The Zoologist/4th series, vol 3 (1899)/Issue 700/Notes on the Ornithology of Oxfordshire, Aplin

by Oliver Vernon Aplin

 

THE ZOOLOGIST

 

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No. 700.— October, 1899.

 

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NOTESONTHEORNITHOLOGYOFOXFORDSHIRE,
1896-1898.

By O.V. Aplin, F.L.S.

 

Where no other locality is mentioned, the notes refer to the parish of Bloxham.

 

1896.

January 1st.—The Rev. J. Goodwin, of Milcomb, told me that he had recently seen a Hawfinch in his garden.

25th.—Large numbers of Bramblings have frequented a stubble-field dotted with manure-heaps for a week or more; I saw a small flock to-day, but they were gone two days later. The Rev. J. Goodwin told me he saw some between here and Milton last week.

26th.—Blackbird singing; early. Nuthatch has the rapid rattling or trilling cry. Rooks at their nesting trees most of the day.

27th.—Chaffinch sang the first part of its song, and a portion of the second part.

February 3rd.—News from Mr. Fowler of a Peregrine Falcon shot at Sarsden last month while in pursuit of a Ring-Dove.

5th.—Only one Chaffinch singing; these birds are strangely scarce, although common a few days ago. Possibly the winter birds have just left. One of my nephews has stuffed a Kittiwake (immature), shot at Bodicote a fortnight ago.

6th.—News from Mr. W.W. Fowler that he saw a Hawfinch in Christ Church meadow on the 4th. He remarks, "Not a Chaffinch to be seen or heard."

15th.—Yellow Bunting singing.

17th.—Rooks very noisy at their trees.

26th.—News from Mr. W.C. Darbey that he had received a black Skylark from the neighbourhood of Stanton Harcourt.

March 6th.—Rooks began building.

7th.—A young Song-Thrush, fully fledged, brought to me.

10th.—A Grey Wagtail in the village brook. The body of a Peregrine Falcon (a Fox having bitten off the head), which had died of shot wounds, was picked up near Horton Spinney, Waterperry (H.G.T. in litt.).

16th.—Strong wind; one Rook's nest here blown out.

18th.—Rooks have built four more nests. There are now eight.

19th.—Saw two Chiffchaffs in the warm spot by the brook, where I always look for, and generally find, the first; one was in song.

24th.—Saw three Bramblings settle in a tree in the "Ridgway." This is a late date for them to remain here.

25th.—The Rev. J. Goodwin told me of a pair of Hawfinches seen at South Newington, and a pair of Spotted Woodpeckers in an orchard at Hook Norton, recently.

26th.—News from Mr. Fowler that he heard six Chiffchaffs at Kingham on the 22nd; that the Rev. S.D. Lockwood saw the Wheatear there on the 20th; and that Mr. Foster-Melliar saw it the same day on Shipton downs. News from the last named that young Blackbirds flew on the 16th, and that he heard the Wryneck on the 22nd at North Aston.

April.—I had news this month from Mr. R.W. Calvert of a female Buzzard shot at Ascott-under-Wychwood, while flying away with a wounded Wood-Pigeon on the 30th December, 1881; and of another seen by him there in September, 1893 (in litt.).

2nd.—Went to Kingham to examine the Rookery destroyed by Crows (vide Zool. 1896, p. 144).

3rd.—A flock of about fifty Meadow Pipits in a grass field on Bloxham Grove.

7th.—Examined a Mealy Redpole (Linota linaria) which was shot from a flock of about fifteen Redpoles at Wickham Mill in March.

10th.—A Swallow seen by Mr. D'Oyly Aplin over the Sorbrook at Bodicote.

13th.—A Swallow seen at Barford.

15th.—I saw a Wren's nest built in the fork of a young tree on the bank of the Swere. As an object the nest was very conspicuous; not so as a nest. It was built of flood-rubbish, and looked exactly like a bunch of this caught and left in the fork, as a bunch often is when a flood goes down. The hole in the nest faced the stream.

With regard to the date at which the Carrion Crow breeds, the following information, acquired while destroying the nests of this (with us too numerous) bird this spring, may be of interest:—April 15th, two birds shot from the nests, one of which sat until a stone was thrown at her; apparently both were incubating. April 17th, four birds sitting on nests. April 18th, bird sat on nest, about 25 ft. up in a young willow, until I came close under it. May 7th, bird sat on nest in tall elm until thrown at. May 8th, nest containing partly fledged noisy young. May 11th, nest with squab young, the pen-feathers just sprouting.

18th.—Willow Wren, Wheatear, and Ray's Wagtail appeared.

19th.—Several Tree Pipits singing; none the day before.

20th.—I think the resident race of Goldfinches must have been nearly exterminated by the frost of the early part of 1895. I could see none about here until a week ago; now I see a fair number. When in the garden to-day I heard loud alarm cries of Starlings, and, looking up, saw eight in a confused mass high in the air. They reformed, and went on in a N.E. direction, and what I believe was a Peregrine was flying away rather heavily; but I could not tell for certain whether it was carrying anything or not. I believe that a good many of the Starlings we see here in April, and even in May, are not going to breed, here at least. Even as late as mid May one sees little parties, up to a dozen or a score in number, flying overhead rather high up. They may be birds which are going to breed in the far north.

21st.—Redstarts appeared. My wife saw half a dozen "Blackbirds, one light coloured underneath," fly out of an ivied tree at the edge of Milcomb gorse. This is about the date at which the Ring-Ouzel has visited us, and it has occurred in this gorse before. I have no doubt these birds were Ring-Ouzels.

22nd.—Swallows appeared about the village. There is always an interval between the appearance of a few early birds and the arrival of the birds about this date in numbers.

23rd.—A Turtle-Dove seen at Woodperry by Mr. H.G. Thomson.

24th.—Cuckoo appeared.

We spent a week at a village in the Chiltern hills about this date, and were delighted to find that the Stone Curlew still inhabited the downs. We located three pairs, and examined a specimen shot at Assendon in September, 1894, and another in an old collection of birds at an inn. A portion of the 'Weekly Dispatch,' 1860, was pasted on the back of the latter case. Grasshopper Warblers were frequently heard on the gorse-covered commons, and Nightingales were not uncommon; at Henley they seemed to be more numerous, and we heard three singing at once there, and not more than fifteen yards apart. Although there is much beech-wood on the hills, we could find no Wood Wrens; in my experience this bird chiefly frequents oak-wood. We saw one day a large hawk which I believe was a Honey Buzzard (darker than a Buzzard, with more pointed wings and a longer tail) flapping slowly overhead. It passed over D'Oyly Wood towards the big woods at Stonor.

The Red-legged Partridge was seen at Stonor and Henley. A great many Peewits still breed on the slopes of the downs and the open stony fields at the foot. We saw hundreds of pairs. On April 30th we watched four young ones in down, perhaps a week old, near some penned sheep. There is a raised ridge of down to be seen at the back of the occiput, making them crested even at that early age. A Sparrowhawk took a bird from the hedge close to us, and, popping over our heads, flew, heavily cumbered, against the wind, low over a big ploughing. Time after time a Peewit rose under him, and he was mobbed all along his course, one bird handing him on to another, until he reached the shelter of the spruce and larch belt, which doubtless held his nest. Some Wheatears apparently breed on the downs; we saw two pairs. Stonechats, which I remembered very common about the juniper bushes on the hills sixteen years earlier, were very scarce. I think these birds must suffer greatly from hard winters. I examined, at Henley, a Little Owl shot at Turville Heath at the end of 1894. The birdstuffer told us he preserved three local Little Auks during the visitation in January, 1895. I may mention that one obtained on Port Meadow at that date is preserved in the University Museum; the Chipping Norton example has come into my possession. In an old collection of birds at an inn I found a specimen of White's Thrush; unfortunately no particulars respecting the collection are forthcoming. During our stay we noticed the arrival or presence of Grasshopper Warbler, April 25th; House Martin, 26th; Whitethroat, 26th; Lesser Whitethroat, 27th; Common Sandpiper, 29th; Sedge Warbler, 29th; Swift, May 1st; Turtle Dove, 1st. We heard the Wryneck twice; this bird is not common now in Oxon.

In Oxfordshire the Stone Curlew is known as the Curlew or Curloo. Barren open stretches on the undulating downs, as open and exposed as possible, are the haunts the Curloos chose; for there the bird's long legs and watchful eye enable him to guard against a surprise. The spot they select on our hills may be a vast field, partly under plough and partly derelict arable land, fallen back to poor condition, or "tumbled down," as they say, sweeping smoothly down to the foot of the hills in gentle basin-like slopes. Here on the short bare grey-green herbage, strewn with grey-and-white flints, the great down Hares sit out in perfect safety. As I examined the field with the glasses I counted five of them. Many pairs of Peewits were scattered over the field, and now and then one or two would get up and tumble about in the air, and their sweet calls came softly up. Rooks and Starlings were dotted about, the former probably up to no good. Again, the haunt may be a turfy down, with a great white blaze on its side, and on its lower slopes big juniper bushes, some old yew trees, and a belt of spruce and larch. The scrubby herbage is strewn with flints and white chalk-stones raked out of the rabbit-burrows, where a pair of Wheatears flit and run. From its most barren slope, thickly strewn with flints and chalk-stones, and sparsely clothed with short wiry grass and stonecrop, and dotted with dead plant-stems a foot high, I heard the "clamour" of the Curloo; and from it a pair rose and settled again, in view, but where the dead stems stood thickly. On being raised once more they went over a swell in the down, where, with the glass, I could just see against the sky the head of one bird peeping at me over the ridge. When I followed, one sounded the alarm before I could see more of them, and they flew back to the old spot. A great undulating arable field, on a slope, its surface one mass of flints, held another pair. The cry of the Stone Curlew sounds to me cur-lwee or curl-wee, sometimes currr-lwee. A shrill sound, the second syllable drawn out and very sweet. Sometimes the cry is repeated several times quickly; this seems to be the "clamour." From the slight opportunity I have had of making observations, it seemed to me that the "clamour" was uttered when the bird was on the ground. Once, after a pair settled, one further on than the other, the former called, and the other bird ran up. When taking one of their quick runs (they go very fast) with sudden stops, they exchange an upright position for a stooping one, with the body nearly horizontal. I have seen Bustards run in just the same way. One bird was mobbed after settling, and after taking short runs, by Peewits, which stooped down and buffeted him; but he only ducked his head each time. I once (but not in England) came suddenly on a pair of Stone Curlews not ten yards from me. One struck a curious attitude, facing me (while the other ran up to it), and staring fixedly at me with its large beautiful yellow-irised eye.

May 2nd.—Reed Warbler at Oxford.

9th.—A Nightingale at Milcomb gorse. Swifts numerous here; not seen earlier.

12th.—Among the Rooks shot here were two with part of the lower mandible light-coloured, in one white, the other buffy white; another with a black bill had the whole of the chin-feathers white. Turtle Dove appeared.

14th.—Spotted Flycatcher appeared. These birds arrived at Bodicote on the 13th. The old nest over the drawing-room window there has been taken down, as it was in a very foul condition. The birds used it for four years, and reared two broods each year.

16th.—Spotted Flycatcher singing. The song was continuous, but low in tone; there was no attempt at a fixed strain, and the notes were just jerked out (but there were sweet notes here and there), and the song was distinctly Shrike-like in character.

20th.—News from Mr. Fowler that Mr. Pycraft saw a Cormorant at King's Weir, Oxford, on the 17th, and a Black Tern.

22nd.—Mr. Fowler saw a Blue-headed Wagtail on Port Meadow; "white eye-stripe, and a very dark head even for that species, I should say" (in litt.).

24th.—A Song Thrush sang from the ridge of the house-roof. It uttered its rattling alarm-note once in the song, and the quiet alarm-note two or three times. But this might have been accounted for by the fact that it was uneasy.

28th.—A Spotted Flycatcher in the garden is an unusually frequent singer. The song is low, but shrill; weak, yet remarkable when heard at a short distance. It comes tinkling out like the sound of a tiny streamlet, but the notes are thin and shrill.

The Rev. J. Goodwin tells me of a Hawk, which, I think, must be a pale grey Harrier, seen at Broughton lately.

29th to July 8th.—Away in Norway.

June 5th.—The Marsh Warbler arrived at its favourite osier-bed at Kingham for the fifth year, and was heard by Mr. Fowler to-day, the same day as in 1892. It was only heard in song occasionally after the 13th. Nest found on the 27th.

July 10th.—Brancher Spotted Flycatchers.

19th.—Covey of Partridges, thirteen in all, the young nearly as large as the old. Hot dry weather for some weeks.

20th.—Another covey with young quite as big.

August 4th.—Saw a Hobby at Kignell Spinney, near Barford St. Michael.

10th.—Many Swifts; very noisy.

11th.—Not many Swifts to be seen, though some still nesting. Saw a Nightingale in the paddock-walk. How little we know of this bird in the late summer. Also saw a Wren's nest, which I had never noticed before. It was against the trunk of a slightly ivied tree, and built of moss with a thick outside covering of some plant. The latter is now withered and brown, and the nest is very conspicuous (a great drought had prevailed during summer), but I have no doubt the plant was green when the nest was built.

13th.—Still some Swifts.

14th.—About this date I saw a flock of fourteen Missel Thrushes.

26th.—One of my nephews at Bodicote reported that early in the night of the 24th Wild Geese (cackling like tame Geese) passed over low enough down for the swish of their wings to be heard. I believe these early grey Geese are Grey-Lags. The late Lord Lilford wrote:—"I can speak positively as to the occasional passage of flocks of Grey-Lags over the neighbourhood of Lilford in September and October from my intimate knowledge of their cries, which exactly resemble those of our farmyard and stubble Geese, who are no doubt lineally descended from this species. These cries differ greatly from those of the three other species of 'grey' Geese that occasionally visit us late in the season.... Many reports of their passage near home annually reach me, and although I am well aware that the present species is considered to be rare in our part of England, I am nevertheless inclined to think that such reports in August, September, and the first half of October are generally referable to the Grey-Lag." ('Birds of Northamptonshire,' vol. ii. p. 140.)

September 16th.—Many Meadow Pipits in standing mustard.

18th.—Many Pied Wagtails on the fresh ploughings.

28th.—Many Meadow Pipits in slightly flooded meadow. Saw two Turtle Doves; a rather late date.

30th.—Big flock of migratory Peewits.

October 1st.—Close and warm. A Missel Thrush singing fairly well. A rare occurrence in autumn. Blackbirds, abundant for some weeks, are now extraordinarily numerous.

10th.—A Grey Wagtail in the brook below the village.

17th.—Meadow Pipits roosting on a high-lying barley-stubble, with a great deal of sprouted shed corn; they were not there early in the afternoon.

19th.—Grey Wagtail in the brook.

20th.—A few Fieldfares. An immature Golden Plover shot at Ascott-under-Wychwood by Mr. Calvert (in litt.).

21st.—Mr. Darbey, of Oxford, informed me he had received a good many locally-killed Gulls recently, and showed me examples of the Herring Gull, Common Gull, and Kittiwake.

29th.—Vast flock of Starlings on barley-stubble; a little flock of Meadow Pipits in roots late in the afternoon. A good many Redwings. It was reported in the 'Banbury Guardian' that Mr. Valance Elam, of Little Tew Lodge, Enstone, flushed eight Woodcocks in one cover on the 24th.

November 2nd.—Near Heythrop, where these birds are numerous about the stone-wall country, as the sun came out to-day, the Common Bunting was singing gaily.

6th.—A Sand Martin was seen at Milcomb by two friends of mine who know the bird well.

16th.—This afternoon, at 3.40 p.m., I noticed a great noise and excitement proceeding from eight or ten Hedge-Sparrows which were scattered about in a laburnum and some orchard trees. They became silent when I went out to look at them, but soon began again, answering one another with their thin tseek. No cat or other vermin was to be found, and the birds were in some cases some distance apart. The excitement lasted about a quarter of an hour. It was near roosting-time. I have once or twice since noticed a similar occurrence.

22nd.—A very mild but dull day. A Blackbird sang for some time just before sunset. The notes were rather poor, but numerous. Perhaps the bird was a young one of the year, early hatched, as many were last spring. In my experience the Blackbird is very rarely heard to sing in autumn.

30th.—A Water Rail shot close to the village. In two swede-fields I found a good many Meadow Pipits: a late date for a flock to be here.

December 6th.—Missel Thrush singing well.

9th.—Wind strong from the south. A flock of about two hundred Ring Doves passed over at a fair height, going due south, and battling with the wind.

11th.—Song Thrushes sing very well now.

18th.—Severe frost for the last few days. Two Jack Snipe shot.

19th.—Vast flock of Chaffinches on clover and stubble; as far as I could see they were all females.

24th.—Another Jack-Snipe shot here.

31st.—A Sclavonian Grebe shot at Chimney-on-Thames. It is now in the Oxford Museum. In the course of correspondence about this bird with Mr. Darbey, he gave me information of the following Oxfordshire examples of this bird, not previously recorded:—One picked up at Pink Hill (or Pinkie) Lock, near Eynsham, in the winter of 1893; in the possession of Mr. Curtis. One killed in the same winter on Port Meadow; in the possession of Mr. Greenwood, of St. Giles Street. Another in the same winter on Port Meadow; preserved for an undergraduate of Keble College. One killed in the winter of 1895-96 on the Isis, at Oxford. One killed at Newbridge in January, 1896; in the possession of Mr. George Kent, of Newbridge.

Mr. A. H. Cocks reported in 'The Zoologist' that eight adult Sandwich Terns passed the greater part of the 10th April, 1895, at Great Marlow, going in the afternoon about three-quarters of a mile up the river (vide 1895, p. 190). These birds were not far from our borders.

(To be continued.^[1])

 

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1. See vol. 4 (1900), p. 11—[Wikisource ed.]