Grimsbury Reservoir and Upper Wardington : Common terns show they can raise young & starlings make a splash

Two young common terns are being raised by a single adult in the Grimsbury Reservoir area.  They have been around for a few days now; the adult bird is often feeding away from the reservoir - along the canal and the river.  The youngsters are less willing to leave the reservoir - as soon as the adult returns they become very noisy begging for food.  

one of the two juvenile common terns

Common terns have yet to breed in the Banbury Ornithological Society area - the presence of this family shows that a small number of pairs could breed successfully in our area if a nesting raft could be located on a suitable water body. Grimsbury Reservoir is probably too busy with boating and fishing, but it would be good to look at the options; possibly Wormleighton Reservoir?

The waders that had graced the reservoir for a few days have now gone, it will be interesting to see what turns up next.  

Meanwhile, in Upper Wardington, the starling flock has grown to about 300 birds, the vast majority are juveniles.  They have taken to bathing in our small garden pond, creating quite a splashy spectacle as wave after wave pile in for a quick wash.  The vegetation in the pond has been trampled flat already.  

juvenile starling taking a bath

Song thrushes (three) are gathering in a yew tree laden with berries, let's hope they can make them last into the winter.

song thrush in yew tree

Yesterday I went for run across the higher land east of the village.  I was delighted to see a flash of orange from the tail of a redstart as it flitted in and out of a hedgerow just ahead of me.  A sprinkling of redstarts are migrating through our area at the moment; they are always a nice find.  There are some great images taken today on the Oxon Bird Log, worth a look.