Summer review

Highlights

The lean period, the summer lull or the summer slump – whatever you call the June – July period, birding the months wedged between the Spring and Autumn migration periods is a much quieter and focused affair. It can be a great time to appreciate the comings and goings of our local breeding species that we may often take for granted during the busier months.  Lots of us will also use this period to catch up with some of the rarer Orchids, Lepidoptera and Odanata of which Oxon and the surrounding counties host in abundance. For those that do focus on these other taxa, rewards can occasionally come in the form of some of the rarer migrant species with 2024 producing a record breaking number of Lesser Emperor for the county. Others will focus on the fortunes of our rare and scarcer breeding species, particularly Waders which can, to say the least, be a mildly depressing activity – speaking from my own experience of monitoring our local breeding Curlew this year. 

Lesser Emperor, courtesy of Steve Burch

Rarities, of the avian variety, tend to be very few and far between. That being said, wanderers do occasionally stray into the county borders, see the Black-crowned Night Heron on my very own patch last year, but 2023 unfortunately didn’t produce anything on this level. A brief heart palpation moment came when an unconfirmed report of a Purple Heron at Otmoor on the 19^th but remained a mystery with no further sightings. The arrival of our first returning passerines from the latter part of July though signals a changing of the seasons with both Whinchat, Redstart and Willow Warbler noted. Whilst I got a nice surprise when surveying just other the border in Bucks, when a male Wheater popped up on a fencepost – the unstoppable march towards Autumn has begun and we can all now look forward to a busier period of local birding!

Waders

The standout of the period came with the first returning Wood Sandpiper back Pit 60 on the 27^th. Always a popular species when they turn up this one had a string of admirers during its stay until the 29^th before it departed overnight. 

Pit 60 Wood Sandpiper, courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

Sanderling were recorded in both of the summer months with a single bird present at Farmoor on the 5^th June and apparently still present by the 10^th. A late northward bound migrant or a failed breeder returning south, who knows! A bird present also at Farmoor on the 22^nd July, seemed much clearer, with possibly the same bird still there on the 28^th. 

Farmoor Sanderling courtesy of Steve Sansom

A lone Whimbrel record came from Farmoor on the 5^th June and was seemingly on route to the north, although in recent years lone birds have linked up with failed breeding Curlew flocks around the county. Greenshank were also recorded in both months with a bird at Widford on the 14^th June whilst a first returnee came on the 4^th July at Ardley remained until at least the 11^th. 

Ardley Greenshank courtesy of Gareth Cashburn

Black-tailed Godwit were first noted in the county at Peep-o-Day Lane on the 7^th July where a flock of 5 took advantage of the now constant presence of shallow water here. The next birds then came through the county at Ardley on the 23^rd July with a pair here until at least the 25^th. The only Dunlin record came on the 28^th July with a single bird joining the Sanderling at Farmoor, whilst Ringed Plover were noted at Port Meadow on the 1^st and 3^rd June and at Grimsbury on the 28^th July, with a pair at both sites. 

 

Ardely ERF Black-tailed Godwits courtesy of John Friendship-Taylor

The first returning Green Sandpiper came from Bicester Wetlands Reserve came on the 7^th June, a very early bird and possibly a failed breeder from the far north where the breeding season can be very short affair. Three birds were here on the 18^th whilst July saw a high count of 17 on the 25^th, with the site maintaining its status as the premier stop over site for this species during migration. Eight more sites recorded between 1 and 5 birds from the 19^th June onwards, although most records came from the middle part of July. Common Sandpiper arrived a little later, although the first record of 14 birds at Farmoor on the 29^th was a bit of surprise. With females and failed breeders returning earlier than males and juveniles, it seems this flock was probably combination of the latter. A further 7 sites recorded birds through July with anywhere between 1 and 10 birds at any one site. 

An unseasonal Avocet spent a day on Port Meadow on the 12th June

Port Meadow Avocet courtesy of Gnome

 

 

Wildfowl & Game etc

The most surprising sighting of the period came from Farmoor on the 23^rd when a female Common Scoter dropped in. Presumably a failed breeder from some far flung Scottish Loch the bird remained for the rest of the day before departing overnight. In what has turned out to be not a particularly fruitful year for Quail, and certainly not a ‘Quail Year’, the summer produced only 6 public records. Crog Hill, a classic summer site, had a single record in early June whilst somewhere in West Oxon saw two birds ringed on the 8^th June. A bird singing along the Glos/Oxon border was the only bird reported on consecutive days reported between the 18^th and 29^th June sporadically. Most other records came, typically, from the Oxon Downs with a maximum of 3 birds heard at once at Sparsholt on the 30^th June. 

 

Calling Quail (at 17 seconds) courtesy of Steve Akers

A very rare chance to observe a Quail up close 

With no confirmed breeding this year, records of Garganey came from four sites. Otmoor, the site of breeding in previous years, had a single male on the 3^rd June. Whilst additional single female records came from Appleford and Peep-o-Day Lane on the 10^th June and 15^th July respectively. Whilst Pit 60 had a pair present in the latter part of June, with only the female then present through much of July. Another rare breeding species that was confirmed breeding though, came in the form of a female Goosander with 5 chicks at Waterstock on the 16^th – the 3^rd year such breeding has occurred.

Ruddy Shelduck made their annual jaunt into the county, post summer moult, with records at Farmoor and Peep-o-Day Lane. A flock of four was at the former on the 21^st July whilst a single bird was on the latter on the 31^st, the 2^nd year in which a bird has arrived on site post-moult. Our own native Shelduck were recorded only from 3 sites during the summer months, with no further confirmation of breeding forthcoming from any of these sites. Port Meadow hosted the most birds with 5 here on the 15^th June. Further records came from Bicester Wetland Reserve and Peep-o-Day Lane.

Herons, egrets etc

A report of Purple Heron from Otmoor on the 19^th June got the collective heart of the county going for a brief period over the summer. Unfortunately, the record was never confirmed and some people’s wait for an accessible Purple Heron in the county will have to stretch a little further! The major highlight then, came in the form of the 2^nd Spoonbill of the year with one over Otmoor on the 18^th June, with the bird seen sporadically between then and the 22^nd June. Things then got a little crazy with 5 probable’s over Thame on the 29^th July, although these we not seen anywhere in the county and will unfortunately remain a mystery.

Otmoor Spoonbil courtesy of Paul Torevell.

 

The Glossy Ibis that turned up in the county at the end of May took a great liking to Otmoor and remained there the entire summer, with most reports of it coming into roost during the evening vigils. A lone White Stork, a now frequent visitor to the county courtesy of the White Stork Project, was seen throughout the county during the early part of the month. Confirmed from SatTracking to be a bird from the project (ring number GBA9) that was born in 2023 and didn’t migrate in its first year. The bird was seen at four sites including Otmoor and Appleford between the 6^th and 8^th June and was apparently still present on the 16^th. An unconfirmed record of 6+ over the m40 on the 11^th was an interesting mystery record. 

Courtesy of Malcom Bowey

Both Great White and Cattle Egret were widely seen within the county as in previous months with the breeding status of the latter confirmed for another year. Great White Egret were recorded at 8 sites with a maximum count of 5 at the most regular site of Pit 60, a potential area for future breeding attempts? Three were also seen regularly at Otmoor during the summer, whilst 2 were at Peep-o-Day Lane on the 23^rd June.

Pit 60 Great White Egret courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

Cattle Egret mostly kept their western distribution in the county, with the exception of Otmoor, with at least 7 sites recording birds. Up to 3 occupied nests were observed at Blenheim, although as in previous years more were suspected. Successful breeding was confirmed for another year with at least a couple juveniles clocked at various sites and a post breeding flock of 19 were recorded at Otmoor on the 29^th July.

 

Woodstock Cattle Egret courtesy of Gareth Cashburn

Crane appear to have had an unsuccessful year at Otmoor, with no confirmation of any successful breeding attempts over the summer. This was backed up by extralimital records of Crane coming from two sites over the summer, with 2 over Farmoor on the 29^th June and four over Woodstock on the 16^th July – presumably all four birds from Otmoor. Little Egret don’t often get a mention in these monthly reports, unlike their rarer cousins, but a cracking count of 40+ birds at Otmoor felt noteworthy enough to mention and a sign of some good breeding elsewhere in the county?!

Gulls and Terns

The typically quiet months kept up their reputation with very few noteworthy records of notable species over the summer period. Despite this, some of the finer eyed amongst us still managed to pull out the odd rarity. Port Meadow produced a probable Baltic Gull on the 3^rd June, the first since the 2021 summer period when one birder made it their mission to find the county’s first confirmed Baltic Gull and ended up finding four – see (https://tmbirding.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-baltic-gulls-at-appleford.html). Caspian Gull continued their run in the county, to what one can now assume will be an almost year round presence in Oxfordshire. A lone bird was on Port Meadow on the 4^th June and again on the 25^th June, whilst just up the road at a relatively newer site in Stanton St John were present on the 10^th June.

The other highlight came in the form of several records of Sandwich Tern, a highly unusual summer sighting and a presumably a sign of things going wrong for these birds on the breeding front. A trio were present at Dix Pit on the 9^th June before been observed just down the road at Rushy Common on the same day, albeit minus one bird. Interestingly 3 were also observed at Rushy Common on the 22^nd June and one has to assume the same birds, although where they were in the interim remains a mystery! Another unusual summer record came from Freeland with pair of adult Little Gull seen in flight heading towards the more usual site of Farmoor or at least in that direction on the 30^th July, but unfortunately birders there were not able to connect with these early passage birds. The only other real noteworthy species this month was a small number of Mediterranean Gull records, two from Farmoor on the 9^th and 30^th July and another from Pit 60 on the 27^th. 

Yellow-legged Gull, a staple at Farmoor at this time of year, courtesy of Steve Liptrot

Passerines

Migration of passerines through the county began at the very end of June with 3 Redstart at Pit 60 on the 30^th. Most birds though started moving through the county in early-mid July. A further 6 sites saw Redstart records with most of the sites recording multiple birds through the middle part of the month. Whinchat arrived a little later with the first at Woodstock and Otmoor both on the 14^th July and both still present by the 21^st. 

Juvenile Redstart and Juvenile Goldfinch, Letcombe Regis, courtesy of Geoff Dymott

Other interesting records came from Blenheim with breeding confirmed for Stonechat, a species with a limited breeding distribution in the county mostly confined to the Oxon Downs. Breeding Cuckoo was confirmed across multiple sites with sights of the first fledged juveniles, including a nice video of one been fed by a presumably knackered Reed Warbler. A Hepatic female was again at Otmoor during the summer, this been 4^th or 5^th year this same individual has returned to the site.

A lone Crossbill record came from close to the downs at Lockinge, with a male here on the 16^th July. Whilst it appears the Ring-necked Parakeet have had another decent breeding year in 2024 with approximately 85 at Florence Park on the 19^th July, the impact of this is yet to be known but presumably the local birds are unlikely to be pleased at the prospect. 

County Spotted Flycatcher courtesy of Nick Truby

 

 

Raptors

The major excitement for this group during the summer season has been the joy of watching the juvenile Marsh Harrier over Otmoor after another successful breeding season. The interest has been even higher this year due to two of the 3-4 young been in a very unusual and striking plumage. Despite the birds looking like they are leucistic, the cause of the patches of striking white plumage apparently have a much more sinister explanation. When young birds are developing their fledging plumage from the soft fuzz of downy chicks a bad diet or poor weather can cause a shock to the system wherein the body stops producing the melanin needed to develop normal feathers. This lack of melanin then causes the huge patches of white plumage that can be seen through the birds wings and body. Unfortunately these feathers as a result are also brittle and survival of the birds can be a tough ask, especially going into the winter months. A nice explanation can be found here - https://x.com/Au_Erithacus/status/1817867089790578792. Let’s hope they manage to make it, they shouldn’t be too hard to keep a track of! 

Above & below courtesy of Richard Tyler.

Cassington Marsh Harrier courtesy of Terry Godfrey

 

 

Patchwork challenge

Patch	Birder	Points	Species	Highlight
Aston eyot	Ben Sheldon
Ardley ERF	Gareth Casburn	96	89	SEO, BlkT Godwit
Dix pit	Simon Bradfield	76	68	House Sparrow
Grimsbury reservoir	Gareth Blockley
Lye valley	Tom Bedford	58	57
River Thames	Geoff Wyatt	155	130
Sutton Courtenay	Conor MacKenzie	125	113	Redstart
Radley GP’s	Ian Elkins
Freeland	Glen Pascoe	79	68	Ltl Gull, C Tern, Sptd Flycatcher
South Hinksey	Alex Figueiredo
Cholsey	Alan Dawson

 

 Photo of the Month

If the Otmoor reserve was to be distilled, it would be the big open skies and the wetland birds that frequent. Debbie Cowee has captured both in this photo of the long staying Glossy Ibis as it comes in to roost.