Visit to Noak Bridge Nature Reserve – 21st July 2026

Today's visit was principally the work party for the reserve rather than as a wildlife watching and photography opportunity.

However, it did provide some very notable records: Common Buzzard, Kestrel and Jersey Tiger

The Common Buzzard was being mobbed by a very noisy Kestrel for several minutes high above the reserve. These are my first records of the year for both species. I have recorded Common Buzzard in 4 out of the 5 previous years but this is only my second record of Kestrel, the first being in 2021. Seeing both species together and interacting was an amazing sight!

Jersey Tiger is a scarce but increasing daytime moth with striking colours and definitely not a "little brown job". This was my first record for the reserve. 

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Visit to Noak Bridge Nature Reserve – 18th July 2026

Date: 18th July 2026

Time: from 8:15 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 16°C to 19°C

My first visit to the reserve in July was relatively quiet with very few species seen or heard, as expected for mid-summer, but it did produce some exceptional records.

During my visit, I added a new species to my all-time site list: Reed Warbler.

I also added 4 other species to my 2026 site list: Common Tern, Brown Argus, Small Copper and Gatekeeper.

I saw a single Reed Warbler moving through the reeds in Meadow Pond although, frustratingly it was impossible to get a photo due to the dense vegetation. This bird seemed to have very “fresh” plumage and I am guessing that it was a juvenile from this year that had dispersed from its natal area (maybe Wat Tyler Country Park?) prior to migration.

I fully anticipated recording my first Gatekeeper of the year during my visit (at least 10 seen) but Common Tern, Brown Argus and Small Copper were all totally unexpected and only my second annual records after first records in 2023 for all 3 species.

Unfortunately, I failed to see, let alone photograph, at least 2 loudly calling Common Terns overhead due to being in the area between the storage shed and the eastern section of the reserve where there is a dense tree canopy.

I saw at least 4 Brown Argus, all in the Thorny Wood area, but it took a review of my photos to confirm the identification as opposed to the Common Blues also in this area.

I saw 2 Small Coppers, the first alongside the path adjacent to Thorny Wood and the other in the Thorny Wood area itself.

During my visit, I recorded 6 species of butterfly. In addition to the 3 species mentioned above, I also recorded Common Blue (2), Speckled Wood (1) and Meadow Brown (at least 10).

Yet again, there was a complete absence of any dragonflies and damselflies on Meadow Pond but I did see 3 Common Blue Damselflies in the vegetation adjacent to the path before reaching the Thorny Wood area and the storage shed.

The only other notable bird species recorded during my visit was Chiffchaff, with 2 calling birds heard but not seen in the eastern section of the reserve.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Reed Warbler

Common Tern

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Robin

Goldfinch

Woodpigeon

Collared Dove

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Brown Argus

Small Copper

Common Blue

Speckled Wood

Gatekeeper

Meadow Brown

Common Blue Damselfly

Here are some photos from my visit ….

Photo: Brown Argus

Photo: Brown Argus

Photo: Brown Argus

Photo: Brown Argus

Photo: Common Blue

Photo: Common Blue

Photo: Small Copper

Photo: Small Copper

Photo: Gatekeeper

Photo: Common Blue Damselfly

Photo: Common Blue Damselfly

Photo: Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

Photo: Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

Site totals for 2026 to date (2025 and 2024 totals in brackets):

Birds = 30 (34) (39)

Mammals = 1 (3) (3)

Butterflies = 15 (17) (12)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 5 (7) (11)

Reptiles = 0 (1) (0)

Amphibians = 1 (1) (1)

Total species list for the site:

Birds = 52

Mammals = 5

Butterflies = 24

Dragonflies and damselflies = 15

Reptiles = 2

Amphibians = 3

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Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 17th July 2026

Date: 17th July 2026

Time: from 8 p.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 20°C

The main purpose of my evening visit was to record any Swifts still remaining in the area.

I undertook my "Swift watch" from St. Nicholas Church which provides a good vantage point. I eventually had a very distant view of 4 Swifts over the estate beyond Pound Lane but I also heard "screaming" birds briefly on a few occasions.

Totally unexpectedly, my "Swift watch" also produced a single fly-over Common Tern, only my second record for the site since the first heard-only record in 2024.

Other notable records in the immediate churchyard area included a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Painted Ladies and an unidentified hawker species plus a brief view of a Red Fox in the wooded area close to home.

Site totals for 2026 to date (2025 and 2024 totals in brackets): 

Birds = 39 (50) (49)

Mammals = 3 (4) (3)

Butterflies = 19 (23) (17)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 6 (11) (11)

Reptiles = 0 (0) (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0) (0)

Total species list for the site 

Birds = 70

Mammals = 8

Butterflies = 26

Dragonflies and damselflies = 15

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

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Wildlife Trusts report highlights disastrous impacts of Brexit on UK wildlife

Apart from all the other well-documented and well-evidenced disastrous impacts of Brexshit, we now have this ....

Wildlife Trusts report .... "Broken promises, deregulation and declining nature: the UK environment ten years after the Brexit vote"

Ten years on from the UK voting to leave the EU, the Wildlife Trusts have released a report highlighting the damning impact of Brexit on wildlife.

 

Following the referendum, the UK Government promised a "green Brexit", but the Wildlife Trusts claim that leaving the EU has "turned the UK grey, not green".

 

In the decade since the referendum, the country's wildlife has continued to disappear at an alarming rate.

Worryingly, there has been no significant agenda to strengthen nature protections. In fact, many environmental laws are now weaker than when the UK was a member of the EU. Since Brexit, the EU has upgraded or introduced 28 environmental laws that the UK has not mirrored.

A push for deregulation, enabled by Brexit and what the Wildlife Trusts call a "demonisation of the environment", leaves UK wildlife in greater peril than it was in 2016.

The report reads: "Rivers, streams, and beaches are dirtier than ever. The countryside, and our food, are being polluted by plastics and harmful chemicals. The UK risks being taken back to 1970 before we joined the EU, when we were branded the 'dirty man of Europe' due to the state of our beaches."

As the report sets out, the current Government must urgently chart a new course if it is to build from the small number of positive wildlife commitments made in the past 10 years and meet both national and international nature targets.

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Record from my flat - Common Buzzard

This morning at 11:15 a.m., I initially heard a "mewing" Common Buzzard and then quickly located the bird soaring above the houses opposite the flats where I live and likely over my St. Nicholas Church local patch site.

This is only my second sighting of a Common Buzzard from my flat this year, the first being on 7th June 2026.

Summary of Common Buzzard records during the last 6 years:

2021: 11 dates involving 13 birds

2022: 26 dates involving 38 birds

2023: 8 dates involving 8 birds

2024: 3 dates involving 3 birds

2025: 16 dates involving 25 birds

2026: 2 dates involving 2 birds

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Record from my flat - Swifts

3 Swifts seen again at 8 p.m. although very distantly over the St. Nicholas Church area.

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Trip away from SS15 - Oxford

I had a trip to Oxford for Swifts but the trip was hardly “swift”!

Whilst one Swift got married in New York (yawn), I had an amazing visit to the Museum of Natural History University of Oxford.

The colony of Swifts which nest in the ventilator shafts of the Museum tower has been the subject of a research study since 1947. It is one of the longest continuous studies of a single bird species in the world and has contributed much to our knowledge of Swifts.

Swifts were the subject of a research project undertaken by David Lack, the head of the Edward Grey Institute at the Department of Zoology and in 1956 his book, “Swifts in a Tower”, was published. It has since been re-published several times and is still available. I am currently reading it.

Swifts in the Tower

Swifts Diary 2026

Protecting Some of the World's Longest Studied Birds | Wonders of Biodiversity

After a short walk from Oxford train station, I began to hear Swifts well before arriving at the Museum. Whilst at the Museum, I was able to enjoy the sight and sound of at least 100 Swifts and their continual “screaming roof-top circuit races” (to quote Robert Macfarlane) …. plus 2 fly-over Red Kites.

I eventually left the Museum with over 400 photos, mostly of blurred Swifts or empty sky (Swifts are very challenging to photograph!), but I did have a few “keepers”.

Before leaving Oxford, I visited the Swift Tower in the adjacent University Park. The Swift Tower was installed in 2019 and contains 25 Swift nestboxes. However, I saw no evidence of occupation.

I also visited the “Wonder of Birds” exhibition at the Bodleian Library.

Inspired by “The Book of Birds” by the brilliant artist Jackie Morris and the brilliant writer Robert Macfarlane, the exhibition celebrates the splendour of the birds around us at the same time as recognising the steep decline in bird populations across our skies in recent decades.

Oxford Magazine - Bodleian Libraries exhibition explores humanity’s enduring relationship with birds 

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