September Review

Arctic Tern (juv), courtesy of Steve Burch

Much of September was unusually quiet for a peak passage month. While not too distant inland  counties enjoyed confiding Spotted Crake, settled Pallid Harrier and twitchable Pectoral Sandpiper, the birdscape in Oxfordshire remained much as it had through August until the fourth week. Then a threesome of more notable if now annual species chose to enliven the autumnal scene a little more.



Grey Phalarope at Grimsbury Reservoir, courtesy of John Taylor

Grey Phalarope at Sonning Eye, courtesy of Roger Wyatt

Following an Atlantic storm on 20th, a widespread national influx of Grey Phalarope at inshore and inland waters deposited lost waifs at two Oxon locations. The first was in the north of the county at Grimsbury Reservoir on 21st. Then a day later a second bird arrived at Sonning Eye GPs in the far south-east, and this one remained until 24th. Wader passage was otherwise steady but unremarkable.

Great White Egret, courtesy of Jim Hutchins

Next, on 25th a Great White Egret returned to the Lower Windrush Valley, being found at pit 38 then later pit 60 near Standlake. These majestic herons over-wintered there in recent years, so it is hoped this newly arrived bird will remain with us too.

Black-necked Grebe, courtesy of Dai John

At month's end Farmoor Reservoir hosted it's fourth Black-necked Grebe of 2018, a smart individual being discovered on the morning of 29th. The concrete bowl had also produced some earlier records of note, with a Shag reported there on 1st, a Jack Snipe seen on the causeway on 6th, and an Osprey over on 8th. None of those lingered.

Caspian Gull at Farmoor (1w) courtesy of Roger Wyatt

Through the month 's first to third weeks it was Gulls and Terns that had rather stood out. Up to six separate Caspian Gull were observed on a number of occasions. One moulting into third winter was filmed at Appleford on 8th, while a first winter was photographed at Farmoor Reservoir on 8th and again on 21st, and a third winter was logged at Appleford on 23rd. Three more juvenile / first winters frequented Didcot landfill on and off from 5th to month's end. A late Little Gull was noted briefly at LWV pit 10 on 16th.


 

Caspian Gull nearing completion of its moult into 3rd winter courtesy of Badger



Black Tern (juv) at Farmoor, courtesy of Terry Sherlock

Black Tern (juv) at Farmoor, courtesy of Nick Truby

Black Tern passage at Farmoor continued until 8th, while a much later individual visited Dix Pit on 22nd. Arctic Tern continued to pass through Farmoor to month's end, with a succession of juveniles recorded there from 11th, as well as at Sonning Eye between 22nd and 24th. Two Sandwich Tern were also seen circling Sonning Eye briefly on 23rd.

Arctic Tern (juv) at Farmoor, courtesy of Terry Sherlock

The Best of the Rest

In general, with prevailing westerly winds and largely benign conditions between occasional squalls, the word "quiet" kept occurring on county patch blogs time and again. This was especially true of Otmoor where even the regular Marsh Harriers had absented themselves. But a Short-eared Owl was seen there on 15th and 17th.

Amongst the seasonal passerines, a passage Wood Warbler was found at the woodland reserve by Grimsbury Reservoir on 3rd. On the same day Whincat, Wheatear, Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher were all logged at a single site, that being Lollingdon Hill near Cholsey.

Wheatear, courtesy of Nick Truby

Whinchat continued to be noted in good numbers around our meticulously worked county patches until 23rd, while the latest Wheatear records also occurred on that date. The last recorded Redstart of autumn was at Lark Hill, Wantage on 11th; with three Wheatear also there that day, and a respectable six Whinchat on 20th.

Spotted Flycatcher at Otmoor, courtesy of Ewan Jones

A Pied Flycatcher moved through Lollingdon Hill on 11th, and another was reported at Thrupp on 15th. Meanwhile Spotted Flycatcher produced both records and picture opportunities through to 26th.

A first Merlin of the autumn was spotted on the Downs on 9th, while an urban Peregrine flew low over Oxford High Street on 20th. This month also produced some Ring-necked Parakeet sightings in urban locations. The colourful screechers announced themselves around Oxford between 18th and 23rd, and over Didcot on 22nd; suggesting they may be expanding from their traditional toe-hold just inside the county at Henley-on-Thames.

Siskin, courtesy of Jeremy Dexter

Lastly, as a presage of approaching winter, a 30 strong Siskin flock was located at Buckland Warren in west Oxon on 27th. So the month just passed produced a selection of good county records for our roving birders and much more of interest to our patch watchers. Call me a ticker if you wish but I for one will be hoping for something a little more stand-out and rather more that is twitchable in October.

Peter Law

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Blog Matters

Our experiment with the mobile version of the Blog seems to have been met with approval so with no complaints about it and some positive comments as well, we've decided to keep it like this for now. It's certainly much easier and faster to load out in the field and you can always switch over to the full web-version if you want.

Jason & Adam