The latter half of the autumn has seen me get out birding sporadically, but have found the time where I can to have a crack at finding some birds, or more realistically go see other people's!
Standout highlight was a drake Lesser Scaup at Rushden Lakes / Ditchford GPs actually on my birthday (03/11)! Hot on the heals of the 1st county record at Stanford Res fairly recently (and likely the same bird), this was of course a county tick for me and a rather good birthday present. The bird was never drastically close, but gave decent enough scope views, diving frequently to feed amongst the mix of Tufties, Gadwall, Shoveler etc present.
Keeping up the Scaup theme, I was chuffed to finally encounter a Scaup locally, with a distinctive 1w drake reported at Foxcote Reservoir, nr. Buckingham. Managed to get over there on 18/10, with my lively 1 year old daughter in tow!
Grimsbury Res has produced a steady run of yearticks and some pretty decent patch birds amongst these. Probably the best were up to 5(!) Rock Pipit on 15/10, as well as two the previous day that departed high north, so a total of 7 in two days! Extraordinary numbers, as part of a significant passage of birds during that week, throughout the country.
Other year ticks have included a female Goldeneye (very good patch bird), a brief confiding Great White Egret, 3 Crossbill, Stonechat and Marsh Tit.
Rounding up elsewhere, a couple of visits to Calvert Jubilee Lake has produced wonderful views of a Jack Snipe on 03/11, bobbing away, feeding right out in the open! An adult Great Black Backed Gull there in the pre-roost was a welcome local yeartick - such a scarce bird local to me.
The odd vis mig stint from the garden has produced a couple of Brambling, as well as Redpoll, Siskin and a male Blackcap kicking about. A Cattle Egret was at Bicester Wetland on 09/10, which appears to be hanging about the area with the usual Littles. The local yearlist stands at 141 - very unlikely to get up to 150 now but would be nice if I can encounter a nice surprise or two before the year's out!
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