PC207071-Edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pied Wagtails, courtesy of Peter Batty (www.batty.photos)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The only other piece of news is a report (in a comment of the previous blog post) of a <b>Whooper Swan</b> flying low over Wolvercote on the 20th November at around 11 am. This is a welcome year tick which pushes the final total to 137 strict BOU + 1 bonus bird (Red-breasted Goose). This compares very favourable to last year which was 136 + 4 (White Stork, Crane, Red-breasted Goose, Snow Goose). So in terms of strict BOU records this is a record breaking year. In any event it's a great effort given how quickly the floods disappeared during the crucial spring passage period.</p><p>Finally it only remains for me to wish all blog readers a very Happy New Year. My thanks go out to the great team of patch birders that Port Meadow has. It's been great birding the patch with you all this year and our year list total is a real team effort. Here's to another great year for 2023! </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG6PRWBgBP2_PV56ZWIhj3nkLdQWBpJapUdM5LSj4JIKb3IDFS49WoryI5EVqEGBUs6Ld6t-HDRm8q_-N1eVRjAMdFLSbyosJAJpDnDGlJ6Lqvor0Yx_R0gUv1Qzoef99YH4UNv4RKHfWOCE3hdinWwUcLrsIFKucuA5Dp4VvoKIvyCQrYmUyNzbjAwg/s2000/PC217394-Edit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG6PRWBgBP2_PV56ZWIhj3nkLdQWBpJapUdM5LSj4JIKb3IDFS49WoryI5EVqEGBUs6Ld6t-HDRm8q_-N1eVRjAMdFLSbyosJAJpDnDGlJ6Lqvor0Yx_R0gUv1Qzoef99YH4UNv4RKHfWOCE3hdinWwUcLrsIFKucuA5Dp4VvoKIvyCQrYmUyNzbjAwg/w640-h480/PC217394-Edit.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Kingfisher, courtesy of Peter Batty (www.batty.photos)</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: center;"> <br /></p><p> PS As usual I will post the end of year review sometime next month.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><br /><p><br /></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-68349817553407404832022-12-03T17:54:00.000+00:002022-12-03T17:54:08.495+00:003rd December<p style="text-align: justify;">November is not normally known for great birding excitement. However there have been a few things of note to keep ones interest up. Firstly, by way of background, the floods reformed at the start of the month and have been growing steadily in size so that now they are a pretty good expanse. Indeed the Meadow is looking superb at the moment and has once more attracted a host of different bird species. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the duck front, alongside the usual <b>Wigeon</b>, <b>Teal </b>and a few <b>Shoveler</b>, we've had up to 4 <b>Pintail </b>and a few <b>Goosander </b>on the floods. The latter species has also been reported along the river quite a bit this month as were Two <b>Tufted Duck</b> one day. The <b>Barnacle Geese</b> are now a regular feature on the Meadow at this time with up to 130 present throughout the month. The highlight of the month as far as water fowl is concerned has been a dark-bellied <b>Brent Goose</b>, presumably the Dorchester bird, which was found on the floods this morning and which hung around all day. We've also had up to 8 <b>White-fronted Geese</b> coming in at dusk to roost. One of the birds looks like a hybrid but as yet we've not been able to ascertain whether the remaining 7 birds are part of the Blenheim flock or are proper wild birds. There were 6 White-fronts on Otmoor recently though that was a family part of two adults and four first winters so these are different birds. Genuine wild White-fronts are very rare on the Meadow so it would be great if they can be properly seen at some point</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2h-1Y5aLeZpc6KYsLDd646DuWhWk1qk6nGG-HG4-_w8UJqIdc_-Ji7KzaS76ATvwx9nJcLUjdgeTXspXAIRFmWVbT-Y-t3ymhwBl_m2w-1-EYra0dBrcItG07I8wpsiD6Xpe0dXHIfZ8mB-juyZaCz2JIR7oLaocFKq-N9nv1tYK87DY4VzKMx_6qcA/s600/_Brent.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2h-1Y5aLeZpc6KYsLDd646DuWhWk1qk6nGG-HG4-_w8UJqIdc_-Ji7KzaS76ATvwx9nJcLUjdgeTXspXAIRFmWVbT-Y-t3ymhwBl_m2w-1-EYra0dBrcItG07I8wpsiD6Xpe0dXHIfZ8mB-juyZaCz2JIR7oLaocFKq-N9nv1tYK87DY4VzKMx_6qcA/s16000/_Brent.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Brent on the floods, courtesy of Ben Sheldon</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HRgVjGz55WoXzppfozSzuFdF17ly_nUzkuYVlZe7AmecG3TUwxcCVfG9FsnjnGdIsuowqnRC9ZLq8CTpkMuvX_kteDN5dBFev2GY-0oD8dORMLGCAdxugyNQceAQq1iuBLu4KywkJ6Us_w4mgm6lMEBh1bEgq0I-0Ygx9TncneuRRfCO5QNH-DewbA/s1600/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-03%20at%205.12.15%20PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HRgVjGz55WoXzppfozSzuFdF17ly_nUzkuYVlZe7AmecG3TUwxcCVfG9FsnjnGdIsuowqnRC9ZLq8CTpkMuvX_kteDN5dBFev2GY-0oD8dORMLGCAdxugyNQceAQq1iuBLu4KywkJ6Us_w4mgm6lMEBh1bEgq0I-0Ygx9TncneuRRfCO5QNH-DewbA/w640-h426/WhatsApp%20Image%202022-12-03%20at%205.12.15%20PM.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>...and in flight courtesy of Matthew Lloyd</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">There have been slim pickings as far as waders are concerned. A couple of <b>Dunlin </b>were reported mid month and over the last few days we've had up to 3 <b>Black-tailed Godwits.</b> <b>Lapwing </b>numbers have increased noticeably and we're starting to get bigger numbers of <b>Golden Plover</b> as well. The highlight was an unseasonable <b>Curlew </b>that was picked out of the foggy gloom one evening.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The gull roost has got to a reasonable size now. So far just a few <b>Yellow-legged Gulls</b> have been found but now that we are into December it all really kicks off on the gull front.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of passerines, there have been a few snippets to report. By far the best sighting was a <b>Hawfinch </b>which flew over south, seen by Phil Barnett. This is only the second record of this species on the Meadow after a few were seen a couple of years ago flying over Burgess Field amongst some Redwing. Both the male and female <b>Stonechat </b>have been seen this month. As they are generally rather elusive and covering a large area they are often hard to spot even when they are there so it's not known if they are still about or not. A singing male <b>Cetti's Warbler</b> has been heard a couple of times around the Wolvercote Lake complex this month as well.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In other news there have been a few <b>Noctule </b>bat sightings from our resident bat expert, Matthew Lloyd.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In terms of the year list, thanks to the Brent Goose we are now on 136 + 1 extra (Red-breasted Goose). Depending on how you measure it, this compares well with last year's record breaking tally of 136 + 4 extra (White Stork, Crane, Red-breasted Goose, Snow Goose): equalling it on strict BOU terms and only 3 behind on "extra" ticks. Looking ahead to the last month of the year, it's going to be water fowl and gulls mostly though something left field could turn up. Last year we had the Dotterel in December so there's still plenty to play for.</p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-59809102828332837922022-11-01T14:56:00.006+00:002022-11-01T14:56:47.413+00:0031st October<p style="text-align: justify;">There have been a couple of proper Patch Mega's since my last post. Nothing of national importance but enough to get locals hurrying out to the Meadow. The first was a <b>Rock Pipit</b> found by chance by Phil Barnett out in the Hinterland to the north of the flood area. There have only been four records of this species since 2007. There were several in the autumn of 2007, then a couple in 2010 and then this bird today. It didn't linger and (bar a possible sighting along the river shore the next day) was not seen again.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwiu6Y2YRH8Il8VBSb59zlM4FMx5xXVtvDaRbeI4wuWd6YS-VDsrCE2iTJUjO09hl0bfhwYamwx0Xy2l871nb9HXUrqhKR-LSVny7RRZenRj9w2ZPez1_tHvooSKGMtesfxFZKrfHjuYfygJw9s6wbcdjnKsDeBsEbg4dp9YRSrwofv4Lim4toPgE7A/s1600/_RP1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1382" data-original-width="1600" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwiu6Y2YRH8Il8VBSb59zlM4FMx5xXVtvDaRbeI4wuWd6YS-VDsrCE2iTJUjO09hl0bfhwYamwx0Xy2l871nb9HXUrqhKR-LSVny7RRZenRj9w2ZPez1_tHvooSKGMtesfxFZKrfHjuYfygJw9s6wbcdjnKsDeBsEbg4dp9YRSrwofv4Lim4toPgE7A/w640-h552/_RP1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQc8bMs4oAhgNuLQNcAYL1tLIx8AcDdab_nla4M0VoS9Mv07S-GrCv0PjWHo4c1H9bLu3qG7-gh7ixTaOkSXENNZmBE4ronOzL5vr4CKdPxJPQOrIrGm_hq44N2CPVqbWA2KQbTHs_r0cfDjKCwtWL3cjdzYJHRf6-2jWY-fTCsnGvdSeCSd7-O6aahA/s1600/_RP2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1153" data-original-width="1600" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQc8bMs4oAhgNuLQNcAYL1tLIx8AcDdab_nla4M0VoS9Mv07S-GrCv0PjWHo4c1H9bLu3qG7-gh7ixTaOkSXENNZmBE4ronOzL5vr4CKdPxJPQOrIrGm_hq44N2CPVqbWA2KQbTHs_r0cfDjKCwtWL3cjdzYJHRf6-2jWY-fTCsnGvdSeCSd7-O6aahA/w640-h462/_RP2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Rock Pipit, both courtesy of Joe Tobias</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The next Mega was even rarer and came in the form of a <b>Water Pipit</b>. Again found by Phil (who is having a great autumn in terms of rare bird findings on the patch) this is only the second record since 2007. Actually, a Water Pipit had been seen on and off at Farmoor and a "buzzy" sounding Pipit was kicked up from the grass a few days earlier but wasn't found again so in all likelihood it's been the same bird loitering in the general area and commuting between various local sites. This bird has been seen on at least two subsequent occasions though is often not on the Meadow so is continuing to roam widely.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhW4LIZkZ94nya3prW8onkBfQzAe00iU7lLAJ1wKV95c-nM-sJA2v2txIjmrN0NlYANUH7YTkhpvFFBD9rD04KDiH7krQlUeOr0p94mdD391t6HrUMW0Dkk862qKv4PNEKdiQVIGrD6apg4OG2HRcTOMcpqWlTXL7b0aHwQIShB7B9GjbyC62p02vug/s600/_WP1_edt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="600" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhW4LIZkZ94nya3prW8onkBfQzAe00iU7lLAJ1wKV95c-nM-sJA2v2txIjmrN0NlYANUH7YTkhpvFFBD9rD04KDiH7krQlUeOr0p94mdD391t6HrUMW0Dkk862qKv4PNEKdiQVIGrD6apg4OG2HRcTOMcpqWlTXL7b0aHwQIShB7B9GjbyC62p02vug/w400-h393/_WP1_edt.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Water Pipit record shots above and below courtesy of Steve Lavington</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiO4wnW-VzXVLFhB3NiEUiHrfv6oAhnuk-mlfVZlpORuLSOh9VSEvDsJDZ31jQoL1IcDaSmiz6wjw_JkOkpA-IEXOsFpia31Jae8ouAxh932h0E2_rD3aZUVSXAyOBqPgo0Kt4J9ur8k7rqnhbmUqeEM87Bd5Gms5X6b9BziFL6WdV4gfOPdPrTehO2A/s600/_WP2_edt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="600" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiO4wnW-VzXVLFhB3NiEUiHrfv6oAhnuk-mlfVZlpORuLSOh9VSEvDsJDZ31jQoL1IcDaSmiz6wjw_JkOkpA-IEXOsFpia31Jae8ouAxh932h0E2_rD3aZUVSXAyOBqPgo0Kt4J9ur8k7rqnhbmUqeEM87Bd5Gms5X6b9BziFL6WdV4gfOPdPrTehO2A/w400-h395/_WP2_edt.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">The <b>Cattle Egrets</b> have been settled up at Wytham for some time now with 30 lingering in amongst the cattle to the north of the Field Station.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcVfFOMAFODdUMBmA1JJBMhxqW94jxjmct9tvtzEt5ZFXdz6L04tPxwviSthwYrtq5XTkj0zGSX9ss25zpAoS9id4C4V9ifsQ0DJH9Mb8ZaN-l_Jg2teiYTw2SfS7TlsepDFFO9KiluW6eVXGw9c2xd5NFTml-2TcOwNjG5qfzWDZEJMacUeP_3aN/s600/_CE1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIcVfFOMAFODdUMBmA1JJBMhxqW94jxjmct9tvtzEt5ZFXdz6L04tPxwviSthwYrtq5XTkj0zGSX9ss25zpAoS9id4C4V9ifsQ0DJH9Mb8ZaN-l_Jg2teiYTw2SfS7TlsepDFFO9KiluW6eVXGw9c2xd5NFTml-2TcOwNjG5qfzWDZEJMacUeP_3aN/s16000/_CE1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Just some of the 30 odd Cattle Egrets</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The three <b>Stonechats </b>lingered for a while and another pair were found up near King's Lock. It's proving to be a good year for these charming chats.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVMKyzxk5vpZWWPCRRrcIIMnqyVIh-gKHhMGItelrezXgCJniPYIv4-WFtXaDVyQL2TJg6fg7fNeo2H3UoM5eNvNJ-RvtdodyJddfyBiMh2LcmRuqXV6dAA9NcxNP8EiJMp0WhboeBNgu/s1600/_SC1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVMKyzxk5vpZWWPCRRrcIIMnqyVIh-gKHhMGItelrezXgCJniPYIv4-WFtXaDVyQL2TJg6fg7fNeo2H3UoM5eNvNJ-RvtdodyJddfyBiMh2LcmRuqXV6dAA9NcxNP8EiJMp0WhboeBNgu/w640-h428/_SC1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Stonechat courtesy of Mathew Lloyd</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>One of the <b>Great White Egrets</b> has been seen a couple more times, once on Wolvercote Lake and once along the river. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_i8CX-nzEpKAKB5PSoKA1EpL5rkFA52W7kZqAtpN1cJsII_CjlmqWeSuVrQyKa48cMNcUFlkpBzAIa9L_WViRcKcGMHQxE2iz3ZzDSRNpxBpC8lDlEt5R7B9rXBj95DcOlt5DpuL_jh1/s600/_GWE1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_i8CX-nzEpKAKB5PSoKA1EpL5rkFA52W7kZqAtpN1cJsII_CjlmqWeSuVrQyKa48cMNcUFlkpBzAIa9L_WViRcKcGMHQxE2iz3ZzDSRNpxBpC8lDlEt5R7B9rXBj95DcOlt5DpuL_jh1/s16000/_GWE1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Great White Egret on Wolvercote Lake</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">There was another potential Patch Mega, indeed what would have been a patch first in the form of a <b>Mandarin Duck</b> when a "probable" was flushed from the trees up at Wolvercote Lake. Sadly it could not be refound but the habitat looks good for them so it's possible that one may turn up there again at some point in the future.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In other news, a <b>Little Grebe</b> was seen on the river near the Perch one day by Andrew Siantonas. 12 <b>Ring-necked Parakeets</b> flew over calling one morning. These are probably from the University Parks but it's a record count for the Patch with sightings up until now comprising just of one or two birds. At least one<b> Barn Owl</b> is continuing to be seen up past the ring road towards Kings Lock. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now that we are well into autumn there are noticeable changes in the bird population with regular <b>Siskins</b>, <b>Redpolls </b>and <b>Fieldfare </b>see or at least heard overhead. In the Meadow area it's now <b>Skylarks</b>, <b>Meadow Pipits,</b> <b>Linnet </b>and <b>Redwing</b> that are being seen. At long last we have some flood waters back again and the first winter duck sightings have been had with a few <b>Wigeon </b>and <b>Teal </b>seen. The <b>Barnacle Geese</b> are being seen regularly along with a couple of <b>Egyptian Geese</b>. We are even starting to get a bit of a gull roost with about 500 <b>Black-headed Gulls</b> reported recently one evening. As the flood waters extend it will soon be time to start grilling the gull roost once more. Happy days!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-82828062691898932282022-10-12T14:13:00.001+01:002022-10-12T14:13:35.136+01:0011th October<p style="text-align: justify;">Things have been ticking along nicely on the patch, especially considering that the floods are still bone dry.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Firstly things really stepped up a gear when Phil Barnett found a <b>Yellow-browed Warbler</b> in the Trap Grounds on Sunday 25th September. This is only the third record for the patch of what is no longer the national or county rarity that it used to be. However, for Port Meadow it is still very much a Mega and although it proved mobile and elusive throughout the day a number of locals and county birders managed at least to hear if not see it.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9ugaFptxmfqbiErihhzufwKdIejzm9e_EnFs0qNarPrcX4SnEKGuPIThVuONpR0A1LVlr8IJBmB78XF_WUgnZFtJDseKYN295f3Ti0KVCQVc7hzxqecxm2xZdAXpErCt2pECERu2DRVV/s640/Yellow-browed+Warbler+031013+174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="640" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9ugaFptxmfqbiErihhzufwKdIejzm9e_EnFs0qNarPrcX4SnEKGuPIThVuONpR0A1LVlr8IJBmB78XF_WUgnZFtJDseKYN295f3Ti0KVCQVc7hzxqecxm2xZdAXpErCt2pECERu2DRVV/w640-h426/Yellow-browed+Warbler+031013+174.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>In the absence of a photo of the Yellow-browed Warbler, here is one of the first one for the patch, found back in October 2013, taken by master lensman Roger Wyatt</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">We also managed another year tick when Jonathan Parsons found a <b>Whinchat </b>at Wolvercote Allotments along the south boundary facing the meadow. This species is just about annual so it was good to get it on the list.</p><div style="text-align: justify;">Talking of chats, we've had a flurry of <b>Stonechats</b> arriving with three found on Monday in the rough grass/thistle area between the Aristotle Lane gate and the southern end. A pair of them lingered in the same place and either the third bird or a fourth relocated to Burgess Field.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLiBVQI7ltTKdaiq0iTbUpPpOgaJLK18xCsJI_KA-Sx4cgYliHdvr_1kIahJnEn9wsFSqCqI5dq8zUBE3tQ1NprjzNwujRkPxolN_4Noyl_8ieA8pEJOxBAr23Xq97WDi57etqSuXdQ1C4hWMqcolry5JXxS6u9-fyZvYg5FxKuoMxaPXxbFNCcj4QQ/s629/_SC1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLiBVQI7ltTKdaiq0iTbUpPpOgaJLK18xCsJI_KA-Sx4cgYliHdvr_1kIahJnEn9wsFSqCqI5dq8zUBE3tQ1NprjzNwujRkPxolN_4Noyl_8ieA8pEJOxBAr23Xq97WDi57etqSuXdQ1C4hWMqcolry5JXxS6u9-fyZvYg5FxKuoMxaPXxbFNCcj4QQ/s16000/_SC1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of the three original Stonechats</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In terms of other birds, our <b>Grey Plover</b> ended up hanging around for a little while. It wasn't always present at the southern end and was sometimes seen to fly in so it may have been lingering unseen higher up the Meadow. On the wader front, apart from the Grey Plover, 2 <b>Redshank </b>were the only real point of interest. There have been a few <b>Lapwing </b>and the occasional <b>Golden Plover</b> hanging around.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the water fowl front, the only real point of interest has been a flock of about 180 <b>Barnacle Geese</b>. As they were ringed it was possible to tell that they were from Merseyside, this being the first sighting of them since they were originally ringed. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhX8tEPpicvnb-BqlRtbipn3kuuXmBVO-UwfmrELU38OoMzJkVuwFRv3D6bX5phuHgnca4bcqWBS-s3Qr28POI9nYIrPbJMqENu_LST1GWtSn3LLlTXLuEb-moe_oKE6ovfTJOXI2-2xSQsqirnUJ3bSCjEGGN917qVF0F5x8dKbcQS2ZbbRZi5wnJIg/s600/_BG1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhX8tEPpicvnb-BqlRtbipn3kuuXmBVO-UwfmrELU38OoMzJkVuwFRv3D6bX5phuHgnca4bcqWBS-s3Qr28POI9nYIrPbJMqENu_LST1GWtSn3LLlTXLuEb-moe_oKE6ovfTJOXI2-2xSQsqirnUJ3bSCjEGGN917qVF0F5x8dKbcQS2ZbbRZi5wnJIg/s16000/_BG1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Some of the Merseyside Barnacle Geese</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the <b>Great White Egret</b> dropped into Wolvercote Lake on Saturday 8th October.</div><p style="text-align: justify;">There have been 3 or 4 <b>Barn Owls</b> hunting over the fields towards King's Lock (part of the "extended patch") at dusk over the last couple of days along with a couple of <b>Cetti's Warblers</b>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In general, <b>Meadow Pipit</b> and <b>Linnet </b>numbers have been building up on the Meadow and the first <b>Snipe </b>are starting to be flushed from the longer grass. The first <b>Redwings </b>have been seen and autumn passage birds are becoming hard to find now. We are now definitely well into autumn.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-36491033923886834732022-09-23T15:14:00.001+01:002022-09-23T15:14:36.600+01:0023rd September<p style="text-align: justify;">Since my last post the good autumn passage has continued. For a couple of weeks Burgess Field was on fire with two more <b>Redstarts </b>and five more <b>Spotted Flycatchers</b>. That makes four Redstarts in total and eight Spotted Flycatchers which are pretty amazing totals by Port Meadow standards. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76ruZVZWsjCWEpJ1MOIpPv5SmQmQD9Rb1OEUyMn1ShJS9Dpr94pN47vDTtYVs1EjD0bCA5-d9WIPn9HMEAGUkPWlBDdmyeWWrl2Ng77m9aVZi298P1ifQNzKycQ05m8UnONYNFgTI3YdlEtOW9VFvxbQ3Bl_iHlVnAbU1cNsgbVYmLsW_eQspcSxcow/s600/+SptF1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76ruZVZWsjCWEpJ1MOIpPv5SmQmQD9Rb1OEUyMn1ShJS9Dpr94pN47vDTtYVs1EjD0bCA5-d9WIPn9HMEAGUkPWlBDdmyeWWrl2Ng77m9aVZi298P1ifQNzKycQ05m8UnONYNFgTI3YdlEtOW9VFvxbQ3Bl_iHlVnAbU1cNsgbVYmLsW_eQspcSxcow/s16000/+SptF1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>One of Three Spotted Flycatchers that turned up one lunchtime. <br />At one point they are all in the same tree</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9b3qVY_dAIvSELttqnUQBVLUSlvLRLJW7ZKcQRWXtxSCUh4RMCnT0l0vhZuC8zPx3YHJRPdYsy7LTfwe_0LyZnpibxbk-yVDgqMQfZyvINUy8ZP5oAUqLzBnUgNlsyaPGU8ojJUdVT7iQZWqE34Xr3qo9O8j7rsGiyJ-AaVSfvQfP5K00hAFz9PIBcg/s625/_RS1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9b3qVY_dAIvSELttqnUQBVLUSlvLRLJW7ZKcQRWXtxSCUh4RMCnT0l0vhZuC8zPx3YHJRPdYsy7LTfwe_0LyZnpibxbk-yVDgqMQfZyvINUy8ZP5oAUqLzBnUgNlsyaPGU8ojJUdVT7iQZWqE34Xr3qo9O8j7rsGiyJ-AaVSfvQfP5K00hAFz9PIBcg/s16000/_RS1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The fourth Redstart to grace Burgess Field this autumn</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">It does rather seem that this passage has passed as Burgess Field has been decidedly quiet for the last week and a bit. <b>Yellow Wagtail </b>numbers have taken a nosedive as well. We peaked somewhere in the mid twenties in terms of numbers but the last week or so there have been just three birds at most. We've had a few <b>Lapwing </b>and <b>Golden Plover</b> starting to assemble on the Meadow so far. </span><span style="text-align: left;">In addition there was a <b>Sedge Warbler</b> along the river (sadly this species is pretty rare on the Meadow these days) and a single <b>Tufted Duck</b> on the river for one afternoon.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ever since the large number of <b>Cattle Egrets</b> starting congregating at Otmoor in the late summer, I have been hoping that some would disperse to Port Meadow as they did last year. Sadly this doesn't seem to have happened. There was a single bird briefly in amongst the livestock on the 7th but that's been it. At least we've managed to get a genuine on-the-patch tick for this - up until now our year tick was done by extreme-scoping all the way to the Wytham cattle fields with only the observer actually being on the patch. A regular flock is now being seen over at Wytham so it looks like they have all moved over there for the winter now. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71-2bP-H5hTyN3L_m0LVOqJBG2qJHHxjsGQZvfBS6GQobRwSZdMZlZicF9LQd8tFjTnFEXwMZBLweYdmY3-ClNvXDgQMxdGFAehiwwUHhYWHKNDAUkXkEt_iX8dD_K0KBZiKpilcmjSoV-030yisb8leMMabntZfgoBHbSCIcJlXSe_F06FnnJLedEw/s600/_CE1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh71-2bP-H5hTyN3L_m0LVOqJBG2qJHHxjsGQZvfBS6GQobRwSZdMZlZicF9LQd8tFjTnFEXwMZBLweYdmY3-ClNvXDgQMxdGFAehiwwUHhYWHKNDAUkXkEt_iX8dD_K0KBZiKpilcmjSoV-030yisb8leMMabntZfgoBHbSCIcJlXSe_F06FnnJLedEw/s16000/_CE1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Our one brief Cattle Egret</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Talking of Egrets, we've had a couple more <b>Great White Egret</b> sightings. These are presumably the Cassington GP birds popping over to the Meadow for a visit. One spent a couple of hours at Wolvercote Lake one morning and another was seen on the river again. We've had a few more <b>Wheatear </b>sightings with one at the north end of the Meadow and then two more which have lingered at the southern end on the dried up flood area.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoB6YoZh-CMYFqXbljH2InUZRsBwnuH_GzG5TLavvjsu0bBSv7JyLK5V1tljIjIFxAZc16S5wNmz10zpTCcKVENA2EI4rFZhrTXkkZgaeRKPAYzBz32oezS0RtPw8zl9Kh02br-GD7b96pCvt5vKsLzgMrHwJSaMgYHh6JyD5rEZPbUQHCWGmG7dg9Cw/s600/_Wheatear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="600" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoB6YoZh-CMYFqXbljH2InUZRsBwnuH_GzG5TLavvjsu0bBSv7JyLK5V1tljIjIFxAZc16S5wNmz10zpTCcKVENA2EI4rFZhrTXkkZgaeRKPAYzBz32oezS0RtPw8zl9Kh02br-GD7b96pCvt5vKsLzgMrHwJSaMgYHh6JyD5rEZPbUQHCWGmG7dg9Cw/w640-h636/_Wheatear.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Wheatear</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Despite my fretting about the state of the year list we have managed to rack up quite a few more ticks. Firstly a <b>Marsh Tit</b> was seen by Phil Barnett in a Hawthorn near the Aristotle Lane entrance briefly before moving off. Presumably this is a bird dispersing from Wytham Wood where they breed. Secondly, Steve Lavington has a brief <b>Stonechat </b>sighting as one flew into the allotments. I often wonder what gems get missed within the allotment area! Finally, Phil Barnett found another goody in the form of a juvenile <b>Grey Plover</b> that spent the afternoon on the Meadow. There's been a flurry of sightings nearby at Farmoor so it was good that we managed to get this just about annual species on the list. With the early demise of the floods I was sure that we'd missed it this year.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTwmcyz-lmcn8cN4TvktkI0r7Ftk1c4OAM-QFVZV0wohn7qSpJAy_F1DuPXmLu4adgd08OeDsNDooRsJ4RjD61k7OlyRKKXkuqoix9YfJsrAvJLVuY9YsRaGeb-O6I3Oi8mzUSdvV6GNgr9IOp0VG6XVjhovm6MSbZ7tTHQ4e37BfLTVR2GIK5vrrGQ/s1024/_BS_GPindex.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1024" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTwmcyz-lmcn8cN4TvktkI0r7Ftk1c4OAM-QFVZV0wohn7qSpJAy_F1DuPXmLu4adgd08OeDsNDooRsJ4RjD61k7OlyRKKXkuqoix9YfJsrAvJLVuY9YsRaGeb-O6I3Oi8mzUSdvV6GNgr9IOp0VG6XVjhovm6MSbZ7tTHQ4e37BfLTVR2GIK5vrrGQ/w640-h554/_BS_GPindex.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Grey Plover, courtesy of Ben Sheldon</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead, with the continued drought there's no sign of the floods returning any time soon. So I would continue to expect slim pickings on the Meadow. However, we've managed to do OK so far this autumn without any water so it's worth staying optimistic.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-6474789804363881852022-09-04T13:10:00.001+01:002022-09-04T13:10:21.375+01:00September 3rd <p style="text-align: justify;">It's been a pretty reasonable start to autumn on the Meadow. Given that there are no flood waters at all we've had to make do with migrating passerines but fortunately we've been well served on this front. We've had at least two <b>Redstarts </b>in Burgess Field, a male and a female. I say "at least", this is because after no reports of the female for about a week, one was caught in the ringing nets there. It could be the same one or it could be a new bird. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kHj4p7LmWE2MdBwePDd-yqM8JWqf7si-w6wToB4_loWMpTX72iWIruweKKvrRIW7em7TpaaGR69vhnyn2Q0cm-1H3Fj5SC4PJOx46cwXnvTXJWMsprYcHl1mhXQzeLZP7DUGXLtfUtUnGSwhwETiurUUzVUog5gUgTG9lR1qxnyxeCLOEyCmeXYigg/s2048/_Redstart.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kHj4p7LmWE2MdBwePDd-yqM8JWqf7si-w6wToB4_loWMpTX72iWIruweKKvrRIW7em7TpaaGR69vhnyn2Q0cm-1H3Fj5SC4PJOx46cwXnvTXJWMsprYcHl1mhXQzeLZP7DUGXLtfUtUnGSwhwETiurUUzVUog5gUgTG9lR1qxnyxeCLOEyCmeXYigg/w640-h640/_Redstart.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Female Redstart in the hand courtesy of Thomas Miller</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">We've also had a couple more <b>Spotted Flycatchers</b>: one in the north east corner of Burgess Field and one in the Trap Grounds. Sadly both were single observer sightings. That does bring the tally for this species to three birds already this autumn, which is pretty good!</p><p style="text-align: justify;">We had our first <b>Great White Egret</b> record of the year with a couple of birds seen flying south along the river before heading back north again. Since then there have been several more sightings so they seem to be migrating regularly to the area, probably from Cassington GPs though they may well be finding the Meadow a bit too noisy for them to linger. Vidya Menon did capture a nice photo of one on the river early one morning which would tend to support this thesis.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4P2etmcpO9mcHE2tmjMUSKCbbq8rw437CFy0Lkn97puUReSIFQwZ0HdUCEAup04Zu_kX6fxB67hh4bzha_1pK1NLjLpsz4VA63atH_rweEeAv4fm4YYZ1_hywCsP8sCQn5FLlAp2YZAOawRVi4w83NWILgZURgA7Joi6MzLMbo0uOhC64k2PBJrj4A/s810/_GWE_Vidya_Menon.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="810" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj4P2etmcpO9mcHE2tmjMUSKCbbq8rw437CFy0Lkn97puUReSIFQwZ0HdUCEAup04Zu_kX6fxB67hh4bzha_1pK1NLjLpsz4VA63atH_rweEeAv4fm4YYZ1_hywCsP8sCQn5FLlAp2YZAOawRVi4w83NWILgZURgA7Joi6MzLMbo0uOhC64k2PBJrj4A/w640-h426/_GWE_Vidya_Menon.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Early morning Great White Egret courtesy of Vidya Menon</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p><b>Yellow Wagtail</b> numbers have increased dramatically since my last post and we are now getting over 20 birds in amongst the cattle. </p><p>There have been quite a few sightings of <b>Hobby </b>around the general area, including over Kingston Road and one over the Trap Grounds. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAO4qH5GJw-m6b00kz4d3y5pCySQ7mn-P6e5PEQfq6xI-oEX3cPW2YBHmLWMLjjuVZdmrOJ89in39T6WGYodFx4NJFWCaqnIFCR4C_biEXXRMDyj_24mwPu08MQdSP8J9pdmcUYWKbn9qCyAK_m2donNOt9SFDnffgv2G2iXM7MHUn21EdnhJZGxGZWA/s600/_Hobby.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAO4qH5GJw-m6b00kz4d3y5pCySQ7mn-P6e5PEQfq6xI-oEX3cPW2YBHmLWMLjjuVZdmrOJ89in39T6WGYodFx4NJFWCaqnIFCR4C_biEXXRMDyj_24mwPu08MQdSP8J9pdmcUYWKbn9qCyAK_m2donNOt9SFDnffgv2G2iXM7MHUn21EdnhJZGxGZWA/s16000/_Hobby.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Hobby courtesy of Nicola Devine</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Geese numbers are starting to climb again despite the lack of water on the Meadow. In amongst them have been 3 <b>Egyptian Geese</b> recently which seem to have taken a liking to the Meadow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the insect front there have been more sightings of <b>Willow Emeralds</b> on the Trap Grounds with up to 10 seen at a peak count. They are also discovered up at Wolvercote Lakes as well as other new sites throughout the county so they have definitely colonised Oxfordshire now. Apart from that, records of other Odonata species are starting to decline now as we head into autumn. There is one interesting record to report, that of a <b>Southern Migrant Hawker</b> on the Castle Mill Stream opposite Worcester College. Whilst this is strictly off-patch it is certainly possible that this species, another recent colonist of the county, will become more regular in years to come.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16WgwjdlM7gyHjmxf9DQsDZaRdBOoaHgB_9uvBxgbArQLJfWoWDA2--rtr-E8xHKVpyjtB1gYb16NrE_EE0VPQrWNuC8yIP0TlzOtS5EQ8H7wiOTCSgNZlUjTzVdTsdtoivC663E9lyOF1J3QqhYzrbFUPpy-ium4YGco2DYL8dAvCDPSnHKVqkr1Ag/s640/Migrant%20Hawker%20(m)%20TGs%2029th%20August%202022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="640" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi16WgwjdlM7gyHjmxf9DQsDZaRdBOoaHgB_9uvBxgbArQLJfWoWDA2--rtr-E8xHKVpyjtB1gYb16NrE_EE0VPQrWNuC8yIP0TlzOtS5EQ8H7wiOTCSgNZlUjTzVdTsdtoivC663E9lyOF1J3QqhYzrbFUPpy-ium4YGco2DYL8dAvCDPSnHKVqkr1Ag/w640-h466/Migrant%20Hawker%20(m)%20TGs%2029th%20August%202022.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Migrant Hawker courtesy of Nicola Devine</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCvdP52koSxfYFPqf7MWuydaw72F6Zfxre4zlKsAVYpKHlasxxjN_I7daFwj32AkcUqIi8laa8epv6_91UxXBIaQUh557kvjmdIxAAuoopbPHsQBksJ4ueE1EQa1eahWB76nDqRY5jk3coYyx_AFckUu5PfOcDDSmEk__UUFdd8c-eHQTajVkme9-RA/s640/Willow%20Emerald%20TGs%2030th%20August%202022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="640" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCvdP52koSxfYFPqf7MWuydaw72F6Zfxre4zlKsAVYpKHlasxxjN_I7daFwj32AkcUqIi8laa8epv6_91UxXBIaQUh557kvjmdIxAAuoopbPHsQBksJ4ueE1EQa1eahWB76nDqRY5jk3coYyx_AFckUu5PfOcDDSmEk__UUFdd8c-eHQTajVkme9-RA/w640-h478/Willow%20Emerald%20TGs%2030th%20August%202022.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Willow Emerald courtesy of Nicola Devine</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39_GY0iAIIaxSGkJBnU4UPyhW1JIjxPh96AwjFF30vjTJRrBJMR1IKpgVtcajQzoZ9E3J6I50E_2EARrQ1VXJZcHfiKFCSyu1krWINh2sl2qNkD_BSS85Rp6dlvEwF2HGHwyjVX6Pb5Jbrm4fBKdx2pUsni_4DiQpdfOqocFqSUlEO-NwT8uMBVrakw/s640/Southern%20Hawker%20(m)%20TGs%2014th%20August%202022%20(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="640" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh39_GY0iAIIaxSGkJBnU4UPyhW1JIjxPh96AwjFF30vjTJRrBJMR1IKpgVtcajQzoZ9E3J6I50E_2EARrQ1VXJZcHfiKFCSyu1krWINh2sl2qNkD_BSS85Rp6dlvEwF2HGHwyjVX6Pb5Jbrm4fBKdx2pUsni_4DiQpdfOqocFqSUlEO-NwT8uMBVrakw/w640-h442/Southern%20Hawker%20(m)%20TGs%2014th%20August%202022%20(4).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Southern Hawker courtesy of Nicola Devine</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead, until we can get some flood waters back, it's going to be more of the same. We still need Whinchat, Stonechat & Marsh Tit which are reasonable possibilities but beyond that it will have to be something rather unexpected. </div>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-437103749900306691.post-70960196659347465442022-08-12T13:02:00.000+01:002022-08-12T13:02:35.964+01:00August 11th<p style="text-align: justify;">Autumn has definitely kicked off, at least in the birding world. This does at least mean that we have some things to report at last. The highlight was an <b>Osprey</b> seen and photographed flying over Wolvercote this evening by Joe Taylor. Whilst not a year tick, it's always tricky to see these wonderful birds as their stay over the Meadow air space tends to be very brief. It's a matter of happening to be in the right place at the right time in order to get a sighting.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Hr-YKUIT4FJZmkUEDxkj-5GcNBbOYSTq90hdSSWbsYRViuta_OClRcLLNk4V-sldfKiNg_ch3yi0Ky97OOxjtY-9Oqv7jopljYHwoioPDZKzWniIKm6L5iEs6SDSEQ747ypL38DyEf56U5uIo_8V9U1MLjV8fJ8tP_fBRyDjvUIXiFmfB-wR0ozc/s639/received_469754401636590.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="639" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Hr-YKUIT4FJZmkUEDxkj-5GcNBbOYSTq90hdSSWbsYRViuta_OClRcLLNk4V-sldfKiNg_ch3yi0Ky97OOxjtY-9Oqv7jopljYHwoioPDZKzWniIKm6L5iEs6SDSEQ747ypL38DyEf56U5uIo_8V9U1MLjV8fJ8tP_fBRyDjvUIXiFmfB-wR0ozc/w640-h427/received_469754401636590.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Courtesy of Joe Taylor</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">What was a year tick was a <b>Spotted Flycatcher</b> that was found by Steve Lavington near the Perch though due to the number of people about, sadly it didn't linger. There was also a <b>Hobby</b> seen by Nick Boyd hunting near the railway line by Aristotle Lane this week. Nick also saw a couple of <b>Yellow Wagtails</b> in amongst the cattle on the Meadow. I would hope that this number will build as we progress through the autumn. In the past we have had a peak count of more than 20 birds on the Meadow during the autumn. A few <b>Lapwing</b> are starting to gather on the Meadow now - they should be joined by a few Golden Plover in due course. A couple of <b>Egyptian Geese</b> were reported by Andrew Siantonas along the river as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apart from the above headline birds, there are lots of young birds around at the moment. Nicola Devine had a family of <b>Grey Wagtails</b> along the wildlife corridor near the Trap Grounds recently. I suspect that the rain-free weather has been kind to breeding efforts so there should be good numbers of young birds around. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5LzIz4byR6ZaHqFhc5WnltN9rEwnhoIe2KTF7JYr0ie_b6zP94GJPtG0w-evIp8pNFQ_DeNBIzxUtxLdrd8VlB9QXAe691XWXnwSlZUZMPtew-tNMjH34kPVdp5XcHDeuhnWz-c5OU5kFEdML9Z9pyOt05XClYircjVtxcWSQqQydTDOpBU1X30O6eA/s4405/Grey%20Wagtail%20Waterways%20nature%20corridor%2011th%20August%202022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2937" data-original-width="4405" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5LzIz4byR6ZaHqFhc5WnltN9rEwnhoIe2KTF7JYr0ie_b6zP94GJPtG0w-evIp8pNFQ_DeNBIzxUtxLdrd8VlB9QXAe691XWXnwSlZUZMPtew-tNMjH34kPVdp5XcHDeuhnWz-c5OU5kFEdML9Z9pyOt05XClYircjVtxcWSQqQydTDOpBU1X30O6eA/w640-h426/Grey%20Wagtail%20Waterways%20nature%20corridor%2011th%20August%202022.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Grey Wagtail courtesy of Nicola Devine</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As far as Odonata are concerned, it's still high summer. <b>Common </b>and <b>Ruddy Darters </b>are out in large numbers now and <b>Migrant </b>and <b>Southern Hawkers</b> are on the wing. The good news is that <b>Willow Emeralds</b> have been seen in the Trap Grounds already. Whilst August is traditionally the time when they start emerging, up until this year we've not really seen them until September so it's good to have them out in numbers at the "proper" time. Up to five have been seen already, including mating pairs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJTLhz1Ku-NUAOGuBl40NJXiVdGdaDoRKrzPgKZn5cj8T90co8Xrvz_lcRxbTq7dlzWKyJ6-GdioONSi_EjEYD--A6SyTLHPE7I2cmHvUoj2lKR8_ZDczNJdgW_UGkTY7nM407JAtnlvPZoGmOXvIpnAfGqcg_mRiQTsP2cBnzRG0rLl8vLou61K7UA/s614/_WEm2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJTLhz1Ku-NUAOGuBl40NJXiVdGdaDoRKrzPgKZn5cj8T90co8Xrvz_lcRxbTq7dlzWKyJ6-GdioONSi_EjEYD--A6SyTLHPE7I2cmHvUoj2lKR8_ZDczNJdgW_UGkTY7nM407JAtnlvPZoGmOXvIpnAfGqcg_mRiQTsP2cBnzRG0rLl8vLou61K7UA/s16000/_WEm2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_Whcrf2ivEzSFwUYgsTYDxxyB4b7qjJEv0hM-sdE9UwOJFQLljzwXFk0U6XM7qzR0wYoWxryjG78-Pt4d7vMhD-ol-bfmPN95Q7xrhgfW2VwYmwgjmvz3-2tVLgHmSf74wDvHLnMbcV76doEe7s6TBdkItL5yMRQRyCtbOIVfc1NbC06vBdxAgi6gw/s600/_WEm3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_Whcrf2ivEzSFwUYgsTYDxxyB4b7qjJEv0hM-sdE9UwOJFQLljzwXFk0U6XM7qzR0wYoWxryjG78-Pt4d7vMhD-ol-bfmPN95Q7xrhgfW2VwYmwgjmvz3-2tVLgHmSf74wDvHLnMbcV76doEe7s6TBdkItL5yMRQRyCtbOIVfc1NbC06vBdxAgi6gw/s16000/_WEm3.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Willow Emeralds</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Another top find for the Trap Grounds has been a good number of <b>Small Red-eyed Damselflies</b>. Prior to this year, this species has only been seen once before on the Trap Grounds but suddenly we seem to have a breeding colony with at least 10 seen by Nicola Devine including ovipositing pairs. It is another of these species that is rapidly colonising new areas in the South East and is yet another resident species to add to the burgeoning Trap Grounds list!</div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQchg2FMbnuhNYKHG2UFg_q2VyqNm0m9_PpyIIshO52xSt_CLeiF1TCHN3JQHhK208EjjaL2RvmzwPPxj5-GBN-nK7Rbt_uZDsQAJrSVAoI47D96M8NvBZyvIgiv2P7Fc-XYO_9Lkxi-73YACrRfmQPa7zojf9xvzc8OjJL6J8ajcSdtUmFyU5xs7vFw/s600/_SREDm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQchg2FMbnuhNYKHG2UFg_q2VyqNm0m9_PpyIIshO52xSt_CLeiF1TCHN3JQHhK208EjjaL2RvmzwPPxj5-GBN-nK7Rbt_uZDsQAJrSVAoI47D96M8NvBZyvIgiv2P7Fc-XYO_9Lkxi-73YACrRfmQPa7zojf9xvzc8OjJL6J8ajcSdtUmFyU5xs7vFw/s16000/_SREDm.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Small Red-eyed Damselfly</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Nicola has also managed to find a Brown Hairstreak along the wildlife corridor. Through her diligence and sharp eyes she usually manages to find this rare butterfly species each year though the rest of us usually struggle find them!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlB_YwD1q4hqA_0wklI2s8QZ9NeXAva5I79KsDfHu71_yM8JFu5MIZTioVAI63gzJzPXmUxeJNjemq6j8aAqUmhRsPI1zB6-horPz3yxDyXBatb3IDdUZdjFfNtDs7mwetksT81RYz6nDcSeIPOjsI-jtUDaFkfo6Ou1ky6cNH1X7gS-trvmZI9lqVw/s5240/Brown%20Hairstreak%20Butterfly%20Waterways%2011th%20August%202022.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3493" data-original-width="5240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlB_YwD1q4hqA_0wklI2s8QZ9NeXAva5I79KsDfHu71_yM8JFu5MIZTioVAI63gzJzPXmUxeJNjemq6j8aAqUmhRsPI1zB6-horPz3yxDyXBatb3IDdUZdjFfNtDs7mwetksT81RYz6nDcSeIPOjsI-jtUDaFkfo6Ou1ky6cNH1X7gS-trvmZI9lqVw/w640-h426/Brown%20Hairstreak%20Butterfly%20Waterways%2011th%20August%202022.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Brown Hairstreak courtesy of Nicola Devine</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;">Looking ahead our Odonata should be with us for a little while yet. We should also start to get more migrant birds passing through. With Redstart, Stonechat and Whinchat not yet on our year list we should just squeak past 130 if we manage to get those.</p><p><br /></p></div></div>Adam Hartley (Gnome)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04367677984805807645noreply@blogger.com0