Grimsbury Reservoir lies on the periphery of Banbury in north Oxfordshire and is not a place that immediately sets the pulse racing. It is an unattractive square of concrete encased water surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire.
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| Grimsbury Reservoir |
Its only redeeming feature is the fact it is so small it can be walked around in twenty minutes.
However any water body will attract birds and Grimsbury is no exception to this. I can recall seeing both a Grey Phalarope and a Black necked Grebe there, on two memorable and separate occasions but usually the birds seen are far less exciting. The last pair of Oxfordshire Willow Tits, in the adjacent wood, have gone now but two local stalwarts, Gareth Blockley and John Friendship-Taylor continue to regularly patrol the reservoir's perimeter and its surrounds, virtually on a daily basis and for their efforts are very occasionally rewarded with the sighting of a 'good' bird.
On Friday the 3rd May John arrived at the reservoir to find that a number of European Swallows, House and Sand Martins had arrived in rainy and cloudy weather and were either feeding over the water or perching on the surrounding fence or railings, as they are wont to do in bad weather.
Checking through the assembled hirundines John found a Red rumped Swallow amongst the commoner hirundines and immediately put this sensational news out to all interested Oxonbirders. This was a county mega and indeed is a rare bird for Britain as it is normally to be found in southern Europe in countries bordering the Mediterranean. In fact Red rumped Swallows have a very extensive distribution, being found as various subspecies throughout southern Europe, Asia and Africa. The European birds spend their winter in Africa but displaced migrants such as this one at Grimsbury arrive every year in the southern half of England and typically are seen in the months of April and May.
This particular Red rumped Swallow was only the fourth individual of its kind to be recorded in Oxfordshire, the others being in 1997, 2004 and 2012 and it was natural that anyone with a more than passing interest in birds would want to come and see it, especially local Oxfordshire birders
Unfortunately for me the swallow was found while myself and Mrs U were enjoying a week's holiday on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. There was nothing to do but grin and bear it as usually these swallows do not hang about and surely not at a place such as Grimsbury? Anyway, Golden Eagles, summer plumaged Great Northern Divers and Otters were more than adequate compensation and I left it at that.
We were due to leave Arran the next day and then spend the night in Glasgow before driving south on Sunday to our home in northwest Oxfordshire so I suggested to my wife that we stop in Banbury on the way home if the swallow was still about. I re-assured her it was unlikely but as we would pass very near to Grimsbury..............
Checking RBA, as I did each day I saw the swallow had remained up to 10am on Saturday but had not been seen since and by the time we were returning south down the motorway on Sunday it had, as far as anyone knew, gone.
I duly told Mrs U that the swallow was a non starter and we could all relax.
It all went well as we drove south, the world was in its place and there was little to disturb our equilibrium after a wonderful and relaxing break on Arran.
Fast forward to us finally departing the M40 Motorway at around 4pm at the junction north of the Banbury turnoff and with Mrs U at the wheel. Bored after the monotony of the Motorway I checked RBA for any bird news.The world turned a somersault as I read that the Red rumped Swallow had returned to Grimsbury and was currently on view.
My wife is a cautious driver, so I broke the news to her gently about the swallow and that we needed to return to the Motorway, which we had left just five minutes ago, and drive south to the next junction which was for Banbury.With a sigh of resignation she turned the car around and we duly arrived at Grimsbury which is almost adjacent to the Motorway. Mrs U elected to remain in the car so I grabbed my bins and camera and made the short walk to the western side of the reservoir where I met Mark and soon I was enjoying views of my second Red rumped Swallow in Oxfordshire as it flew around the reservoir. Mindful of my wife in the car I gave it half an hour and then returned to the car having failed to get a photo of the swallow. We drove home.
I decided to go back for another chance to get a photo on Sunday afternoon, despite there being no report of the swallow since 10am that morning. Predictably, having stood about for an hour looking at a reservoir devoid of swallows of any sort, it ended in failure. I walked back to the car and looking up the lane noticed a large number of people standing with cameras and looking over the parapet of a brick bridge which carries the lane over the railway line that runs into Banbury station. Curious I walked up and enquired about all the interest and was told The Flying Scotsman steam engine was due to come down the line in about thirty minutes hauling a special train. With nothing better to do I joined the crowd and became a train spotter. A little late the celebrated steam engine duly announced its arrival in the distance with a billowing cloud of white smoke, towing a rake of ten carriages and passed below as we stood on the bridge. Happy days! Many years ago my wife bought me, as a birthday present, a driving lesson on this very same world famous steam engine and I got to drive it up and down a railway line for two unforgettable hours.
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| The Flying Scotsman |
Another four hours spent at Grimsbury on the afternoon of Thursday the 9th resulted in splendid close views of the swallow, in between long absences, but again no photo. I found it was just too difficult to follow it and get it in focus as it flew fast and erratically over the reservoir. The constant stream of dog walkers also began to get on my nerves as well. It's not their fault, they have nowhere else to go and the walk around the reservoir is very convenient but the constant passing stream of dogs and people meant that the swallows would never settle on the wire fence which was my best opportunity of getting my much desired photo.
Driving home, which is but twenty five minutes away, I got to thinking. I am not one to give up that easily and it had become obvious to me that some serious thought and pre-planning was required to achieve any success on the photography front.
I recollected that previous reports from days past had mentioned the swallow being perched on the fence on several occasions and this was always in the morning. I knew I was not going to get decent flight shots although others had, so taking the easier option I hypothesised that my only chance was to be at Grimsbury when there was a chance of it perching on the wire fence. This would be in the early morning but again was a lottery as its behaviour was unpredictable, just as with any bird, but I had to take the gamble. I resolved to return to Grimsbury for one last time at virtually first light tomorrow, Friday and see how I got on.
It gets light around five am at this time of year so I resolved to get to Grimsbury by six am at the latest. On awakening and looking out of the bedroom window I was confronted by an opaque thick fog which was totally unexpected. Nevertheless I drove to Grimsbury assuming the sun would soon break through the fog and all would be well.
On arriving at Grimsbury it remained dull, miserable and grey, courtesy of the persistent thick fog and lack of wind, and you could not see from one side of the small reservoir to the other. Downcast I walked along the western side of the reservoir and was alone in the world apart from one other birder sat on a bench in the far northwest corner of the reservoir. I did not join him, not feeling very conversational but stood under a hawthorn, the blossom's sweet sickly smell strong on the still air and morosely looked at a depressing blanket of fog shrouding the reservoir and its surrounds.
Greenfinches and Goldfinches perched briefly on the fence and a Yellow Wagtail dropped onto the concrete edge of the reservoir. A group of five Common Sandpipers flew across the reservoir from one side to the currently invisible other.
For an hour I stood and waited for the fog to disperse. The other birder conceded defeat, gave up and walked off around the reservoir. I took his place on the bench and sat for what seemed another age waiting for the fog to lift. It didn't but kept relentlessly coming in endless swirls, sometimes getting thicker and at other times, teasingly, almost allowing the sun through. Slowly though it started to thin but there was no sign of any hirundines.
I heard a brief chirrup from a couple of House Martins, presumably flying above the bank of fog but then silence. The distinctive rattle of a Lesser Whitethroat came from a distant hedgerow and a Common Whitethroat sky danced his way from hawthorn to hawthorn, singing all the while.
A lady birder, Yvonne, joined me. She told me she was on her way from Essex to Cheddar in Somerset and had stopped by Grimsbury on the off chance of seeing the Red rumped Swallow. We waited and waited and a trio of European Swallows eventually arrived to cruise just above the waters of the reservoir, their midnight blue upperparts making them nigh on invisible in the murky conditions.
This stirred a faint optimism in me and I commenced seriously scanning the reservoir with my binoculars. Three European Swallows became four and then more arrived. I kept scanning and on one scan there it was, the Red rumped Swallow, its pale rump distinctive in the gloom as it joined the other swallows. Red rumped Swallows also have a distinctive flight action, gliding more than the similar European Swallows and to my mind they have slightly broader wings which makes them appear less silky smooth and elegant in flight.
I alerted Yvonne to its presence and we watched it cruising back and fore around some buoys in the middle of the reservoir. Two other birders joined us and we continued to watch as the reservoir became more populated with not only swallows but House and Sand Martins. Then I saw that, unnoticed by us, a huddle of hirundines had perched and were lined up on the top strand of barbed wire running along the fence but some way back down the perimeter track. We moved closer, willing them to remain and got close enough to see them clearly in the gloomy conditions and there, perched amongst them, was the Red rumped Swallow! My gamble had paid off so far as it went but now the objective was to get closer. I edged gently forward with the others, ever wary about flushing the perched birds. Closer and closer we moved until we dared go no further. The swallows and martins, along with the star bird remained on the fence and we fired away with our cameras. Thankfully, at this early hour, there was no dog walker in sight so they remained content on the wire, as if such supremely aerial birds can ever appear settled. The damp fog had obviously stimulated them into indulging in a good bout of preening and I suppose, being for once static on the wire, this was as good an opportunity as any to have a thorough sort out of their feathers, which are, after all, a bird's lifeline and consequently require much time and effort keeping them in top condition.
No matter, I had got my photos and was content. It did not look like the hirundines would come back to the fence for a third time so Yvonne wandered off to look for the Lesser Whitethroat and I went to join John who had located a male Whinchat perched on some fence posts further along by the perimeter track. This was a definite bonus for all of us but the Whinchat was flighty and soon flew across the reservoir to be lost in the trees on the eastern side. We walked in a small group along the track and found a Garden Warbler singing in an oak tree. Then a Hobby flew fast and high across the reservoir towards the town. Excellent!
Reward can often come to those with persistence and I felt that this time I was justified in giving myself some self congratulation. It had been quite a morning, unpropitious to start with but finally triumphant and achieved in very pleasant company.
Even the dog walkers were for once tolerable and co-operative but at just after ten am the fog had dispersed and the sun was shining. There was not one swallow or martin to be seen anywhere now, no doubt having followed the insects high up into the sky on the warm air.
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