Woodstock Wildlife Record

On 11th July I set out late afternoon to Blenheim on the search for Lesser Emperor dragonflies. I had seen one the evening before after a tip off from Ian Lewington who informed me Roger Wyatt had seen one or two earlier in the week. It seemed clear there were a good number around in the county and so likely there were more to be found at Blenheim given the size of the lakes. Without much effort I found at least two males at the north end of the Queen Pool. One in particular gave great views and allowed for some nice photos. Buoyed by the initial success I continued around the Queen Pool to the Main lake and found another couple in the area near Rosamund's Well. By this point I hadn't got to where I'd seen one the previous evening so I was delighted with the number I had found so far. I haven't yet seen any females but it seems likely there will be some breeding success given the number of males present. I headed round to the area of the Main Lake where I'd seen the...

After a productive May on the birding front, inevitably June would see the quieter spell develop as the passage period has now passed. However, you do begin to signs of the post-breeding movements and gatherings of some birds. Lapwings and Black-headed gulls, including some juvenile birds start reappearing at Ardley and utilise the now very water-depleted lagoon. It went from deep to a puddle in a few weeks since the sluice gate was opened. Green sandpipers also arrived back mid-month and hopefully their numbers will grow in the coming months as they tend to do at Ardley. A drake Teal mid-month also showed there are birds on the move and something unusual may turn up. A Short-eared owl and the mystery Canvasback were June birds in 2024 at Ardley so it's still worth the effort I think. The only new bird for the year list at Ardley this month was another patch tick in the form of a Cuckoo. It's one I've half expected at some point but all the same a very good patch bird. I ju...

On a sunny morning visit to Ardley in early June I was unexpectedly presented with a perfect opportunity to try my luck photographing swifts. About 20 birds were feeding low over the quarry lake and surrounding vegetation in close proximity to the footpath. They were following a rough circuit meaning they were constantly passing through the same small area of air space, which at least provided some element of predictability. Most of the time there seems little point trying to photograph swifts as they are often too high and distant, too fleeting, or just too difficult. The closer they are, the more tempting it is to try, but their proximity increases their relative speed so it becomes a real challenge. But this was as good an opportunity as I could get to try and take some relatively close up shots of them. Conditions were perfect with the sun on my back, and early enough that it wasn't too bright. I have recently upgraded my camera equipment so am now enjoying the benefits of a mi...