Thursday, July 3, 2008 - Some local sightings & some secret trips!
With June being the quiet month for birding that it is, I have not gone on any major expeditions recently. Instead there have been a some local sightings to report on. There was also a few highly productive but unfortunately, secret trips to see some great birds which I am not permitted to disclose.
Recently I went on an afternoon's walk to Blenheim Palace with the family. It was a very windy afternoon and in fact it was a bit scary walking so close to the trees with such a strong wind blowing. We entered at Combe Gate and walked towards the small ponds at High Tower Lodge. I was hoping that I might spot the Mandarins that have been know to hang out there but all that there was was the usual exotic captive ducks. As we were walking back I spotted a rather nice spotted flycatcher sitting on a branch close by and calling repeatedly. It stayed put even when we got quite close so we all got excellent views of it. Not a year tick but always a nice bird to see.
My local patch, Port Meadow, is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance at the moment after the June doldrums. This last week has seen plenty of early autumn passage activity with 3 wood sandpipers on one day, 2 green sandpipers and a black-tailed godwit then next day and a common sandpiper the day after and 3 oystercatchers, 3 ringed plovers and a hobby the day after that. For a land-locked county such as Oxfordshire it's great to see so many wading birds. The green sandpipers were in addition a year tick.
A digiscoped record shot of two of the wood sandpipers
I mentioned above some top secret trips that I've been on. This involved being taken to various locations to see some great birds but unfortunately I am sworn to secrecy so I can't even mention in which counties these various sightings are but, for the record, they involved quail, stone curlew and long-eared owl. Not only great year ticks but also all three are lifers for me.
With these sightings my year list has had a much-needed boost after having ground to a halt for a number of weeks. My summer hit list has moved on as well, now being down to: firecrest, willow tit, mandarin duck, redstart and nightingale. The willow tit I am going to leave until the autumn when I hope to be able to pick it up at Combe Wood, the mandarin I am still looking for and hope to get at Blenheim one of these days but I'm not sure about the other three. Whilst I'm told nightingales are plentiful in Berkshire it's a question of finding them now that they are no longer singing. It seems to be a poor year for redstarts but I may go back to Swinley forest for one more try. I'm not sure about the firecrest either, there's always Wendover Wood in Bucks which I'm told is a good spot but I've not heard anything about any sightings there.
Onwards and upwards - I may be lucky enough to get down to Portland Bill in the next couple of weeks which should give a few more ticks.
181: stone curlew (LIFER)
182: quail (LIFER)
183: long-eared owl (LIFER)
184: green sandpiper
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About Me
I used to be a birder in my youth but rather lost interest in my teens as other things became more interesting. However recently I've rediscovered this interest and would like to share my sightings and thoughts in this blog.
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