2023

Another interesting year's local birding with a grand total of 146, actually equalling the 2022 total and again, agonisingly short of 150!

A couple of standout, memorable highlights for me - the amazing views of a low-flying Osprey over my Brackley garden in late May, as well as a bugling Crane over Bicester Wetland at the end of April. Both excellent birds locally.

Other highlights included TWO singing Firecrest & a singing Tree Pipit during the spring. My first local Pink-Footed Goose in the Mid-Cherwell valley, was a nice surprise amongst the swarm of Greylags and Canadas.

Grimsbury Res played host to a mini influx of 3 different Kittiwakes in early April, as well as spring and autumn Sanderlings, drake Common Scoter, two records of Sandwich Terns, Great White Egret, a couple of Greenshank, Barnacle Goose, my first March Yellow Wagtail and a group of 5 Red-crested Pochards.

A very smart Bar-Tailed Godwit was a reserve first for Bicester Wetland in late April. There were two records each of Cattle Egret and Med Gull. Other good birds noted through the year included groups of 3 Wood Sandpipers and 5 Black Terns, a Black-Necked Grebe, Brent Goose, several Merlin sightings, a showy Grasshopper Warbler, a couple of Corn Bunting territories and a trio of spring female Ruff.

I enjoyed a brilliant few days with birding pals Dan & Gareth around Holy Island, Northumberland during the first half of October. Our arrival luckily coincided with a big, big fall of thrushes, particularly Redwings and Song Thrushes. We also enjoyed a number of Ring Ouzels, plenty of Brambling, a few Short-eared Owls, a couple of Jack Snipe and 1000s of waders and wildfowl. Rarer quality was provided by good views of my first ever Arctic Warbler, as well as a Radde's Warbler and at least 4 Yellow-browed Warbler. Birding on the Northumberland coast never disappoints!

Very little twitching done this year, however I did head over to Farmoor Res to enjoy the showy Lesser Scaup during the first part of the year, with a female Scaup completing the Scaup clean sweep!

Ended up twice visiting Slimbridge; with Dan and Gareth, during March, managing to catch up with a few Bewick's Swans just before their departure; and on the way down to Devon for a family holiday in early April. The place never disappoints and always provides brilliant views of wildfowl and waders.

I was super pleased to finally encounter a Purple Heron in Northants - following I think 4 previous dips! A 1st-summer, residing on the scrape at Summer Leys, it was quite skulky at times, amongst the scrape reeds, but luckily for me provided some great views on the evening of 13/06. A very satisfying county tick! Summer Leys also produced a lovely, crisp juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper on 17/09 which provided good scope views and was another reserve first for me.

Gareth and I had a very decent day in NE Norfolk on 10/07 - making the effort to catch up with the Bee eaters at Trimingham, which were attempting to breed there for the second year running. As well as the Bee eaters, we were very lucky to connect with not one, but TWO Caspian Terns at both Potter Higham & Buckenham Marshes. My first Norfolk Hawker dragonflies were an added bonus too!

A very hot 9 day family holiday in Normandy, in mid August wasn't really birding-orientated, however I did manage to see a few bits & bobs, including Honey Buzzard, Zitting Cisticola, White Stork, Serin, Black Redstart, Med Gull, Cattle Egret and Marsh Harrier amongst others.

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I had a few really enjoyable butterfly encounters this year. During the spring, the usual local Grizzled Skipper site, again produced the goods.

Yoesden Bank, situated in a real rural corner of the Chilterns, is a really fantastic reserve. I decided to give it a go on a warm, sunny day on 04/06, in the hope of some fresh Adonis Blue butterflies. Not only did I do well for Adonis Blues, but also a wide range of other species. One of which was the surprising presence of quite a number of Marsh Fritillaries. I presume, unfortunately a release, though being one of my favourite butterflies, a tiny part of me was a little excited to see a number of these beauties again.  

The local peak June / July period was initially hit with a lot of rain, frustratingly! But everything came good in the end. Wood Whites were very late in 2023, but eventually numbers got to decent levels.

Marbled Whites were in great numbers, particularly in the rough grassland adjacent to RAF Croughton.

It had been a couple of years since I'd had an up close, prolonged encounter with a Purple Emperor locally. So I was chuffed to have just that in Bucknell Wood this year, with a couple of showy males on offer on 02/07. Never tire of seeing these characterful creatures!

Purple Hairstreaks appeared in impressive numbers. A clear mass emergence on the 07/07 was particularly cool, where many could be found low down throughout Bucknell. The same visit also yielded a cracking fresh Valesina Silver-Washed Fritillary -  a Bucknell speciality!

Having been informed of the presence of some Dark-Green Fritillaries near to RAF Croughton in 2022, I was very eager to check this out for myself. Unfortunately, the weather didn't play ball and when it did, I couldn't find any! But perseverance prevailed and on 23/07 I managed to find a couple, albeit past their best. Fantastic to potentially pin a colony down locally having had three sightings of them in the area within the last few years. Hoping I can have more success in 2024! 

I'd not ventured to Otmoor for Brown Hairstreaks for a few summers, so decided to give it a go on 30/07. I was in luck, seeing quite a number as well as at least 3 down to creeping thistles for a short while. Little did I know that come the winter, evidence would be found for them at a local site I'd been visiting throughout the summer!

A few other favourite pics from 2023...