AUTUMN MORNING IN THE CWP AND A NEW PERSONAL RECORD

 There was a definite chill to the air this morning when I visited the Cotswold Water Park. In particular I was looking for whinchats at Blakehill nature reserve, as that would give me   a personal record of 175 bird species seen in a year. Whinchats are migratory and last year I didn't see any at all  but today I was hopeful as there had been some recorded there recently. Blakehill is an old airfield which can become very windy but today there was very little wind and with the sunshine it became quite pleasant as the air temperature warmed up. 

The main track is bordered by post and wire  fencing and I kept my eyes focussed on these, as birds are  more easily seen when they fly up to perch on the fence posts. After a while, I noticed several birds on some posts and wire a bit further on.  I couldn't make out if they were  stonechats or whinchats or something else but, before I got close enough to identify them,  frustratingly, a vehicle came down the track and disturbed them so they flew  off. However,  I continued to walk down the track to a wooden seat  which is often a good point to stop and look. I spoke to a couple of people sitting  there, but disappointingly, they said they had seen several stonechats but no whinchats. I kept walking and it was quite a while before I saw any further  sign of any birds  but eventually I could make out the shape of a bird on a post which was further away, but accessible down a path between some cattle fields. As I got nearer I realised that there were three or four birds perching on the fence and then dropping down into the grass before flying up to the posts again. 

I stopped at a convenient point, so as not to disturb them, and through my binoculars  realised that amongst a few stonechats, there were  whinchats too. You can tell the difference by the white 'eyebrow' that the whinchat has. I had reached my target 175th species, with a few more months in the year, still to go !  I watched them for a time, hoping they might come closer, but only a stonechat came and perched briefly in a  tall bush nearby.  

Next I headed over to Lower Moor Farm nature reserve, Oaksey, where  I was hoping for butterflies, in particular Painted Ladies  which might have been attracted to some buddleia bushes.  However, I only found a large white and a brimstone. By way of compensation I did get  a distant view of  two of the resident otters though and a nice view of a Southern Hawker dragonfly. I did the circuit of the lakes but it was pretty quiet on the bird front.  With limited time I had to resist the temptation to visit the rather attractive Dragonfly cafe,  and instead,  headed home for a late lunch.

stonechat

whinchat

stonechat

 

southern hawker

large white butterfly

Brimstone butterfly

otters

AFTER THE RAIN AT FARMOOR

 Farmoor Reservoir often hosts some 'good' birds at this time of year and earlier this week, there were sightings of greenshank and a little stint. Yesterday's heavy rain also brought in rarities such as Arctic skua and scoters. Sadly I couldn't arrange to get there until today. It had been raining and thundering earlier but looking at the forecast I quickly realised that it was due to dry up midmorning, with rising temperatures and little wind. 

I therefore quickly packed a lunch and headed over to the reservoir to see if anything had turned up. The water was very calm and the air had  a greyness to it, despite  feeling fairly warm.  I picked out a yellow legged gull on one of the buoys to add to my year list. On enquiring, I was told that there were a couple of little terns around, and I soon spotted these, twisting and turning over the water as they flew from  one side of the reservoir to the other, passing fairly close. However, as the weather brightened they disappeared.

I took my time to cross the causeway, looking out for anything unusual. There were many geese (greylags and Canada geese) all along the shoreline and coots, tufted ducks and mallards in the water. There were also good numbers of great crested grebes, now mostly turning to winter grey and white plumage. However, I didn't spot any waders. 

I decided to follow the path all around the larger part of the reservoir, known as F2, I saw a group of common sandpipers, but these were very flighty and I did not get close enough for any photos. There was a raft of cormorants, some little grebes and today the regular flock of  approx 50 feral snow geese was also present. 

Rather than go back to the car, I decided to  go up the causeway again, to see if anything else had turned up. Near to the far side, I caught up with a lady I recognised  who was photographing a turnstone off the side of the causeway. It was very confiding and eventually decided to sit down and rest in front of us! Whilst chatting to her, she expressed an interest in seeing some dragonflies, but was unsure where the ponds and hides were so I offered to show her. From the Pinkhill hide we spotted an emerald damselfly, before being confronted with a group of horned calves who appeared amongst the trees and reeds and waded into the water to munch away at the vegetation. 

Moving to the Shrike Meadow hide along the Thames Path, I showed her the areas of water separated by a little bridge which was a popular area for dragonflies.  We were pleased to see both migrant and southern hawker, together with brown hawkers and ruddy and common darters. Having spent a while there, we headed back to the reservoir and whilst my companion continued around F2, I went back via the causeway once more.  I   saw someone photographing some small waders, and realised that they were juvenile ringed plovers. Although they did not yet have the orange bill or  bright orange legs, they  also did not have the yellow eye ring which distinguishes the little ringed plover. They were feeding alongside the turnstone and seemed unworried by my presence as they ran along the water's edge below me. 

I'd spent longer than anticipated at the Reservoir, but had added 2 more species which brings my total to 174. I'm close to reaching my 175 target  and personal record. Maybe I'd better increase that to 180...

CATCHING UP WITH SOME WATER BIRDS

 With little likelihood of reaching my 'usual' butterfly yearly total of 47, ( I still have only 41, my most recent being a brown hairstreak at Otmoor) , I decided to pursue my birding target of 175. I've failed to reach it by one or two in the last two years but I was on 166 ( including my first chough when on holiday in Pembrokeshire) before I visited my sister last week. We made a trip to Frampton Marsh rspb which is very good for waders and often hosts some unusual species during peak migration times. We didn't arrive till mid- afternoon but with a fine evening ahead decided we'd stay until 6  - 6.30 p.m. and avoid the rush hour/bank holiday traffic which  held us up a bit on the outward journey. 

There were a lot of birds close  to the visitor centre window and I quickly picked out a bar headed goose (escapee?) amongst the greylag flock. We could also see several spoonbills and little egrets.  Out on the reserve there were the expected water birds, and from one of the paths I noticed a single swan. But its bill was yellow and I was able to add a whooper swan to my year list, a species I had missed in the new year. 

Further on, we could found a few yellow wagtails feeding on the mud, again, a pleasing tick for the year. Another birder with a 'scope also pointed out  a curlew sandpiper. 

After the visitor centre had closed we walked round the side and watched a few little ringed plover. 

whooper swan

cattle egrets and spoonbills ( and other species)

little ringed plover

Pleased my list was now increasing a bit, once back home, I decided to visit Slimbridge on my last free day of the school holidays. It was a warm day with variable amounts of sunshine - and although the Centre was busy with families, the hides were very quiet. In the Rushy someone quickly pointed out a greenshank which was calling from one of the islands. Other birds of note here included redshanks and spotted redshanks together with black tailed godwit (some still in breeding plumage) and a juvenile garganey. Birds of note seen from the other hides included a green sandpiper and a couple of snipe together with teal and mallards, also avocets and ruffs.

greenshank

snipe

green sandpiper

black tailed godwits

PERHAM DOWN BUTTERFLIES

I discovered the site at Warren Hill, Perham Down, near Andover  last year when I read that it supported a colony of silver spotted skippers. It is roughly an hour's trip away but nearer than my previous location of Aston Rowant. Having made a note on where to find  the silver spotted skippers  following last year's visit, I  headed straight up the main track and then turned off to a scrubby area to the left  to begin my search. These skippers are one of the later butterflies to emerge and consequently I tend to look for them at the start of August.

I had arrived  fairly early in the day - around 930, but already it was quite warm and I soon spotted my first butterflies.    At first I only saw meadow browns - plenty of them, together with a few gatekeepers and small heath butterflies, but then I noticed a smaller orangey brown butterfly fly at good speed and land on the path in front of me -  I had found my first silver spotted skipper of the year! I saw only a few more although a recent report had recorded about 25, however, I did not explore the whole of the site. 

A bit later on, I found another 'first for the year' - two chalkhill blue butterflies were fluttering about close to the ground, occasionally settling for a short time. I also found one female chalkhill blue and a common blue. 

It hasn't been a great year for butterflies, and I am  a few down on last year's total. I did, however, manage to find a purple hairstreak in my daughter's back garden last week. I shall hopefully look for brown hairstreaks next week, but it remains to be seen if I  see the migrants (clouded yellow and painted lady), sightings of which seem to be few and far between. I also wonder if the long tailed blue will be seen at all this year. 

male gatekeeper

male chalkhill blue

silver spotted skipper

view of warren hill

male chalkhill underwing

female chalkhill underwing

female chalkhill blue

common blue male