Draycote Water :: 09 April 2016

Sunday was to be the better day of the weekend but I was already going to be taking my daughter back to University after the Easter break. It was already raining by the time I got to the car park. Fortunately this was the heaviest shower of the circuit and didn't detract much from the visit. There was a distinct rise in the fly population along the banks which appeared to have had a significant affect on the number of fisherman and the success they seemed to be having.

Mixed flocks of yellow and pied wagtail with meadow pipit welcomed me on Farnborough Bank. The great northern diver was fishing far offshore after turning past Farnborough Spit. Two Polish families occupied the hide for what appeared to be a party but was probably only a picnic with their children but it was enough to decide not to stay. Coming around Toft Bay I added chaffinch, bullfinch and then chiffchaff. Either the chiffchaff was a stalker or their were many along to Biggin Bay.

Unfortunately the Slavonian grebe I was looking for didn't make an appearance but it may have been mobile given the high volume of sailboat activity on top of the fishing activity. Added yellow wagtail if nothing else and had a pleasant walk. I'll wait with interest to see if the Slavonian grebe is spotted again.

Today’s sightings (37): mallard, coot, mute swan, yellow wagtail, pied wagtail, goldfinch, black-headed gull, magpie, meadow pipit, common gull, great crested grebe, cormorant, woodpigeon, blackbird, canada goose, swallow, great northern diver, pheasant, tufted duck, long-tailed tit, dunnock, carrion crow, chiffchaff, moorhen, robin, chaffinch, bullfinch, reed bunting, greylag goose, blue tit, wren, great tit, rook, jackdaw, gadwall, tree sparrow and goldeneye.

Farmoor Reservoir :: 03 April 2016

Back from holiday and I needed to drop into Eynsham as I had stupidly forgotten to return some thermocouples from a recent trip to the USA. Reports of red-necked grebe, great northern divers, sandwich tern, rock pipit on the causeway and the presence of a few swallows drew me down to the reservoir.

Flies are starting to swarm again and this has had a noticeable effect on the number of fisherman on the banks. F2 was heavy with sailing boats and also some fisherman in boats so after the causeway, where I found the red necked grebe, I went down to Shrike Meadow. Nothing significant seen here but did spot my first sandmartin of the year. Round F1, dropping into Pinkhill Reserve hide, there was still not much of note.

An enjoyable walk and plenty to see. Unfortunately not enough time to manage F2.

Looking at reports I seem to have missed an osprey c18:10-19:04 fishing over F2 which then flew off N/W. I suppose it wasn't going to drop in with the number of boats I encountered and by then I was tucking into a Sunday roast. Damn in any case.

Today's species (31) included: starling, cormorant, great crested grebe, mallard, little grebe, pied wagtail, black headed gull, red necked grebe, tufted duck, kestrel, sandmartin, magpie, greylag goose, carrion crow, coot, long tailed tit, blue tit, chiffchaff, robin, reed bunting, great tit, blackbird, mute swan, chaffinch, woodpigeon, song thrush, moorhen, goldfinch, collared dove, grey heron and rook.

RSPB Otmoor :: 20 February 2016

A friend visited RSPB Otmoor this week and returned having seen stonechat, linnet, golden plover and marsh harrier. Spurred on to increase my year list I decided to head down. The weather forecast wasn't favourable but would probably affect my wife's tennis match in Cholsey, more than my stroll round the reserve.

It was raining when I arrived and so began the visit spotting from the car. A red kite overhead and a few LBJs in the nearby bushes and trees. The rain appeared to subside and so I headed off down the track from the car park. Lapwing and coot from the path but with binoculars I couldn't see any of the golden plover. A kestrel on my left was hunting but in what appeared to be flooded edges of the fields.

Round to the hide and here found a couple of chaps enjoying visits from a fixed flock on linnet, yellowhammer, reed bunting, goldfinch and chaffinch. Setting up my scope I could then pick out hundreds of golden plover in amongst the lapwing. Red kite again out towards the mast in the distance. The wind was really howling and threw rain onto one side of the hide.

From here onto the first screen. Before I got there I could see a pair of marsh harriers quartering the reed bed ahead, but at quite some distance. A couple of record shots taken but only of the female which got close enough. One of the chaps from earlier joined me and spotted a bittern across the top of the reeds someway in front. No sooner than I spotted it, it dropped down and out of sight. Almost immediately a bird began hovering almost above where the bittern had dropped, at first thought to be a sparrowhawk but eventually showed as a peregrine.

The starlings were starting to collect for the evenings murmeration but it was time for me to leave. As I picked my way from the feeders down the path a family came towards me from the car park. I wish I'd had my camera ready as they were quite unaware of a red kite dancing not 25 feet above them - it would have made quite a picture.

Species noted today (37) were: red kite, pheasant, dunnock, blue tit, blackbird, carrion crow, robin, lapwing, coot, canada goose, greenfinch, chaffinch, reed bunting, great tit, marsh tit, mallard, moorhen, grey heron, wigeon, golden plover, linnet, greylag goose, woodpigeon, teal, yellowhammer, magpie, starling, stock dove, kestrel, shoveler, marsh harrier, tufted duck, lesser black backed gull, bittern, peregrine falcon, great crested grebe and mute swan. 86 for the year.

RSPB Arne :: 15 February 2016

Visiting my eldest in Bournemouth during the school half term - as good an excuse as I need. Great few days break and also made it possible to make another visit to RSPB Arne. Started again with lunch at Mortons House, a 16th century Grade 2 Elizabethan manor house hotel and restaurant in the heart of historic Corfe Castle. The hotel is said to have been previously linked by underground tunnels to Corfe Castle. . Over the garden wall the steam train to Swanage passed by - must try and get down to the station at the right time to see the approach from a better angle.Many more people at the reserve than last October but the weather was significantly better.

Decided to try the green route again and picked up a few species in the wood prior to our encounter with the ska deer. Soon after this a pair of jay passed by - just managed a record shot. Once we got to the beach we could see a diving duck offshore - eventually spotted more and identified as red-breasted merganser, a year tick. Continued round to the hide and picked up curlew, spoonbill and a great black backed gull over. Spun back on the red route and found a pair of missile thrush in a large field with jackdaw and carrion crow.

When we reached the reserve visitor centre we also added nuthatch and great spotted woodpecker. Unfortunately didn't have time to make loop round the Coombe Heath trail so missed avocet and dartford warbler.

Sightings (34) included: robin, blue tit, great tit, chaffinch, coal tit, siskin, house sparrow, greenfinch, goldfinch, blackbird, woodpigeon, carrion crow, wren, jay, goldcrest, oystercatcher, redshank, great crested grebe, red-breasted merganser, wigeon, shelduck, teal, spoonbill, mallard, curlew, herring gull, black headed gull, lesser black backed gull, great black backed gull, magpie, jackdaw, mistle thrush, nuthatch and great spotted woodpecker.

Draycote Water and Brandon Marsh :: 30 January 2016

An early start and off to Draycote Water. A chill in the air but still overcast from rain in the night. 200m into an anti-clockwise circuit there he was, that elusive drake smew popped up from a dive. Clearly not hiding from me anymore. With each step the sun started to burn through and as the hide was reached the temperature felt noticeable warmer. Down the boardwalk a small bird dropped into the tree next to me, just where I had spotted chiffchaff on my last visit; it turned out to be a goldcrest. Song thrushes again in the hedgerows and at least four flocks of long-tailed tits. Four bullfinches were feeding in the tops of the trees as I came back from the boardwalk onto the main path. Between Toft Bay and Biggin Bay the scaup was hanging with a mixed group of goldeneye and tufted duck. Whether it was mobile or further out I failed to note the great northern diver.

Off to Brandon Marsh and lunch. The visitor centre was heaving with cyclists, their cycles adorning every available spot around the parking stands. Firsts for the year were two nuthatches, one on the nut feeders but another visiting a seed feeder not a foot from the window. Onto the reserve and quiet down through New Hare Covert and round Swallow Pool. Outside the Wright Hide I found a chap watching a goldcrest low in the undergrowth, then some siskins feeding high in the trees. Good numbers of pochard were diving outside the hide. Reasonably quiet in the East Marsh hide and joined by a number of other groups. Talked about the recent bittern sightings in the channel to the left of the hide and spent most of the time watching here. Eventually rewarded but by water rail at the front edge moving left to right. Waited and eventually saw the return passage. Onto Carlton hide and nothing on the reed bed. Eventually a cormorant came to fish and a little grebe worked it's way down the right hand edge. A kingfisher fly past seemed to be all we would get but then I spotted a bittern come low across the reeds and drop in directly ahead. Waited around ten minutes with a hopeful few. Would you believe it ... up it went and everyone happy. Time for home.

Species count for Draycote Water (44): jackdaw, mallard, coot, tufted duck, little grebe, cormorant, carrion crow, great crested grebe, black-headed gull, moorhen, smew, goldeneye, pied wagtail, meadow pipit, canada goose, blackbird, blue tit, green woodpecker, long-tailed tit, dunnock, robin, teal, gadwall, woodpigeon, magpie, wren, bullfinch, jackdaw, great tit, goldcrest, song thrush, greylag goose, goldfinch, scaup, chaffinch, wigeon, buzzard, goosander, lapwing, grey heron, tree sparrow, rook, lesser black-backed gull and fieldfare.

Species count for Brandon Marsh (43): magpie, reed bunting, blue tit, great tit, nuthatch, robin, chaffinch, dunnock, greenfinch, wren, blackbird, canada goose, woodpigeon, great crested grebe, carrion crow, cormorant, mute swan, shoveler, coot, gadwall, black-headed gull, goldcrest, siskin, moorhen, lapwing, common gull, lesser black backed gull, goosander, pochard, tufted duck, grey heron, long tailed tit, goldeneye, shelduck, oystercatcher, teal, herring gull, water rail, greylag goose, kingfisher, little grebe and bittern.

Draycote Water :: 16 January 2016

Having failed seeing the drake smew at Draycote Water on two occasions, both in wet and windy weather, I set off early to see if my luck would change. Below freezing as I set out with car windows needing scraped.

Quiet on the roads and arrived just before sun up. Two guys offered me their ticket as they were abandoning their cycle round the reservoir as a bad idea, given the temperature at that time. Watched the sun rise from the side of the reservoir then set off for a circuit. No sign of the smew but pleased to see the hide was open again after vandalism close it during the festive season. The birds seemed to be appreciating the cold but still and bright conditions with chiffchaff and goldcrest showing very close but in woods.

After a fruitful circuit I still had no smew on my list so I decided to make another journey down to the hide. Met a couple surveying the bay with a scope and they picked up both the smew, a redhead and the scaup - it's good to talk! Walked round the bay to the other bank for better photos but still distant. While watching for the smew was lucky enough to be given a fly past by a kingfisher.

A most enjoyable morning.

Today's species (50) included: coot, little grebe, mallard, goldeneye, carrion crow, tufted duck, great crested grebe, greylag goose, cormorant, black headed gull, meadow pipit, great northern diver, lesser black backed gull, wren, woodpigeon, moorhen, teal, pied wagtail, robin, blue tit, blackbird, great tit, dunnock, chiffchaff, bullfinch, song thrush, goldcrest, great spotted woodpecker, long tailed tit, green woodpecker, starling, jackdaw, canada goose, pochard, fieldfare, redwing, common gull, rook, grey heron, goosander, chaffinch, reed bunting, tree sparrow, magpie, lapwing, gadwall, smew, feral pigeon, scaup and kingfisher.

Draycote Water :: 02 January 2016

Another attempt to bag the drake smew reportably present at Draycote Water. Numerous photos on twitter, with the bird "showing well", have frustrated me since my last attempt. On that occasion the weather was inclement and this visit was to be no different, wind and temperature a bit more bearable though. I was also assisted by "her indoors" so a pleasant afternoon come what may.

Unfortunately, despite a full circuit, I was again unable to tag the bird. Perhaps I should go on a nice day?

Species spotted today (31) included: black-headed gull, robin, blackbird, coot, mallard, little grebe, great crested grebe, cormorant, long-tailed tit, tufted duck, pochard, goldeneye, carrion crow, moorhen, lesser black-backed gull, shoveler, rook, goosander, grey heron, canada goose, teal, scaup, pied wagtail, wigeon, chaffinch, blue tit, great tit, magpie, great northern diver, woodpigeon and shag. At least the year list is up and running.