Ben Sheldon

@sheldonbirds.bsky.social

3945 Followers 568 Following

Ornithologist and Evolutionary Ecologist at the University of Oxford - natural history, science, cycling

Adult Little Stint at Farmoor, Oxfordshire, 29 July 2026. Bird is standing in the midst of turbulent water breaking on the reservoir bank.
Text from Bill Oddie's Little Black Bird Book (1980) describing dialogue during a seawatch: "Diver!" "Where??" "Flying west." "Which is west?" "Right." "So it's flying left to right?" "Yes." "How far out?" "I daren't take my telescope off it." "Try to pin point it." "Can you see the boat?" "There's hundreds of boats!" "A red boat." "Yes. A big red boat?" "No. A little red boat." "A little red boat, with a green sail?" "Yes." "I've got that." "Well it's gone passed that." "How far past?" "Have you still got the boat?" "The little red one?" "With a green sail?" "Yes." "OK, come past that... keep going right and you'll see a kittiwake." "On the water ,or flying?" "On the water." "There's fifty kittiwakes on the water!" "OK, second kittiwake from the left." "That's a Common Gull." "No; next to the Common Gull." "OK. I've got it. A Kittiwake, next to a Common Gull." "Right, now, go eleven o'clock from that, and you'll see a buoy." "I can't see a buoy." "Eleven o'clock from the kittiwake. A small boy- swimming." "That's not a boy. It's a girl!" "Oh yes. And she's not swimming. She's drowning!" "Never mind that, have you got her?" "Yes." "Right then. Count one... two, three...er...ten,eleven....twelve...twenty-five,twenty six,twenty-seven...er,er....thirty three, thirty four,thirty-five waves to the right, and there's a bit of drift wood, with a Great Northern Diver flying over it..... Now!" "Er.... I've got the boat!"
Montagu's Harrier silhouetted against the evening sky on the Berkshire Downs
Map of the Oxfordshire/Gloucestershire border. The Long-tailed Shrike has often been sitting more or less exactly at the intersection of the boundary (runs to to bottom) and the bridleway running left to right
Long-tailed Shrike perched against sky in a Blackthorn
Plot of temperatures from the meteorological station on the roof of Oxford Physics dept for the 60 days leading up to 13 July. Black line shows average with coloured bands showing the daily variation. Three major peaks well above 30 C - one in late May, one in late June, and current one.
Male Stonechat with food for recently fledged young
Two islands in a blue sea from plane window.
Common Swift Oxfordshire June 2026
Farmoor Reservoir, Oxfordshire, looking SW
Short video (phonescoped using Swarovski AT Balance, handheld) of first summer American Golden Plover at Otmoor, Oxfordshire., 18 April 2026. Bird is running and pausing among vegetation & finds food several times. A Lapwing in the foreground.
Video of a first summer American Golden Plover running on mud and hiding in vegetation with a Grey Plover
Poor record shot of a male Stejneger's Scoter, East Wemyss, Fife 16 March 2026. Bird shows slight 'horn' on bill and very elongated head
Two adult Bewick’s Swans - heads and necks visible above grassy bank - against a background of reeds and open water.
Second calendar year Ring-billed Gull on Port Meadow 7 March 2026 (front) with second calendar year Herring Gull behind.
Schematic illustration of variation in selection predominantly determined by (a) spatial effects, (b) temporal effects or (c) spatio-temporal effects
The Old Lower Light at Portland Bill - home of Portland Bird Observatory
Photo shows hand holding hardback book About Wytham Woods
Common Tern Museum at the Bantersee