Beautiful sunny still morning today. I had a walk around parts of the Blue and Red course. An Egyptian Goose stopped off at the reservoir, a new addition to the Frilford list.
Egyptian Goose [Reservoir]
As its name suggests, the Egyptian Goose is an introduced species, first recorded in England in 1678, but is now fairly common, particularly in urban parks.
Trickier to spot, but easier to hear, there are still plenty of warblers singing and feeding. This Blackcap is usually singing near the bridge near the 1st Blue, although is tricky to spot.
Blackcap [1st Blue]
Also easier to hear that see are the various Whitethroats nesting around the estate. This one was skulking in the gorse to the left of the 5th Red.
Whitethroat [5th Red]
Willow Warblers seem to be the opposite. I have scarcely heard one this year, but always seem to find a lot feeding. This one is fairly regular in the gorse between the 4th and 5th Red.
Willow Warbler [4th Red]
Various insects around. I think that this is a Hairy Dragonfly near the 13th tee Blue, well camouflaged amidst the undergrowth. The Emperor dragonfly was rather more conspicuous with early-morning due on its large wings. The Common Blue Damselfly was near the 3rd on the Red, but they are fairly common on the Blue and Red course
Hairy Dragonfly Brachytron pratense [13th Blue]
Emperor Dragonfly Anax imperator [1st Blue]
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [3rd Red]
This Large Skipper looks more like a moth, but is actually a butterfly. This is a male - sitting on a leaf waiting for a female on the 4th Red.
Large Skipper Ochlodes sylvanus [4th Red]
The Southern Marsh Orchids are in full bloom just short of the pond on the 9th Red. There are also some Common Spotted here as well and Early Marsh Orchids as well if you have time to search.
Found a new bird on the reservoir today - it's the first time that I've seen a Great-crested Grebe here. There are a lot of them on Farmoor reservoir, so I suspect that they call in from time to time.
Great-crested Grebe [Reservoir]
A pair Tufted Ducks were on the pond on the 3rd Blue first thing this morning. There were also several more on the reservoir along with Gadwall and Mallard.
Tufted Ducks [3rd Blue]
There are also plenty of young birds around. This Chiffchaff was part of a family group of 5 or 6 birds behind the 14th Blue.
Chiffchaff [14th Blue]
There were a lot of Beautiful Demoiselle's on the left of the 4th on the Blue, centred around the small pond. The males have darker wings and are a more vibrant blue/green than the females.
There are also a few of the much smaller Common Blue Damselflies around. This one was at the bottom of the Tubney range to the left of the 3rd Red.
Common Blue Damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum [Tubney range]
Nearby in the long grass was this Cardinal Beetle.
Cardinal Beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis [3rd Red]
As I visited different areas of the courses, I saw lots of Common Spotted Orchids - anywhere with water nearby. This was one of the patch in the fen on the 3rd Blue.
Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii [3rd Blue]
There are also a few different species of Speedwell in the rough. This is Slender Speedwell from the 13th Red. There is a nice display of Germander Speedwell along the hedge on the Doghouse range.
In the shorter grass you may also come across Thyme-leaved Speedwell, which has smaller, paler flowers. This photo is from early May, but there are still plenty in flower.
