November 2021 Review

Headline bird

The headline bird for November in Oxon came well into stoppage time, when just three hours before dusk on the 30^th, a report emerged of a Little Auk on the River Thames at Farmoor. An incredibly rare bird inland, the last record of this species in Oxon was in December 2015, when one was found in a puddle in Chipping Norton. Before this, there was one in 2007 at Shipton-under-Wychwood which was returned to the coast, with the previous record not since 1996, when 2 birds were taken into care and another one at Dorchester managed to fly off! Before that, between 1950 and 1990, there were 14 records, only 3 of which were of live birds. As most of the Little Auks seen in Oxon (including the 2015 one) have either turned up dying or already dead, the last twitchable one was many decades ago, meaning most county birders still needed Little Auk for their county lists! Fortunately, the Little Auk was swiftly relocated within 30 minutes next to the lock at Pinkhill, allowing many birders to come twitch it. Watching the Little Auk bobbing about on the Thames on a Tuesday evening was quite a surreal experience for many of the county’s birders! However, Little Auks aren’t meant to be inland, and with lots of reports of beached auks on the east coast over the last few days, this individual was no doubt blown inland by the recent strong northerly winds. Fortunately, the next morning, it was still alive, and was expertly captured, hopefully soon to be returned to the sea. No doubt the bird of the year in Oxon for many!

Little Auk - Farmoor (Jeremy Dexter)

Some video footage courtesy of Peter Alfrey

Little Auk - Farmoor (Jessica Crumpton)

Waders

As is typical for November, it was a relatively quiet month for waders. There were a couple of records of Jack Snipe during the month, with one at Waterstock on the 21^st and one at Bicester on the 24^th. Boarstall hosted some excellent counts of Woodcock with 7 on the 13^th. There were also records from Otmoor, Cornbury, Fyfield Wick, Begbroke, Burnt Platt Wood, Sydlings Copse and Waterstock.

A Ringed Plover was at Farmoor on the 5^th. That same day, there were 3 Dunlin at Farmoor. The only other record of Dunlin came from the Cherwell Valley, with a single on the 6^th. Redshank were seen at Shillingford on the 7^th and Farmoor on the 7^th and 12^th. Singles of Common Sandpiper were recorded from Farmoor on the 2^nd, 5^th, 7^th, 15^th, and 17^th. Green Sandpiper were reported in small numbers from Ardley, Bicester and Appleford.

Gulls

A new site for gulling, Borrow Pit, consistently produced some superb counts of Caspian Gull throughout November, with an incredible 8 on the 29^th, including three first winters, two second winters, two third winters, and an adult! Appleford continued to provide some excellent records too, with 5 present on the 29^th. Aside from these two sites, there was a fourth winter at Blenheim on the 13^th, comprising the second record for the site. Probably the same individual was seen again on the 26^th. There were also singles at Pit 60 on the 19^th and 28^th.

3w Caspian Gull - Borrow Pit (Dylan Parry-Davies)

1w Caspian Gull - Borrow Pit (Gareth Blockley)

Wildfowl, grebes + divers

Ducks, geese, divers, and grebes provided most of the interest over the last month in Oxon. On the 13^th, a Great Northern Diver was found at Farmoor, though unlike the long-staying individual last winter, this one did not linger, and had departed by the following day. There were multiple records of Ring-necked Duck this month, with the first sighting coming from Dix Pit, with a male present on the 7^th. On the 12^th, a male then appeared at Thrupp Lake, and remained until at least the 29^th. On the 16^th, a male was also seen briefly at Otmoor. Finally, a female was at Appleford from the 18^th to the 22^nd. As a male and a female were seen in the county over the course of November, there must have been at least two Ring-necked Duck present, but whether all the records of males relate to the same individual is unknown. There were a few records of the closely related Scaup too, with a female at Farmoor throughout the month. Possibly the same female visited Dix Pit on the 6^th. From the 9^th to at least the end of the month, there was a first winter male at Sonning Eye GPs, with potentially the same individual at nearby Henley Road GPs on the 21^st. Sonning Eye GPs also hosted a Black-necked Grebe on the 14^th.

Ring-necked Duck - Thrupp Lake (Badger)

Scaup - Farmoor (Roger Wyatt)

There were 3 Whooper Swan at Farmoor on the 5^th, though after landing on F1, they soon flew south. A similarly brief individual was seen flying NE over Otmoor on the 27^th. Goldeneye started to appear in larger numbers with Dix Pit hosting 4 on the 6^th and 7 on the 7^th. There was also 1 at Farmoor on the 2^nd and 2 at Radley on the 13^th. Similarly, Goosander started to arrive back for the winter, with Port Meadow hosting 2 on the 12^th and 1 on the 29^th. The Standlake pits hosted the largest counts though, with 5 on the 21^st, increasing to 9 the next day, and then 11 on the 28^th.

Goosander - Port Meadow (Steve Liptrot)

Onto wildfowl of more questionable origin, there were 2 Red-breasted Geese at Otmoor from the 19^th until at least the 26^th. Whilst this species’ status in Britain is plagued by escapes, this pair seemed like a promising candidate for genuine wild birds, being unringed, and coinciding with arrivals in Essex and Island Barn, London. The pair were also associating with a small group of Barnacle Geese, which have been known to act as a carrier species for Red-breasted Goose in the past. Despite their origin no doubt set to remain unknown, Red-breasted Geese are stunning birds and proved popular for many birders. There were 8 Mandarin at Blenheim on the 3^rd and then 2 on the 23^rd. Otmoor also hosted a pair on the 29^th. There were some high counts of Red-crested Pochard this month, with 28 at Tar Lakes on the 17^th, 12 at Dix Pit on the 7^th and 7 at Farmoor on the 9^th.

Red-breasted Geese - Otmoor (Jeremy Dexter)

To end the wildfowl section, there was a rather attractive-looking hybrid Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser at Standlake from the 5^th to the 7^th, which then moved to Cassington on the 8^th, and finally back to Standlake on the 9^th.

Some video footage courtesy of Terry Godfrey

Egrets, herons, bustards etc

Plenty of Cattle Egret still linger in the county after the breeding success over the summer, with 6 at Eynsham on the 9^th and then 16 on the 18^th. On the 30^th, there were 9 at Wytham. There were also singles from Port Meadow on the 7^th, Blenheim on the 9^th and Pit 60 on the 14^th. Blenheim also hosted a Great White Egret throughout the month, with 2 present on the 23^rd and 29^th. Similarly, Standlake had one present throughout November, with 2 on the 5^th, 8^th, 14^th and 21^st. Singles were also recorded from Tar Lakes, Port Meadow and Day’s Lock. There was also a Great Bustard seen for one day only at Millets Farm on the 12^th.

Cattle Egret - Eynsham (Jeremy Dexter)

Passerines

A Snow Bunting was seen at Farmoor on the 6^th¸though sadly didn’t linger. There were a couple of Hawfinch sightings late in the month, with 1 at Warburg on the 28^th and 7 at South Newington on the 29^th. Harwell Lab hosted a Black Redstart on the 2^nd, and then on the 25^th, both an adult male and a female/first winter type were present. There was a single record of Rock Pipit from Farmoor on the 5^th. Brambling were recorded from 12 sites this month, with the highest count coming from Blenheim, with 30 on the 18^th. Stonechat were recorded from 10 sites this month, with the peak count of 7 from the Cherwell Valley on the 6^th. There were some high vismig counts of Fieldfare with 2650 over Cornbury on the 6^th and 622 over Standlake on the 6^th. The same day at Standlake, there were 1145 Redwing recorded overhead.

Stonechat - Otmoor (Roger Wyatt)

Raptors

There was a ringtail Hen Harrier recorded at Otmoor on a few occasions throughout the month. There were also 2 at Devil’s Punchbowl on the 23^rd. There were singles of Short-eared Owl at Otmoor on the 15^th and Waterstock on the 20^th. On the 29^th, 2 were reported from Otmoor. There were 2 Merlin at Letcombe Basset on the 23^rd, with individuals also seen at Freeland on the 21^st, Childrey on the 21^st and Devil’s Punchbowl on the 23^rd. Up to 3 Marsh Harrier were seen at Otmoor throughout the month. Standlake had 2 on the 5^th, 6^th and 28^th, and 1 on the 18^th. Peregrine were recorded from 8 sites this month, with highest count of 2 coming from Otmoor on the 19^th and Seven Barrows on the 23^rd. 

Short-eared Owl - Otmoor (Roger Wyatt)