October Review

October in Oxfordshire was maybe always unlikely to live up to the heights of September, with most of the news concerning regular seasonal birds. Though national birders with the stamina, motivation and means to reach some farthest flung outposts of the British Isles celebrated a quite exceptional month for a succession of rarities, our own county failed to produce even one local mega. Amongst all the patch parish notices that filled this log the following perhaps stood out most for being notable and in some cases accessible.

Dartford Warbler, courtesy of Roger Wyatt
click on any image to enlarge

This review period's outstanding sighting had to be a Dartford Warbler found by the Thames at Chimney Meadows in west Oxon on 10th. Such an elusive item was not likely to mobilise Oxon's finest in great numbers, though this skulker was glimpsed once more a day later and speculation remains that it might stay with us for the winter for those who might normally be diligent enough to seek it out.

Farmoor Rock Pipit, courtesy of Jeremy Dexter

Otmoor Water Pipit, courtesy of Fergus Mosey

Some of the other highlights involved more regularly occurring small passerines. The annual autumn migrant Rock Pipit made a strong showing at Farmoor Reservoir throughout October, with a peak count of five birds on 4th and three on each of 17th and 25th. Two more were logged at Grimsbury Reservoir in Banbury on 16th. More unusually near month's end on 28th a Water Pipit was found and photographed on Otmoor by a member of the RSPB staff, though not in an area of the reserve that is publicly accessible.

Video courtesy of Badger

A Black Redstart was located and subsequently filmed at Letcombe Basset, near Wantage on 17th while the last passage Common Redstart record of autumn came from Cholsey on 5th. Whinchat continued to occur here and there until 10th and Wheatear to 22nd.

Yellow-browed Warbler, courtesy of Roger Wyatt

Near month's end on 30th the third Yellow-browed Warbler of autumn for Oxon and second for Farmoor was found near Pinkhill Meadow. That's a good tally for our land-locked county, and a little further up the scarcity scale during a month that saw near neighbours Beds and Warks each score as elusive Red-flanked Bluetail.

Whooper Swan, courtesy of Colm O'Caomhanaigh

Further up the size scale three returning seasonal wildfowl made their mark. The first Whooper Swan of late autumn lingered in Port Meadow from 10th to 12th. Shortly afterwards a female Scaup was an Oxon vanguard of that relocating northern duck at Farmoor from 18th, soon followed by another at Dix Pit from 24th. Goosander were logged in Port Meadow and points northward from 16th onward.

Farmoor Scaup (fem), courtesy of Roger Wyatt

Great White Egret, courtesy of Jeremy Dexter

Great White Egret continued to grow their seasonal presence, being reported from 10 different sites with up to five birds at Blenheim and four on Otmoor. A true scarcity in this group, a Glossy Ibis landed for 20 minutes in Port Meadow on 25th before flying off again in the direction of Otmoor. That closely mirrored an occurrence in November 2018 when a previous county record was also first seen above the Thames at Farmoor before being pictured in flight over the RSPB reserve. Now, though a "possible" sighting was quoted from Otmoor later in the same day this month's bird was not re-located.

Caspian Gull (1w), courtesy of Thomas Miller

Kittiwakes (1w), courtesy of Thomas Miller

Another autumn staple with a build up in sightings was Caspian Gull. Variously aged individuals were recorded at Farmoor Reservoir and Appleford throughout the month. In this group Mediterranean Gull also roosted on occasion at both Farmoor and Port Meadow, and a possible Azorean Yellow-legged Gull gave added incentive to our larid enthusiasts at the latter site on 24th. Two first winter Kittiwake were picked out in the Farmoor roost on the evening of 28th.

Short-eared Owl over Farmoor Reservoir, courtesy of David Hastings

The final week of October also saw the return of Short-eared Owl to Oxfordshire, with first records from Otmoor and over Farmoor Reservoir both occurring on 26th. This iconic item is traditionally a popular draw in the weeks that now lie ahead.

Common Snipe at BWR, courtesy of Nick Truby

A bird not normally featured herein but which seems worthy of mention is the Common Snipe, that the month's wet conditions clearly suited. Amongst records from nine different sites, counts of 189 at Waterstock (17th), 76 at Graven Hill (14th) and 60 at Bicester Wetland Reserve (16th) were the highest. Jack Snipe were sighted in the northern Thame valley on two occasions in mid-month.

Ring-necked Parakeet, courtesy of Christopher Knight

Lastly, this review's novelty item is the now burgeoning population of Ring-necked Parakeet in and around Oxford's University Parks. 11 were reported from there on 20th when the above picture was taken. So overall October could perhaps be described as producing a range of solid though largely unspectacular records, when the general accessibility or otherwise of the most notable sightings is taken into account. Now the short daylight hours of winter and a second period of national lockdown await.

Peter Law

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