Confirmed Breeding of Bearded Tits and excellent Turtle Dove pictures.

Turtle dove pictures (c) Andrew Marshall

The pictures posted by Peter Coombes on the O.B.L. of two juvenile Bearded Tits taken in conjunction with the adult female found earlier this month, indicates that Bearded Tits have bred   somewhere on Otmoor this spring. This would be the first breeding record in the county. There are disputed records of them breeding along the Thames before 1838. Post breeding dispersal takes place in the autumn and juveniles moult into adult plumage during July. The B.W.P. says that they can produce between two and four broods in a season and so it is not unreasonable to look for more youngsters before the end of July. The size of the main reedbed and the supplementary ones out on Greenaways and along the main ditches mean that it is quite possible for them to have nested successfully without being noticed.
This is very exciting news and hopefully is the start of the establishment of  a regular breeding colony.Congratulations to the RSPB on creating and managing the right habitat.