It was the early May bank-holiday weekend, but that was no excuse for Kev @kev07713 and I not to go out for our usual Saturday birding trip. We decided to stay relatively local and with various birds being reported at Summer Leys, we got to the reserve around 7.00am already breakfast’d enroute.
Leaving the car park we didn't bother with the Pioneer Hide as it had been vandalised a few days earlier; we were keen to find garden warblers and an anti-clockwise rotation around the site would take us to a likely spot to find some. These small, migratory birds typically arrive back from their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa around late-April or May when their melodious songs fill the air as they establish territories and begin breeding. We could hear some as we approached the first corner and then spotted a couple in a tree, but they were often partly obscured and in partial shadow preventing a clear photo; but a year tick. We turned the corner to find more, and one that was particularly showy - there appeared to be greater numbers than normal and we continued to see them as we made our way along the path. A few blackcaps worked along the hedgerow.
We reached the Double-decker (Paul Britten) Hide to find Stuart Mundy @MundyStuart already in residence and photographing distant black terns. Black terns migrate north from Africa to the UK during the spring, and can be spotted in various wetland habitats, such as marshes, lakes, and coastal estuaries, where they hunt for fish and insects. Their striking appearance, with black plumage and a contrasting white underside, makes them distinctive and easily recognisable. We sat and chatted with Stuart, and I joined in taking record shots.
We spotted a single greenshank out on the scape and a pair of little ringed plovers - apparently the greenshank was a first on the site for the year. A redshank and two oystercatchers fed along the water's edge. A few common terns fished with the black terns, and one came close enough to see it had been successful and was carrying a fish.
We eventually moved on to make a circuit of the water, along the old railway track. Before we reached there, we stopped to look across Mary's Lake and spotted a sparrowhawk overhead, soon being mobbed by rooks - it wasn't long before it circled and was pushed away to our right. Turning left as we came through the gate, we had common whitethroats, garden, sedge, Cetti's, and reed warblers calling all around us, and then ahead chiffchaff and willow warblers. We stopped to listen and in just a few minutes we came across a lesser whitethroat right in front of us. We had some good views but very limited in duration - I continually failed in obtaining a photo. We managed to watch as it worked along the hedges, but all I managed were obscured record shots.
We started back along the track and saw sand martins and then a couple of hobbies overhead - my first hobbies of the year. Although I'd seen reports, hobby typically arrive in the UK from their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa between late April and early May, but can extend into early June. They stay in the UK for the breeding season and then begin their return migration in late August to September. They are adept aerial hunters, known for their acrobatic flight, often hunting for dragonflies, small birds, and bats on the wing, showcasing impressive speed and agility. These were very high and likely feeding on various insects.
We watched the black terns fishing, now four working together and perhaps the group I'd seen arrive together earlier. A chiffchaff sang its heart out on a tree beside the path, insistent on attention.
We didn't see anything else of note along the old track and turned down through the gate and back towards the car. Above our head there was a commotion and I trained by camera on a couple of hobby circling high. A buzzard was being mobbed by a rook - oh wait no ... it was an osprey! It circled a couple of times and departed. What a great encounter and it appeared that a few lucky ticketholders had managed to see it from the car park. So many times, you find that something has "just left" and you miss out, but this time we were in the right place at the right time.
Reviewing the photos later, we found it was a male colour-ringed osprey (355) - hatched at Rutland in 2021.
In the Rotary Hide we could get some better views of the black terns, at least not as distant. Heat haze was now obvious, and I was happy with the shots I got under the circumstances. Our final bird was a garden warbler - our original target bird for the day.
It was approaching lunchtime and so we decided to relocate to Napton Reservoir as it was on the route home - a pair of ferruginous ducks have been in residence of late and reported just the day before. We arrived and climbed up onto the bank to find a couple of photographers coming the other way. We inquired as to whether they had seen our ducks but that was a no ... mmm. They knew their birds and so we were a little worried. We needn't have been as it was only a few minutes before we had the male working along the edge of the far reeds, predominantly taking flies off the water surface.
The ferruginous duck is a rare visitor to the UK, primarily seen during migration periods but the area around Draycote Water gives surprisingly regular records. It is a medium-sized diving duck with a distinctive appearance; males have a rich chestnut-brown body, white undertail, and a striking white eye while females are duller, with a more uniform brown colour and a darker eye.
They are diving ducks and feed on aquatic plants, invertebrates, and small fish, and are frequently seen diving while foraging. We'd never seen one feeding so much on flies before. They are often seen in mixed flocks with other diving ducks, such as pochards and tufted ducks - our boy was hanging out with the tufties. It remained at distance although did make a foray to the centre of the reservoir where some better photos could be obtained. At one point it left the water and preened on the far bank beside a greylag goose.
Along to our right we could see a couple of common sandpipers, but they were quite flighty and relocated often. We scanned the hedgerows as I have seen common redstarts in them on more than one occasion, but not today. We were interested to see the great-crested grebes on the far side catching signal crayfish.
We packed up as we were on the clock and needed an early finish.
Bank holiday Monday arrived, and Charlotte suggested we might go birding - well who am I to turn her down?! After an early breakfast we were at RSPB Otmoor by 07.00am and out to look for cuckoos - I hadn't seen one yet this year. We walked down the bridleway but other than sedge and reed warblers we had limited views. A couple of marsh harriers quartered Greenaways, and we could hear cuckoos in the distance but none came close or into view.
We looked from the Wetland Hide but couldn't see anything of note so decided to make our way along to 1st Screen and in the direction we could hear cuckoos calling. We arrived at the screen to find a very showy cuckoo perched high in trees but in the clear, atop a bare branch pointing skywards. It relocated and left for periods of time but regularly returned to what seemed to be its favourite perch. Watching along the reed bed we saw up to three at once.
Cuckoos resemble a small bird of prey in flight; males are bluish-grey with a white underside marked with fine, dark bars and while females can be grey like males, they have a rufous (reddish-brown) morph. Occasionally we would hear the female's distinctive bubbling call and on a couple of occasions we saw the female chasing the male off his perch.
Cuckoos arrive in the UK from their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa around mid-April to early May and then start their return migration as early as June - most have left by the end of August. With this short window you must make some time to get good views.
As we entered the hide Glen Pascoe and Jonathan Zadeh were already in place and had just had the glossy ibis and a bittern through. The glossy ibis was still just in view but very distant.
Mention of a bittern would then keep us here for a while - we saw one on the far hedge line, and then two at closer quarters. Again, a year tick. Unfortunately, the birds were distant or flying low through the reeds which made photos only record shorts - but great nevertheless. It was good to share with the people passing through.
We waited for the hobby to start to show and had a couple of passes from the glossy ibis as it relocated around the site. It wasn't long before we had up to eight hobbies over the reed bed and regular passes from both male and female marsh harriers.
By the time we got back to Banbury it would be lunchtime and so we set off home, stopping at the local garden centre for a sandwich. A successful weekend.
Year list: 199
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