2nd June

So we're into June now and the summer doldrums though actually it's felt like it for quite some time now as far as the birding has been concerned. The "floods"  are now completely dry and the grass and various Meadow plants  are fast reclaiming the muddy area. Since my last posting there has been some news on the bird front with a male CUCKOO spending a day hanging around Burgess Field recently. I also forgot to report a one-off sighting (or hearing to be more precise) of this species by Mary MacDougall in the Trap Grounds a few weeks ago now. Someone also reported hearing a female bubbling away on one occasion. So it's actually been quite a good spring for Cuckoo's with quite a few passing through.

 

The rather changeable weather hasn't been doing us any favours as far as summer insects are concerned and in fact it's been ages since I've even got the moth trap out at all. Still I did manage to find the first few summer butterflies in Burgess Field with a Small Heath and a Common Blue both having been seen.

Angled Shades, caught a couple of weeks ago

I found this grass micro moth in Burgess Field: Dichrorampha sequana

At least the flowers are coming out in turn. The Meadow is currently carpeted in a sea of yellow Buttercups - it always looks so pretty when it's like this.

A sea of yellow Buttercups

Large Bitter-cress growing by the side of the canal

Thursday 21st May

We've finally managed to garner another Patch year tick when Steve Goddard found a SPOTTED FLYCATCHER in the copse in the south east corner of Burgess Field at around 8 pm this evening. This species is less than annual on the Patch and doesn't usually stay long so it was most fortuitous that Steve happened upon it when he did. I hurried down to try and see it but we couldn't find it again though it was getting rather late by then so there's an outside chance that it's still around.

No photos of the Flycatcher so here's a Swallow

The floods are nearly gone now and there's been virtually nothing of note on them of late. What with the June and July birding doldrums now nearly upon us anyway, readers should expect increasing blogging about flowers, butterflies, moths and Odonata over the coming months. By way of a taster, here are some photos.

This tiny white flower is a Cornsalad species of some kind
- they can only easily be told apart by the fruits

I found this Drinker Moth caterpillar in Burgess Field recently

Tuesday 19th May

It's a sad indictment of the state of the floods that my last update was more than a week ago. Whilst there has been enough rain to avoid them drying up total, they are a pretty sorry sight and the birds are shunning them. Even the Egyptian Geese have given up on them with just a few Black-headed Gulls the only birds to be seen. The OYSTERCATCHER has been around occasionally, there were a couple of SHELDUCK one day this week and the odd COMMON TERN has been seen but that's been about it.

Because of this, I've been paying closer attention to the Trap Grounds reedbed in the vain hope of finding something interesting there though so far it's just been the usual Reed Warblers. There are at least three singing males within the reedbed: when one starts singing the others soon join it so it's relatively straight-forward to work out how many there are. There was a smart male Reed Bunting there as well today and I saw a SPARROWHAWK flying around nearby the other day.

Burgess Field still has all the usual warblers. Fortunately the LESSER WHITETHROAT decided that it liked it because it's set up territory there. Let's hope that he is successful in finding a mate. Today there was a Kestrel hunting over the nature reserve, the first I've seen there for a while.

With no birds to photograph, flowers are going to play a more prominent feature
on the blog over the coming months. Here's a nice colony of Field Pansy that I
found in Burgess Field.

..and this is the flower of the biblically named Abraham-Isaac-Jacob,
taken in the Trap Grounds a couple of weeks ago

Sadly, the mothing has been pretty terrible so far with the cold, clear nights making for very poor catches.

This Figure of Eighty is co called because of the white markings on the wing

Monday 11th May

It was all very May-ish this afternoon when I went to visit Burgess Field. As I said yesterday, the May Flower is out and smelling nice and there are flowers everywhere. I finally managed to find a LESSER WHITETHROAT when I came across a male singing away deep within the hedges. He must quite like it there because he hung around at least long enough for other people to come and see him as well. Let's hope that he stays and sets up home here. Talking of which, it appears that we have two singing male SEDGE WARBLERS on the Patch now, a real turn up after the last couple of lean years. 

Today the floods held just a single EGYPTIAN GOOSE (I think that there are two pairs and this one odd one left over), the usual 2 COMMON TERNS, 1 OYSTERCATCHER and 2 bonus SHELDUCK for a change.

I found a patch of Greater Celandine in Burgess Field this afternoon.
Despite it's name, it's in a different plant family from it's Lesser namesake.

Sunday 10th May

Another week has slipped by with little to report. The regular rain this week has meant that the floods are still with us though still looking rather poor given the amount of churned up mud that surrounds them. Still you never know when a tired wader might stop off there for a while. In past years we've had Little Stints and even a Pectoral Sandpiper stop in in such conditions. Sadly, all there was this week was the usual four or so EGYPTIAN GEESE, a single OYSTERCATCHER and the occasional COMMON TERN. The Swifts are definitely "in" now with three or four already careering about the skies over my house. So that's it on the migrant front unless we're lucky enough to have a Spotted Flycatcher (one of the latest migrants) stop in.

With no bird photos on offer, here's a Ringed Plover that I took a couple of weeks back

The usual Warblers are now settled in nicely in Burgess Field and are busy getting on with breeding. There's still not been a Lesser Whitethroat sighting though we do seem to have a singing SEDGE WARBLER in the Trap Ground reedbed now, which is good news.

This Nut-tree Tussock was probably the pick of last month's Moths

The rather unsettled nights have meant that mothing has so far really to kick off with very low catches. Similarly butterflies have been a bit hit and miss though I've had Holly Blues back in my garden as well as the usual Whites. We should start to get the grassland specialities of Ringlet and Marbled White in Burgess Field before too long now.

Cuckoo Flower

On the flower front the Cuckoo Flower has been out for some time and the Cow Parsley is coming out. Of course the May Flower (Hawthorn) is coming into bloom now so we can start to cast our clouts! May is such a beautiful month and the rain has meant that all the flowers and grass have a wonderful healthy green flush to them. It's a lovely time of year!

Saturday 2nd May

You can tell from the sudden lack of posts that it's all gone a bit pear-shaped on the Meadow. Sadly the continued warm dry weather has wrecked havoc on the floods which are now little more than two shallow ponds surrounded by a large area of churned up mud. Hardly the habitat we need to attract in some passing waders and this has been born out by the sightings which have consisted merely of up to 5 EGYPTIAN GEESE (two more having arrived mid week), 2 COMMON TERNS and a single OYSTERCATCHER. The only other news is of a SPARROWHAWK seen soaring over the Spinney area mid week. We are forecast some more rain this coming week though sadly I think it's far too late to make any real difference now.

The usual Warblers are still around in Burgess Field of course though as yet there have been no reports of any Lesser Whitethroats, which we still need to complete the Warbler set. Fledgling birds are now starting to appear: there was a Robin fledgling in our garden today, sadly killed by one of the local cats and I came across a very sweet family of young Long-tailed Tits over in the Trap Grounds.

Three of the five Egyptian Geese

Monday 27th April

Definitely a cooler feel to the weather today. The floods are looking very empty now with just a handful of straggler ducks and gulls left on it though the three EGYPTIAN GEESE are still with us and one of yesterday's two COMMON SANDPIPERS decided to linger another day. The Reed Warbler is still singing away in the Trap Ground reed bed and Liam Langley and James Evry came up trumps this afternoon with a SEDGE WARBLER singing in a ditch near Burgess Field. It's great to get this warbler on the list finally - it should be really straight-forward but somehow we've been struggling. They also had a HOBBY in Burgess Field, another year tick. Finally, the CETTI'S WARBLER was reported again today so it's still hanging around. 

The one remaining Common Sandpiper

So two more year ticks under the belt. We just need Lesser Whitethroat on the Warbler front now whereas for the waders we might reasonably expect Greenshank, Ruff, Grey Plover and possibly Bar-tailed Godwit and Wood Sandpiper still.

With regard to the Whimbrel count, Peter Law commented that when he came to look on Thursday there were just two birds and that a flock of 18 was seen flying high over Standlake later on that same day. So it's possible that two of the 18 split off and came back whilst the main flock went on over to Standlake (though that's not exactly due north of here). Anyway, it was great to see such a large flock on the Meadow.

Sunday 26th April

Well, so far no sign of the Purple Patch that I was forecasting on Wednesday but there's been a steady trickle of new year ticks over the last few days. I heard the first REED WARBLER of the year in the reedbed of the Trap Grounds and finally managed to find a couple of singing GARDEN WARBLERS of my own in the Burgess Field as well. The GRASSHOPPER WARBLER along the canal has been hanging around and may even decide to stay, though sadly there have been no further reports of the Cetti's. As reported previously, there are loads of WHITETHROATS back in Burgess Field now.

The floods have had a reprieve thanks to the reasonable rain that we had over the weekend and with the forecast looking a little more wet over the coming week we may stave off the inevitable for a few weeks yet. The EGYPTIAN GEESE have been lingering, clearing finding the grass by the floods to their liking. On the wader front we've had a couple of LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS and one OYSTERCATCHER still hanging around and this evening the first two COMMON SANDPIPERS of the year finally turned up - I've been expecting them for a couple of weeks now. A couple of COMMON TERNS were hanging out on the floods yesterday - actually sitting on a large stone in the middle of the flood water in the evening and this evening Steve Lavington found four YELLOW WAGTAILS.

James Evry managed to find a CUCKOO up near Godstow yesterday, a most welcome find of what is sadly becoming an increasingly rare bird in this country. Finally I had the first SWIFT of the year soaring over my house this evening.

The two Common Terns yesterday evening

Sharp-eyed Adam Bassett pointed out that there are actually 20 Whimbrel in Roger Wyatt's flight photo that I posted yesterday. I can confirm that there were only 18 on the deck when I went to see them so I presume that 2 decided not to stop off.

Thursday 23rd April

Another couple of year ticks today thanks to Steve Goddard who found a GRASSHOPPER WARBLER in a field by the canal and also three EGYPTIAN GEESE on what's left of the floods (it's depressing how quickly they're receding now). I'm very pleased that we've managed to get the Warbler on the year list after missing out on it last year. I remember how only a few years ago we'd have at least four singing males in Burgess Field each summer so it's sad how they've suddenly declined. The Geese are a good find as well as normally we've had to rely on the leucistic "ghost Goose" to get this on the list. Also present were two LITTLE RINGED PLOVER and two RINGED PLOVER early afternoon (reported by Steve Lockley), and just one OYSTERCATCHER and a single COMMON TERN. There were at least six Buzzards and two Kites all soaring in a thermal over Wytham Wood late afternoon. Burgess Field is full of Whitethroats now all staking out their territories. Mary MacDougall also reported quite a few Garden Warblers there as well.

My attempts at photographing the Egyptian Geese were lamentable so instead here are some proper photographs of yesterday's Whimbrel, taken by camera god Roger Wyatt

Wednesday 22nd April

I'm back from my travels now. The only news that I heard of since my last posting was from Mary MacDougall who found the first GARDEN WARBLER of the season in Burgess Field.

Today Roger Wyatt came up trumps when he found a flock of 18 WHIMBREL which flew in whilst he was there and settled at the north end of the floods. This species is less than annual on the Meadow so I hurried down to see them as soon as Roger contacted me. Apart from that there were two LITTLE RINGED PLOVER and two RINGED PLOVER as well as two flocks of YELLOW WAGTAILS that went through, totally about a dozen birds between them. House Martins were gathering mud from the flood margins so must be nest building now.

Just some of the eighteen Whimbrel

We're fast approaching the Patch Purple Patch - the peak time for spring migration when birds come through thick and fast. It's an exciting time of year which requires multiple daily visits to the Patch as often birds don't linger. It's often during this period that we get things like Wood Sandpiper, Grey Plover and also Whimbrel. It doesn't always happen: last year it never occurred at all but I'm optimistic for this year. The floods are looking good for it though in this hot weather they're receding fast and we really need some rain to top them up. So it's time for all our Patch Watchers to be extra diligent and to get out there!

Friday 17th April

It's been relatively quiet over the last couple of days by recent standards. The BLACK-TAILED GODWITS are still with us and indeed their number has now swelled to eight birds. A couple more COMMON TERNS were seen yesterday and Dave Doherty had the first WHITETHROAT of the year yesterday as well. A couple of YELLOW WAGTAILS flew over yesterday morning and Steve Lavington had another WHEATEAR as well. There have been between two LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS and 1 RINGED PLOVER with us for a couple of days, 1 to 3 OYSTERCATCHERS still and up to 5 SHELDUCK are still lingering. Mary MacDougall heard the CETTI'S WARBLER again so it's still with us.

I've been rather neglecting the fleur du jour section this year so to make amends
here's an Early Dog Violet hiding on the bank next to the allotments

I'm going to be away for a few days but do please keep sending me your sightings or post them to Going Birding. Don't find anything too good whilst I'm away though!

Wednesday 15th April

Our BLACK-TAILED GODWITS decided that they wanted to stay another day and in fact their numbers even went up to 6 today. Steve Lavington found our second WHEATEAR of the spring this morning and the CETTI'S WARBLER was reported again, this time in a slightly different location from before. Apart from that there was one LITTLE RINGED PLOVER, one RINGED PLOVER, one DUNLIN and the usual 2 OYSTERCATCHERS and 3 SHELDUCK.

In other locations Sedge Warblers have now arrived though last year we found it very difficult to get this species. Let's hope that this year is better for them.

One of the two "resident" Oystercatchers

Tuesday 14th April

It was another good day on the Patch. Pride of place goes to a CETTI'S WARBLER that Mary MacDougall found though I'm not going to be specific about its location on the off chance that it might breed. This species was last seen on the Patch several years ago when a singing male stayed for a couple of weeks so it's a very good record and indicative of the recovery of this species which was all but wiped out in the county during the harsh winters of a few years ago.

Also worthy of note was the first COMMON TERN of the year that Steve Lavington found on the river.  A flock of five BLACK-TAILED GODWITS dropped in mid morning on the floods and stayed for the rest of the day. This species is a regular visitor to the floods but it was still great to see them. Apart from that there were 2 OYSTERCATCHERS still, just a single SHELDUCK, 1 LITTLE RINGED PLOVER and 1 DUNLIN on the floods. There were lots of WILLOW WARBLERS singing away on Burgess Field today as well.

A rather distant shot of the five Black-tailed Godwits

Monday 13th April

Today was a WILLOW WARBLER day with three found in Burgess Field this morning by Mary MacDougall and there were at least two late afternoon when I went to visit. It's wonderful to hear their cascading song again in the hedgerows and bushes. In fact one bird ended up singing repeatedly from the same tree that was used as a song post last year in a spot where they bred. I don't know whether it's likely to be the same bird or just another one that finds the spot just as appealing but anyway it was lovely to see and hear.

Apart from that there was a single REDSHANK, 2 OYSTERCATCHERS, 2 SHELDUCK and two LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS to report. Mary also had four Buzzards circling over Burgess Field later afternoon and the Red Kite was about as usual.

Rupert Higgins reported three RED-CRESTED POCHARDS on the floods yesterday (two drakes and a female). Interestingly a group of the same composition was seen today at Rushy Common so it may well be the same birds moving about.

Singing Willow Warbler

Sunday 12th April

It's been another excellent couple of days on the Patch with three more year ticks to add. On Saturday morning Steve Lavington got the first YELLOW WAGTAIL of the year and three more were reported on RBA in the afternoon right up at the north end near the Trout. Today late afternoon I was very excited to find a SANDERLING in the Plover flock near Burgess Field only to discover when I got home that Phil Barnett had actually found it an hour or so earlier on. I couldn't really complain though as Phil also had a couple of fly-over adult MEDITERRANEAN GULLS - I'm really pleased that we sneaked these on to the year list right at the end of the spring passage. SANDERLING, is a less than annual vagrant on the Patch so a great year tick. We sometimes get them but usually much later on in the spring passage.

Over the weekend there's been a lovely mixed flock of LITTLE RINGED and RINGED PLOVERS feeding along the shoreline by Burgess Field gate and the allotments so a great opportunity for some close views. The exact composition of this flock varies as birds come and go but this evening there were five Little and one Ringed Plover with the Sanderling hanging out with them as well. 

Rounding off, up to three OYSTERCATCHERS are still about and up to five SHELDUCK. There was also a lovely flock of at least 10 SWALLOWS all feeding over the Meadow in the Hinterland area on Saturday - so this species is properly "in" now.

The Sanderling

Friday 10th April

Another day of nice weather though there wasn't as much action on the migrant front as yesterday. The GARGANEY was around for his third day and there's been no report of the one at Stratfield Brake so it's certainly possible that it's the same bird. There was just one REDSHANK left this morning and three SHELDUCK so some movement on with both those species though the two OYSTERCATCHERS were still about. There were two LITTLE RINGED PLOVER by Burgess Field gate this afternoon - I don't know if they're the same ones as yesterday or a new pair. In addition Steve Lavington saw a third bird land briefly and then fly off again almost immediately. There were a few SAND MARTINS, HOUSE MARTINS and Swallows heading north late afternoon. The highlight of the day was the first WILLOW WARBLER of the year, found be Pete Roby.

The Little Ringed Plover was right by Burgess Field gate this afternoon so
I was able to get a better photo than previous efforts.

Thursday 9th April: Wheatear & Redstart

You know that things are hotting up on the Meadow when I do three blog posts in three days! One forgets just how exciting it is at this time of year as new birds start appearing on a daily basis. In fact there was a steady stream of news from the Patch all day. 

It all started with a quick visit first thing this morning where I found the drake GARGANEY still present. What's more I clearly heard a PHEASANT calling from across the river behind the farm - a long overdue year tick. The 3 REDSHANK and 5 SHELDUCK were still about and a LITTLE EGRET was hunting near Burgess Field gate.

Mid morning I got a call from Dave Doherty who'd just found a COMMON REDSTART in Burgess Field. It's always great to get this hard to come by species on the year list for Port Meadow though we've been lucky over the last two or three year with them.

At around midday I got a text from Mary MacDougall to say that there were now two Garganey on the floods with a female having joined the male.

I went out again late afternoon where I met Steve Lavington who'd seen two LITTLE RINGED PLOVER though they'd not stayed long. The three OYSTERCATCHERS were also about but there was no sign of the female Garganey with just the drake still present. I went for a wander through Burgess Field to look for the Redstart but there was no sign of it nor anything else of note apart from a few singing Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs. I ended up walking back around the west side of the floods where I managed to spot a female WHEATEAR as she landed on the shoreline and started feeding. To round things off a single SWALLOW and two SAND MARTINS flew over the floods.

So an exciting three year tick day (Pheasant, Wheatear and Restart). It's all kicking off!

The Wheatear

Wednesday 8th April: Garganey

I'd been coveting my neighbour's GARGANEY: a splendid drake had turned up at Stratfield Brake just north of the Meadow and had been showing off to all and sundry for a few days now. So when Matthew Southwell reported one on Port Meadow on the Going Birding site early afternoon today I didn't need much prompting and hurried down to see for myself. It was easy to find, hanging out at the southern end of the floods and dabbling away happily. I don't know if this is actually the same bird as the Stratfield Brake one - the latter hasn't been reported today as I write this though it may just be that no one has looked. Wherever it was from, it's always a splendid sight to see and a most welcome addition to the year list.

The drake Garganey

Other birds present today were the usual 3 REDSHANKS, 3 OYSTERCATCHERS (the usual pair and a singleton), 6 SHELDUCK, 3 SWALLOWS and my first HOUSE MARTIN of the year and another Patch year tick. There were also two Buzzards and a Red Kite soaring in the afternoon thermals whilst I was there.

Addendum
Steve Lavington found a couple of LITTLE RINGED PLOVER on the floods this evening. We're starting to amass a reasonable tally for this species now.

Tuesday 7th April

Spring is really kicking off now that we've into some warmer and more settled weather. I finally managed to see some Swallows for myself today when two pairs zipped north whilst I was out on the Patch late morning. I've personally yet to see any Sand Martins and we've yet to have the large counts at Farmoor that we usually get in Spring. Perhaps with this good weather we'll get a wave of them coming over now.

There have been quite a few Osprey sightings over the last few days including one that was following the Thames north from Farmoor so no doubt it flew past Port Meadow though sadly it passed through unseen.

On the floods today were 3 REDSHANK and 3 SHELDUCK though no sign of the Oystercatchers whilst I was there. The first Mallard ducklings are now on the water and looking very cute though their parents seemed quite content to let them wander off on their own so I hope that they aren't picked off.

Spring duckling on the Castle Mill Stream

Thursday 2nd April

So here we are in April already. It's been a predictably quiet March with just the first smattering of spring migrants to keep one interested. Talking of which Adrian Gray found the first SWALLOW (for the whole of the county actually) when he saw one zipping north along the river on the 31st March and Steve Lavington added a second one yesterday. There have been a few more singing Chiffchaffs around and there was another LITTLE RINGED PLOVER on the floods today, in the same place as the last one along the "North Reach". Apart from that it's been the usual REDSHANK in numbers varying up to a peak of 7, SHELDUCK (up to 10) and OYSTERCATCHERS (usually 2 but sometimes 3). There was a nice flock of 80 odd Golden Plover this evening in transitional plumage. On the duck front numbers are definitely dwindling now though a group of Gadwall have now turned up as they do each spring, (up to 7). Two drake GOOSANDER were also still hanging around this evening.

So now that we're into April it's time to look out for the rest of the warblers as well as some spring passage waders. Let's hope that we have a better selection than last year which was very poor.

Not something that you see every day but it gave the Meadow a sort of "Lord of the Rings" feel and it was nice to listen to the music whilst scanning the floods

Addendum
Mary MacDougall also saw 7 Sand Martins and 1 Swallow during an hour long stint standing by Burgess Field Gate. In addition she's seen a couple more Swallows over the last few days.