After having had a couple of days out getting volume on the year list, I thought it was time I tried to add a bit of quality. To get a decent year list it's not just about who gets the highest total by the end of January, its more about making sure you see the birds which don't hang around. With no lifers within 3 hours drive I had a few choices. Most centred around seeing good but not majorly rare birds whilst adding some easier ticks along the way.I settled on heading north and west towards Oxfordshire.
My first stop was at a sewage farm just outside Abingdon. These are quite good locations for birds with a combination of food sources and not too much human disturbance. The target at this one was a Pallas's warbler, which had been there for a few days. These are tiny warblers, barely the size of a goldcrest. Generically they are leaf-warblers and are sort-of lumped in with the similar Hume's and yellow-browed warblers, in this country at least. Green on the back, white underneath and with three bold stripes on their heads they are also sometimes referred to as 3-barred sprites. They are also named after one of the people who have many birds named after them. In this case it is the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas (Who was Peter Simon Pallas.
I headed off up the M40 and despite the M25, Oxford and Abingdon all being a bit chunky traffic-wise I parked up just before 9 in a housing estate near Abingdon rugby club. A 5 minute walk and I was on a lane running between rugby pitches and a very active sewage farm. Four other birders were already there, intensely studying the trees and hedgerows as the sun slowly rose and defrosted the twigs. For about 30 minutes and as another dozen or so birders arrived all we had were pied wagtails coming in and out of the sewage farm and a good number of chiffchaffs feeding in the sunny branches.
Some looked good candidates for the "tristis" or Siberian race but I didn't hear them call so they will remain as possibles.
To maximise our chances we spread out along the 100 yards of path, each person studying their own area. I was near the far end where the sun was strongest and there was a lot of activity of other birds feeding. Suddenly the man next to me shouted and the man beyond him, at the end of the line, was pointing up in the canopy. Within seconds we were looking up into the spindly trees and could see a tiny bird flicking around. I quickly got onto it with my 'bins and saw it was the Pallas's warbler. Wing bars, eye-stripe, tiny size and the fact it never stayed still for a moment. As more people arrived and tried to get onto it I got my camera onto it high up in the canopy as it flew off.
Although not a prize-winning photo by any means you can see what it is! That was it though. No one saw where it went and quite a few onlookers did not get onto it all. I was lucky that I chose the correct end of the line to stand. I spent another 15 minutes looking but with no show I headed off after other targets.
Next stop was 30 minutes away at Otmoor. This is an RSPB wetland/ reedbed reserve north of Oxford. I've been here many times before, never for majorly rare birds but it does turn up some nice stuff. A hen harrier had been hunting the marsh which was my main reason for going.
Unfortunately there was a work-party down there on the area where it likes to hunt so I didn't manage to find it. I did add a few year ticks including golden plover, sparrow hawk, peregrine, yellowhammer and water rail. None were close enough for photographs but the light was gorgeous and some of the commoner birds did pose nicely.
My last stop was on the way back home at Wilstone, one of the Tring reservoirs. The main target was a group of white-fronted geese which had been around for a couple of weeks, migrating between the reservoir and surrounding fields. I had dipped on them at Holkham last week, a site where they are normally very reliable so I was keen to get them back. As I rounded the corner towards the small car park I could see a large group of geese in the nearby field. On getting out of the car a couple were just arriving back. They advised that wellingtons were the order of the day as the path along the bank of the reservoir was a muddy mess! So it proved but my wellingtons were up to the task and a very short walk got me level with field where I quickly got onto the white-fronted geese.
You can get a good comparison with the two common geese - Greylag and Canada. White-fronts are smaller, with plain necks, a bold white saddle over their bill and black stripes along their flanks.
The geese were all very relaxed and were feeding happily in the grassy field. I then went along to the hide and spent a pleasant hour in there in the company of some of the local birders. There was a very distant great white egret to add to the year list
and a yellow-legged gull which I failed to photograph. The spit out from the hide was busy with gulls, teal and lapwings.
With the light going I headed back to the car. A reasonably successful day - two good birds onto the list plus good selection of supporting characters. Takes me to 100 for the year with still loads of common birds missing. Onwards and upwards as they say!
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