Burton Dassett :: 11 April 2015

Just finished breakfast and checked with @bobhazell whether the Ring Ouzel from yesterday had been reported at Napton Reservoir this morning. While waiting for a response, @grimsbury_birds tweeted to say that he had just spotted one near the Burton Dassett Country Park. I jumped in the car and found where they were viewing from. Initially I joined Gareth and Allan in viewing from the road but after a while they decided to take a stroll to get a better view down in to the hollow. No view from there either. Eventually they had to go but about 20 minutes after they had gone it appeared at the bottom right of the field. Another tick for me.

Also managed to tick yellow wagtail and jackdaw with a single swallow flypast. Entertained by a buzzard attempting to catch a thermal on the edge of the hill, and it appears that @grimsbury_birds managed to catch a photo, possibly of the same bird, on the ground later.

Brandon Marsh :: 06 April 2015

The reserve car park was rammed when we arrived. Great to see so many people out on a glorious Easter Monday. Fortunately there was space for us both in the car park and the Badger Tearoom. The feeders outside the Visitor Centre were relatively quiet with just a few species visiting. Much busier inside.
Under blue skies we had a beautiful walk around the reserve and encountered amphibians on the verge of the footpath as well as in the water - notable was a common toad. Onwards and it was obvious that so many butterflies were around - peacock, comma, brimstone, large white, ...
Added oystercatcher, redshank, swallow and sand martin to my year list on East Marsh. Great watching buzzard, kestrel and canada geese too.
Today's sightings (37) included: great tit, blue tit, blackbird, chaffinch, robin, reed bunting, canada goose, long-tailed tit, tufted duck, mallard, moorhen, dunnock, greylag goose, carrion crow, coot, shoveler, lapwing, redshank, black-headed gull, lesser black-backed gull, oystercatcher, teal, mute swan, shelduck, magpie, sand martin, wren, gadwall, cormorant, woodpigeon, buzzard, jay, swallow, kestrel, chiffchaff, goldfinch and great spotted woodpecker.

Farmoor Reservoir :: 01 April 2015

Noted on a post from Lee Evans (@LeeEvansBirding) that there was a red-necked grebe at Farmoor Reservoir. Having had a late lunch out with the family we returned home at 3pm. Everyone else seemed to have plan so I thought a quick dash to Farmoor Reservoir was in order.

As soon as I stepped onto the reservoir I was greeted by a pair of red-crested pochard - a year tick. Information suggested that the SW banks of F2 were the most likely to spot the RN grebe. Set off in a cold wind but thankfully avoided any rain. Most inhabitants had been pushed to shore by the choppy waters and the few windsurfers and boat being driven along by the stiff wind. Nothing doing and was beginning to think it had been a wasted journey when I spotted something about 50m off the W shore. And there it was. I won't include the photo as it was just a record shot - it is on Flickr though. Lost it almost as soon as I found it and was unable to locate for the rest of the visit.

Completing the circuit I added a few more to the year list: reed bunting, dunlin and meadow pipit - 5 for the day.

The day's sightings (26) included: red-crested pochard, great tit, chaffinch, coot, mallard, pied wagtail, tufted duck, black-headed gull, woodpigeon, carrion crow, rook, cormorant, kestrel, great-crested grebe, greylag goose, red-necked grebe, goldeneye, reed bunting, chiffchaff, wren, blackbird, robin, little grebe, magpie, dunlin and meadow pipit.