May Review

Highlights

What a month May has turned out to be! Typically one of the premier periods in the birding calendar, this year it has exceeded all expectations with five major county rarities making an appearance over the course the month. The Oxon year list is ticking along nicely and now stands at a very respectable 197 with an additional 15 species added in May. With more than half of the year left to go it seems we are on course for a decent year list indeed.

Annual species tallies and trend for this centuary

At times in the last 6 weeks it has felt like the county was its own little enclave of Mediterranean, both in weather and in its avifaunal assemblage with exotic herons, ibises and waders all making appearances. That being said, the month got off to a bad start when the Black-crowned Night Heron at Otmoor failed to show up during an evening vigil by Oxfordshire’s finest from the 2^nd screen looking over the reedbed. A disappointment that was partly made up by the nocturnal soundscape consisting of trumpeting Crane, booming Bittern and the newest addition in form of the dripping song of a Spotted Crake still on territory later that evening. After the excitement of April all of which came at the very end of the month, you’d be forgiven in thinking that our rarity quota may have been done for the spring. Fortunately, less than a week after the failed Night Heron twitch another county mega rocked up at Otmoor.

The great & the good of the county gathering for the Night Heron vigil
(photo courtesy of Tom Bedford)

Black-winged Stilt

Given the mini-invasion into the UK with pairs and even groups touring the country at the beginning of May it is maybe not entirely surprising that one managed to find its way into the county this month. A lone bird found on Otmoor on the 6^th it seemed destined to follow other records when it bunked overnight, with previous birds this century having all been one day records coming in 2017 and 2012. It seemed that this individual possibly linked up with a trio of birds in Northamptonshire the following day before disappearing overnight again. Where it went in the meantime is anybody’s guess but it eventually reappeared on Big Otmoor again on the 15^th, a reappearance that allowed many county listers to get this county mega on their lists. A presumed male bird, it remained unpaired and on Big Otmoor until the 17^th before departing once again, possibly to Slimbridge a few days later.

Nature of record	Site	Date
Adult Pair	Pit 60	12th May 2017
Adult female	Pit 60	12th April 2012
Adult (ringed as nestling at Beauvoir-sur-Mer, Vendée, France, on 16th June 1989.)	Shipton-on-Cherwell (also seen in Lancashire and North Merseyside that year)	8th June 1993
3 Adults (ringed as nestling at Beauvoir-sur-Mer, Vendée, France, on 16th June 1989.)	Radley (presumed same as Anglesey and Cheshire & Wirral.)	8th – 19th June 1993
Killed (no sex or age given)	Shiplake	Pre 1849 no date given
Shot (no sex or age given)	Stanton Harcourt Common	Pre 1776 no date given

Oxon Black-winged Stilt records

Video courtesy of Rob Cadd.

Black-winged Stilt courtesy of Peter Miligan

...and courtesy of Nick Truby

Temminck’s Stint

Although many more records and therefore not quite at the same level of rarity as the previous species with the last record coming in 2018, the actual last gettable record goes all the way back to 2012. Classically a species of mid- late May with many fewer records coming during the Autumn passage, although surprisingly the 2012 record was an overwintering bird at Rushy Common (19^th – 27^th January). A bird on the Farmoor causeway on the evening of the 23^rd then, offered a nice opportunity to get up close and personal with this diminutive wader. It performed beautifully for the few that had managed to get to site before the gates closed. Predictably the bird was not present at all the following day having been replaced by a small flock of 6 Sanderling. A Stint species present on Otmoor on the 27^th was possibly a Temminck’s but frustratingly remained too distant and elusive to confirm ID.

Farmoor Temminck's Stint, courtesy Mick Cunningham.

 

Temminck's Stint, courtesy of Conor Mackenzie

Montagu’s Harrier

A report of a male harrier species coming on the evening of the 23^rd led to much discussion and salivation at the prospect of county mega in the form of a Pallid Harrier. Fortunately though, one lucky observer had taken some photos which were at least enough to identify it as Montagu’s later that evening. A report the following morning led to a mini-twitch ensuing which allowed at least a few lucky birders to connect with this interesting and instructive individual which was aged as 3cy male. It again disappeared though with no sightings for the rest of the day. A report the following morning would appear to be its last with it seemingly departing for better pastures.

Courtesy of Joe Downing

 

The terminal decline and eventual expatriation of Montagu’s as a breeding species in Oxfordshire in 2015 followed by the rest of the UK in 2020 is one of many new depressing realities of the UK’s avifaunal makeup. Let’s hope this young male eventually finds itself a partner somewhere in the east of the country and produces some much needed UK born Monty’s once again.

Montagu's Harrier, courtesy of Joe Downing

Golden Oriole

A singing Golden Oriole found just on the outskirts of Witney on the 25^th capped a mad 24hrs in the county that surely has few equals in recent memory?! It also surely receives the award for the best find whilst answering a call of nature in a lay-by! Golden Oriole records have a habit of being all too brief and/or extremely frustrating, not least because they are well known skulkers. True to form this bird, already limited by its location on private land with few viewing areas took several hours to even get a view. After been chased by a Mistle Thrush it seemingly decided to become even more elusive and remained silent and unseen for a few more hours. This was enough for some (myself painfully included) to sack the drive over to Witney off that evening, a mistake that will live long in the memory. Those who did make the journey were treated to not only near constant singing but some pretty decent (by Oriole standards) scope views and this time in a more accessible location. Predictably there was no sign the following day.  

Golden Oriole, courtesy of Gnome

 

...and courtesy of Simon Bradfield

Honourable Mention

Given all the activity this month, especially around the 24^th I had completely forgotten about a Gannet record coming from Farmoor on the 21^st , a strange record given the calm and clear weather the UK has been experiencing. Gannet is a huge rarity in its own right and it’s inclusion within the review as a mere honourable mention belies it’s true status and the stir a twitchable bird would cause if found. This record though, like many others in recent years related to a single observer flyover with the individual seemingly flying straight through. In fact like most seabirds within the county almost all records this century relate to either exhausted or dead birds picked up by single observers. You have to go all the way back to 2002 to find a record of twitchable bird on Rushy Lock, although unsurprisingly this bird was also eventually taken into care.

Waders

Aside from the two big rarities already mentioned this month there was plenty more wader action to keep county listers and local patches alike busy throughout the month. Wood Sandpiper had a good showing in the county this month with a trio at Balscote Quarry on the 3^rd and a single bird remaining on the 7^th. Days Lock also produced a single bird on the 3^rd whilst Venn Mill also had a trio of birds on the evening of the 3^rd presumably the same birds from Balscote briefly diverting south. 

Wood Sandpiper at Balscote Quarry courtesy of Edwin Barson

Farmoor continued to be the premier wader site this month recording the majority of the species seen during May. A pair of Turnstone dropped onto the reservoir on the 15^th and although not reported in between were seemingly present until the 19^th when two were again seen along the causeway.  

Farmoor Turnstone courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

Sanderling records were spread out throughout the month with the first arriving on the 8^th, a tad later than the median arrival date of 20^th April. Summer plumaged Sanderling are a firm favourite of the regular occurring spring waders and Farmoor affords an ideal opportunity to observe these stunning high arctic species up close.  A lone bird present between the 18^th and 23^rd was typically very tame during its brief stop possibly en route to Greenland. A small flock of 6 was present on the 24^th, a small consolation for those hoping the Temminck’s Stint would still be present whilst two birds were present again at the end of the month.  

Farmoor Sanderling courtesy of Conor Mackenzie

 

Grey Plover were reported from Farmoor and Days Lock on the 5^th of the month. Whilst a second individual seemed to commute between Port Meadow and Farmoor 15^th and 19^th with a distinct preference for Port Meadow presumably put off by the business of both sites. Whimbrel records only came from Farmoor this month, both being flyover records with one coming on the 5^th and the other the 15^th. Both Godwit species were recorded only once this month with a single bird of each species. A single Bar-tailed Godwit was on Port Meadow on the 3^rd whilst a Black-tailed Godwit was on Otmoor on the 27^th.

Farmoor Grey Plover courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

A large movement of Ruff across the country saw a much smaller flock than those recorded across the country (72 in West Sussex, 63 in North Yorks and even 17 in Bucks) with a flock of 7 on Port Meadow on the 4^th with another small flock of 4 at Clifton on the same day. The Port Meadow flock remained until the following day whilst a trio of birds were on Otmoor on the 7^th. A trickle of Greenshank records came throughout the month with the first at Pit 60 on the 2^nd, Farmoor followed suit with single bird on the 5^th with another lone bird at Hatford on the 13^th. Port Meadow had 2 birds on the 18^th with a nice count of 4 birds on the 26^th with 2 continuing on the 28^th-31^st. Otmoor had a single bird on the 19^th whilst Appleford and Balscote Quarry hosted just the single bird on the 28^th and 29^th respectively. An unexpected and superb count of 12 birds came from Pit 60 on the 26^th, certainly the highest count in recent memory?

Ringed Plover followed a similar pattern with 5 sites hosting birds. Otmoor hosted up to 4 birds between the 5^th and 15^th of the month. Baslcote Quarry hosted a lone bird on the 8^th whilst Port Meadow had between 2 and 4 birds between the 18^th and 26^th. Farmoor also hosted a single individual calling somewhere over the vast expanse of water on the 22^nd and pair passed through Venn Mill on the 23^rd.  A flock of at least 25 birds was another superb count for the county with Otmoor hosting this flock on the 27^th, which also ostensibly dragged with them the unidentified Stint species with them as well. Dunlin movements have completely tailed off this month with only Otmoor and Farmoor hosting any birds. Four individuals was the highest count and came from Farmoor on the 2^nd whilst single birds were here on the 3^rd and the 8^th. Three were at Otmoor on the 5^th with singles here also on the 8^th, 15^th and 27^th.

Bar-tailed Godwit on Port Meadow courtesy of Matthew Lloyd

Common Sandpiper were the most widespread of the migrating waders this month with at least 15 sites recording birds. The highest count came from Bicester Wetlands on the 28^th with 5 birds dropping in briefly. Several sites also recorded 4 birds - Farmoor on the 3^rd, Pit 60 on the 5^th and Grimsbury on the 26^th. Little Ringed Plover continued at many of the sites recording birds the previous month, with the first confirmed chicks coming from Chinnor on the 21^st of the month. Records for Curlew outside of the main site of Otmoor came from Port Meadow on the 5^th, whilst Redshank were also recorded at Port Meadow on the 5^th and additional records from Sutton Courtenay (20^th) and Rushy Common (19^th).

A flock of 12 Greenshank that dropped into Pit 60, courtesy of Mick Cunningham

Wildfowl, Game and Crakes

The Spotted Crake continued to delight anyone who made the nocturnal pilgrimage to Otmoor sporadically throughout the month. The great news came later when two birds were then heard singing in different locations across the site, a fantastic record and testament to the habitat created and managed by the RSPB and its volunteers. The fact this bird has been singing for such a long time means that it meets the criteria for a probable breeding record as per RBBP guidance. Males typically fall silent once paired and with the last record coming on the 25/05 one can hope that this will be a successful breeding season for this individual.

Adam Hartley 4 · Spotted Crake at Otmoor RSPB

Spotted Crake recording, courtesy of Gnome

 

The first Quail was reported on the 3^rd a full 2 weeks ahead of the median arrival date and only a day of the earliest record. Typically the record came from the Oxon Downs with a further 2 records coming later in the month along the downs at Lambourn on the 19^th and East Hendred on the 23^rd. Away from the downs a bird was singing at Sarsgrove in the west of the county between the 15^th and 17^th. Garganey records continued along much of the same pattern as at the end of April, continuing at four different sites with little sign of breeding (currently!). Pit 60 hosted 3 birds (2 drakes) at the beginning of the month with a pair then recorded sporadically throughout the month. Two drakes were also at Sutton Courtenay for the first half of the month before a single male remained throughout the second half occasionally disappearing for a few days and reappearing with a female on one occasion. Possibly the 2^nd drake from Sutton Courtenay then popped up at Port Meadow on the 14^th and remained sporadically through the month. Otmoor, typically the source of our late spring and summer records also sporadically recorded a single drake through the month with records on the 1^st, 15^th and 21^st.

The long staying near on resident female Ring-necked Duck was only recorded the once this month from its regular haunt of Appleford on the 12^th. Shelduck were present on at least 5 sites with most records coming from Port Meadow, where between 1 and 7 birds were present for the entire month of May. Otmoor recorded 2 birds between the 4^th and 27^th, whilst 2 birds were at Cogges on the 8^th. Hatford also recorded a bird on the 8^th and 2 present at Blenheim on the 26^th.

Great news came from Waterstock where a 2^nd family party of Goosander were seen with 2 adult females and up to 12 young fishing along the River Thame, this comes after a female and 5 young were seen at Cuddeson further upstream and possibly relates to the 2^nd pair.  It seems their status as a breeding bird in Oxfordshire is now on a fairly solid footing with breeding also Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, it will be interesting to see how localised the population remains or if they will continue to march on throughout the county. Mandarin were recorded from four locations – Cuddeson on the 5^th, Sonning Eye GP’s throughout the month and Sutton Courtenay on the 2^nd with confirmed breeding at Day’s Lock, although most records come of pairs in suitable habitat.

The Otmoor Red-breasted Goose courtesy of John Reynolds

Ruddy Shelduck appeared in the county from two different sites. A pair in flight over Otmoor on the 15^th were not to be seen again and seemingly were just passing through the county. A lone bird at Weston-on-the-Green was present one the 5^th and again on the 27^th , this time observed to be bearing a plastic ring typical of wildfowl collections. Even more dubious of a record was the unexpected Red-breasted Goose at Otmoor on the 27^th and given the timing of the record someone in the county may have lost some prized members of their wildfowl collection.

Weston-on-the-Green Ruddy Shelduck courtesy of Nick Truby

Herons, Egrets etc

After the no show of the Night Heron you might expect there wouldn’t be much to highlight from this group in May, well that’s where you would be wrong. Initially two Glossy Ibis were reported in flight over Pit 60 on the 14^th a nice highlight in its own right when things got a bit crazy when a flock of up to 14 birds flew over Appleford not even a couple hours later! A mega county record, this flock had been tracked flying through neighbouring Wiltshire a few days prior and so it was somewhat anticipated they might turn up at some point. They were then seen touring multiple parts of the county ending up in Norfolk and Lincolnshire a few days later, surely the first UK breeding record can’t be far away!

A vague report of White Stork photographed near Culham on the 27^th looked, on the face of it, destined to be one of those records that didn’t come to much.  Actually though the bird reappeared albeit briefly seen in flight over Appleford GP’s the next day much to the frustration of myself as I was a mere 1.5 miles away on Peep-o-Day Lane! It was again seen briefly in flight on the 29^th again over Appleford but not subsequently seen. Just where on earth this conspicuous bird has been hiding in the meantime is anyone’s guess. Cattle Egret, outside of Blenheim were recorded from 3 additional sites. Enslow had a single on the 5^th whilst Pit 60 hosted a bird on the 20^th. Otmoor, the site of a speculated 2^nd breeding colony last year, had up to birds between the 7^th and 24^th.

Great White Egret continued to be reported, albeit in much fewer numbers, throughout May. Otmoor had up to two birds between the 1^st and 18^th of the month, whilst Pit 60 hosted multiple birds (possibly 3 different individuals) throughout the month. Port Meadow also hosted up to two birds towards the latter part of the month a single there on the 7^th. The majority of these birds were in non-breeding plumage although one bird visiting Pit 60 frequently had acquired parts of its breeding plumage in the form of its black bill. We could very well have 5 breeding heron species within the county by the end of the decade.

Port Meadow Great White Egret, courtesy of Gnome

 

Crane continued to be recorded at Otmoor through the month with up to 5 seen on the site presumably 2 different pairs with male counterpart of Maple Glory seemingly paired up with a new individual. Two over Farmoor on the 4^th was an intriguing record and possibly points to breeding elsewhere? Little Egret rarely warrant mention in the review but this month a substantial count of 19 birds came from Port Meadow on the 30^th.

Otmoor Cranes, courtesy of Nick Truby

Gulls and Terns

Black Tern arrived in the county on 4^th of the month, a bit later than the median arrival date of the 25^th April, and came from where else but Farmoor with one hawking over F2.  Dix Pit tends to follow Farmoor’s lead with both clearly pulling in birds following the same overland route and so this trend continued with a Black Tern also here on the 4^th.

The single bird at Farmoor continued on the 5^th whilst 3 birds spent the evening here on the 31^st but only briefly before departing the site. Some interesting and late records of both Sandwich Tern and Arctic Tern came this month. A single Sandwich Tern was at Grimsbury on the 27^th and stayed long enough for many locals to connect with a cracking patch bird. Two Arctic Tern seemed determined to not hang around flew straight through Port Meadow on the 22^nd. Two Mediterranean Gull were on Farmoor on the 5^th whilst a nice high count of Common Tern came from Dix Pit on the 4^th with at least 29 birds present and presumably bringing Black Tern with them.

Grimsbury Reservoir Sandwich Tern courtesy of Edwin Barson

Passerines

A wholly unconfirmed record of a Bearded Tit pinging in the reedbed at Otmoor’s first screen came on the 1^st of the month, but unfortunately a search produced no sign of this elusive species. Other than another unconfirmed report back in November 2022 the last record came from Farmoor in February 2022 a record not released to the general public. Previous to this records then go back all the way to 2014, which makes it a rare and tricky beast to catch up with in the county!

The first Spotted Flycatcher returned to the county on the 6^th with one at Aston Upthorpe, a few days after the median arrival date of the 1^st. Records continued to trickle through the county with at least 8 sites recording birds up until the end of the month. Whinchat were recorded twice this month with one on West Ginge Down on the 3^rd and two birds then at Otmoor on the 5^th. Wheatear were also recorded in small numbers this month with one at Farmoor on the 1^st, 2 joining the Whinchat at West Ginge Down on the 3^rd whilst Otmoor also had a single bird on the 5^th. A remarkably late record came from Farmoor on the 27^th and was quite possibly one of the Greenland race given the lateness of the record. A Nightingale was heard at Radley on the morning of the 6th but sadly this was to be the only performance.

Spotted Flycatcher, north Oxon, courtesy of David South

The highest count of Cuckoo came from Otmoor with up to 5 birds here this month with at least one Hepatic female present. Yellow Wagtail were widespread as expected in the county with ahigh count of 12 coming from Churn on the 3^rd. 

Raptors

Osprey continued to be recorded this month with records spread throughout the entirety of May. A record from Port Meadow on the 5^th was a superb record semi-urban record of this enigmatic species. Even better that it stayed in the area the next day and even observed eating a fish in the middle of the meadow on the 6^th.

Port Meadow Osprey, courtesy of Gnome

Two birds together at Farmoor on the 7^th and 8^th including a colour ringed male visiting the nesting platform raised some hopes that it might finally be put to good use. Unfortunately they departed with presumably both birds seen at several sites in the county on the 8^th including Pit 60 and over Kidlington. Late records came from Burcot on the 20^th and a fly over record from Hatford on the 26^th.

 

Farmoor Osprey courtesy of Steve Liptrot details below.

Blue/white 079 is a male Osprey that I ringed at a site on private land in Northamptonshire on 5/7/21. He was a single chick and his BTO ring number is 1380167. 

079 fledged on 16th July and then migrated on 23rd August. He was not seen again until 2nd February this year when he was photographed at Parque Natural Bahia de Cadiz, suggesting he only migrated as far south as southern Spain, rather than continuing to West Africa. There is a growing trend among UK Ospreys to do this, and Cadiz is certainly an excellent wintering area. 

We hoped at the time that he would be seen back in England for the first time this spring - and so I’m delighted that you have provided that is the case."

From Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation

 

Hobby were recorded right across the county with many sites recording several birds. The highest count came from Otmoor with a whopping 20 birds recorded here on a couple of occasions. Another large count also came from Appleford with over 10 birds here on the 4^th. What was a probable Honey Buzzard was also seen over Milton Common.

Patchwork Challenge

Patch	Birder	Points	Species	Highlight	Target	Percentage of target
Aston Eyot	Ben Sheldon	58	56		90	64.44
Blenheim	Gareth Casburn	119	106	Shelduck	100	119.00
Dix pit	Simon Bradfield	114	91	Black Tern	75	152.00
Grimsbury reservoir	Gareth Blockley	109	101	Sandwich Tern and Greenshank	130	83.85
Lye valley	Tom Bedford	80	74	Firecrest	80	100.00
River Thames	Geoff Wyatt	148	127	Wood  Sand #Patchtick. Grey Plover #Patchtick. Osprey.	122	121.31
Sutton courtenay	Conor MacKenzie	133	118	Shelduck	140	95.00
East challow	Mark Merritt	61	58		83	73.49

Chiffchaff time for a name change..?

Videos courtesy of Nick Boyd.

This Chiffchaff was present for a few days in the north east corner of Donnington Playing Fields on the 19th/20th. In what seems to be an increasing occurrence (at least anecdotally) some Chiffchaffs seem to be developing aberrant songs and phrases along side their usual onomatopoetic two notes.

'This individual was mostly making a Marsh Tit-like song but also the occasional Wren impression and seemed to responded when a nearby Wren sings'.

Nick Boyd.

We will be back with the June/July review and news at the start of August, have a great summer.