Spring birding

With consistently clear weather throughout much of the spring, birding highlights were relatively limited in these parts, with only the bigger, more reliable sites elsewhere, pulling in anything of real interest.

Still, spring is always a joy to encounter once again and reaquaint yourself with all the summer visitors.

Two of the most notable highlights were both at Bicester Wetlands, with the discovery of a lovely pair of Spring Garganey on 21/03 that hung around for a few days. My first local spring gargs for a few years and frankly, the most stunning duck in my humble opinion!

The second, was the surprise find of a rather skulky female-type Black Redstart on 09/04, that spent most of it's time buried in a hedge, calling. It did though make a couple of brief appearances before melting away into scrub, never to be seen again. A site first for the Bicester Wetland Reserve, no less!

Generally, migrants were quite a bit earlier this spring. Swallow and House Martin on 23/03, were my earliest yet at Grimsbury Res, while I scored my first ever March Sedge Warbler at Bicester Wetland on 31/03.

Other notables through April / May included Barnacle Goose, Marsh Harrier, Black Tern and Oystercatcher at Foxcote Res, Sanderling, Caspian Gull and a good run of Ringed Plover at Ardley quarry, Firecrest and Spotted Flycatcher at regular, local breeding sites, Grasshopper Warbler at a couple of sites, and Mandarin at Grimsbury Res. Wader and tern passage were almost non-existant, while chats were very hard to come by, missing out on both Redstart and Whinchat. 

I didn't do much birding away from close to home, however I did venture out, deeper into Oxon a couple of times. Firstly, to enjoy the opportunity of hearing a singing Nightingale on 27/04, just outside my 12 mile area - sadly such a scarcity in these parts nowadays.

Secondly, I made it over to Otmoor on the evening of 31/05, in an attempt to see / hear the recently discovered Savi's Warbler. A longish wait, but eventually it sang beautifully late on. Like the other three I'd previously heard in the UK, I failed to see the blighter! A Glossy Ibis, Bittern, Hobby, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Great White & Cattle Egret and a sizable flock of Barnacle Geese made for a very decent supporting cast!

Others pics through the spring: