Middleton Lakes: evening birds

An early morning walk along the flood defence scheme in Banbury enabled me to photograph the meadow saxifrage, and I counted ten plants.  A curlew bubbled in the distance and the noisy chatter of sedge warblers was never far away.

meadow saxifrage

An evening stroll around Middleton Lakes RSPB nature reserve with my camera was very relaxing and enjoyable.

Twenty species of wading birds have been recorded so far this year, with the spring passage notable for rarities such as Temminck's stint and pectoral sandpiper.  This evening there was nothing unusual so I had a chance to focus on beautiful ringed plovers feeding on the muddy edges of the east scrape, part of the "Jubilee Wetlands".

ringed plovers stopping off en route to the arctic

 There was much else to enjoy:

common tern

drake garganey

great-crested grebe

little ringed plover

pheasant

redshank

sedge warbler

tufted duck

yellow flag iris

Turks and Caicos conservation on radio 4. 
Took me back four months to my sabbatical project there.  Worth a listen and maybe look back at my TCI Blog!!