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| Grasshopper Warbler |
We have ten comparatively common Warblers in Oxfordshire and on a good day it’s possible to see all ten during spring at Otmoor. Probably my favourite of these ten, the Grasshopper Warbler, is not normally found on Standlake Common and was hence a gaping hole on my year list during the full lockdown. The latin name of the Grasshopper Warbler, locustella naevia, is a bit of a give-away as to one of its key characteristics, namely its insect like song. Indeed its song is often mistaken by the non-birder for that of an insect. The song is often compared to the rapid clicking of a fisherman’s reel and is the best way of finding one. They are, however, by habit very sulky birds preferring to creep through dense undergrowth rather than reveal themselves. Even if you hear one it may be impossible to find due to the strange ventriloquial like effect of its singing. They normally reel for a couple of weeks when they arrive from Africa in mid-April and then again for a short period between broods in early summer. By the time of the easing of the lockdown they had hence stopped reeling and, despite looking for them at Otmoor, they remained a gaping hole on my year list.
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| Grasshopper Warbler |
So I was delighted when I was out on a days birding trip a week or so ago to find a very active pair who were clearly feeding young. Both male and female were making numerous feeding visits to the nest site in dense vegetation and hence I had to be very careful indeed not to disturb them. This is where my monster 800mm lens comes to the fore, allowing me to keep a respectful distance and watch the intrepid parents come in with mouthful after mouthful of juicy insects. They were perching on a fence post and checking the surrounding area before flying to the nest site providing the clearest views of these birds that I had ever seen – absolute magic. After a mesmerising hour or so I decided to leave them to their parental duties and have not returned for fear of disturbance. I suspect the young have fledged by now but I feel I must leave the location undisclosed for fear of disturbance.
Continuing the theme of sulky birds, the Marsh Warbler has become a bit of a bogey bird for me. My attempts to see them prior to this year have resulted in abject failure, most notable at Lodmoor last year when an unusually showy one did an overnight bunk before I went to see him. There has been a small influx of these scarce birds this spring so with a certain amount of trepidation I decided to try again. Not only are these little brown jobbies most comfortable when buried deep in a reed bed they are also almost indistinguishable in appearance from our common Reed Warbler. Luckily their song is totally different. They are superb mimics and, while occasionally reverting to a Reed Warbler like ramble, they will mimic the wide range of birds they encounter both in Europe and Africa. Hence the only way of tying one down for sure is to see it singing.
So I headed off towards the river Frome in Dorset where a bird had been singing regularly and showing occasionally in a reed bed on the river bank. It took me a while to find the exact location where there were Reed and Sedge Warblers singing. After an hour or so I heard the Marsh Warbler intimating a number of birds from which I recognised Goldfinch and Blackbird. Over the next few hours I heard it singing intermittent and on two occasions saw a bird fly from where it had been singing which subsequently stopped. Good circumstantial evidence but not enough for me for a life tick. After 6 hours I finally saw it singing and was able to tie it down for a life tick. It was, however, heavily buried in the reed bed with no chance of photography.
My next trip out a few days later was to see a Glossy Ibis some 35 miles from home near Evesham. I’ve seen this exotic long legged beastie a number of times in the UK but have never managed a decent photo. This bird had taken up residence on a flood adjacent to the river Avon. The bird was showing well on arrival but a little distant on the opposite side of the flood from the view point. After 10 minutes or so something flushed everything from the flood, the Ibis did a couple of circles and flew overhead and away allowing me to grab a few fairly distant flight shots. The bird was in an advanced state of moult lacking a number of primary feathers. It always amazes me that birds lacking so many of their largest flight feathers can fly. I’ve seen raptors with many less primaries than this still capable of seemingly effortless flight while other birds, notable some ducks, completely loose the ability to fly during moult.
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| Glossy Ibis |
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| Glossy Ibis |
After 30 minutes or so the bird returned and landed a little nearer allowing a few better pictures. It was continuously using its long curved bill to delve deep into the mud in search of food. It seemed to be finding something every few seconds throwing its catch into the air before swallowing it. Also present were three Little Ringed Plovers, a comparatively common bird at pit 60 but absent from my bird list until now.
The garden prior to the sudden change in weather has been a delight. We have a number of Peonies which are one of my favourite late spring garden flowers. They are large and fragile and so easily decimated by wind and rain. The hot warm May saw them at their best. I have one plant which is by far and away the most expensive garden plant I have every brought. For fear of embarrassment I won’t say how much! A Japanese breeder managed to cross the normal perennial Peony with a Tree Peony hence supposedly producing a plant which featured the best characteristics of both. A limited number of these came onto the market five years ago and me being me I had to have one. Peonies are notoriously intolerant of disturbance and it has taken me five years to coax this one into flower. Flower being singular as it produced one flower which was slightly underwhelming in appearance given its C.V. and long wait.
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| Normal perenial Peony |
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| Japanese Hybrid Peony |
We are starting to harvest from the fruit and vegetable garden with copious sweet strawberries and tasty lettuce coming to our kitchen table. The tomatoes have grown strongly in the hot sunny May weather and are a week or so away from having ripe fruit. I grow two types. Sungold which is my favourite salad tomato and Roma which is an Italian plum tomato. The latter is used together with home grown garlic and basil to make tasty pasta sauce which freezes well and keeps us supplied for most of the year.
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| Yum Yum!! |
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