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© David Hastings 2024
Natural History Diary : April 2024
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Wednesday 24th April
I visited Farmoor again this morning. Still a cold northerly wind. When I arrived I saw six
Swifts
over F2. There were probably around 50 in total, flying near the causeway. There were also numerous
Swalllows
and
Sand Martins
over F1. But that was it for the reservoirs. Along the river I heard or saw seven species of warbler, including my first
Sedge Warbler
and
Garden Warbler
of the year. There were two
Kingfishers
at Pinkhill.
Kingfisher ♂, Farmoor, Oxon, 24th Apr
Sedge Warbler ♂, Farmoor, Oxon, 24th Apr
Swift, Farmoor, Oxon, 24th Apr
Kingfisher
♂ | Farmoor, Oxon
Sedge Warbler
♂ | Farmoor, Oxon
Swift
| Farmoor, Oxon
Sunday 21st April
I visited Standlake Common again this morning. It was sunny but quite cold. There wasn't mach singing along Shifford Lane, but I saw a
Blackcap
, two
Chiffchaffs
and a
Cetti's Warbler
, and heard
Lesser Whitethroat
(FOY) and
Reed Warbler
. The water level at Pit 60 had dropped since my last visit. There were three pairs of
Greylag Goose
with goslings. On the water I was quite surprised to see a female
Goldeneye
and two redhead
Goosander
; quite late for both species. Also a pair of
Oystercatcher
, two
Great White Egrets
and three
Pintail
.
It was too cold for most butterflies again. I saw a
Small White
at the allotment, and a
Peacock
and three
Orange-tips
in the garden in the afternoon. There was also a juvenile
Blackbird
first thing.
Chiffchaff ♂, Standlake, Oxon, 21st Apr
Goosander ♀, Standlake, Oxon, 21st Apr
Great White Egret, Standlake, Oxon, 21st Apr
Chiffchaff
♂ | Standlake, Oxon
Goosander
♀ | Standlake, Oxon
Great White Egret
| Standlake, Oxon
Saturday 20th April
Another rather chilly day, so there wasn't much butterfly activity. I saw two
Small Tortoiseshells
and a
Peacock
in the garden, and a
Peacock
,
Speckled Wood
and two
Small Whites
at the allotment. The
Barn Owl
flew from the box at 20:05.
Small Tortoiseshell, Aston, Oxon, 20th Apr
Small Tortoiseshell
| Aston, Oxon
Friday 19th April
There were only ten moths in the trap this morning: ten
Hebrew Character
and one each of
Powdered Quaker
and
Clouded Drab
.
Later I went to Rushy Common to see the 17
Black-tailed Godwits
that had been present for a few days. It was only when they were flushed by a
Buzzard
that I could count them accurately.
Garden butterflies in the afternoon were 2 male
Orange-tip
, one male
Brimstone
, one female
Holly Blue
and one
Small Tortoiseshell
. The HB laid some eggs on my Holly bush.
After a gap of several days the
Barn Owl
was sitting on the shelf outside the box at 19:40.
Clouded Drab, Aston, Oxon, 19th Apr
Holly Blue ♀, Aston, Oxon, 19th Apr
Black-tailed Godwit, Rushy Common, Oxon, 19th Apr
Clouded Drab
| Aston, Oxon
Holly Blue
♀ | Aston, Oxon
Black-tailed Godwit
| Rushy Common, Oxon
Thursday 18th April
Just a
Small Tortoiseshell
in the garden this morning, but I did better at the allotment where I saw
Holly Blue
,
Brimstone
,
Small White
,
Speckled Wood
and
Peacock
. Birds today were two
Red-legged Partridge
in the horse paddock, and a
Great Spotted Woodpecker
.
Small Tortoiseshell, Aston, Oxon, 18th Apr
Small Tortoiseshell
| Aston, Oxon
Wednesday 17th April
A rather better morning at Farmoor than recently, although there was a cold, gusty NW wind. First off I spotted five
Common Sandpiper
on the causeway, but they were impossible to approach. Then I noticed some
Sand Martins
over F1 - in fact there were hundreds! I picked out a few
Swallows
and
House Martins
among them. There were also two
Arctic Terns
. There wasn't much in the way of singing warblers along the river, but I heard or saw
Chiffchaff
,
Blackcap
,
Reed Warbler
,
Cetti's Warbler
and
Whitethroat
. A pair of
Red-crested Pochard
were asleep on one of the islands at Pinkhill. Remarkably, despite the chilly conditions, I found a
Green-veined White
trying to warm up.
Goldfinch, Farmoor, Oxon, 17th Apr
Green-veined White ♂, Farmoor, Oxon, 17th Apr
Grey Heron, Farmoor, Oxon, 17th Apr
Goldfinch
| Farmoor, Oxon
Green-veined White
♂ | Farmoor, Oxon
Grey Heron
| Farmoor, Oxon
Tuesday 16th April
Another day which wasn't quite warm enough for butterflies. However, one female and two male
Orange-tips
were in the garden in the early afternoon.
Orange-tip ♀, Aston, Oxon, 16th Apr
Orange-tip
♀ | Aston, Oxon
Monday 15th April
Despite the chilly wind this morning a hardy male
Orange-tip
came to the garden to feed on Honesty flowers. Birds seen today were
Great Spotted Woodpecker
,
Green Woodpecker
,
Stock Dove
and
Kestrel
.
Orange-tip ♂, Aston, Oxon, 15th Apr
Orange-tip
♂ | Aston, Oxon
Sunday 14th April
Made my first visit to Hackpen Hill of the year this morning. I failed to find any migrants other than a solitary
Swallow
. There were lots of
Skylarks
singing, also two pairs of
Stonechats
and
Linnets
, and a few
Meadow Pipits
. it wasn't quite warm enough for most butterflies, but I saw an
Orange-tip
in the punchbowl, and another one and a
Peacock
up on the Ridgeway. In the afternoon there was one
Peacock
at the allotment.
Skylark ♂, Hackpen Hill, Oxon, 14th Apr
Stonechat ♂, Hackpen Hill, Oxon, 14th Apr
Skylark
♂ | Hackpen Hill, Oxon
Stonechat
♂ | Hackpen Hill, Oxon
Friday 12th April
This morning there were 18 moths from 9 species in the trap.
Powdered Quaker
was a new species for me.
Brimstone Moth
,
Brindled Beauty
,
Muslin Moth
and
Red Twin-spot Carpet
were firsts of the year.
At the allotment I saw
Peacock
,
Small Tortoiseshell
,
Small White
,
Orange-tip
(m) and
Holly Blue
. In the garden I saw
Peacock
,
Holly Blue
,
Brimstone
(1m,1f) and
Orange-tip
(f). Surprise of the day was finding a
Humming-bird Hawk-moth
feeding on Honesty.
A trip down to the lock cut at Chimney in the afternoon produced my first
Green-veined White
and
Speckled Wood
of the year. I saw nine
Orange-tips
and five
Brimstones
. Three
Great White Egrets
were on the Duxford Old River.
Brimstone Moth ♂, Aston, Oxon, 12th Apr
Brindled Beauty ♂, Aston, Oxon, 12th Apr
Humming-bird Hawk-moth, Aston, Oxon, 12th Apr
Brimstone Moth
♂ | Aston, Oxon
Brindled Beauty
♂ | Aston, Oxon
Humming-bird Hawk-moth
| Aston, Oxon
Muslin Moth ♂, Aston, Oxon, 12th Apr
Powdered Quaker, Aston, Oxon, 12th Apr
Red Twin-spot Carpet, Aston, Oxon, 12th Apr
Muslin Moth
♂ | Aston, Oxon
Powdered Quaker
| Aston, Oxon
Red Twin-spot Carpet
| Aston, Oxon
Green-veined White ♂, Chimney Meadows, Oxon, 12th Apr
Orange-tip ♀, Chimney Meadows, Oxon, 12th Apr
Speckled Wood ♂, Chimney Meadows, Oxon, 12th Apr
Green-veined White
♂ | Chimney Meadows, Oxon
Orange-tip
♀ | Chimney Meadows, Oxon
Speckled Wood
♂ | Chimney Meadows, Oxon
Thursday 11th April
Another pretty unexciting morning at Farmoor today. There was again nothing on/over the reservoirs. However I did pick up a new species at this site: a pair of
Ravens
flew north along the river. With trees now in leaf, spotting warblers has become more difficult. I heard two
Reed Warblers
, one at Pinkhill and the other near the Shrike Meadow hide. Other species heard were
Chiffchaff
,
Blackcap
,
Willow Warbler
and
Cetti's Warbler
.
At home, sunshine in the early afternoon brought out my first
Holly Blue
(surprisingly, a female), male
Orange-tip
and male
Small White
of the year. The Holly Blue spent a long time nectaring on Cuckoo-flower. Other species seen were two
Brimstones
and two
Peacocks
. In the evening the
Barn Owl
was out of the box at 19:40, but it flew off south.
Holly Blue ♀, Aston, Oxon, 11th Apr
Peacock, Aston, Oxon, 11th Apr
Small White ♂, Aston, Oxon, 11th Apr
Holly Blue
♀ | Aston, Oxon
Peacock
| Aston, Oxon
Small White
♂ | Aston, Oxon
Tuesday 9th April
The
Barn Owl
was out and about at dusk this evening.
Monday 8th April
Just one
Peacock
at the allotment this afternoon, in cloudy conditions. In the garden the male
Great Spotted Woodpecker
came twice to drink at the birds' water bowl. I had never seen a GSW do that before. A
Stock Dove
was on the bird table until forced off by a Wood Pigeon.
Sunday 7th April
A very windy and mostly cloudy day. However, I saw a
Peacock
and a
Small Tortoiseshell
at the allotment during a sunny spell in the afternoon. There was no sign of the Barn Owl at dusk.
Saturday 6th April
Despite the night being very mild, there were only 11 moths in the trap this morning. A
Nut-tree Tussock
was the first of the year. Also caught were a
Black Sexton Beetle
, two
Lace-wings
and various caddis-flies.
At the allotment in the afternoon I saw two
Peacocks
and a
Comma
.
The
Barn Owl
emerged from the box at 20:05 - 15 minutes later than last night. It flew off westwards.
Black Sexton Beetle ♂, Aston, Oxon, 6th Apr
Nut-tree Tussock ♂, Aston, Oxon, 6th Apr
Black Sexton Beetle
♂ | Aston, Oxon
Nut-tree Tussock
♂ | Aston, Oxon
Friday 5th April
An afternoon walk in the centre section of Bagley Wood turned up the two species I'd failed to find in the western section:
Jay
and
Nuthatch
. The latter was my 100th species seen this year. I also saw a
Coal Tit
and a couple of
Peacocks
.
The
Barn Owl
emerged from the box at 19:50, had a bit of a preen and then took off. I didn't see where it went.
Thursday 4th April
At Farmoor this morning there was nothing on the water (other than lots of
Black-headed Gulls
and a few
Cormorants
). Down near Pinkhill there were several
Chiffchaffs
,
Blackcaps
and
Cetti's Warblers
singing, and I found my first
Willow Warbler
of the year. There was a drake
Gadwall
and a pair of
Moorhens
on the Pinkhill lagoon.
Cormorant ♂, Farmoor, Oxon, 4th Apr
Moorhen, Farmoor, Oxon, 4th Apr
Willow Warbler, Farmoor, Oxon, 4th Apr
Cormorant
♂ | Farmoor, Oxon
Moorhen
| Farmoor, Oxon
Willow Warbler
| Farmoor, Oxon
Wednesday 3rd April
A
Blackcap
was singing in the scrub at the end of the garden this morning. In the afternoon there were five
Stock Doves
in the horse paddock. At dusk the
Barn Owl
appeared again. It was harassed by corvids and retreated to the box, but came out again, did a couple of circuits of the field and then disappeared south-westwards.
Tuesday 2nd April
Just five moths in the trap this morning: one
Common Quaker
, two
Early Grey
and two
Hebrew Character
. In a brief sunny spell in the late morning there were two
Brimstones
and a
Small Tortoiseshell
in the garden.
Brimstone ♂, Aston, Oxon, 2nd Apr
Brimstone
♂ | Aston, Oxon
Monday 1st April
Quite sunny today, but it took a while to warm up. At least two male
Brimstones
visited the garden (they were present at the same time). Although Honesty and Cuckoo-flower are both in flower, no Orange-tips came to feed on them. Two
Dark-edged Bee-flies
were also around.
At dusk a
Barn Owl
was hunting over the field south of the house. It landed on the owl box which somebody has fixed to a tree on the far side of the field.
Dark-edged Bee-fly ♂, Aston, Oxon, 1st Apr
Dark-edged Bee-fly
♂ | Aston, Oxon