September Review

Highlights

September, the month where anything can happen and just occasionally the seemingly unthinkable does happen. A case in point for this is the passing of the 2^nd anniversary of the counties first, and the country’s 26^th, Common Nighthawk. A more typical September though, can still provide local birders with days to remember, particularly if the conditions are right. Typically, those classic birding days are had at somewhere where active migration can be easily viewed. For most this means heading either to an elevated point or a coastal headland, but for Oxon this usually means heading to Farmoor. The first week of September provided the county, and Farmoor, with two classic birding days, the sort of days inland birders live for and live long in the memory.

The first of these ‘classic’ days came on the 2^nd September with an outstanding day list produced after sustained effort by several birders:

Black Tern – 17
Little Stint
Shag
Little Gull
Sandwich Tern
Arctic Tern
Common Tern – 12
Grey Plover
Whimbrel
Greenshank – 7
Ringed Plover – 7
Ruff
Sanderling
Dunlin
Green Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper – 8

 ·    Anyone that has spent more than a few hours at Farmoor can attest to the sites frequent tendency for bleakness. But its ability to produce days like this with the occasional rarity thrown in it is what keeps pulling folk back to the concrete bowl, and this day was a prelude of better things to come. Wild weather across the country, up until the 5^th September, coincided with some large seabird passage which always gets the inland birding gears whirring, and so it was that an early morning visit to Farmoor produced the first proper rarity of the year – an Arctic Skua. The first since 2019, with only another record in the last decade, this was a proper county rarity that would obviously be a popular bird. With a crowd assembled, many got to enjoy watching this ‘pirate of the sea’. An adult intermediate morph, it never seemed much like it was going to stay long occasionally looking like it had departed the reservoir only to return a few moments later. 

The Arctic Skua, above and below courtesy of Roger Wyatt

 

With the worsening weather approaching, more birds were been pushed through the county, with flock of previously unseen Common Scoter flew into view whilst folk were enjoying the Skua, a fitting scene given the deteriorating weather – Scoter are the only species to my eye that look like they really enjoy a storm! Occasionally, a Caspian Gull began mobbing the Arctic Skua when out of the blue a flock of 7 Little Tern also traversed the site, much to the delight of the assembled crow, and potentially a new record count for the species in the county! 

The Skua being mobbed by the Caspian Gull, courtesy of Roger Wyatt

Above and below, the Little Terns courtesy of Roger Wyatt

The weather then got truly biblical, with only the brave sticking it out the almost sideway rain, by 4pm normality had returned and everyone including the Skua had departed the site - a truly classic day of birding in the county! 

 

Above and below, "biblical" rain courtesy of Justin Taylor

 

 

 

Waders

September typically delivers the bulk of our wader records both in quantity and quality and this year didn’t disappoint. The main highlight was the arrival of a Spotted Redshank at Otmoor on the 21^st, a not always annual species in the county, this one was unfortunately already fully into winter plumage on arrival. The bird remained on site until the 30^th. 

The Spotted Redshank courtesy of Paul Wilkinson

 

More Little Stint records came in the early part of the month with a single bird on Farmoor from the 1^st until the 3^rd of the month. Ardley continued its good run of recent form with a pair of Little Stint on the 2^nd, with both remaining until the 3^rd. 

The Farmoor Little Stint, above courtesy of Mark Chivers, below Ben Sheldon

 

Ben Sheldon

 

A pair of Knot were a nice addition to the county year list, another species that is only near annual within the boundaries of Oxfordshire, although both only remained for the single day on the 17^th. Another species that was a short stayer came in the form of a single fly through Grey Plover, also on the 2^nd, although in recent years this species has wintered regularly in the county so this probably won’t be the last one we will see this year. 

Farmoor Knot, courtesy of Ben Sheldon

Turnstone records came, as ever, from Farmoor only with a maximum of two on the 6^th. Singles were recorded on the 1^st, 5^th and 8^th it seems likely that it was probably the same bird for frequenting the site. Sanderling were also restricted to the concrete bowl this month, with a single bird present on site between the 1^st and 4^th of the month, whilst a lone Whimbrel flew through the site during the epic passage day on the 2^nd. Greenshank were a little bit more widespread in the county with at least 3 sites hosting birds. The first of the month came from Pit 60 on the 1^st, whilst Farmoor hosted the bulk of records with at least one present between the 2^nd and 16^th of the month and a maximum of seven here on the 2^nd. Cassington GPs hosted the only other record this month with a single here on the 17^th.  Ruff were confined to two sites in September with Farmoor hosting a lone bird between the 2^nd and 3^rd and a pair of birds on the 19^th. Ardley also hosted a lone bird between the 4^th and 8^th with presumably a different bird present on the 17^th of the month. 

Farmoor Ruff, courtesy of CJ Kearns

Ringed Plover were also entirely confined to Farmoor this month with records from 11 days between the 2^nd and the 21^st, with the highest count coming from the 2^nd with seven although five were also here on the 18^th. Dunlin followed a similar pattern with birds present at Farmoor on 13 days between the 1^st and the 21^st. A nice double digit count was recorded on the 10^th with 13 present, but apart from this most reports related to singles and small groups. Black-tailed Godwit had a poor showing this month with only two records bookending the month. A pair were present at Pit 60 on the 2^nd and a trio were then at Otmoor on the 28^th. 

Ringed Plover at Farmoor, courtesy of Geoff Dymott

Green Sandpiper were typically widespread this month, although numbers and sites were down, presumably as birds begin to establish winter territories and subordinate birds are kicked off the most prime locations. The max count for the county came from Bicester Wetlands Reserve, which continues to reign supreme as the premier site for passage Green Sandpiper. A count of 12 was recorded on 3^rd and again on the 11^th. Ardley came close though with 11 birds on the 14^th, whilst a further 8 sites hosted singles and small groups throughout the month. Common Sandpiper were also similarly widespread with 7 sites hosting birds. Farmoor hosted the most birds, as it often does, where a maximum count of eight were present on the 2^nd. The remaining sites hosted either singles or pairs with birds reported up until the 20^th of the month. Redshank records, outside of Otmoor that is, came from two sites this month – two at Farmoor on the 9^th and a single bird at Port Meadow on the 23^rd.  There were three Greenshank at Farmoor on the 13th.

Farmoor Greenshank, courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

 

Wildfowl & Game etc

Another typically quiet period for this group, although the signs of the impending seasonal change are all around with numbers of Wigeon, Teal and Pintail on the increase across several sites within the county’s borders. Amplifying this seasonal change was the arrival of a flock of eight Whooper Swan at Farmoor on the 28^th of the month, although these were very brief visitors and clearly looking for better pastures. 

Farmoor Whoopers, courtesy of Ian Stewart

The aforementioned 10 Common Scoter came through Farmoor on the 5^th, looking very much like they were thoroughly enjoying the biblical weather, unlike the assembled birders on site. A female, presumably a lagger on, remained on site from the 7^th until the 10^th of the month. 

The female Common Scoter courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

Shelduck were present at only two sites this month, with Farmoor hosting birds on the 4^th and 18^th, whilst Cassington GP’s also had a single bird 19^th. A tantalising record of six Brent Goose came from Henley-on-Thames on the 29^th, but it transpires that these birds were just over into the Bucks border although given the proximity it seems unlikely these birds didn’t at least briefly dip into Oxon airspace.

Red-crested Pochard were present at two sites this month – Farmoor on the 7^th and Cassington GP’s on the 19^th, whilst 3 sites recorded Mandarin with up to five at Sonning Eye GP’s, one at Pit 60 and another at the classic site of Blenheim at the end of the month. Continuing the plastic theme, the Ross’s Goose that is occasionally reported in the county was at Port Meadow on the 24^th.

Herons, egrets etc

The previous months Shag continued into the first few days of the month, contributing to the cracking day list of that came from Farmoor on the 2^nd. The bird seemingly departed the site by the morning of the 4^th, which was a relief given the state the bird looked in the first couple days of its stay. The long-staying Glossy Ibis continued at Otmoor, with the bird reported until at least the 15^th although given its proclivity for disappearing, there’s every chance that it will continue its 5 month stay in the county.

The long-staying Otmoor Glossy Ibis, courtesy of Mark Chivers

Although rarely mentioned in these reviews, Bittern is a very notable bird away from Otmoor despite the population seemingly booming there. Pinkhill Reserve, at Farmoor, seemed to be an attractive prospect for a brief visit by an individual on the 8^th, but was only seen for a couple hours before departing. Pit 60 also hosted a bird later in the month on the 23^rd, in what could be the same individual looking for a winter home. 

The Pinkhill Bittern, courtesy of Trudi Rowland

Cattle Egret continued to be widespread and numerous in the county, with at least 8 sites recording birds this month. Otmoor remained the place to be for large counts of the species, mainly returning to roost during the evening vigils. A new county record fell on the 11^th when a minimum of 70 individuals were counted into roost. With numbers falling to 50 on the 13^th and down to a ‘lowly’ 30 on the 24^th. The only other site to report a double digit count came from Pit 60 with 11 on the 6^th of the month, with all other sites recording smaller groups. Great White Egret were even more widespread with a minimum of 12 sites hosting birds in September. A high count came again from Otmoor where five were present on the 17^th, with only Cassington GP’s coming close to this with three present on the 2^nd. The remaining sites hosted either singles or pairs throughout the month. 

Woodstock Cattle Egret courtesy of Gareth Cashburn

Passerines

In what should have realistically been the highlight of the month, and possibly even the year had it been more forthcoming, the county’s first Dipper in nearly a decade and a half was present in Witney on the 13^th, albeit very briefly. A proper county mega that would have proved to be a very popular bird had it been at all twitchable, the last bird came back in 2011 also in Witney. Despite a thorough search of the area, which proved to be fairly unsuitable for the species, and some areas the last bird frequented up river no sign of the bird was found. This is not entirely surprising, since the last bird in the county was a very tricky bird to catch up. Many birders took at least a few attempts at seeing it, where it never remained in one place for very long, with one birder reportedly taken 17 times to catch up with it!!

The first Pied Flycatcher of the year was present at Days Lock on the 7^th but was typically elusive and flighty for the duration of its stay. Another bird was then present the following day in Sutton over in the west of the county in what would be another classically elusive bird that stayed only for a day. The first Rock Pipit of the autumn arrived at Farmoor on the 26^th of the month, a classic early spring or mid-autumn species, this one was a tad earlier in the season than is expected. This lone bird remained until at least the 29^th.

Farmoor Rock Pipit, courtesy of Ben Sheldon

The 14^th of the month saw Woodstock play host to a lovely Black Redstart on a fairly remote farm on the outskirts of the town. Unlike the years previous records thus far, this individual took a liking to its surroundings and remained until the end of the month and continued into October, allowing plenty of folk to catch up it. 

The Woodstock Black Redstart courtesy of Gareth Cashburn

Commoner passerines continued to pass through the county in decent numbers, although the peak numbers had clearly already moved through Oxfordshire the previous month and movement this month had pretty much stopped by the middle of the September. Redstart records came from five sites in September, with all records coming between 1^st and 2^nd at Woodstock, Gramps Hill, Port Meadow, Grimsbury Reservoir and Ardley. Whinchat were a little more widespread and numerous with up to 8 sites playing host to one more birds this month. Oxfordshire Golf Club hosted the highest number where five were present on the 4^th, whilst Appleford GP’s had a minimum of three on the 7^th. All other sites had 1-2 birds with the Churn having the last record on the 16^th. Wheatear typically were the most widespread and numerous of the three species, with at least 12 sites having birds in September. Oxfordshire Golf Club again hosted the highest count with three here also on the 4^th of the month, although Childrey Field also had three the previous day. Almost all records came by the 15^th of the month, but Curbridge hosted a rather late bird on the 29^th. 

 

Lye Valley Spotted Flycatcher, courtesy of Tom Bedford

A tricky species to catch up with outside of the Downs several Tree Pipit moved through the county at both ends of the month. As is typical with this species the only clue to its presence is the overhead ‘sphiz’ call as they move through a site. Otmoor had one the 6^th, Letcombe Basset one on the 14^th and Wolvercote had two on the 29^th. One record I forgot to mention in the previous review period was a somewhat urban record of a Tree Pipit on one birders neighbours roof at the end of August, a really great garden tick! Large counts of roosting Yellow Wagtail continued to be reported from Otmoor although numbers were down on the previous months amazing numbers. The roost counts here ranged between 140 and 200 between the 2^nd and 11^th of the month, whilst a smaller but still impressive count of 70 came from Oxfordshire Golf Club on the 4^th.  Up to 50 were also seen at Port Meadow at the start of the month.

Urban Tree Pipit - Gareth Casburn

With large movements of Hirundine moving through the county during the periods of inclement weather, sometimes in the many hundreds, it is not surprising that a few late Swift records also got dragged through occasionally. These were all confined to Farmoor, where the largest numbers of Hirundine also were concentrated, with single birds on the 7^th and 14^th and a trio of birds present on the 10^th and 11^th of the month. Finally, more amplification of the seasonal change came with the first, and early, record of Redwing for the county with a single bird at Aston Eyot in Oxford on the 28^th, followed by two birds at Curbridge on the same day. A Fieldfare was also present in the county on the 28^th at Bablockhythe and it won’t be long now until the county and country are inundated with both species for the winter period, with the ever present nocturnal ‘Tseep’ call filling the night sky.

Gulls and Terns

As already mentioned September has been a somewhat epic month for this group, with the 2^nd and 5^th of the month playing host to five species of Tern, 2 species of the rarer Gulls and a single Skua species. Outside of the aforementioned days September continued to play host to several species throughout the early and latter parts of the month. The large flock of Little Tern, present on the 5^th, had dissipated by the following day with ‘only’ three birds here on the 6^th, although by the end of the day these birds had departed also. Black Tern were the most numerous and widespread of the Tern species in September. After the 17 present on Farmoor on the 2^nd birds were present on and off until the 24^th, although presumably the latter records on the 18^th and 24^th were different to the flocks in the early part of the month between the 2^nd and 6^th. The lone Sandwich Tern present at Farmoor on the 2^nd of the month was followed up by a lone bird on Pit 60 on the 7^th, whilst Arctic Tern were present at Farmoor on the 2^nd, 23^rd and 24^th of the month with another record from Grimsbury Reservoir on the 11^th. Little Gull were also mostly confined to Farmoor this month with a bird present on the 1^st and 2^nd of September with a presumably different 1^st winter bird present in the Gull roost on the 27^th. The strangest record came from Magdalen College playing fields on the 28^th with a 1^st winter picked out of the Gulls loafing here during the day and was presumably the bird from Farmoor relocating. 

Farmoor Little Gull courtesy of Paul Willis

Common Tern continued to move through the county in smaller numbers this month, with Farmoor hosting 12 on the 2^nd and 4 on the 24^th. Ardley also saw birds on the 2^nd with two present, whilst Pit 60 hosted three on the 22^nd increasing to nine 23^rd. Caspian Gull continued to be entirely confined to Farmoor this month with two juveniles present on the 4^th and the 21^st, whilst a single juvenile was present on and off for the majority of the month. The only Mediterranean Gull record came from Farmoor this month where a lone winter plumage juvenile was present on the 24^th. 

The long-staying Farmoor Caspian Gull courtesy of Ewan Urquhart

 Raptors

Two records of Osprey came, inevitably, from Farmoor this month with a single bird present and observed fishing on the 4^th and another flythrough bird on the 24^th. Continuing the winter feel for the end of the month, the first Merlin of the period came via Yelford on the 29^th, with certainly more to come in the coming months. 

Farmoor Osprey courtesy of Dave Murphy

 

Another interesting Marsh Harrier record came this month, with a wing-tagged individual present at Pit 60. This bird was ringed in the nest earlier this year in Cambridgeshire on the 14^th June. This being the 5^th individual present at Pit 60 in recent months, a seemingly important transit site for the species as they move between sites. Readers will be pleased to know that at least one of ‘our’ pale Marsh Harrier juveniles continues to survive in the wider country. The bird that turned up at Slimbridge early last month continues to please the local birders there and is seemingly not yet affected adversely by the weak feathers it has developed. No news of the 2^nd bird yet, unfortunately, but I will do my best to bring you news if any is forthcoming. 

Patchwork challenge

Patch	Birder	Points	Species	Highlight
Aston eyot	Ben Sheldon	77	75	Redwing
Ardley ERF	Gareth Casburn	107	97	Little Stint and Common Tern
Dix pit	Simon Bradfield	78	70
Grimsbury reservoir	Gareth Blockley	117	107	Great White Egret
Lye valley	Tom Bedford	77	74	Stonechat
River Thames	Geoff Wyatt
Sutton Courtenay	Conor MacKenzie	139	121	Whinchat, Cattle Egret, Redwing
Radley GP’s	Ian Elkins
Freeland	Glen Pascoe	85	73	Kingfisher, Teal, Marsh Tit
South Hinksey	Alex Figueiredo
Cholsey	Alan Dawson	111	104	Marsh Harrier and Cattle Egret

 

 

 

 

This month's Photo of the Month is this stunning Barn Owl captured by Colm O'Brien.

Courtesy of Colm O'Brien