Natural History Diary : April 2026
Thursday 16th April
I saw something today that I'd never seen before: five Holly Blues in the garden at the same time. A mating pair were repeatedly harassed by three males. The pair stayed hooked together for at least 2½ hours. Other butterflies seen were a male Brimstone, a male Green-veined White and a male Orange-tip. I found a Ruby Tiger caterpillar in the garden, and the Vapourer eggs which were laid last year on a plastic water butt cover have hatched. Birds seen today were a paid of Ravens over, a Song Thrush in the lane, and a Stock Dove and a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the garden. A Grey Squirrel had a drink from the bird's water bowl.
Brimstone ♂, Aston, Oxon, 16th Apr
Green-veined White ♂, Aston, Oxon, 16th Apr
Holly Blues (cop), Aston, Oxon, 16th Apr
Brimstone ♂ | Aston, Oxon Green-veined White ♂ | Aston, Oxon Holly Blues (cop) | Aston, Oxon
Tuesday 14th April
I went over to Rushy Common again this morning. A Greenfinch was singing from the oak tree at the car park entrance. A sizable flock of Sand Martins was feeding over the new workings. A Lapwing was at the water's edge. I walked north, and soon spotted a pair of Little Ringed Plovers, but they were distant. I saw at least two more LRPs, possible more. Other species of note were Oystercatcher, Shelduck and White Wagtail. The only warblers were Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Cetti's Warbler. The only butterflies I saw were two male Orange-tips.
Lapwing, Rushy Common, Oxon, 14th Apr
    
Lapwing | Rushy Common, Oxon    
Monday 13th April
I spent a couple of hours at Farmoor this morning, with good results. There were four Common Sandpipers along the causeway, but as usual they were very flighty. There were also a couple of White Wagtails. At the far end of the causeway a pair of Grey Wagtails were catching insects, so they must have young somewhere. I saw or heard seven species of warbler along the river: Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Cetti's Warbler, Willow Warbler, Reed Warbler (FOY) and Sedge Warbler (FOY). There were several ducks on the Pinkhill lagoon: Wigeon, Gadwall, Tufted Duck and Shoveler. On the way back across the causeway there were at least four White Wagtails. A Little Ringed Plover flew past, but headed to the north side of F1. Then a Yellow Wagtail flew onto the wave wall. Finally the Great Northern Diver was out in the middle of F1. Butterflies seen were two Orange-tip (m+f), a Speckled Wood and two Peacock.
In the garden I saw Holly Blue, Brimstone and two Green-veined Whites.
Common Sandpiper, Farmoor, Oxon, 13th Apr
Grey Wagtail ♂, Farmoor, Oxon, 13th Apr
Orange-tip ♀, Farmoor, Oxon, 13th Apr
Common Sandpiper | Farmoor, Oxon Grey Wagtail ♂ | Farmoor, Oxon Orange-tip ♀ | Farmoor, Oxon
White Wagtail, Farmoor, Oxon, 13th Apr
Wigeon ♂, Farmoor, Oxon, 13th Apr
Yellow Wagtail ♂, Farmoor, Oxon, 13th Apr
White Wagtail | Farmoor, Oxon Wigeon ♂ | Farmoor, Oxon Yellow Wagtail ♂ | Farmoor, Oxon
Sunday 12th April
Just one Orange-tip in the garden at lunchtime today.
Orange-tip ♂, Aston, Oxon, 12th Apr
    
Orange-tip ♂ | Aston, Oxon    
Friday 10th April
Another trip to Farmoor this morning. I heard a Willow Warbler from the car park. Two Linnets were the only birds on the causeway. At the western end I heard a Cuckoo, although it was distant. That was my earliest ever Cuckoo. I searched for warblers along the river, but could only find a couple of Whitethroat and a female Blackcap. Several Chiffchaffs were singing. I saw a Common Sandpiper as well, and two Swallows were overhead. Returning to the car park I came across two Dunlin, one more obviously in breeding plumage than the other.
In the afternoon I went to Bagley Wood, where the bluebells were out (very early). I saw a Willow Warbler and two Chiffchaffs, but I failed to find a Treecreeper. Although it wasn't very warm there were a few butterflies about: a Speckled Wood, two Green-veined Whites and a Peacock.
Dunlin, Farmoor, Oxon, 10th Apr
Dunlin, Farmoor, Oxon, 10th Apr
  
Dunlin | Farmoor, Oxon Dunlin | Farmoor, Oxon  
Thursday 9th April
The moth trap only had 12 moths in it this morning (8 species), but there were some interesting ones. A Pinon-spotted Pug was my first since 2022; a Chinese Character was my first ever spring record; a Streamer was my earliest ever record. Other firsts of the year were Double-striped Pug and Nut-tree Tussock.
Chinese Character, Aston, Oxon, 9th Apr
Double-striped Pug, Aston, Oxon, 9th Apr
Nut-tree Tussock ♂, Aston, Oxon, 9th Apr
Chinese Character | Aston, Oxon Double-striped Pug | Aston, Oxon Nut-tree Tussock ♂ | Aston, Oxon
Pinion-spotted Pug, Aston, Oxon, 9th Apr
Streamer, Aston, Oxon, 9th Apr
  
Pinion-spotted Pug | Aston, Oxon Streamer | Aston, Oxon  
Wednesday 8th April
Another trip to Farmoor this morning. When I got there the juvenile Great Northern Diver was fairly close to the shore in the SE corner of F1, so I was able to get some pictures of it. There wasn't anything else of note on F1 other than four Gadwall. Along the river I saw one Cetti's Warbler and one Chiffchaff, but there were several of each singing. Butterflies seen were three Orange-tips, one Peacock and one Brimstone.
Then at Dry Sandford Pit I saw four Orange-tips, twelve Brimstones (10m, 2f), three Green-veined Whites, a Holly Blue and a Peacock.
At dusk I saw my first Bat of the year (probably a Pipistrelle), which spent some time flying around the garden.
Speckled Wood ♀, Dry Sandford Pit, Oxon, 8th Apr
Great Northern Diver (juv), Farmoor, Oxon, 8th Apr
Pied Wagtail ♂, Farmoor, Oxon, 8th Apr
Speckled Wood ♀ | Dry Sandford Pit, Oxon Great Northern Diver (juv) | Farmoor, Oxon Pied Wagtail ♂ | Farmoor, Oxon
Tuesday 7th April
I went over to Rushy Common this morning on the warmest day of the year so far. On getting out of the car I saw an Orange-tip, my first of the year. Three Red-crested Pochard and a Stock Dove were of note at the main lake. There was quite a lot of activity on the new workings. A Green Sandpiper was a first of the year, although I only saw it flying after it was flushed by a Little Egret. There was also a pair of Oystercatchers, a pair of Shelduck, an Egyptian Goose, a Great White Egret and two White Wagtails. A Mallard had eleven ducklings (my first young birds of the year). There were more butterflies along the hedge line: two male and a female Orange-tip, five Brimstones, a Peacock, a Comma and a female Green-veined White (FOY).
At home I saw one male and two female Brimstones, a Holly Blue, a Peacock, two Orange-tips and a Green-veined White. Two Swallows were overhead (FOY). Later at the allotment I saw my first Speckled Wood of the year, plus two Peacocks, two Holly Blues and a Brimstone.
Green-veined White ♂, Aston, Oxon, 7th Apr
Orange-tip ♂, Aston, Oxon, 7th Apr
Gadwall ♀, Rushy Common, Oxon, 7th Apr
Green-veined White ♂ | Aston, Oxon Orange-tip ♂ | Aston, Oxon Gadwall ♀ | Rushy Common, Oxon
Monday 6th April
A sunny day but the wind was a bit chilly to start with. I went to Hackpen Hill for the first time this year. There were quite a few Skylarks singing (first of the year) and a Corn Bunting was on a fence wire (also FOY). When I was half-way down the slope I saw a Wheatear further up, so I had to backtrack. There were three of them altogether but they were not easy to approach. Eventually one had a bath in a cattle trough and I was able to get some pictures as it dried off. A pair of Meadow Pipits was my fourth FOY today. At one point there were 13 Red Kites airborne. The only other bird of prey was a Kestrel. I also saw a pair of Red-legged Partridges and four Linnets. Although still a bit chilly I saw three Peacocks and a Brimstone.
At home I saw my first Holly Blue of the year, as well as two Peacocks and a male and a female Brimstone. There was also a white, but it wouldn't settle so I wasn't able to identify it.
Brimstone ♀, Aston, Oxon, 6th Apr
Holly Blue ♂, Aston, Oxon, 6th Apr
Wheatear ♂, Hackpen Hill, Oxon, 6th Apr
Brimstone ♀ | Aston, Oxon Holly Blue ♂ | Aston, Oxon Wheatear ♂ | Hackpen Hill, Oxon
Saturday 4th April
Although it was a pretty cloudy day a male Brimstone was in the garden at lunchtime.
Wednesday 1st April
There were two Red-legged Partridges in the horse paddock this morning.