Woodstock Wildlife Record

For the third year in a row, Cattle Egrets have had a successful breeding season at Blenheim. This blog post is both a dump of some of my photos and my assessment of their breeding season based on fairly regular visits. After an absence over the winter in the county, the first returning birds appeared in their usual spot on the Queen Pool island on 30th March after what was a bit of an anxious wait. It seems the cold spells during the winter forced the birds south whereas in the previous winter they were able to remain local throughout, mainly around north Oxford. I checked my records and the arrival date at Blenheim in 2022 was 22nd March. 30th March this year also included an osprey at Blenheim, so a memorable day for me. Two pairs were nest building in early April on the Queen Pool island although the nests themselves were very difficult to see. A fifth adult in breeding plumage appeared on 18th April and by 26th April there were 7 adults present. The original two pairs appeared to