200 but not counting

Today, with all good intentions, I started driving over to Summer Leys LNR for a change of scene and stopped by at Napton Reservoir en route to try and spot the resident Grey Wagtails there (who always seem to evade me).  Fortunately, today they decided to grace me with their presence and performed very nicely.  The banks of the Reservoir also gave wonderful views of House Martin, Swallow and Swift as they swooped past me catching the little midgies in the air.  As I trudged back to the car,  I realised that the Grey Wagtail was the 200th species of bird for me this year, which to me is quite an achievement as I only on average manage to go birdwatching once every week or two.  Of course, my birder's wife will remind me that I am not doing a year list this year, as I have officially declared that this year I am just concentrating on obtaining those species that remain on my unseen list (which is gradually diminishing in size).  Anyway, this realisation made me decide that I just could not be bothered to drive any further and a well-timed text from the Capt made me turn round the car and make my way over to Brandon instead (for a more leisurely afternoon).  Half an hour later, I met up with the Capt who informed me of what she had been up to during the weekend.  This included informing me of the virtues of her other hobby, bell-ringing, which seems to involve tugging on ropes in a church closely followed by tugging away on a pint glass of real ale, followed by another......and another.......and another.

Even in mid afternoon, Brandon was alive with birdsong and we soon managed to clock up the following:-  Chiff Chaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Cettis Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat (heard), Cuckoo, the Hirundines and Swifts.  I also caught glimpses of unidentified day time micro moths....mmmmm....this may be downward spiral as there are far more moth species in the UK to contend with compared to birds.

We decided to only walk round half the reserve stopping by the Wright hide, and the first bird we found as we opened the flaps was yesterday's Wood Sandpiper that had stayed the night, this pleased the Capt immensely.  Other notables were Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plovers, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Redshank and Oystercatchers - almost a wader fest.

So, after completing our circuit, we both made our way back to our respective homes each happy with our additional year ticks (although, mine was not official!).