FARMOOR AND OTMOOR

A sunny, spring morning but a cold northerly breeze was blowing as I walked around Farmoor Reservoir today. Almost felt I needed hat and gloves!  Again I didn't see the Bonaparte gull, in fact very few gulls around today. However, I did see four types of wagtails; pied, white, grey and yellow. I also disturbed a napping female goosander on the edge of the reservoir, which made a quick getaway once it realised I was there. 
Other highlights included common terns, common sandpiper, and a grey heron. The female mallard and her family were still around, swimming close to the causeway edge. 
At the hide I saw reed bunting, great tit, blue tit, chaffinch, coot, and heard my first cuckoo of the year. 

I 

a sleeping female goosander

which woke up...

...stood up...

...and quickly swam off.

grey heron on the causeway

mallard and her ducklings

With some time still to spare today, I then decided to drive a bit further on to RSPB Otmoor. From the bird feeders, grasshopper warblers could be heard but not seen today, I'd not heard them before but they had an unmistakable sound like  a fishing rod being reeled in! However, I did manage to see some very vocal sedge warblers and a reed warbler.  There were also some early lapwing chicks running about in the field, but sadly too distant for a photo,  they did look cute though!

After reading a notice about grass snakes sunbathing on the flattened reeds, I spotted one curled up.  Also seen was a brown hare in the field, hunkered down with just its ears showing. 

grass snake

can you spot the ears?

a vocal sedge warbler

TICKING ALONG IN OXFORDSHIRE

A nice reasonably sunny day out in Oxfordshire, adding a few more ticks to my year lists of butterflies and birds.  I  got to Farmoor's reservoir at about 1030, and I spent a couple of hours there.  Whilst walking along the footpath in the nature reserve, someone offered to show me a where a lesser whitethroat was singing, which was several hundred metres further along. However, hearing a few notes of the song, it did not carry on and  we could not locate it.   I decided not to go into the hide itself, as time was getting on,  but now wished I had asI see  a garganey was reported!!  Oh well...! After picnicking in the car, I drove round to Rushy Common, and watched from the hide for a while, a lot of the usual birds around, although nothing new.   Orange tip butterflies also  in abundance today, also brimstone, speckled wood, green veined white, comma, small tortoisehshell. 


Highlights from today were yellow wagtail, red crested pochard, common tern,   black cap, willow warbler, chiffchaff, swallow, reed bunting and common sandpiper (Farmoor) red crested pochard, oyster catcher, greylag and canada geese, lapwing, sand martin, teal, gadwall, lesser black backed gull. (Rushy) 

red crested pochards

yellow wagtail

speckled wood

green veined white

common tern and blackheaded gulls

female orange tip

GREENHAM COMMON

I went  to Greenham Common in pursuit of dartford warblers and woodlarks today, but sadly they evaded me! However it was a lovely morning's walk amongst the gorse, with good views of linnets, stonechats and meadow pipits. 

linnet

female stonechat

male stonechat

meadow pipit

entrance to the common

a lake in the middle of the reserve

MOULDON HILL

Finished school early today as final day of term, so had time to visit Moulden Hill country park near Swindon. The lake was extremely quiet, although I did catch a glimpse of some ducklings in the reeds.  A few butterflies about, namely holly blue, several orange tips, brimstone, peacock and small tortoiseshell. 

 a very peaceful lake at Moulden Hill

 mallard with ducklings

small tortoiseshell

orange tip showing patterned underwing

SNAKESHEAD FRITILLARIES

Making the most of the fine weather, I made the short trip over to Cricklade to see the snakeshead fritillaries covering North Meadow reserve at this time of year.  It's popular with visitors, including a party of primary school children which arrived at the same time as I did. 

As well as the lovely display of flowers, birds noted were heron, reed bunting and a skylark; butterflies seen included brimstone, small tortoiseshell and peacock. 

I then paid a quick visit to Blakehill reserve where there were plenty of skylarks singing,  several high above me, and I even managed to spot a few amongst the grass.

snakes head fritillaries

marsh marigolds

small tortoiseshell

AFTERNOON AT FARMOOR.. & A DUCKLING DRAMA!

Another fine day and having seen that there had been a variety of birds at Farmoor reservoir lately, I decided to drive over there. 

As usual I walked across the causeway,  and spoke to a couple of people, but it was very quiet, the little ringed plover, black necked grebe etc were not about. I then decided to wander down to the nature reserve; from the hide were a couple of coots, reed bunting, great tits, dunnock and a tortoiseshell butterfly. Along the footpath I spotted several more butterflies, and spotted a male bullfinch amongst some blossom by the river. I also had great views of a blackcap singing. 

Back to the reservoir, and this time I noted a swallow, a couple of meadow pipits, pied wagtails and possibly a white wagtail as it definitely had a grey back. 

As I approached the end of the causeway I spotted my first ducklings of the year. A female mallard was swimming around with her brood next to a couple of boats. As I watched I became aware of some loud 'peeping' which was definitely too close to be from the brood out in the water. I couldn't see anything straight away, then looked down and could just make out a tiny duckling caught underneath some black netting on the other side of the wall. So I clambered down over the wall and managed to lift up the edge and let it out. It frantically ran for the water and swam quickly to its relieved mother who then swam away into the middle of the reservoir. I  wonder how it got there and how long it had been there!

orange tip

peacock

speckled wood

reed bunting

blackcap

black cap in full voice

bullfinch

robin

meadow pipit

white wagtail?

definitely greyer than this pied wagtail

the mallard family

the lost one, making a quick dash for its family

 the duckling was underneath this netting!

Birds seen or heard today:

bluetit, great tit, robin, dunnock, reed bunting, blackbird, chiffchaff, pheasant, blackcap, swallow, pied wagtail, white wagtail, meadow pipit, mallard, tufted duck, great crested grebe, cormorant, black headed gull, swan, greylag goose, starling, crow, bullfinch, goldfinch.

Butterflies:

brimstone, peacock, holly blue, speckled wood, small tortoiseshell, orange tip

SPRING IS SPRUNG...

Spring has certainly sprung at Slimbridge WWT.   There is lots of blossom on the trees around the site, warblers are singing everywhere, even a brood of goslings!

I arrived at 9.30, making straight for the South Lake hide, hoping to see the spoonbill from yesterday, but it wasn't seen.  I was shown a mediterranean gull through a 'scope, and had good views of avocets. 

On hearing of a firecrest at Holden Tower, I then decided to make my way over there, I could hear it singing but it didn't appear while I was there, although several warblers did. I believe it was seen a bit later on. On taking a look at the Rushy Pen on my return, there was a family of greylag geese going for a wander just outside the viewing window. The first of the year?
I was able to watch the kingfisher pair entering and leaving their nest hole in the bank at the Kingfisher hide, and also heard and saw blackcap, willow warbler and chiffchaff. 

Birds seen today:
chiffchaff, willow warbler, blackcap, cettis warbler (heard only) firecrest (heard only), blue tit great tit, robin, wren, jackdaw, crow, rook, greylag geese, canada geese, cormorant, shelduck, gadwall, teal, shoveler, tufted duck, mallard, wigeon, mute swan, crane, mediterranean gull, blackheaded gull, black tailed godwit, ruff, oyster catcher, lapwing, pied wagtail, some type of martin/swallow, curlew, kingfisher.

avocets

curlew

greylag goose and family

goslings

jackdaw

kingfisher

nesting holes in bank on far side as viewed from hide

mallard - is it really that comfortable on that post?