27th July

Today's Fleur du Jour is Lesser Stitchwort, an easily overlooked small white flower. It's five white petals are so deeply lobed that at first glance it looks like there are actually ten petals to each flower. This one was on the central path that goes through the souther section of Burgess Field Nr.

Lesser Stitchwort

24th July

Today's Fleur du Jour is Rosebay Willowherb. One of the Willowherb family, it can commonly be seen in many places in our country side. It's an example of a pioneer species due to its ability quickly to colonise newly cleared areas such as after a fire. In fact in North America it is known as Fireweed for this reason. This photo was taken on the path through the centre of the southern end of Burgess Field.

Rosebay Willowherb

19th July

Ian Curtis reported a couple of OYSTERCATCHERS in the field above the Perch Inn on Monday evening.

Adrian Gray writes:

Dunno if you've had a chance to visit the newly open Wolvercote Lakes (AKA the Gullet) yet. I was in there this evening and, although there's nothing much out of the ordinary at the mo, we had some stunning views of a kingfisher fishing. First one I've seen all year, so to be so close and to see it doing its thing was brilliant. Made my day!

 

Fleur du jour is Brooklime, a succulent herb that grows in the margins of streams and ditches etc. I found it along the Castle Mill Stream.

Brooklime

18th July Oxeye Daisy

Today's fleur du jour is Oxeye Daisy. A common plant to be found in lots of places in Burgess Field NR

Oxeye Daisy

Thursday 17th July

This wonderfully sunny summer that we're having is carrying on unabated. Of course this heat does have its downside: the floods are now completely dry with only a few Black-headed Gulls left picking over the dried up mud. There's been plenty of insect life to look at by way of compensation with a good selection of Ringlets, Marbled Whites, Meadow Browns, Essex and Small Skippers as well as the usual commoner species about. I even had a Ringlet in the garden the other day, a first for my garden. Down the Castle Mill Stream there are plenty of Damselflies with Common Blue, Blue-tailed and Red-eyed being the three species present. The first dragonflies are out now with a couple of Brown Hawkers and a Black-tailed Skimmer seen this week. I'm still mothing away though there's been nothing of particular note in the morning egg boxes recently. 

Black-tailed Skimmer

Egg laying pair of Red-eyed Damselflies

As I forgot the fleur du jour yesterday, here is one for today as well. It's Creeping Cinquefoil, a pretty little yellow flower that can create a carpet of cover where it is found. This one was on the main path in Burgess Field hear the first crossroads.

 

Creeping Cinquefoil

Tuesday 15th July Lady's Bedstraw

Today's flower du jour is Lady's Bedstraw, so called because it was traditionally used to stuff mattress as the smell apparently deters fleas. The flowers were also used to colour the cheese Double Gloucester and to make yellow dyes. In Denmark it's used to infuse spirits to make the drink bjösk. This one was found in Burgess Field on the path between the West Copse. 

Lady's Bedstraw

14th July Black Medick

Today's flower du jour is Black Medick, a small yellowish clover that can easily be overlooked. I found this one by the Castle Mill Stream just behind the Walton Well Road car park. It can be distinguished from other similar species by the small point on the tip of the leaf.

Black Medick

12th July Common Bird's-foot Trefoil

Today's fleur du jour is Common Bird's-foot Trefoil. This is a common member of the Vetch family, so called because the seed heads come in clumps of three which look like a bird's foot (see photo below).  It's quite a small plant ranging in height from 5 to 20 cm and it flowers from June to September. This one was snapped on the main path near the two copses.

Friday 11th July

Today's flower is Perforate St John's-wort. There are several St John's-wort species which are rather similar and one has to look at details of the stem and leaves etc. to make sure of the identification. The "Perforate" part of the name refers to tiny oil glands in the leaves which look like translucent windows or perforations. St. John's-wort is of course quite well known as a herbal treatment for depression. This plant is again along the central path northwards through the southern end of the reserve.

Perforate St. John's-wort

10th July Common Mallow

It's all quiet on the Meadow at present. The last pool of flood water is hanging on thanks to some recent heavy rainfall but it's only a matter of time before it dries up. There was a single LITTLE RINGED PLOVER there a few days ago but now it's just loafing Black-headed Gulls and the two COMMON TERNS who hang out there. 

Here's today's Fleur du Jour: the Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris), a common flower as it's name suggests which can be found along hedgerows and waste ground in all sorts of places. In Burgess Field it can be found for example along the hedge of the path that goes north through the centre of the southern end of the reserve.

Common Mallow

9th July Fleur du Jour

In an effort to keep my interest up over the summer months I thought that I'd start to get to know some of the flowers that are to be found in Burgess Field NR. Now, I know next to nothing about flowers but given the power of the internet, these days that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Accordingly I've gone and taken some shots of a few flowers and gradually worked out what they are before checking them on i-Spot to have the ID's confirmed or corrected. I'm then gradually going to offer them up here on this blog as an occasional "Fleur du jour".

Today's inaugural offering is Dove's-foot Crane's-bill (Geranium molle). Crane's-bill is the common name for the Geranium family of which there are some 420 members world-wide. This common flower can be found for example tucked away in front of the hedgerow along the main path northwards along the west side of Burgess Field. It's similar to the Hedgerow Crane's-bill though that has larger flowers.

Dove's-foot Crane's-bill (Geranium molle)

Wednesday 2nd July

I realised that I'd not been to visit Burgess Field for quite a while now and so today I did a late afternoon yomp around much of the patch area. First stop was the Trap Grounds to look for dragonflies and damselflies though all I could find were a few Blue-tailed Damsels. There were a few Ringlet butterflies in the long grass of the clearing but that was about it.

The floods are still just about hanging on in there with the main remaining pool being by Aristotle Lane exit. There are still plenty of Black-headed Gulls picking over the mud with quite a few Grey Herons and one LITTLE EGRET picking off the last of the trapped fish. Plenty of post-breeding Lapwings about and the Jericho RED KITE was on the deck picking at a gull carcass.

The resident Red Kite

In Burgess Field itself there were loads of butterflies about - the warm dry weather is no doubt making for an excellent summer for these insects. Marbled Whites were everywhere, there were quite a few Ringlets and Meadow Browns as well as good numbers of Essex Skipper and one Small Skipper. On the bird front I came across a total of 5 STOCK DOVE feeding on the pathways within the reserve.

One of many Essex Skippers

Wednesday 25th June

I've been rather neglecting the Meadow over the last week or so - after all it is June. However I made an early morning visit before work today to see what was about and I was pleasantly surprised. As is only to be expected the flood waters have been in further retreat though at least the green algae has now gone leaving us with some rather narrow pools surrounded by lots of mud. The birds still seem to like it and there are plenty of Black-headed gulls picking their way over the mud and floating around on the water. In the north west corner there are clearly some trapped fish still for there were no less than six each of LITTLE EGRET and GREY HERON all standing around looking well fed. There was a noticeable increase in post breeding Lapwing numbers with about forty of them dotted about the place including quite a few youngsters which was good to see. A couple of OYSTERCATCHERS were over towards Stint Corner and there was even a LITTLE RINGED PLOVER working its way along the shoreline.

The highlight of the morning though was as I was about to depart when I heard the distinctive call of GREEN SANDPIPERS overhead though try as I might I couldn't see them. Fortunately they made a second circuit which enabled me see what turned out to be a pair of these delightful waders which are rather hard to get on the Meadow - these were in fact a year tick. Sadly they didn't land but flew off eastwards, perhaps to Otmoor.

I didn't take any photos this morning so sticking with the Oystercatcher theme 

here are some photos from much earlier in the year taken by Roger Wyatt (c)

Tuesday 17th June

My apologies for the lack of posts recently but the sad truth is that there's been precious little to blog about. Spurred on by a sighting of a probable Red-necked Phalarope at Balscote Quarry last week I've been looking out for this county mega on the Meadow though sadly it's just been typical June birds.

The floods are still intact though the recent warm weather and lack of rain means that they are fighting a rearguard action against evaporation. What's more they are largely covered in a green algae/weed which makes them look rather unappealing though the birds seem to like it. In fact it's looking remarkably "birdy" at present on my evening visits with between 100 and 200 Black-headed Gulls making up the bulk of numbers, including quite a few juveniles now. There are also plenty of Mallards some with ducklings, Mute Swans (including one family of three or four cygnets), a few Gadwall and a single Teal. On the wader front there's been a slowly increasing flock of Lapwings roosting at the north end of late and we were blessed with a REDSHANK today as well. There's been a LITTLE EGRET on and off and quite a few young Grey Herons (I counted six one day) all no doubt feasting off the trapped fish. The COMMON TERNS have been paying an occasional visit as well to enjoy this fish bonanza. There are plenty of hirundines and Swifts about and a couple of weeks ago I spotted a HOBBY making an unsuccessful attempt on them over Kingston Road. As I said, all in all it's typical June birding.

juvenile Black-headed Gull

Tuesday 27th May: Grey Plover

At last we have a decent bird to blog about! I braved the consistently miserable weather this afternoon and in the wind and rain managed to find a lone GREY PLOVER along the North Shore feeding away quietly along the shoreline. This species is just about annual on the Meadow, usually in May though I'd thought that we'd missed our chance this year.

Grey Plover

Monday 26th May

It's been a very quiet couple of weeks hence the lack of posts here. The brief spell of hot weather a while back meant that suddenly the flood waters became covered in a green algae which certainly detracts from the look of them - I don't know whether it puts off the birds as well. After our star Avocet left there's been practically nothing of note to report at all. Last week there were a couple of LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS and RINGED PLOVERS and today there was a HOBBY chasing the hirundines in the rainy weather - presumably there aren't enough dragonflies on the wing in the rain. Even most of the loafing gulls have now left, it's all getting rather quiet as the June doldrums approach.

I have been trying to keep up my interest via the mothing but of course the weather is putting a damper on that. The highlight of the last couple of weeks was a Toadflax Brocade that I caught in my garden on the 16th. This species in the rarest category of resident moths in the UK, being present in fewer than 15 10km squares in the entire country. However it's spreading rapidly from the south and east so will probably lose this status next time they're updated. Still it's a rare moth to find in Oxon and apparently it's the first record in the VC23 recording area that my garden lies in.

Toadflax Brocade

Thursday 15th May: Avocet Still

At last (from a non-birding point of view) we are having some proper May weather. In the sunshine the floods are looking great - it's just a shame that they're not full of passage waders popping in for a rest. At least we have the AVOCET with us still to look at, still looking very much at home. Apart from the hoards of gulls, a few Mallard and a couple of Shoveler today, there's not a lot of interest to report.

The Avocet, looking very much at home still

Wednesday 14th May: Avocet

There was a welcome surprise waiting for me on my early morning visit to the Meadow today in the form of a lovely AVOCET looking very much at home on the floods and feeding away actively. This species is less than annual on the patch so it's always nice to see one and it makes for a most welcome year tick in what has so far been a very poor spring for waders. Fortunately the Avocet seemed to like the floods and stayed all day, still being there at last light for my second visit.

The last BLACK-TAILED GODWIT was still around in the morning though by the evening it seemed to have moved on. There is one LITTLE EGRET and several Grey Herons all fishing away on the floods at present - perhaps the trapped fish fry have now grown large enough to be worth catching. There are also lots of gulls around at the moment, all looking rather scruffy and strange. They spend a lot of time hawking over the river catching the hapless Mayflies as they hatch.

My second visit was to listen out for Grasshopper Warblers in Burgess Field, this being the last of the common warbler species that we still need. It seems like it's a rather poor year for them in the county but I thought that I'd make an effort to find one. Sadly I can no longer hear them unless they're very close so I'd like to put out a request to anyone with good hearing to see if they can locate one. The weather conditions should be perfect over the next few days and an evening visit to Burgess Field should find one singing away (they sound like a free-wheeling bike) from the undergrowth if they're about at all.

Monday 12th May

Sadly the Glossy Ibis wasn't seen again after Saturday though it could still be in the area so it's worth keeping an eye out in case it returns. In fact it was seen briefly over the hill at Farmoor over the weekend so it's still kicking around. This has just left us with the two BLACK-TAILED GODWITS, a single OYSTERCATCHER and a LITTLE EGRET worthy of note on the floods over the last couple of days.

However, the beauty of patch birding is that one can rejoice in minor triumphs and today I was pleased finally to find a SEDGE WARBLER on the patch. I'd more or less given up on this common warbler which seems to be getting less common by the year on the Meadow at least but this morning I found one singing away in the hedge along the southern boundary of the Trap Ground allotments just by the footpath exit gate. It doesn't exactly look to be an ideal spot for it to linger but we shall see.

In addition, Liam Langley managed to find a CUCKOO singing away in Burgess Field for a while today before it flew across the river.

The Jericho Red Kite is still around most days

Saturday 10th May: Glossy Ibis

Up until today it's been very quiet on the Meadow with just the two BLACK-TAILED GODWITS still to keep my company on my daily visits. On one day one of the OYSTERCATCHERS was back but apart from that it's just the non-breeding Gadwall who seem to have made the floods their home now and the two COMMON TERNS that were noteworthy.

However, there was a dramatic turn of events today when Cherry Robertson and Leon Kinlen found a splendid GLOSSY IBIS on the floods just north of the Burgess Field Gate at 10am this morning. It had a habit of disappearing and then returning to the floods so I managed to miss it the first time round but fortunately saw it mid afternoon when it moved to the Hinterland a couple of hundred yards north of the flood water. The habitat looks absolutely perfect for it so it may well stay around for a while - let's hope so. 

The Glossy Ibis (c) Pete Roby

In fact I've been half expecting this species for a while now on the Meadow now that they're no longer as rare as they once were. Still, this is the first record for the site and in fact there have only been four or so previous records in the county. I suspect that we may well get more sightings in the next few years, after all Spoonbills are now virtually annual on the Meadow.