Balscote Quarry and Barford :: 26-28 March 2021

The weekend started on Friday again. The previous day had held reports of sand martin starting to drop around the country and most importantly at Grimsbury Reservoir, so that is where I headed. I arrived by 6.20am and sure enough there were 9 sand martin feeding over the water - I'm sure soon sand martin sightings will be commonplace as the reservoir plays host to large numbers of hirundine during the season - it is also why we had fingers crossed for a visit from a red-rumped swallow (delivered a couple of years ago).

Around the rest of the reserve it was quiet. Well, I say quiet, but that isn't quite accurate - all around chiffchaff were 'giving it some'. I bumped into @987jonty on the way round and later he reported a singing blackcap that I'd missed.

I popped home for breakfast and noted that wheatear had been reported by Sandra and Adrian Bletchly the day before, at Barford RAF station. I know the area now as I've been trying to connect with a corn bunting there for the last few weeks plus Adrian Tysoe had posted that he'd seen both wheatear and corn bunting that morning. So off I went again.

I searched for the corn bunting as I made my way to where the wheatear had been reported but didn't find one. Skylarks took to the wing rising higher and higher.

I reached the gate at the bottom of the slope and started to scan for the wheatear - as I did so a sparrowhawk appeared from my right and crusied through in front of me. This resulted in the wheatear being as close to the opposite side of the field as they could be - there were 2 males and 1 female.

On the way back to the car I saw a small flock of linnet (24) and 3 late redwing. Home for lunch.

After lunch I had a coffee before heading to Balscote Quarry. I was partularly keen to see if there were any sand martin visiting - the weather had turned mixed and rain was falling either side of the reserve. I hoped to escape a soaking. I watched as groups of 2, 5, 8 and 3 sand martins passed though.

Part way through the passage Mike Prentice turned up to catch the largest group of the afternoon (8). We talked for a short while and as he prepared to head home a bird darted across our heads and out over the gorse beyond. It was a female merlin. As it reached the far hedges a cloud of small birds ejected from their perches to evade capture - we didn't see the result and the merlin was lost from view. In my excitement I posted that we'd seen a hobby, only for my error to be pointed out (suitably chastised).

Six brambling showed around the feeders while linnet started to perch on scrub a little closer than usual. The two red-legged partridge are becoming more brazen and seem not to be so wary of us standing in the viewing area.

The visit was very productive and I ended with 35 species just from the viewing area - including 22 linnet and 17 snipe. A buzzard may have had the wrong idea of how the second feeding station is supposed to work ...

Later I heard that Mike Prentice had spotted a second merlin between Whatcote and Brailes - a two merlin day!

I got up early on the Saturday morning to find the car frozen and a measured temperature of 1°C - the wind didn't help. I arrived at Balscote Quarry to find nothing of partular note, just a couple of greylag (leaving soon after) and a pair of teal. I counted the brambling and got up to 9! Soon Iain Brown dropped in on his way to work. All the usual suspects were there but as I sat, a single muntjac tried to sneek past in the undergrowth on my side of the gorse.

On the WhatsApp group I heard that Mike Pollard had wheatear in Wardington and thought about going for seconds to Barford. I had a chat with Nick Truby and he suggested a site in Lower Heyford where I might encounter corn bunting. I set out and walked around but only heard and saw skylark. I started back and about halfway back to the car I saw a red kite cruising by and a large gull behind. Only, it wasn't a gull - I raised my bins to see that it was in fact an osprey! OMG - what a treat and in the middle of arable fields.

I posted the sighting and the direction of travel so that guys back home could keep their eyes on the skies - none reported seeing it over the Banbury area. I then had a call from Nick to remark on how much of a lucky beggar I was. He also communicated that he'd gone to see the wheatear and had also spotted a corn bunting there. I jumped back in the car and stopped in Barford as it was almost on the way home. Nick was still there when I arrived but the corn bunting had just popped out of view. A flock of c35 fieldfare scuttled past and into trees behind.

I stepped ahead and within minutes a corn bunting landed on the top of a distant tree - the one Nick had indicated. YES! As I watched Kev Heath turned up to see the wheatear but joined to watch the corn bunting. A linnet joined the corn bunting and it was instructive to see the size difference. We dropped down to see the wheatears and had a chiffchaff on the way back to the car. What a day!

Sunday started warmer but still with a wind - I had a bit of a lie in as we had lost an hour with the clocks going forward; it was closer to 9.00am when I got to Balscote Quarry and found Mike Curnow already there. I counted 12 snipe but it was difficult to be sure as they were hunkered down. I scanned the far bank and located a little ringed plover - it turned out that Iain Brown had reported one earlier that morning. Moments later Mike spotted another - a pair!

Mike Prentice arrived and counted 16 snipe using his scope. Two other chaps (Clive and Jim) also passed through and Clive picked out a wader in the sky overhead - I snapped a couple of photos to find it was in fact a black-tailed godwit.

I was just about to leave with Clive and Jim, and was recounting the merlin sighting from Friday, when Clive pointed over my shoulder and alerted us to the merlin cutting across the bowl. We had another brief but enjoyable sighting. Off home for lunch.

Later I suggested my wife and I go for our exercise walk back to Barford and do the circular walk I'd used before. No sign of corn bunting but still good views of skylark and three wheatear.

There weren't any surprises in the way of birds but we were treated to views of roe deer.

Balscote Quarry and Barford : 19 & 20 March 2021

On Friday I was showing my age, quite literally. I attended a clinic targeting the over-50s to receive my first Covid-19 vaccination. Appropriately I had to line up in a queue of 50 people to receive it - the curse of choosing the earliest session available - a preference for people trying to get back to work. One of my colleagues who had no queue an hour later put it nicely when he joked "fortune favours the lazy". Afterwards I dropped through town to pick up some churros from a new little Spanish cafe in Church Lane - best fresh - and dropped them to my two girls working at home. I had a quick coffee and headed up to Balscote Quarry as it was another Friday furlough / holiday.

That morning there had been reports of sand martin at Grimsbury Reservoir but there were none to be be found here. All the usual suspects were showing, with numbers of gulls again presumably relocating from the Ironstone Lane floodwater that has now receded. Soon lunchtime arrived and I headed home.

After lunch I thought I'd get some more fresh air and hope that I didn't fall victim to the reaction I've heard some experience after their Astra Zenica vaccine. A count of c130 black-headed and 44 common gulls now at Balscote Quarry. The snipe were feeding out in the open in a change from the week before, with up to 19 feeding or asleep. At one point I was almost convinced there was a jack snipe in a hollow after disturbance from a lapwing, but I didn't get a second view to confirm - another one that maybe got away.

The brambling were significantly more active than in the morning, while the snipe continued to feed in the open. Adrian Tysoe arrived - soon and suddenly large numbers of birds took to the the wing behind ahead and beyond the water. Birds headed in all directions and we scanned to see if we could see what had caused such a commotion. Fortunately a raptor appeared to our left - we were happy to have picked out the reason for the melee but unfortunately the bird was silhouetted against the sky; we could see that it wasn't a sparrowhawk. I managed to wheel around quickly and shoot off a couple of photos which I hoped to extract some detail from later - on review it turned out to be a female merlin, with what looked like an ex-starling. After all that waiting for a merlin at Balscote I'd had two in a week!

Mike Prentice passed through and we discussed whether any birds might still be roosting on site or if any early pass-through birds might be available. I arrived at 5.30am and Mike was just a couple of minutes behind. It was a good start to the day as the light bled in - the 26 Canada geese didn't half make a racket as they departed.

In the afternoon I decided to try for corn bunting and I returned to Barford. The only bird I saw in the field of interest, or on the posts was pied wagtail. However, I was given a show by a multitude of skylark singing and rising from the crop field to the right of the path.

No luck on the corn bunting but as I appraoched a wooded area I came across a few linnet in the tree canopy. Behind I could hear the loud chattering of more linnet but before I could reach them they had relocated to another distant tree, although fortunately the path would take me passed this. There were c200 birds in this flock. There were so many lambs and the farmers were driving them from field to field.

Along the path back into Barford I spotted a further c50 linnets in a flock and behind this field, a very pale buzzard.

I started Sunday at a slower pace visiting Balscote mid-morning. Mikes Curnow and Prentice were already on site when I arrived and reported a flyover curlew and the first visit to the reserve by sand martin - hopefully some will take up residence for this summer. Snipe (16) were less active than previous days, sleeping in the scrub on new islands close to the far bank. It was the deer and hare that entertained.

Counts of gulls included c175 black-headed, 106 common and a single lesser black-backed. Four female brambling and two male fed amongst the finches on the ground with buzzard, red kite and kestrel hunting overhead.

A great few days with a merlin the highlight.

Balscote Quarry :: 12-13 March 2021

A trip back to Balscote Quarry on Friday morning, but too late for overnight roosting birds to still be present. All the usual suspects were there but with fewer brambling of late. There were a couple of teal on the water and another pass of sparrowhawk (f) in front of the screen. The snipe were again feeding in the margins of pools within view.

Reed bunting and yellowhammer joined the chaffinch around the feeder and the roe and muntjac both fed on the far bank.

I popped back in the later afternoon as the merlin had been reported about this time again but still nothing doing. I bumped into Steve Holliday as he filled the feeders but later heard that Kevin Heath had seen a merlin (f) over the main road from the field behind us while we were talking.

The forecast for Saturday morning wasn't great but when I looked out the window at 6.00am the conditions were dry. I dragged myself into the car and set off, almost immediately running into rain. Thankfully it stopped as I arrived and the sky slowly cleared.

There were no roosting bird and they had likely departed even before I arrived. I stayed and had six brambling with four of them females. All the usual birds were on show but when Mike Prentice passed through we had a count of five little grebe.

After lunch I returned to sit and wait for the possible merlin. It was still cold and blustery but kestrel, red kite and buzzard were all hunting and cruising over.

The snipe were much more active with a count of five in the 'relative open'. I shared my scope with a visiting family, the youngester having become really interested in nature. Mike Prentice passed through as did a couple of rook, an unusual sight here.

I sat down at the viewing area and waited. Not 15 minutes later i scanned across the site from right to left and as I got to the centre a bird came into sharp focus. It was ultimately a fleeting view as it cut through but definitely not a sparrowhawk this time, as it has been many times before. I've seen both male and female sparrowhawk but this was dark slate grey and cut through at about the height of the gorse - a completely different feel with the almost swift-like wing flap/twitch as it banked and attacked the bushes to my right, sending the finches into the sky in panic. What a reward for the many days I've booked to see it.

Shenington and Balscote Quarry:: 05-07 March 2021

I worked through lunch and then had Friday later afternoon off - so what to do? I decided to see if I could catch up with the barn owl that has been reported hunting near Shenington, reliably seen along a valley.

I had good instructions and set off through the village and out into the fields. A green woodpecker hopped around in some rigs on the way there and a small flock of redwing fed high in the tree canopy of a large willow. I reached the spot I'd been told to wait and surveyed the area in case it was already on the wing. Buzzards with a red kite soared around, and some yellowhammer kept me company while I waited.

In about 20 minutes she appeared and rested on a tree ahead - already very happy. She took off and made a couple of passes across the field to my left and then disappeared behind and out of sight.

She was gone for about 20 minutes and then reappeared in the corner of the field to my right, cruising past me at about 50m distance. Twice around the field to my left and then up the hedgerow and to an area of scrub on a slope where she hunted for some time. Great to spend some time watching the elegant and effortless motion end in sudden dives into the grass.

I left and still made it home in time for dinner.

The next morning I got up early and headed for Balscote Quarry. Iain Brown had posted in the WhatsApp group that a couple of curlew had been roosting there the previous night and he'd seen them leave around 7.00am. When I arrived he and Mike Prentice were already there so we distanced and enjoyed the two curlew that had returned - eventually the curlew departed (later) at 7.20am. Mike and Iain left but I stayed to count the bramblings.

Lots of finches were feeding and these were joined by some stunning yellowhammers.

It was then time for home and breakfast.

After lunch my wife had agreed to meet a friend and they had agreed to have a walk locally - things to talk about. With current restrictions I wasn't allowed to join them and so set off on a walk from Shenington to Temple Pool, eventually returning to where I had seen the barn owl - I stopped and waited - soon Mike Hunter and Gary past and took positions further along the valley. The owl duly showed and gave some views as it worked it's way back out and behind us. She could still be seen quartering an area behind us but eventually went out of sight, only to reappear to my right after 5 minites. This was a brief sortie and it was another 5 minutes before she cruised past and into a tree.

A dog walker (aka 'muppet') then spoiled the fun, really not long after it started - walking directly under the tree in which the owl was perched and forcing the owl to scarper. I was happy that I'd managed a few photos on these few runs we'd watched. Needless to say, the owl didn't show for the remaining daylight hours.

I was awake the next morning and decided to have another go with the curlews - I left a bit earlier but again Mike and Iain were already there. As I stepped out the car I could hear the curlew calling and I was informed that one of them had already made a couple of circuits of the water. It looked like they would earlier than the day before. They were much more active and swapped places regularly.

Roe deer were feeding on the opposite side and flushed snipe from the scrub. Soon after, one of the curlew set off again but didn't seem commited, or it's partner didn't follow - it returned to the water and the four then moved further along the pool. After some time, two left heading for Shenington and 5 minutes later the other two left too.

I stayed to count the brambling again but as I did a couple of green woodpecker showed - Iain had said that he hadn't seen them for a few days so I took a couple of photos to post to him.

I packed up to leave but on a last scan I spotted three snipe feeding more in the open than I've seen here of late. Back home for breakfast.