Farmoor Reservoir :: 18 September 2011

With Eilidh needing to complete some homework and a wife playing tennis against North Oxford, it was left to Ailsa and I to go for a walk. It was decided that somewhere in the Oxford direction might be best and if possible we could drop in and watch some of the tennis later in the afternoon. Farmoor Reservoir got the nod ahead of Otmoor this time, mainly due to the reported sighting of Lapland Bunting over the preceding days. The weather was relatively kind and we only had one light shower.

Our species list for the day totalled 30, including: pied wagtail, white wagtail, mallard, coot, cormorant, great-crested grebe, black-headed gull, grey wagtail, yellow wagtail, linnet, yellow legged gull, house sparrow, robin, blue tit, great tit, starling, goldfinch, tufted duck, woodpigeon, common sandpiper, magpie, greenfinch, blackbird, greylag goose, mute swan, carrion crow, egyptian goose, shag, ringed plover and lapland bunting.

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the spectacular views of the Lapland Bunting. Although diminutive, the colours and stripes make this the bird equivalent of a tiger!

The tennis turned out well too with a 4-0 win for Banbury Mixed A, celebrated with drinks from Starbucks on the Peartree roundabout.