March 2023 Review

Highlights

I don’t know about anyone else but I haven’t quite looked forward to a spring as much as this one. Although every birder and maybe everyone in the country looks forward to the lighter evenings and warmer climes of spring and the potential they bring, but something about this past winter has had me particular eager for the arrival of our first returning migrant. In any case I spent most of March stomping around the patch most days in the hope of picking up an early Little Ringed Plover or Sand Martin. Whilst everyone else seemed to be getting in on the action from the 10^th onwards I seemed doomed to be the last person in the county to see either species! Eventually both turning up on my patch in the last few days and after the county had recorded its first Wheatear, Willow Warbler and Swallow.

With a flurry of early records of some migrant species including our first Yellow Wagtail, Sedge Warbler and Willow Warbler as well as a smattering of rarities in the mix the Oxon count year list now stands at 158 with an additional 4 non-BOU species or subspecies also recorded. Given the recent major influx of Alpine Swift I, like I am sure many of you, had hoped to be writing about the first modern day twitchable record for the county. Unfortunately, although birds were recorded well inland and within 60 - 70 miles either side of the county none were destined to break Oxon airspace! The highlight for the month then however turns to another Nearctic duck of even greater rarity than the one that preceded it.

Lesser Scaup

For the fourth month in a row the highlight for the review period is a duck of Nearctic origin. A Lesser Scaup is a real rare beast for the county with the last genuine record going back to 2008 with a 1^st winter drake at Sutton Courtenay/Appleford GP’s. In recent years there have been a number of near misses with either several or more possibly the same returning hybrid turning up Farmoor, giving the counties birders plenty of excuses to gen up on the salient identification features and the pitfalls of hybrid birds. So when a probable drake was reported again from Farmoor on the 2^nd March, you could forgive some healthy scepticism of the record. Luckily some clear images were taken which appeared to show the clear identifying features needed to confirm the record, with some lucky locals getting to site that evening before the site shut for the night. 

The Farmoor Lesser Scaup courtesy of Jim Hutchinson

Records of Lesser Scaup for Oxon

Nature of record	Site	Year
Adult drake (later identified as a hybrid)	Farmoor	2017
Adult drake (later identified as a hybrid)	Farmoor	2010
Probable drake	Henley Road GP’s	2008 (November)
1st winter drake	Sutton Courtenay GP’s	2008 (January – February)
1st winter drake	Sonning Eye GP’s	2007 (January – February)
Female (identified from film footage after initially reported as greater scaup)	Farmoor and later Pinkhill reserve(!)	2000
Drake	Little Farringdon GP’s	1994

 The rush, though, was proved not warranted the bird would continue to remain on Farmoor for the rest of the month and was twitched widely from plenty of out of county birders. The bird, seemingly the drake from Staines Reservoir, showed incredibly well at times and afforded many a stunning image as well allowing some scrutiny for aging the individual something which became a much discussed topic. It is pretty remarkable to think that in this winter we have four of the five regularly Nearctic duck species (Lesser Scaup, American Wigeon, Green-winged teal and Ring-necked Duck) after many blank years for three of the species. What’s even more remarkable is that in a single morning you could see three of these species within the county’s border – an event a few readily took part in. A reminder that although it feels like our county is missing out in terms of rarity regularity, when they do turn up it is arguably even sweeter an experience. Blue-winged teal next anyone?!

Courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

Honourable Mention

When a Great Grey Shrike was reported from Buckinghamshire from a private site on the 17^th March I didn’t think much of it other than ‘oh well that’s a shame’. It turns out the site in question actually runs on the Oxon Bucks border and that the individual was likely still present and even had probably been nipping back and forth over the Oxon border! Unfortunately the site remains strictly private and unless you were incredibly lucky, any vigil from the limited PRoW is likely to have resulted in a blank. With the regularly occurring winter population collapsing in recent years, mostly in part down to the phenomenon of short-stopping that is now taken up by several species, records of Great Grey Shrike are in serious decline. Although the last record came in 2020 the last twitchable record came 5 years ago in 2018.

Waders

The much anticipated return migration of migrant waders usually begins in earnest when the first Little Ringed Plover is reported in the country after what has sometimes felt like an eternity since they left. The first pioneering bird returned to the country as whole, or at least the first reported bird, came on the 1^st. Oxfordshire then had to wait another 9 days before its first record which came from Otmoor on the 10^th. This was quickly followed up by Port Meadow on the 12^th and Sutton Courtenay on the 14^th. A further five sites recorded birds up until the end of the month with a high count of 4 birds at the new scape at Days Lock on the 15^th.

The first serious movement of any waders through the county came on the 3^rd when 24 Dunlin flew over Farmoor, a notable record for the time of year. Records then came from a further six sites with Port Meadow, Days Lock, Sutton Courtenay, North Cross Valley, Otmoor and Grimsbury all logging birds throughout the month. The first Ringed Plover of the season came from Port Meadow on the 7^th whilst between 1 and 7 Redshank were present here from the 2^nd until 27^th at least, with a further four sites recording at least 1 Redshank (Sutton Courtenay, Bicester, Balscote Quarry and Pit 60). 3 Ruff were on Otmoor on the 17^th and continued until at least the 19^th with 11 Black-tailed Godwit were here a few days later on the 20^th and 6 remaining until the 21^st. A cracking flock of 29 birds dropped in on Port Meadow towards the end of the month on the 29^th, with the birds being accompanied by lone Greenshank - a remarkably early record for the species and one of my favourite waders to see in Oxfordshire. The flock increased to 31 birds the following day whilst the Greenshank had departed.

The 29 Black-tailed Godwits on Port Meadow, courtesy of Matthew Lloyd

 

Green Sandpiper continued to be ever present in the county with a slight increase in numbers and sites as is expected at this time of year. Five sites recorded at least one bird with a maximum of 4 at Bicester Wetlands on the 28^th of the month. Woodcock continued to be recorded but only from two sites – Piddington continued to be in the flight path for a single bird commuting at dusk on the 14^th whilst another bird was picked up from Cholsey on the 11^th. A lone Jack Snipe was seemingly flushed by works around Farmoor on the 8^th after it was picked up in flight over the reservoir, another two birds were recorded from North Moor on the 27^th. Aside from the expected birds at Otmoor Curlew were recorded from Farmoor and Days Lock. 

Wildfowl

Apart from the aforementioned Lesser Scaup, the highlight of the period was the long staying American Wigeon which continued throughout and until the end of the month. As has been the case previously the bird has continued to remain distant on Otmoor and has certainly not afforded the same close views our most recent American vagrant has. Our 3^rd American species, a female Ring-necked Duck, also continued to be present at Appleford GP’s on and off throughout the month. The pair had returned to Pit 60 on the 30^th along with a drake Tufted Duck X Ring-necked Duck hybrid that has been recorded on occasion.

The Otmoor American Wigeon, courtesy of Badger

An unconfirmed report of 5 Whooper Swan came from fields close to the M40 just outside of Bicester on the 4^th, after some searching from birders nearby the report unfortunately remained unconfirmed. March sees a brilliant overlap of wintering wildfowl with their spring counterparts and with that the first Garganey of the spring was reported from Blackthorn with a drake present on the 16^th, unfortunately this bird didn’t linger long enough for anyone else to enjoy this most stunning of ducks. The wintering Scaup remained mostly faithful the great concrete bowl of Farmoor although it did briefly visit Dix Pit on the 17^th which gave one of our PWC birders a nice bit of Patch Gold. Two drake Scaup also continued to be reported on and off from Henley GP’s throughout the month with the latest record coming on the 26^th.

The Farmoor Greater Scaup, courtesy of Jonathan Mercer

The White-fronted Geese of unknown origin continued to be recorded from Port Meadow early in the month on the 1^stand 5^th and Pit 60 later in the month on 19^th, the birds then returned to Port Meadow on the 29^th. Another unconfirmed report came from a Black-necked Grebe record from Otmoor on the 26^th and again this sighting remained unconfirmed with the warder at Otmoor not able to locate the bird the following day. Shelduck were spread right across the county this month with multiple birds recorded at numerous sites. A maximum of 8 came from Port Meadow on the 14^th and 24^th. Additional records came from Bicester (1 on 1^st – 15^th), Henley Road GP’s (2 on 16^th – 26th), Hatford (2 on 18^th), Otmoor (4 on 20^th) and Grimsbury Reservoir (2 on 21^st).

Goosander records dwindled somewhat as birds began to move away from the county, with only four sites recording birds this month – Radley GP (4^th), Kings Lock (4^th – 18^th), Port Meadow (6^th – 20^th) and Blenheim (17^th).

Appleford Ring-necked Duck courtesy of Paul Wren

Herons, Egrets etc

The obvious pick of the bunch for this group came early in the month when a pair of adult Spoonbill dropped in on Otmoor on the 5^th of the month. Unfortunately these were gone the following day and continued on to pastures elsewhere.  Can we now expect this to become an annual occurrence after last year’s multiple records throughout the year? It seems likely given the trajectory of the species elsewhere. 

The Two Otmoor Spoonbills, courtesy of Terry Sherlock

Courtesy of Rob Cadd

Much to everyone’s delight after a long winter absence the Cattle Egret finally returned to their breeding grounds at Blenheim with two on the 30^th. After seemingly enjoying some time in the southwest and possibly even on the Isles of Scilly, lets hope we can look forward to another successful breeding season. Great White Egret continued to be recorded at Blenheim with a maximum of 3 here throughout the month. A further three sites recorded single birds with Pit 60 recorded throughout the month, Bicester on the 19^th and Otmoor on the 21^st and 25^th .

Three Egret Species at Blenheim, courtesy of Gareth Cashburn

Gulls

A surprise record came from Port Meadow on the 18^th when a very early Sandwich Tern flew through, in what has proved a very productive month for one of the counties premier sites. Another early record came from Farmoor on the 29^th when a Common Tern seemingly pushed down during a downpour and hung around the reservoir until late in the day, whilst another was present on the 31^st. And right at the 11^th hour Farmoor produced not only the counties first but possible even the countries first Arctic Tern of the spring accompanying the previously mentioned Common Tern. A bird 3 days ahead of the UK median return date for the species! Another at the 11th hour record came in just before the review was finished with a cracking 1st winter Kittiwake at Pit 60, a typical species to drop in with the current weather system and nice patch tick to boot for the dedicated birder there! 

Caspian Gull were mostly recorded from Port Meadow this month with at least three different individuals recorded – a 1^st winter, 3^rd winter and an adult as well as a hybrid Herring Gull X Caspian Gull on the 15^th. An adult was also recorded on Pit 60 on the 17^th whilst a 1^st winter was at Farmoor the same day. Mediterranean Gull were also present regularly at Port Meadow with an adult and a 1^st winter recorded throughout the month, whilst an adult was recorded once at Dix Pit on the 4^th of the month. 

Above 1w & below a 3w Caspian Gull on Port Meadow, courtesy of Thomas Miller

Adult Mediterranean Gull on Port Meadow courtesy of Gnome

Passerines etc

An interesting record of a Water Pipit came from Dix Pit on the 22^nd. No further details were provided but the record appeared to come from eBird with no accompanying notes. Much more reliable were several records of Rock Pipit coming from Farmoor throughout the month with a maximum of two seen at any one time. Another record came from Witney on the 24^th , a great local find given how hard records from Farmoor can be year to year. 

Farmoor Rock Pipit courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

The first Hirundine of the spring came when a single bird was recorded over Farmoor on the 9^th, this was followed by 2 on the 14^th. The first birds away from Farmoor came from Grimsbury with 4 on the 15^th and 6 at Days Lock the same day. Larger groups were recorded a few days later with groups of 30 at Grimsbury Reservoir (16^th) 20 at Blenheim (17^th) and 40+ at Dix Pit (21^st). The first Swallow wasn’t too far behind when a lone bird came from Tackley on the 22^nd, single birds then followed at Blenheim on the 23^rd, Port Meadow on the 25^th and Grimsbury Reservoir on the same day. 14 were later recorded at Pit 60 on the back of some heavy downpours. We even managed to get our first House Martin of the spring when a single bird was seen at Blenheim again on the back of heavy showers.

Swallow at Lark Hill 25/3 courtesy of Simon Bradfield

 

Who doesn’t love a Wheatear? It doesn’t really feel like spring until you’ve seen your first one. The county’s first came on the 15^th up on the Oxon downs at Aston Upthorpe. This was then followed by 3 birds at Cholsey on the 16^th and South Leigh on the 17^th. Records then came thick and fast thereafter with a further 13 sites recorded at least one bird between the 18^th and the end of the month. A whopping 10 birds were recorded Sarsgrove on the 22^nd, which is certainly the most I can remember being recorded in recent years. White Wagtail were not too far behind with the first bird at Port Meadow on the 16^th, the bird remaining there until the 21^st with a 2^nd bird joining on the 20^th.  Further birds came from Witney (24^th), Blenheim (30^th) and Farmoor (30^th). 

Lollingdon Hill Wheatear, courtesy of Alan Dawson

 

In a month of some early records the first Yellow Wagtail came from Grimsbury Reservoir on the 27^th and remained until the 30^th at least. A single Sedge Warbler was heard singing at Otmoor on the 27^th whilst the very first Willow Warbler was singing at Pit 60 on the 19^th. Further records of Willow Warbler with its melancholic song came from Frilford (20^th), Radley (25^th), Farmoor (26^th) and Port Meadow (31st).

Grimsbury Reservoir Yellow Wagtail courtesy of Kyle Smith

 

Birds hanging on from winter came in the form of the group Hawfinch remaining at Great Tew with up to 25 birds still in the church yard until the 8^th with only 9 remaining by the 12^th of the month. Brambling continued at Balscote Quarry in what seems to be a bit of a staging ground for the species. A maximum of 9 were here on the 15^th with the last record of 3 birds coming on the 29^th of the month. The Siberian Chiffchaff remained at Port Meadow throughout the month and was recorded on and off by Burgess Gate.

Great Tew Hawfinch courtesy of Paul Mattingly

Raptors

Osprey season got underway towards the end of the month when the first bird of the spring migration was seen fishing at Farmoor on the 27^th. Presumably the same bird was later seen fishing on the Thames by Farmoor on the 29^th and later further south in Dorchester-on-Thames. A bird was then seen at Blenheim on the 30^th briefly before seen to head north.

Blenheim Osprey courtesy of Gareth Cashburn

Farmoor Osprey courtesy of Yacky Morris.

A single Hen Harrier record came on the 20^th from Otmoor but no details of age or sex was attached to the record but presumably this was the ringtail that has been seen on and off over the winter. A lone Short-eared Owl continued on the Oxon downs with regular reports from the Devils Punchbowl and the around Sparsholt. Merlin records came from five sites all relating to immature or female birds – Drayton, near Banbury (10^th), Towersey (17^th), Childrey Field (25^th-27^th), Port Meadow (25^th) and Letcombe Regis (28^th).

Patchwork Challenge

 With spring well and truly underway the Oxon PWC patches are continuing to produce some very decent local birding overall. Most sites seems to have seen at least one of our earlier arrival migrants with a few sites having recorded several. Sand Martin have been seen in good numbers at Blenheim, Dix Pit and Grimsbury Reservoir. Blenheim in particular seems to have had a cracking end to the month recording Osprey, the county’s first returning House Martin and most enjoyable of the return of our now local colony of Cattle Egret – all in a single day.

Otmoor Sand Martin courtesy of Paul Wyeth

Grimsbury Reservoir recorded the first returning Yellow Wagtail on the 27^th and with it remaining there until the end of the month. Dix Pit had somewhat of a decent spell this month with a stunning adult Mediterranean Gull at the start of the month and then the long-staying Farmoor Scaup made a brief appearance. Merlin seemed to have a good showing across the patches with at least 3 recording birds up to this point.

I believe most patches, outside of the urban ones in Oxford, have now recorded Little Ringed Plover with the highest counts for the county coming from Days Lock and Port Meadow each with 4 birds. Although seemingly no patches have yet recorded Wheatear yet, which is strange given the spread and number in the county over the last week or so. On my own patch the Little Ringed Plover are back on territory and displaying, whilst up to 3 Willow Warbler were singing this afternoon on a very wet walk. The next couple weeks will bring some more returning warbler species en masse, which at the very least should bring some more spring cheer.

Patch	Birder	Points	Species	Target points	Percentage of target	Highlights
Aston eyot	Ben Sheldon	58	56	90	64.44	Firecrest/Tufted Duck
Blenheim	Gareth Casburn	98	87	100	98	Osprey/Cattle egret
Dix pit	Simon Bradfield	72	66	75	96	Scaup/ Med Gull
Grimsbury reservoir	Gareth Blockley	78	72	130	60	Kittiwake/Yellow Wagtail
Lye valley	Tom Bedford	59	56	80	73.75	Firecrest/Goosander
River Thames	Geoff Wyatt	95	86	122	77.87	Merlin
Sutton Courtenay	Conor MacKenzie	104	92	140	74.29	Siberian Chiffchaff/Ring- necked Duck/Pintail
East challow	Mark Merritt	57	55	83	68.67	Merlin

 

Farmoor Pelagic July 2004

by Steve Heath

On 4/7/2004 a Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) was found on the River Thames near Pinkhill by Koel Ko. It was then located the next evening by Chris Perrins and Chris Pack, and was seen eating fish on the Thames behind Shrike Meadow, an extraordinary sight for the observers. The bird then moved to F2 on 6th. I went to Farmoor Res early that morning and was alerted by a fisherman to an odd bird he had seen on F2. I scanned F2 and located the Fulmar out in the middle looking settled. I rang round the sighting on the Teletree* and walked up the causeway for a better view. I was joined by Nic Hallam and Dai John, they had possibly seen it previously that morning (it was 19 years ago! so my memory is a bit foggy). Nic suggested renting a boat to go out and have a look at it. So,the Farmoor Pelagic was born.  With Nic at the helm, 3 men in a boat, Oxfordshire style, set sail. We had excellent views of this County rarity as it tucked into a trout, allowing me to digiscope it with my trusty Nikon E4300 and Opticron 75mm scope, no mean feat on a mill pond. I am not sure if this was the first Farmoor Pelagic or whether it was ever repeated but, it is amongst my fondest birding memories in the county. The bird was last seen on 07/07/2004 on F2.

Farmoor legends Nic Hallam & Dai Johns.

Up until 2004 there had been 10 records of Fulmar in the county. The first in 1836, the most recent prior to the 2004 bird was in 1993, a bird was found grounded near Burford on 9th May. It was taken to Blue Cross Animal Sanctuary . It was found to be underweight but recovered after feeding and returned to the coast. There has been one further record of Fulmar at Farmoor: a bird was seen flying over the reservoir on 11th July 1981. The most recent record of Fulmar in the county was on 19th May 2017, a single bird at Grimbsbury Reservoir , found by SHH.

I wish to thank Jon Uren for supplying the data.
 

Steve Heath. March 2023.

All photographs Steve Heath

*Before the advent of smart phones, the Teletree was set up to disseminate bird sightings in the County. The Tree was divided into groups, the members of that group contacted each other and passed on the information to the other groups on the Tree. In theory the finder of a notable bird or information would eventually get a call back and the circle was completed. That is the gist of it. I think there were about 30 active birders at the time on the Tree. Apologises if I have got some of this wrong.

Book Review

We're all trying to do our bit for the environment, so this engaging and thought 

provoking book would hope to inspire some rethinking of our beloved pastime.

Good birding all.