Grimsbury Reservoir: Black redstart at the waterworks

I managed to catch up with the black redstart that has made a temporary home at the waterworks next to the reservoir.  This is part of a small influx to the country, and a really nice bird to have on our patch. They are a rare breeding bird in the UK but not uncommon during early spring and late autumn on migration.  They are a much more common bird in much of mainland Europe. The last one I saw locally was a Draycote Water on a very cold March morning a couple of years ago.

A female pochard was on the reservoir, actually quite a scarce bird locally, so nice to see.

Back-tracking to last sunday, the glorious sunny weather was great for birding.  Most noticeable for me was the arrival of fieldfares, with a flock of fifty over Upper Wardington first thing.  A late morning cross country run to Eydon via Culworth also produced more fieldfares, a few redwings and a flock of about 50 common gulls (I take my binoculars with me a in a small rucksack).  I lingered en-route in  a small patch of poplar woodland beside a stream and enjoyed watching nuthatches, treecreepers and goldcrests.  Sadly there were very few birds of prey, just one or two buzzards - no kites or kestrels - a bit surprising.