SP54 Short Day Count

Hello

Potentially the coldest nights and day of the winter so far saw three of us complete the Banbury Ornithological Society Short Day Count in SP54 - in the deep south of the county!

We started at Thenford and found plenty of common finches which included a Redpoll and a few Siskins and several Greenfinches but not the hoped-for Hawfinches. The corvids were vocal and included a couple of Ravens and a Grey Wagtail was present too. More Ravens were at Marston St Lawrence and a couple of Siskins too and at least four Ravens were at Farthinghoe LNR and where a flock of twenty Golden Plovers were heading over south. Over three hundred Lapwings were seen flying south during the day in response to even more adverse conditions further north.

Another bird that was responding to the cold weather was the Skylark with about a hundred near Trafford Bridge, a flock of fifty near Sulgrave and small numbers elsewhere. An unidentified small egret was seen in flight also near Sulgrave and couldn't be found again, a covey of eight Grey Partridge were on the edge of the square towards Chacombe and a Barn Owl was seen at Weedon Lois. A female Shoveler in a hole in the ice was noteworthy at Edgecote where there was also a Grey Wagtail and thrushes were particularly evident today with good numbers of all five common species trying to feed in the frosty fields.

Mammals featured too with Fallow Deer, Roe Deer, Red Fox, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit and Brown Hare all being espied.

Elsewhere and three drake Smew and a Scaup were at Eyebrook Reservoir, the Ruddy Shelduck moved from Winwick Pools to Hollowell Reservoir (where there were also four Stonechats) and Stanford Reservoir continued to host the two Whooper Swans, a Great White Egret, five Goosanders, a Water Rail, three Chiffchaffs and a Stonechat.

At Pitsford Reservoir the Great Northern Diver was again seen in The Narrows and the two White-fronted Geese were still at Ravensthorpe Reservoir. Another White-fronted Goose was in the Nene Valley with Greylags at Billing Pits and birds nearby at Ecton SF included a Green Sandpiper, a Cetti's Warbler and at least two Chiffchaffs.

Other Nene Valley birds included the Glossy Ibis, a Caspian Gull, two Great White Egrets, two Golden Plovers and six Common Snipe at Summer Leys LNR, a Cetti's Warbler and a Water Rail at Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows, a Great White Egret at Grendon Pond and a Caspian Gull at Whiston Pits between Cogenhoe and Earls Barton.

The two Short-eared Owls were still on private land near Blueberry Farm, Maidwell and birds in the Brampton Valley below Hanging Houghton included two Barn Owls, fifty Skylarks and a Grey Wagtail.

Birds for Harrington Airfield included the 'ringtail' Hen Harrier again, a Barn Owl and fourteen Grey Partridges and two Siskins were at the Sandy Lane Attenuation Pond at Duston.

Regards

Neil M

Mute Swan.

Grey Partridges courtesy
of Jacob Spinks.

Edgcote.

Lapwing.