The New Patch Delivers! 3rd-5th April 2020.

Friday 3rd April: The Boxing Bout

Now that we'd found a decent walk close to our home and with spring just about to spring, we were out early on Friday morning to see what we could find. The track to the farm is most productive in the corner by the railway bridge, where many birds sang although most remained hidden in the dense bushes, and by the farm itself where the buildings and garden offer plenty of places for birds to feed. We intended heading all the way out to Trow Pool again so didn't linger long but did check in on the Long-tailed Tits nest which was almost complete except for the very top of the dome. Chaffinches and Goldfinches appeared to be singing from just about every bush.

male Chaffinch

The trek across the farm fields was unremarkable until I spotted a couple of Hares in an adjacent field. One Hare was chasing the other around in ever tightening circles culminating in the intimidated animal suddenly stopping and challenging its harasser. The face off then quickly escalated into a full on boxing match, the like of which I had never actually witnessed first hand before! Apparently the mad March Hare (even in April it would seem) boxing bouts are instigated by a female which becomes tired of being hounded by a male that has designs upon her. When she is irked enough by the unwanted attention she stands and fights. The boxing in truth is all a bit "handbags" but is fascinating to watch. The two Hares faced off for a good couple of minutes during which time I tried to reduce the distance between me and them and get some useable images.

Mad April Hares

The match up ended when a third Hare darted in and broke it up. All three Hares legged it off towards the railway. Apart from a good number of Skylarks and a few Yellowhammers there was little of note seen on the remainder of the walk until we reached the Water Tower and noticed a Peregrine fly quickly past at some distance away. The Pool itself held the usual Moorhens and Little Grebes and a couple of Chiffchaffs piped away from the trees. We explored around the pool a little more than on our previous visit making note of what we could expect to see in the coming weeks. I spent a bit of time trying to conjure a Woodcock up out of the leaf litter and nettles, unsuccessfully of course, and we listened to a surprisingly furtive Song Thrush belt out its repetitive but beautiful song. The area looks good for a future Nightingale if one should find it.

I heard a gentle refrain coming from trees next to the main track, a song which for me is one of the definitive early sounds of spring, a Willow Warbler singing! Willow warblers are really breeding birds of more northern climes and I know them and their song very well from our holidays in Scotland. Any Willow Warblers encountered locally are most likely just passing through on passage. They are very similar to Chiffchaffs but have subtle structural differences such as longer wings which help propel them on much longer migration journeys, they spend our winter in tropical Africa. Plumage variation compared to Chiffchaff are very slight too, Willow Warblers tend to have lighter coloured legs and sport a brighter yellowish and more obvious supercilium. The best and easiest way to separate the two species is by voice and Willow Warblers, such as the one we could hear singing, have a lovely melodic whistling short song that starts high and then descends, quite different to the Chiffchaffs repetitive monosyllabic chant. We listened intently to the Willow Warbler but finding it was much harder despite the lack of leaves on the trees. And when we did pin it down it was very active making grabbing good views difficult. Eventually though it stayed still and in the open for long enough for me to grab a shot or two. This was quite a dull individual and a far cry from the very yellow fresh juveniles that we'd see in the autumn.

Willow Warbler

We made a quick sortie into the Quarry grounds to see what possibilities lay there. There is another small pool which is grass and reed edged so offers some potential. An Oystercatcher flying over and landing unseen within the Quarry itself was a surprise.

By the time we arrived back at home we'd walked the best part of five miles and were pretty much done in! We are not used to walking so far and it was already clear that the restriction on driving was going to increase our normal exercise levels, and hopefully our fitness, somewhat.



Saturday 4th April: Year List Creeping Up

Still feeling a bit jaded from the long walk of the day before we decided to take the easy way and drive as far as Trow pool on Saturday morning, thus saving us around four miles of walking but who knew what we missed by not walking across the farmland. At least we were on site really early and there was almost no noise from the adjacent motorway because there was almost no traffic whatsoever on it! We emerged from the car into pretty dense fog and consequently quite a chill too. The Willow Warbler, or another, that we'd found down by the pool yesterday was now singing away by the Water Tower but it was no showier than it had been previously. By the time we'd reached the pool the fog had lifted and the sun had burst through. I wondered if the almost constant sunshine of the Lockdown period was a good thing or not. True, the nice weather makes us all feel a bit better about life but it also makes not being able to visit our favourite places much harder to bear. The Willow Warbler had followed us down the track and was now singing from the tree above our heads. It was easier to see too but our views were of the "up the bum" type, perfectly normal for tree top birds such as small Warblers!

Willow Warbler

A Song Thrush had been singing loudly and we listened to it outdoing the Willow Warbler both in content and volume. Usually Thrushes of all types sit on prominent perches and are easy to spot but this particular bird proved to be an awkward cuss to pin down. When I did finally find it, the position it had taken was tricky to see through the hedge. All good practise, I thought, for when the Nightingales return in a few weeks time, except of course, that the chances of our most glorious of songbirds finding this little patch of rank woodland was about the same as my football team overturning a three goal deficit in the second leg of their Champions League match, should football ever make a comeback. Zero probability in reality, but still a slight possibility!

Song Thrush

We made a circuit of the small pool. A Moorhen was once again stood on top of a submerged log and others fed amongst the weeds. I reminisced back to my formative years once more and related to Mrs Caley how Moggies were everywhere back then. Every pool or pond would hold several nests and they would be placed in just about every conceivable place, on the water, in a bush, up a tree, I even found one once next to a stream in a shed!

Moorhen

We surprised a wading bird from the edge of the pool, it was a Green Sandpiper, a bird we've become very familiar with at Bicester Wetlands where they are frequently seen. I've been lucky enough to find a breeding pair of Green Sandpipers in the Caledonian Forest up in the Cairngorms on a few occasions, they are extremely rare breeders in the UK with just a handful of records each year. This bird flew off high, tootling loudly as they do, towards the Incinerator plant where I knew there was a larger body of water. I grabbed a shot through the trees as it sped away.

Green Sandpiper

The Incinerator Pool would be left for another visit since we intended to keep this trip short. There is a very small island at one end of Trow Pool which has some very fine looking trees growing on it. On our previous visit I thought that the trees with their trunks bearing rough bark would be suitable for Treecreepers, both to feed on and to nest in. That prophecy was now proven to be right as I caught sight of one of the small mouse-like birds scurrying up one of the trees. The Treecreeper was a year tick, the 135th species seen this year, and helped to renew a bit of optimism for our next walk. Unfortunately I failed miserably to get a decent image of the bird and nor did I when it was joined by another. We watched a Chiffchaff bathing in the small stream, the almost locally famous Gagle Brook, you'll recall that Bicester has no rivers so even trickling brooks gain notoriety in these parts, not quite the torrent worthy of a Dipper or a Goosander though. The Chiffy flew up into the canopy before I could arm the camera properly so I missed the chance of an interesting water going everywhere shot but my luck was in when a fly took too much of a risk and ended up as Chiffchaff elevenses. The Warbler very deftly secured the meal, skilfully turned it around and devoured it before you could say Phylloscopus collybita!

Chiffchaff

I spent the afternoon by spending a little bit of time watching some of the garden birds in between performing necessary gardening tasks. In truth I spent most of my time watching the birds and did very little pruning and digging. After all, the birds may not visit me tomorrow, so it was best I looked at them, wasn't it?

Blue Tit

Collared Dove

Dunnock

House Sparrows

Wood Pigeons

That evening we spotted a Grey Heron stood on the roof of the house opposite. Unless the occupants were having fish for tea, I doubted that the Heron was waiting as the Rooks do for the throw outs, and feared instead that it was eyeing up my last remaining Blue Orfe and Tench in my garden pond. Well, Heron my friend, you're out of luck because after another of your ilk virtually emptied the pond a couple of years back, the fish are now protected by a doubled over net. Bah!

Grey Heron

Sunday 5th April: Surprise, Surprise!

We were back on the long walk again early on Sunday. After multitudes of selfish folk had foolishly descended on mass to Snowdon (another oxymoron I think, morons anyway) and Brighton beach the day before, the police had issued many warnings that driving to beauty spots wouldn't be tolerated. I'm pretty sure that the recently built Incinerator plant at Ardley wouldn't qualify as anywhere near beautiful, although it definitely counts as a blemish on the landscape and therefore ticks the spot box, but even still and just to be safe, rather than risk driving and landing up with a stern talking to, or worse still be given a fine to pay, we yomped it along our new favourite farm track. 

Our first wow moment came as we reached the farm when I heard a familiar chattering sound coming from ahead. Hearing and then seeing birds again, that you last saw back in the autumn, is a sheer delight and it's akin to welcoming back old friends. The excited babbling belonged to a Swallow and I found it resting on an overhead wire along with a couple of Goldfinches. As we all know, one Swallow doesn't make a summer, but it sure goes a long way to lighten the load, and the mood! After taking some very unimpressive images I gave up and just watched the radiant little migrant. I am persistently amazed to know that the Swallow, weighing about the same as a multipack bag of crisps, can fly all the way to South Africa and back, even taking on the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert twice. It's truly an incredible feat.

Swallow & Goldfinches

A few moments later a Green Woodpecker exploded out of the grass a short way ahead. The yaffle, as the country folk like to call them, is an incredibly hard bird to get close to unless you have some cover to hand and we didn't have any, we in a large open field after all. The Woodpecker sought refuge in a large tree about a hundred yards ahead but the best I could do was halve that distance and a record shot before it flew across to the other side of the field. My attempts to photograph its undulating flight failed yet again.

Green Woodpecker

This was promising though, a year tick and a few other nice birds already and we hadn't gained the open farmland yet. A Song Thrush, this one showy for a change, sang loudly from one of the large Ash trees and we spied a Sparrowhawk flying rapidly along the railway embankment. The first open muddy field had, Chaffinches and the first Reed Bunting that we've seen on this walk, feeding on the stubble. No sign of the mad Hares this time though. Yellowhammers and Skylarks were very visible and in the balmy sunny start to the day it was easy to forget the worries and immerse ourselves in the springing spring.

Skylark

Yellowhammer

Chaffinch

Song Thrush

While watching a couple of Yellowhammers darting in and out of a small clump of brambles that lines a ditch, I noticed another bird running quickly along the stony ground. Thinking it would probably be another Yellowhammer or Skylark, I was gobsmacked when, bingo, my binoculars revealed a smart male Northern Wheatear! The second year tick of the day, the year list now stood at 137, and the most exciting find for our new patch so far. I stealthily stalked the bird the bird as best as I could, shamefully walking across the field in order to do so, and secured a record shot of the Wheatear doing what it does best, standing alert on an old fence post.

Wheatear

The day was going so well that I had almost forgotten how fed up I had been! At last we were seeing some good birds and I even became uncharacteristically optimistic that this walk might turn up something really good, Hoopoe and Dotterel sprang to mind, but then I reminded myself to stop being daft, remembering that I never find anything really good in Oxfordshire. We found a Great Spotted Woodpecker in one of the small copses just before the motorway, probably speculating for a nesting hole. There was no sound or sight of the previous days Willow Warbler at the Tower but a couple of Blackcaps warbled away unseen in the car park trees.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Halfway along the track we heard the plaintive weedy song of a Crest. I have never quite mastered the difference between the songs of the Goldcrest and Firecrest so always have to find the singing bird to decide which one it is. It didn't take long for this bird to show and prove its identity and it was, as it almost always is, a Goldcrest. The Goldcrest had for some reason taken offence to us walking along the track and had decided to sing and display directly above us and no more than a few metres away. It offered some of the best close up views of the tiny sprite that we've ever had, giving me a fabulous chance to capture some really good images, an opportunity tempered only by the lack of light under the canopy of the hedge.

Goldcrest

The Goldcrest battered us with its tirade for over ten minutes, it was obviously protecting territory, we had seen this bird in the same spot last week and would see it again on future visits. Hopefully it will find a mate and raise young this future.

We took the tour around the pool again and found the pair of Treecreepers on the island trees. This time I was able to get some better photos. Treecreepers are a difficult bird to find in and around Bicester, the lack of woodland doesn't help, and these are probably the closest I've seen to our house. I could hear a Nuthatch calling too but it wouldn't give itself up. I noticed a Robin flying out of one of the Life Belt Housings and investigation revealed that it was building a nest in it. Robins do build nests in some strange places! I hoped that nobody falls in the pond during the next few weeks and would require the use of the life belt, not only for their sake but also for the prospective Robin family.

Treecreeper

After the cracking views of the Goldcrest and Treecreeper, a singing Blackcap was much more difficult to spot high up in the trees. Finally it emerged far enough out for me to at least gain a record shot. Blackcaps have been the most numerous of the returning spring warblers so far on this walk, even outnumbering Chiffchaffs, but all of them have been typically elusive choosing to sing from deep cover. Usually I'd expect them to become showier as the month progresses when there is more competition between males.

Blackcap

We walked to the Quarry Pool and I scanned the water and the pool edge. Viewing of the pool has to be from afar, access is restricted by a fence that lies around thirty metres away so without a scope, and I'm not carrying that beast for over five miles, I have to strain away with just binoculars. In addition to the regular Tufted Ducks and Coots, I found a pair of Teal tucked up in the short grass on the western bank. A Grey Heron stood ominously at one corner proving that, even this pool dug out in clay and containing weird turquoise coloured water, must hold fish or amphibians. The Green Sandpiper erupted in a burst of disgruntled calls and sped off towards the Incinerator plant and the larger pool there. Then I spotted a Snipe huddled up and asleep under a small sapling. It was around fifty metres away but the golden yellow scapular feathers were striking in the sunshine. My attention to detail ratcheted up a few notches, I knew that Jack Snipe had much brighter and pronounced scapulars than the Common Snipe. I took a few record shots and looked at the images on the back of the camera which weren't very good but I felt that I could just make out the split supercilium that a Jack Snipe has and a Common Snipe doesn't. How I wished that I had the scope to hand! One of the Teal walked past the resting bird and it absolutely dwarfed it, and Teal are not big ducks. I was now pretty sure that I had a Jack Snipe and tried hard to get some better photos but I had to be satisfied with what I already had, I just couldn't get better. That afternoon I sent a couple of frames to Ian Lewington, Oxon's bird recorder and all round expert on all bird identification, and he confirmed it, it was a Jack Snipe! I never expected to be adding Jack Snipe onto my year list in April.

Jack Snipe

A fine looking drake Mallard, surely on of our most under appreciated birds, was on the Trow Pool and looked positively resplendent in the strong sunlight. One of the resident Little Grebes was also out, although as furtive as ever by spending most of the time diving under the surface in an attempt to evade being seen.

Mallard

Little Grebe

We walked quickly home, the Wheatear had left already, but as I neared one of the ditches a Common Snipe flushed and flew strongly away. I'd have to keep an eye on that ditch and approach it more carefully next time. The lone Swallow was still chattering away as it flew around the farm buildings, it landed in the tree right above us at one point, but remained a Barn Swallow all the same. The final good bird of the day was a Stock Dove that was feeding in the horse paddock with a few Wood Pigeons. This had been a really good mornings bird walk with some really good birds seen and two very pleasant surprises and year ticks with the Wheatear and Jack Snipe. It helped to lift a lot of the stress that I'd been feeling and I looked forward to the walk again in the coming weeks. Tomorrow though I would be returning to work, having managed to find a couple of jobs where I'd be alone and therefore able to self-isolate.