The Pool Frogs of Greenham Common 23rd May 2025

This time last year I wrote about making the acquaintance of a population of Pool Frogs on Greenham Common in the adjacent county of Berkshire see here

Greenham Common  has undergone a remarkable transformation since it closed as a nuclear airbase in 1992 and much for the better in my opinion. From being a hostile and unwelcoming base for planes carrying nuclear missiles and bombs it has been taken over by BBOWT (Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust) and is now a magnificent and huge reserve harbouring all sorts of flora and fauna rather than nuclear missiles.

There is a small lake come pond tucked discreetly away, surrounded by bushes not very far from the former airfield control tower that now serves as a visitor centre and cafe and close far to one of the main tracks giving access to the reserve. Fortunately not many of the prolific dog walkers venture its way which is just as well as it is meant to be left sacrosanct and dog free.

Here, if you like is a welcome miniature nature reserve within a larger one, where one can sit quietly and undisturbed in tranquil surroundings, be at peace and admire the dragonflies and a magnificent patch of lilies while watching a healthy population of Pool Frogs go about the annual business of procreation.

Pool Frogs hibernate from October to April and then make their way to small lakes or ponds such as this one and May and June is the prime time to see them, so the timing of my visit was about right. From last year's experience I knew it was pointless getting here before nine thirty. as Pool Frogs  like warmth and the sun is not strong enough until after nine. At just before ten I sat totally alone on a bank by the still waters as the sun shone down on me and a Dartford Warbler sang in the gorse behind.Perfect.  

Pool Frogs like to bask in the sun warmed shallows but are ultra wary so one has to remain very still so as not to alarm them otherwise they sense your presence, panic and with an audible plop dive for the bottom of the pond.When they are at ease they manifest themselves by floating to the surface and easing their heads above the water from under lily pads or lying on tangles of weed in the shallows.

It takes time to get one's eye in but discover one frog and then many more miraculously become apparent, hanging immobile in the water close to cover and impassively staring goggle eyed at - well who knows?

They come in two basic colours, green and brown, marked with camouflaging spots and bars on their skin but without fail all show a bright yellowish green dorsal strip running down the middle of their head and back.They are about the size of our Common Frog but have more pointed snouts and longer legs.

As the sun warmed the water the males began croaking, inflating white air sacs, as if blowing bubble gum, one on each side of their neck creating a surprisingly loud rasping croak similar to the  turning of rusting machinery..Once one frog commenced croaking others took up the challenge until there was quite a chorus which invariably abruptly ceased at the slightest sense of danger and then gradually recommenced building to another crescendo of sound

Males further out in the middle of the pond were jostling each other and this is where the croaking mostly came from. One frog would leap at another and with little subtlety they would barge each other to try and assert their supremacy whilst croaking at the same time. At least that is what I surmised they were up to although it could have been a male attempting to mount a female, as with Common Frogs but it was difficult to tell..

Other frogs, in fact the majority around the fringes of the lake seemed unimpressed or disinclined to join in and remained silent and statuesque in their patches of  weed

By late morning the sun had warmed enough to energise one of the frogs deadliest predators the Grass Snake, as much at home in the water as out of it. I saw one  hunting along the opposite bank of the pond. stopping to lie motionless every so often as if waiting for an unsuspecting  frog to come close enough to ambush

I walked over to get closer and the snake sensed me and froze in the water, floating like a chord of brown rope hoping not to be noticed. An expressionless eye stared at me or at least I assumed it did but in truth it could be regarding anything. Waiting. Unsure. A black forked tongue tasted the air, its way of detecting prey or in this case the presence of a perceived danger.

Eventually the snake lost its nerve and swam fast from me but even in its panicked withdrawal achieved its escape with utmost grace, its long body curving in sinuous elegance to propel it through the water

Only minutes later another  grass snake crossed the pond towards me.It was not the same individual as before for this one was very long, at least a metre, its body seeming to go on forever as  it sashayed through the clear water, totally unaware of me.It reached the bank below me and then sensing it was not alone made a languid escape towards the sanctuary of the lilies. Gone. Silence from the frogs all too aware of the danger.

After some minutes the frog's croaking recommenccd  as if nothing untoward had occurred and as the sun became even warmer more and more of these sun worshipping amphibians made for the shallows to lie in the water with the sun on their heads and backs. I know that feeling!

I admired the lilies, arrayed in front of me, an extensive carpert of leathery deep green leaves supporting a host of huge white flowers, so beautiful in the still water, great, waxy, white petalled cups suffused with pink on the outside and encasing a spaghetti of bright yellow stamens

Eventually I sat in repose, having had my fill of the frogs, contemplated the lilies before me and this gently peaceful pond so vulnerable but thankfully ignored by most visitors to the reserve and paradoxically so near to the former control tower  that for so long had a much more sinister purpose.

I took great pleasure in enjoying this evidence of a minor triumph for nature over human folly. 

 .  

A Red-footed Falcon in Oxfordshire 19th May

Red footed Falcons are very rare in my home county of Oxfordshire.I think only five have occurred in the county, my first and the third for the county was an adult female in roadside trees at Merton Borrow Pit  from the 23rd of June to the 2nd of July 1997 just after I had moved to Oxfordshire.

The two before were a first summer male seen hovering over Wolvercote Gravel Pit on the 12th of June 1983 followed by another male hawking insects over Standlake Gravel Pits on the 27th and the 28th of May 1987.

After the Merton Borrow bird nine years elapsed before the next record came of a male at the RSPB's Otmoor Reserve on the 14th of July 2006 which was seen only briefly and then disappeared.

Fourteen more years then passed before a female was discovered at Piddington just inside the Oxfordshire border during May 2020. A number of Oxonbirders including myself managed to get brief glimpses of it but it was far from satisfactory due to the bird frequenting private land owned by HS2 and an uncooperative almost hostile site manager who would not allow access.

Around the 10th of May this  year an image of a falcon was posted on Facebook by a person who was unsure what it was and suggested it might be a Hobby but it was clearly a female Red footed Falcon. This resulted in much discussion and griping on the Oxon Birding Forum as to where it was photographed and why it was suppressed and eventually after a number of days it transpired the image was taken on Chimney Meadows. A BBOWT reserve which for some reason is not that forthcoming about sightings such as this due it is said to it being a sensitive site for the Tree Sparrow which is a rapidly declining species in the county.

Then later in the month an unconfirmed sighting was reported from Rushy Common between Witney and Stanton Harcourt on Sunday the 18th of May but the observer could not be entirely sure it was one as he had to look into the sun but he was fairly convinced. 

Matters quitened down but Simon took a stroll along the Thames Path from Newbridge on the 19th of May intrigued by the report of the possible bird at Rushy Common and after a mile walk found a second calendar year female Red footed Falcon doing its thing, hunting dragonflies over the open fields  and scattered trees at what has to be said was an idyllic location by the River Thames and not that far from Rushy Common. There was also some conjecture that this bird was different to the female that had been pictured on Chimney Meadows.

The news was broadcast on the Oxon Birding Forum group and nationally,.precipitating a rush from any local birder able to drop everything and set off to see it.First off the mark were Thomas and Ben, a couple of participants in the Oxon Big Year while others such as myself followed at a more sedate pace in their wake

I was at the doctors when the news broke so had to bide my time until I had seen the doctor but the minute I was out of the surgery I called Badger and we arranged to meet at his home in Abingdon and drive to Newbridge where hopefully we could find somewhere to park and make the mile walk along the Thames Path to where the falcon was last seen.

There was just one small metaphorical cloud on the horizon and that was parking at Newbridge which is a narrow bridge over the Thames with nowhere to park except on either side, in one or other of the car parks belonging to the two pubs, The Rose Revived or The Maybush which are also situated on either side of the bridge  

Neither were thought to be amenable to birder's parking on their premises but as it transpired The Maybush were happy to allow parking and showed more than a passing and genuine interest in the presnce of the falcon and why so many birders were making their way through the pub's grounds and taking the Thames Path beyond.

Badger and myself headed out along the path, a pleasant enough walk beside a tranquil sunlit river, the riparian vegetation harbouring Banded Demoiselle damselflys that look superficially black but on closer inspection can be seen to be beautiful iridescent shades of dark green and midnight blue as they dithered and hovered amongst the fresh green blades of the reeds. Mayflies too danced in their gossamer hundreds over the river, obviously deciding today was the day to complete their life cycle.

The path wound onwards following the river's course and, passing through a small copse, a gate opened out onto a wide vista of grass fields and it was then we saw the falcon flying in the sky chasing after the plentiful dragonflies.

We walked onwards to join a few other local birders and then were treated to Oxfordshire's sixth Red footed Falcon flying above us at great speed and with supreme agility at varying heights. Eventually it settled in a bare tree and I walked closer and took some photos of it perched in the tree.When flying it never really came close so I struggled in the bright sun and white cloud to capture it in flight and settled instead for a few images of it perched in favoured trees. 

From what I could see it looked to be a second calendar year bird, the two central tail feathers had been moulted and replaced with adult ones. It would not breed this year but next year when fully adult.

Red footed Falcons are reported annually from Britain with the months of May and June being the most likely time to fnd them here.This year has seen quite an influx with many birds being reported from southern Britain. An unprecedented flock of eight spent some days at Carlton Marshes in Suffolk earlier this May. Their breeding range extends from Estonia. Slovakia and Hungary (40% of the European population breed in Hungary) eastwards to north west China and they winter in the south of Africa, where the world's largest Red footed Falcon roost was discovered in Angola involving close to a million birds.

Often migrating in flocks or small groups and even roosting together they can complete a non stop flight across the Mediterranean and Sahara in five days and their total migration of 8500-10,000 kms can be completed in two weeks.

We spent about four hours watching the falcon. It would hunt for a period and then return to two favoured trees where it would sit for some time before resuming its hunting. 

Gradually through the afternoon other local birders joined us as the falcon began to fly ever higher in the sky,  being joined by up to five Hobbys which made discerning which was which a challenging  test of identification skills.

In the end both myself and Badger conceded we had seen enough and headed back to Newbridge well satisfied with our time with this Oxfordshire mega.

Let's hope it will not be too long a wait until another graces the county

Good Godwit 17th May 2025

Shortly after my return from Shetland news came through of a very rare bird being discovered on the morning of Friday the 16th of May at Titchfield Haven NNR, which lies by The Solent in Hampshire. 

The bird in question was a female Hudsonian Godwit, referred to as a 'Hudwit', another example of birder slang, a trend which incidentally I loathe. Why not call them by their proper name?

This bird will be the sixth to be recorded in Britain and already being confirmed as still present on a sunny Saturday by the seaside would be very popular and draw a good crowd. Hudsonian Godwits come from North America breeding  in scattered populations from western and southern Alaska through arctic and sub arctic Canada to the south shore of  Hudson Bay.They spend the winter on both coasts of southern South America.

Having already, in 2015 seen a female in Britain  at Shapwick Heath in Somerset, a  mild debate ensued with my inner self as to whether I should go and see this latest one. Enticingly Hampshire is a lot closer than Shetland and a lot cheaper to get to, half a tank of fuel would do it.

I put it to the back of my mind but on Saturday morning I sent a text to Badger enquiring if he fancied accompanying me to see the godwit. It had been quite a while since we last went birding together and Badger being the easy going person he is, it would be a pleasure to have his company and catch up on the news. In fact it would be just like old times.

A text duly arrived back in the affirmative so I set off to collect Badger who conveniently lives in Abingdon which is by the A34 and the route we would take to the reserve

A brilliant sunny day set us in a good mood and we chatted away the miles as we headed south.An hour and a half later we arrived by The Solent and parking the car on a convenient verge made a short walk to the reserve centre to pay our £5.00 entry fees. Another short walk along the seafront took us to the entry gate manned by a volunteer, we showed our natty pink stickers as evidence we had paid the entry fee and were granted access to the reserve.

The volunteer told us the godwit was currently on view right in front of the Meon Shore Hide, which handily was the nearest hide. Another short walk and we gained entry of sorts to a very crowded hide.It was literally elbow room only but people were coming and going, so we soon managed to get a space and a seat and be able to look out to the South Scrape that lay in front of the hide.

The sun was a bit bright but we could see a number of godwits feeding up to their bellies in the  shallow water, probing and ducking below the water with their long bills as only godwits can, their heads for the most part immersed underwater.

The Hudsonian Godwit was feeding with two or three Black tailed Godwits at a reasonable distance from the hide but conveniently right in front. 

The Hudsonian Godwit feeding with a Black tailed Godwit

The bird itself looked markedly different to its companions, appearing darker and more heavily marked  due to a distinctly mottled brown back and chestnut infused, closely barred flanks. 

The crucial diagnostic identification feature are the black axillaries and lesser underwing coverts which can be seen as the bird takes flight. The same plumage features are white on a Black tailed Godwit.The bird flew briefly a couple of times and I managed to see the diagnostic black 'armpits' axillaries and the narrower white wing bar on each of the upperwings.

In the bright sunlight it was not always easy to separate it through the camera lens from the other godwits but various features enabled one to identify it, such as noticeable white supercilia on its grizzled, grey brown head and on this bird a convenient patch of white on each side where the rear flanks exposed the white base of the tail, 

Its long bill was also noticeably bright pink on the upper part and black on the lower half.

We watched from the hide, Badger taking some video while I took far too many photos, struggling with the light, heat haze off the water and constant vibrations in the hide as folk moved about. 

For the most part it fed constantly with one interlude where it flew to the far end of the scrape to loaf on the shore with a host of Black headed Gulls, some Avocets and a bonus Little Gull.

Noise, both within the hide and without was a constant accompaniment to the couple of hours we spent on the reserve.The Black headed Gulls keeping up a never ending strident harsh squawking, while breeding Avocets chased off any gull that came too close to their nest with short liquid calls of irritation.

From within the hide various people related their nightmare journeys to get to the reserve, involving traffic jams and closed motorways, others recounted past birding holidays, yet others previous visits to the reserve to see rare birds or gave  general advice as to which godwit was the Hudsonian to anyone who would listen.It all goes into the mix but there comes a time when enough is enough.

Badger had got his long delayed lifer, I had seen a second Hudsonian Godwit in Britain and both of us had by mutual consent enjoyed a lovely day out birding at the seaside.

No complaints from me.

A Shetland Treat 14th May 2025

On Monday the 12th of May a Savannah Sparrow from the USA and only the fourth to be found in Britain was discovered on Unst, the northernmost inhabited island in Shetland, so Mark and myself decided to try and see it.To cut a long tale of woe short, despite sorting out the nightmare logistics and at great expense we failed to see this uber rare bird as it was nowhere to be seen the next morning when we got there.

It had gone in the night.

Having put the disappointment of dipping the Savannah Sparrow behind us we now had two days on Shetland in prospect before catching our pre- booked Wednesday evening flight back to Aberdeen.

Personally it does not take me long to get over these inevitable twitching disappointments although others take it less well.

The weather on Shetland has been glorious for some while with full on sunshine for most of the time while we were there but still accompanied by a cold northerly wind. In sunny conditions the islands look at their absolute best and every turn in the road seems to bring yet another eye watering scene of immense beauty.

After our flight arrived at Sumburgh and the unwelcome news came through that the sparrow was nowhere to be found we mulled over what to do and for some unaccountable reason decided to punish ourselves further by fulfilling our bookings on the two ferries required to get to Unst and Skaw in particular to see exactly where the sparrow had spent all of yesterday..

Whilst viewing the burn at Skaw where the sparrow had performed so well, the weather  turned for the worse and grey cloud superceded the sun. It seemed only fitting that it should do so mirroring our downbeat mood. Oh! and by the way it was the 13th if you believe in omens. Not quite Friday but bad enough. 

Both Mark my twitching pal and myself were dog tired and after a disconsolate wander along a  deserted Skaw beach we decided on going back to South Mainland in search of an Oriental Turtle Dove that had been intermittently showing itself at a place called Hillwell..

An Oriental Turtle Dove (OTD) is a mega in its own right but certainly did not feel like compensation for missing out on the Savannah Sparrow but it was better than nothing which was precisely what we had achieved so far on Shetland.

Oriental Turtle Dove comprises of two main sub species Streptopelia orientalis orientalis the so called Eastern Oriental Turtle Dove and S.o meena  the Western Oriental Turtle Dove which include between them six named sub species.

Eastern OTD breeds in central Siberia to Japan and Korea southwards to the Himalayas from Assam to Yunnan and northern Vietnam and winters in south and south eastern Asia

Western OTD breeds in central and eastern Asia south to the Himalayas from Kashmir to central Nepal and winters in India as far south as Sri Lanka 

Orientalis is much the rarer in Britain but I had seen it incredibly well when one turned up in a garden in Chipping Norton of all places in the winter of 2011 and remained there for some days, just ten minutes drive from my home in the neighbouring village of Kingham. 

The bird currently at Hillwell is of the other race S.o. meena,  the commoner of the two main subspecies but which I had never seen and so now I could, assuming I saw it, legitimately claim to have seen both Eastern and Western Oriental Turtle Doves..At another time and under different circumstances this would have been a reason for mild rejoicing but it did not seem like it at the time.

The dove could prove elusive but had last been reported an hour ago as frequenting fields and fences by the road that ran through Hillwell. Checking the fields we could find no sign of it but a resident birder pointed it out to us in the middle of a tilled field nearby and there it remained, hunkered down on the earth and half asleep with a Collared Dove for company.

We duly took some photos in appalling light and then called it a day and went to a friends house in Scalloway who had kindly offered to put us up for the night.

Oriental Turtle Dove with Collared Dove

Shattered after being awake and on the go for well over twenty four hours we were in bed and asleep by eight.Never was a bed more welcome.

Next morning with not a lot of bird news we had a lie in of sorts and a leisurely breakfast. Looking out of the window it was obvious that today was to be another of continuous sunshine.

A planned return to the dove was aborted as there was no news of it from Hillwell but a report of a Curlew Sandpiper had us heading for Island, an idyllic cove of not sand but stones and a large bank of dead seaweed that was proving irresistible to a collection of small waders consisting of Turnstones, Sanderlings and Dunlins. 

Island

All were in summer plumage and the Dunlin in particular indulging in nuptial displays, the males chasing females across the pebbles and seaweed with spread wings and much trilling although they still had a long way to go before reaching their breeding areas.

Turnstones

Dunlins

Sanderlings

The sun was pleasantly warm as I sat on a rock and looked at the endless and entertaining activity of the birds feeding, displaying, bathing, preening, never still for more than a second, all biding their time before the urge came to fly north .A brace of male Eiders ah oooed their ardour to a female on the blue waters beyond the shore as ripples rather than waves gently lapped at the stones on the tideline. Dandelions, like yellow stars in the grass grew in abundance here and had attracted many Red Admiral butterflies and a migrant Painted Lady, one of many that have arrived on Shetland with this sunny weather.

We were the only two people here to savour all this natural beauty and I felt as if I was in a world transformed. All care banished.

Despite constant scanning we could not find the Curlew Sandpiper amongst the host of waders.I was sure it was there somewhere hidden in the rocks but it was of no great consequence. Just to be here on Shetland in this secluded spot on such a day as this was enough.

The tide was coming in and as it covered the stones and pebbles the birds settled to roost on the larger rocks or on banks of seaweed and a hush descended along the shore as they fell silent, ceased any activity and for a precious few moments relaxed or tucked bills into feathers to wait on the tide's turning.

I fancied a trip to Sumburgh Head to see the Puffins that breed there so we made a short car journey south and walked slowly up to the lighthouse from the car park, looking down over the huge cliffs at this the southernmost point of Shetland.It is never less than awe inspiring to look out to sea from here and on such a day as this even more so.

The Puffins were mainly in their burrows but occasionally a pair would come out to briefly stand on the short grass amongst patches of pink thrift, before flying out to a deep blue horizon.Their wariness was explained by the huge, dark brown and sinister looking form of a Great Skua or Bonxie as they are called in Shetland, patrolling the cliffs.

Far below on rocky outcrops, where the sea was forever in a turmoil of white and turquoise, beating against the unyielding rock,  ranks of Guillemots stood about readying themselves for the coming breeding season while deep shaded cliff faces were randomly dotted with the white and grey forms of Fulmars sat on their nest ledges.

We were catching the last flight out of Sumburgh Airport to Aberdeen this evening and on our way to the airport passed a small lochan by the road and here, perhaps for both of us was a parting gift from Shetland in the form of a Red necked Phalarope swimming on the blue water This wader specially adapted to spend most of its time on water breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia and winters far out to sea in tropical oceans.

Shetland and the Outer Hebrides are the southernmost limit of its breeding range with just a few pairs breeding on Fetlar and occasional pairs on other small lochs on Mainland in Shetland.

The phalarope definitely had not been here this morning when we passed going the other way. Stopping the car we clambered over a fence and sat on the boggy margin of the  lochan and took some photographs. The phalarope was, as they often are, unbothered by our presence and swam about picking insects off the water's surface and then went into a vigorous washing and bathing routine before flying off.

It was a female, told by her attractive, strongly coloured plumage, mainly grey brown above with bright chestnut neck and upper breast, charcoal black face and white throat The role of the sexes as with Dotterels is reversed with the male being much less colourful and taking on the role of incubating the eggs and tending the chicks while the female goes off and mates with another male, lays more eggs and leaves him to it.

And yes the water really was that blue!

For these small birds to arrive on Shetland to breed involves a truly remarkable, one could say incredible journey. A individual from Fetlar was fitted with a tiny tracking device which revealed it migrated to spend the winter in the Pacific Ocean, a journey of 8000 miles. First it crossed the Atlantic via Iceland and Greenland them moved south down the eastern seaboard of North America, crossed the Caribbean and Mexico before arriving off the coast of Ecuador and Peru. It would then presumably repeat the journey in the other direction to get to Shetland. A round trip of 16000 miles.

This has led to the belief that the Scottish birds are an offshoot of the North American populations rather than the geographically nearer Scandinavian populations which winter in the Arabian Sea.

I could only look at this bird today and marvel.

I have always wanted to see a Red necked Phalarope in summer plumage and in its native habitat.I have seen them in breeding plumage in my own county of Oxfordshire as they briefly stopped to rest on their way north but always in prosaic surroundings. To see one on the blue waters of a small and remote moorland lochan,  possibly just completing its epic journey was for me the ultimate experience and filled me with utmost joy.

Shetland never fails.