December 2025 Ramsbury Bird Notes by Paul Swan

Golden plover

Autumn is now firmly with us, as are our regular autumn visitors. Modest flocks of redwing can now be seen and heard on the lower slopes of Spring Hill, while higher up the first of the golden plover have made their way down from the North Yorkshire Moors to winter with us. We were very privileged this month to join a group of bird ringers for an early morning to the west of the village. In just a few hours, they had caught and ringed over twenty-four different species – far more than any of us would see on an average walk. Seeing the birds up so close and seeing individual feathers in detail was quite magical. By the end of the session, we were allowed to hold and release the birds. The smallest birds caught were the beautiful goldcrests and the largest was a feisty green woodpecker. If you ever get the chance to have the same experience, you should jump at it! In the garden, our small pond had its first ever visit by a female grey wagtail that explored the whole area and spent many minutes stepping delicately from lily pad to lily pad. A lovely sighting. Fingers crossed that we don’t have a really cold snap in the next few weeks. If we do, a lot of our ‘regulars’ will head West.