Autumn patching

Nothing particularly crazy seen locally during August and September - though a few nice bits and bobs to enjoy.

It was certainly a good period for chats with multiple Whinchat, Redstarts & Wheatears at both Hinton Airfield and Grimsbury Res. In fact all three were seen at both places on more than one occasion.

Potentially the scarcest bird I saw during this period, was a good candidate for an adult Baltic Gull briefly at Grimsbury Res, back on 27/08. Impossible to be certain, however it appears to be an excellent candidate, kindly backed up by Ian Lewington - "As you know, adult fuscus are tricky/impossible to id for sure but you can have a good guess at some individuals at particular times of the year and yours certainly fits the bill...the attenuated look and length of primary projection on your bird look good...your bird is a real stand out individual and could well be a fuscus".

A juvenile Caspian Gull was nice, again pretty brief early on the morning of 24/09. Only my 3rd at Grimsbury Res.

Other odds and ends included Med Gull, Hobby, a lingering juv Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Spot Fly and Peregrine at Grimsbury Res, plus my first 5 Golden Plover of the autumn at Hinton Airfield and Greenshank, several Green Sands and increasing numbers of Snipe at Bicester Wetlands.