March News

George Reszeter 1946-2018.

With the tragically unexpected death of George Reszeter from a stroke on Friday 16th March, aged just 72, UK birding lost one of its pioneers in rare bird photography. Nowadays everyone is a photographer but George was one of the first, an original. From the late 80's and through the 90's along with Dave Cottridge, Tim Loseby and Steve Young, George was one of the very few to wield a big lens. Back then he was a regular sight at twitches and a very familiar face on Scilly during October where birders would queue to buy one of his prints as a permanent record of the days birding highlights.

George was born in Poland in 1946 and moved with his family to Oxford when he was four. He married Patsy in 1966 and until his retirement in 2008 he spent 25 years as a professional photographer for the Oxford Mail, often concentrating on sports, with a particular interest in capturing the highs and lows of his beloved Oxford United FC.

Gorgeous Redsetter, as he was affectionately known, was extremely generous both with his time and photographic knowledge. He would share tips on where to see a particular species and be the first to offer a lift for a twitch. Because of our propensity to want to spend more time at birds than others (him for photography, me for sketching) we became regular twitching partners. He was always quick to offer to drive, no matter how far and I was always happy to navigate. His in car entertainment of choice for these epic journeys was invariably Leonard Cohen which for me was just about bearable on short successful twitches but less so on Scottish dips. George would sing along with Leonard all the way.

Aside from being with his family George was never happier than when patiently staking out a target species whose movements he had studied in order to predict its next appearance. Success would instigate a celebration akin to Oxford United scoring.

Inevitably George was involved in some of the more notorious events on Scilly. Heading this list was the infamous midnight skinny-dipping episode. Here his experience and skill as a top professional paparazzi came to the fore and the evidence of his lensmanship on that evening still exist in print.

As the Scilly (photographic) scene declined in the mid 2000's George preferred foreign trips to satisfy his now digital-pic fix, with southern Turkey and Cyprus becoming particular favourites. Indeed, he discovered the latter's second Namaqua Dove and documented it with fabulous images and his artistic shot of a Citrine Wagtail and its reflection was awarded 7th place in British Birds Bird Photographer of the Year 2016.

It's probably difficult to imagine nowadays but in the 1990s a big twitch would comprise of 498 telescopes and two big lens. Not only did George have excellent field-craft as far as the bird was concerned, uniquely, he was considerate and spatially aware of all humanity around him but woe betide any who didn't exhibit the same thoughtfulness.

George didn't just photograph rare birds, his patience and guile predicated some stunning images of common species taken locally. None illustrate this dedication more than what was probably the first and certainly the best ever series of shots documenting the eviction of Reed Warbler chicks from their nest by a juvenile Cuckoo. The photos, taken at Radley GPs were published in Birds Illustrated magazine in the early 90's.

George lived in Lashford Lane (Dry Sandford) right next to a small nature reserve. His garden became an extension of that natural refuge and he enjoyed encouraging the local wildlife to spill onto his patch . . . for a photo-shoot of course. He was also a fine cook and took great pleasure in entertaining friends with fabulous curries inspired from ideas garnered from several trips to the Indian Sub-continent. George was so much more than a brilliant bird photographer, he was a great character, funny, up-beat, generous and always had a 'Yo!' and a smile to greet you. He was fundamentally a really nice bloke and we will all miss him. Our thoughts go to Patsy his wife and his sons Jason and Lee.

Ian Lewington.

March Highlights.

Osprey Farmoor Reservoir courtesy of Roger Wyatt.

The calendar may well have said is was spring but the weather remained firmly rooted in winter. The bad weather and adverse prevailing winds meant that our much looked-forward-to spring migration got off to a very sluggish start. Records for early migrants, Sand Martins, Wheatear etc., seemed, at least subjectively, down on previous years. In terms of headline birds pickings were few and far between with a fly-over of 5 Pink-footed Geese at Standlake on the 4th and a number of sightings of the over-wintering Great Grey Shrike at Baulking throughout the month being the pick of the bunch.
The month was once again dominated by the number of Hawfinch sightings.

The long staying pair of Black-necked Grebes at Dix Pit Stanton Harcourt courtesy of Tom Bedford.

Two Black-necked Grebes were present on Dix Pit throughout the month with other sightings at Sonning Gravel Pits on the 18th and Farmoor on the 4th (see Tom Bedfords superb piece on these enigmatic small grebes below).

Hawfinch Swyncombe courtesy of Roger Wyatt.

Chiffchaff arrived en masse from around the 25th onwards with multiple sightings of singing birds around the county. A brave Williow Warbler was reported from a very wet Dix Pit on the last day of the month. A Black Restart was recorded from a private site at Crowmarsh Gifford on the 21st. Rock Pipits were seen at Farmoor on the 25th and 27th. The first Wheatear of the year was recorded at Farmoor on the 12th. 

Brambling Lower Heyford courtesy of Norman Smith.

The poor weather did have the advantage of pushing an unusual number of Bramblings into our gardens providing a welcome opportunity to watch these lovely birds slowly moulting into summer plumage.

Sand Martin Farmoor Reservoir courtesy of Jeremy Dexter.

The first Sand Martin of the spring was seen from Farmoor on the 12th .The first  Swallow records were reported from  Cholsey Marsh and Blenheim on the last day of the month.

In terms of gulls, Iceland and Med Gulls were regularly reported from Farmoor during the month. Little Gull were seen at Farmoor on the 28th (x4) and the 31st (x2). A Glaucous Gull was reported from Farmoor on the 13th whilst Caspian Gulls were found at Cogges on the 21st and 24th and Dicot Landfill on the 6th

A Kittiwake was reported at Farmoor on the 19th, 21st and 23rd.

Glaucous Gull Farmoor Reservoir courtesy of Roger Wyatt.

Common Scoter were much in evidence in the county during March with 7 reported from Dix Pit on the 25th and 2 on Farmoor from 17th through to the 25th. A Smew as reported at Henley Gravel Pits on the 5th and 7th.

Common Scoter at Dix Pit Stanton Harcourt and part of a mini influx in to the county.

Migrating Osprey were recorded in good numbers towards the end of the month with sightings at Famoor on the 27th, 29th ,30th and 31st and Otmoor on the 30th.

A Sandwich Tern was sighted at Farmoor on the 30th.

The over-wintering Great Grey Shrike was at Baulking on the 4th, 6th and 13th.

Avocet Port Meadow courtesy of Adam Hartley.

An Avocet was a welcome find at Port Meadow on the 13th as was an unseasonal Knot at The Bicester Wetlands Reserve on the 25th and constituted a first for the site.

Knot Bicester Wetlands Reserve courtesy of Nick Truby.

Jack Snipe were reported from Otmoor on the 25th,  Northmoor on the 24th and Yarton Mead on the 20th. Woodcock were reported from Piddington Wood on the 20th and Foxholes on the 3rd.

Little-ringed Plover Grimsbury Res courtesy of John Friendship-Taylor.

The first LRP (Little-ringed Plover) arrived back in Oxfordshire at Banbury's Grimsbury Reservoir on the 19th.

Whooper Swan were regulars during the month with two birds present near Eynsham from the 14th to the 25th plus regular sightings of an immature bird at Otmoor. 5 Pink-footed Gesese, a scarce bird in Oxfordshire, were seen flying through Standlake on the 4th

Juvenile Whooper Swan Otmoor rspb courtesy of Tezzer.

There were two reports of Great White Egret from Otmoor on the 10th and 28th. A Crane was also reported from Otmoor on the 8th. A booming Bittern heard at Otmoor on the 22nd is hopefully the harbinger of more Oxfordshire breeding success this year for this beautiful iconic bird.

Its spring now honestly!



Jim Hutchins

Black-necked Grebe records in Oxfordshire.

Black-necked Grebe is a scarce passage and winter visitor to Oxfordshire but has been recorded in every month of the year and in every year during this period, except for 2008, when there were no records in the county. Scanning a reservoir or gravel pit in spring and finding a summer-plumaged Black-necked Grebe may be the highlight of spring migration for birders in a land-locked county such as Oxfordshire. This article looks at the pattern of occurrence for Black-necked Grebe in the 14 years from 2000 to 2013 inclusive.

As many observers can submit records for each individual bird present, using the total number of records per year on the OOS database does not provide an accurate reflection of the actual number of birds present. The table below was calculated by examining the OOS reports from 2000-2013 and determining the likely number of birds present in each month, rather than the total of submitted observer records. A conservative approach to numbers was taken if birds were reported from nearby locations on consecutive dates, so the real numbers of birds involved may well be higher than this estimate. Figure 1 shows, for example, that there has been a total of 5 Black-necked Grebes recorded in the month January in the years 2000-2013:

Spring records:

There is a clear spike in records beginning in March and increasing in April. These records are of wintering birds returning to their breeding grounds in northern and central England. Black-necked Grebes were recorded in the month of March in three years and in the month of April in six years during the fourteen-year period between 2000 and 2013. There were cumulative totals of 9 birds recorded in March and 18 in April (see figure 1). Birds recorded in early March, such as the birds pictured below at Dix Pit on 7th March 2018, are in predominantly winter plumage. By the end of April most Black-necked Grebes will be in full breeding plumage. 

However, the totals for March and April are inflated by two significant flocks of Black-necked Grebes: 5 birds together at Dix Pit on 6th March 2002 and 7 summer plumaged birds together at Farmoor Reservoir on 27th April 2012. Some of these birds remained for a number of days and gave fabulous views, even performing courtship displays on occasions: 

Breeding season records:

There is only one May record (of two birds on 24th May 2013 at Farmoor) and a single record from June: a bird in full breeding plumage seen at Standlake on 4th June 2000. This is the only June record of Black-necked Grebe in Oxfordshire (OOS Annual Report, 2000) and at time of year when breeding birds are usually on territory, hence the paucity of Oxfordshire records in early summer. This bird could have been a very early failed breeder, but perhaps is more likely to have been a breeding bird dispersing in search of potential nesting habitat. This species is noted for “widespread aerial reconnaissance” (CBWP). 

Post-breeding records: 

The gradual increase in records from July through to September correlates with the arrival of failed breeders and post-breeding dispersal. Failed breeders may leave breeding ponds as early as July, whilst post-breeding dispersal typically occurs from mid-August (Migration Atlas, BTO). This accounts for the gradual rise in Oxfordshire records in the autumn period. In eight of the fourteen years analysed Black-necked Grebes were recorded in September, making this the most productive month overall for records in Oxfordshire, even though the overall number of birds found in September, sixteen, is eclipsed by the total found in April, eighteen. 

Winter records: 

In the western palearctic Black-necked Grebes winter within the breeding range, with movements to the coast when inland water-bodies freeze. CBWP states that most birds are on their wintering grounds by November and that the UK wintering population may receive birds from continental Europe that shelter in the estuaries and inland water bodies of south-east England. Winter records in Oxfordshire increase from October to December (see figure 1) and could conceivably be from both Black-necked Grebes that breed in the UK or from birds that have migrated to southern England from breeding grounds in continental Europe.

A global footnote:

The movements described above are trivial compared to the migration of Black-necked Grebe in other parts of its global range. Hundreds of thousands of Black-necked Grebes are thought to winter in the south Caspian Sea off the coast of Iran, with tens of thousands on Turkish lakes in winter (BTO, Migration Atlas). 

In North America nearly 1.5 million Eared Grebes (the name by which Black-necked Grebes are known in the west) migrate to Lake Mono in California where the adults undergo a complete moult and the juvenile birds a partial moult. The birds at Lake Mono more than double their weight on their autumn staging grounds, their chest muscles shrink as their bodies favour rapid fat deposition. Eared Grebes are rendered flightless during this period and are flightless for up to 9 or 10 months of the year, the longest flightless periods for any species bird capable of flight in the world (Cornell 2017). Eventually the brine shrimp population, on which the vast numbers of grebes feed, collapses.  The grebes, by now having completed their moult,  migrate to the coast, at night. The nocturnal movements of so many birds can leave them prone to weather-related incidents, such as this report of some 4,000 Eared Grebes that landed in a Walmart car park in a storm in Utah in December 2011. In Europe both diurnal and nocturnal migration of Black-necked Grebe has been recorded, in contrast to the purely nocturnal migration of Eared Grebe in North America (Migration Atlas, BTO).

References:

“Bird Atlas 2007-2011”, BTO, 2013.

“The Birds of the Western Palearctic”, concise edition (CWBP); Snow & Perrins; OUP 1998.

“The Migration Atlas”, BTO, 2002.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology; "Eared Grebe" website; 2017;  [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eared_Grebe/overview]

Weblinks to news items on the mass downing of thousands of Eared Grebes in Utah in 2011:

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=18498424

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/more-than-4000-birds-crash-land-in-parking-lot/

Tom Bedford

A gentle reminder.

When posting sightings on goingbirding please leave the 'Post to Oxon Birding Blog' box in the same state (i.e. ticked or unticked) as it first comes up: there is an automatic filter in place to set which species are forwarded to Oxonbirding.

Many Thanks.