The Highlights
Firstly, Happy New Year to all the Oxon Birding Blogs contributors, posters and readers – I hope 2026 is a bird-filled one. Despite the birds not knowing the difference between 31st December and 1st January, the arrival of a new year brings with it a whole range of new possibilities. What rarities will linger into the New Year? What will be the big rarity of 2026? Will the new year be better than the last? Will I do another big year? The answer to the first three questions is tantalising and unknown, the latter a resounding no – although I did momentarily ponder it until sanity prevailed.
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| Wintering male Black Redstart at Christ Church courtesy of Carl Stockwell |
Eastern Black Redstart, a species of once mega status, is typically a bird of the east coast with very few records away from here. An unprecedented influx in 2016, along with a certain Prunella invasion, saw birds from Scotland down to Cornwall and even included an extremely rare inland bird at Tewkesbury. An Oxfordshire bird, however, would have been truly exceptional and would have attracted considerable attention.
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| Eastern Black Redstart Kent Nov 2011 courtesy of Badger |
Finally, though, after this flutter of false starts our first good bird of 2026 did put in an appearance in the form of a drake Long-tailed Duck at Pit 27, within the Standlake gravel pit complex. The first bird in nearly five years, although actually the first twitchable one in nearly a decade, a cracking rarity to kick the year off. Unfortunately, though, any dreams of a bird showing well in stunning male finery were soon dashed by the bird’s preference to remain 1 km away from the best viewing point. In bleak conditions the following day it was clear this was going to be a one-day wonder, at least in this location.
It would later be found on nearby Rushy Common in early February, but we will save that encounter for next month’s edition.
Waders
January usually sees a small flurry of activity on the wader front, either some weather-related displacement or a genuine sign that spring is on the way. The scarcest of these was a Grey Plover located in Appleford on the 16th, interestingly associating with the large gull flock that spends much of its day loafing in the fields east of the landfill. Unfortunately, within the hour this individual had departed, although you wouldn’t be surprised if it turned up again in the masses of birds in the flooded fields of somewhere like Otmoor.
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| Black-tailed Godwits Pit 60 courtesy of Andy Last |
Several Black-tailed Godwit were noted this month also, a typical occurrence, with coastal wintering birds becoming more mobile from January onwards. Pit 60 had a flock of up to eight birds from the 1st – 2nd, while Port Meadow had a single bird on both the 1st and 14th. A more substantial flock of 15 birds were seen in flight over Otmoor on the 5th and were presumably part of the same movement of birds seen earlier in the month, if not indeed the same flock. Also present on Port Meadow on the 14th, were a pair of Dunlin which were presumably from the small group which has been sporadically reported over the winter from Otmoor and Port Meadow.
If ever there was a herald of the changing seasons it is the arrival of our first Oystercatchers, passage or otherwise. Most folk by now will have noticed that arrival of these noisy waders has been getting earlier and earlier over the last few years. This can be clearly seen with the median arrival date in the first decade of this century been the 20th February, whilst the median arrival date for the last decade now at the 3rd February. A January arrival date has only been observed four times, but these have all occurred in the last six years and 2026 is one of those years, with the first bird of the year coming on the 12th January at Otmoor, the joint earliest arrival along with 2021. This was no one off however, with follow up bird on the 17th at Pit 27 and possibly the same bird at Dix Pit on the 18th, followed by another over Otmoor on the 29th.
Green Sandpiper were only reported at Cornwell Marsh this month, with at least one bird wintering here and reported until at least the 22nd and occasionally joined by a 2nd bird. The usual wintering Common Sandpiper continued to enjoy Farmoor although with most of its compatriots currently in West Africa it must be surely questioning its life choices. Jack Snipe were in two locations this month, both previously reported on, Cornwell Marsh sporadically between the 1st and 22nd, whilst Pit 60 reported an individual on the 6th. Woodcock were reported from five locations, with most birds either flushed or seen leaving roost locations. The highest count came from Bruen/Foxholes with birds presumably avoiding a local shoot, with four seen on the 18th. Radley GPs also had multiple birds with two leaving roost on the 1st.
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| Overwintering Common Sandpiper Farmoor Reservoir courtesy of Michael Enticott |
Wildfowl, game etc
The goose-fest of 2025 continued into early 2026, much to the delight of county birders, and with the added bonus of several rare and scarce ducks also been found in January.
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| Smew courtesy of Roger Wyatt |
A lone redhead Smew at Sonning Eye GPs on the 5th made up for the unfortunate false alarm of a Red-necked Grebe here earlier in the week. A site which has some form with this species, with a pair here in January 2025 also. This lone bird continued to be reported until at least the 8th, although with this site been on the very edge of the Oxon border, it is a severely under birded area from Oxon and Berks birders alike and it may have lingered longer. A drake Ring-necked Duck at Pit 60 between the 25th and 26th, seems likely to be the Blenheim bird from the previous month relocating. With so much habitat available, it seems probable that this bird has been flitting between the various pits in the are unseen for a few weeks, much like the Long-tailed Duck which reappeared in February.
The invasion of winter goose, which has provided much needed delight for inland birders across the country continued unabated this month, with further evidence of movements inland in unprecedented numbers. The flock at least 21 Tundra Bean Goose continued to find Otmoor to their liking with all present on the 1st and at least 19 still here on the 31st, with the odd absences of the whole flock in between.
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| Tundra Bean Geese Otmoor rspb courtesy of Gareth Casburn |
Peep-o-Day Lane having lost its flock of White-fronted Goose managed to retain its pair of Bean Goose, occasionally affording some absolute stonking views if the viewer was strategically place along the main cycle path. Although they often threaten to depart the site entirely between the 4th and 16th thanks to the occasional flushing from a dog walker.
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| Tundra Bean Goose Peep-O-Day Lane courtesy of Roger Wyatt |
Pit 27 also saw a pair of birds on the 10th, certainly different individuals from the Otmoor group and Peep-o-Day pair, likely the same birds from Chimney Meadows the previous month relocating. This same pairing were then likely the birds present at Duxford between 12th and 16th. A group of four Brent Goose over New Marston Meadows were an excellent bird for this local patch on the 3rd, and for the Oxford area in general. Somerton and the wider floods here, seems to be only place this winter where Brent Goose feels comfortable enough to settle this winter, with a lone individual present on the 24th and 25th. Another two birds were then seen over Great Haseley on the 28th rounding up a great couple of months for this not always annual species.
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| Courtesy of Gareth Casburn |
As with December, keeping track of White-fronted Goose in January provided to be a very tricky task. Helpfully, the 1st of January usually sees birders out across the county, adding to their new 2026 list, an important annual ritual for some. With reports from across the county, it was interesting to sense the scale of the invasion of this usually scarce wintering species. On the 1st Otmoor had at least 68 and Chimney Meadows had a minimum of 110. Another 35 were noted over at Dorchester, whilst only marginally later in the day were 150 present around Pit 60. Whilst hard to be certain if the latter birds were different birds to those at Chimney Meadows something like 300 have been in Oxfordshire, if not quite a few more than that! Many more sites also reported birds in January, it’s probably at least fair to assume that some of these were additional birds to those above. Otmoor continued to host its flock which ranged from a handful all the way up to 80 birds throughout January, with at least 45 still here by the end of the month. The flock at Chimney Meadows was not reported again in January, but this probably down to observer absence rather than the bird’s absence – although one can never rule out news suppression at the site. Certainly, quite a number of birds continued to be present around Pit 60 with 80 here still on the 25th. At least another 9 sites reported birds this month, with some remaining in situ for a number of days, with a overview of these records below;
- Grimsbury Reservoir with six on the 3rd
- Waterstock with 13 on the 3rd
- Peep-o-Day Lane with 36 4th – 5th
- Days Lock with 41 over on the 5th plus 37 on the 30th
- Sonning Eye with 17 moving between the Berks and Oxon border
- Standlake area along with the above, Pit 27 had up to 50 birds on 17th and Pit 38 had 128+ on the 10th
- Port Meadow up to six on the 18th
- Duxford had 82 on 19th, probably birds from Chimney/Standlake
- Moulsford/Cholsey with three 27th -28th
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| White-fronted Geese Days Lock courtesy of Geoff Wyatt |
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| White-fronted Geese Grimsbury Reservoir courtesy of John Friendship-Taylor |
Both wintering ducks were still present on Farmoor for the whole of January, the female Scaup seemingly continuing to favour the less disturbed northwest corner of F2 whilst the 1w Common Scoter remained loyal to F1 where there is even less disturbance for much of the winter.
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| Long staying female Greater Scaup Farmoor courtesy of Geoff Dymott |
It’s not only the arrival of Oystercatchers and Black-tailed Godwit that signal the changing of the seasons, increased records of Shelduck also herald the start of things to come. Five sites hosted birds this month, with three on Days Lock on the 30th and two at Cote and Port Meadow on the 1st and 18th respectively. Peep-o-Day Lane and Pit 60 were the remaining two sites that hosted birds this month.
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| Common Scoter Farmoor Reservoir courtesy of Ian Stewart |
A whopping 14 sites hosted Goosander this month, with the majority of sites recording multiple birds. The highest count came from Port Meadow with an incredible 22 here on 24th, although this was closely followed by 16 at Pit 60 on the 6th. Pit 27 also hosted a large count of 13 on the 10th, with all the remaining sites recording single figures.
Although not strictly a rarity the most striking bird this month, at least in my humble opinion, was an unusual hybrid at Blenheim on the 9th in the form of a Gadwall x Wigeon. A really interesting bird with some excellent photos helping with the identification process.
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| Presumed Gadwall x Wigeon hybrid courtesy of Gareth Casburn |
Goldeneye were present on seven sites in January, all in the west of the county. Pit 60 and Tar Lakes had the highest counts, with six at each on the 18th and 31st respectively. Farmoor also managed to get in on the action, a fairly rare occurrence these days with four on the 24th.
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| Goldeneye at Farmoor courtesy of Ian Stewart |
On the plastic front, the Ross’s Goose continued at Port Meadow on at least the 20th whilst five sites hosted Red-crested Pochard with the LWV Pit 18 hosted the highest count of 36 on the 18th. Although not typically a bird that ever graces the review pages, a count of 61 Egyptian Goose on the 1st was at least noteworthy, not least for it likely been a record count for the county.
Herons, egrets etc
The trio of Glossy Ibis managed to make it into the New Year at Otmoor with all three here on the 1st. Reporting thereafter was intermittent, with a single coming into roost at dusk on 11th and then two reported on 12th. With the birds disappearing for long periods previously, it’s quite possible they are still somewhere in the vast unbirded habitat around Otmoor proper.
Quite where all the Cattle Egret have gone is somewhat of a mystery, although one assumes it is probably somewhere south of the county. This month did see an increase in sites with records however, with at least seven. The highest count came from Kingston Bagpuize with 10 on the 1st, way below the highs of early winter of 50+. The remaining records either related to flyover birds or singles, although Days Lock remained a regularly haunt for up to four birds throughout the month. Great White Egret were on at least 18 sites this month, a large increase over the previous few months and likely a result of the amount of flood water present around the county at the moment. This was highlighted by the unusual sight of two birds below the White Horse Hill in Uffington on the 6th. The remaining sites were more typical and records usually related to 1 or 2 birds at most, with the highest counts present at Pit 60 and Henley-on-Thames with three birds on the 10th and 20th respectively.
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| Courtesy of Caroline Walker |
Another welcome feature of the changing season came in the form of the arrival of two Crane from their wintering grounds somewhere south of the county, flying over Farmoor on the 31st – a great bird for the site and a welcome return for this enigmatic bird.
Gulls and Terns
A fairly quiet affair for this group in January, gone are the days of the Appleford Landfill or the Farmoor roost pulling in the odd white winger on a semi-regular basis – although never say never. A Little Gull calling over Rushy Common on the 3rd was somewhat surprising record and the standout for the group this month. Otherwise, it was business as usual, with three sites hosting Caspian Gull of various age groups. Blenheim had a 2nd winter on the 16th and 20th, whilst the Appleford flood field hosted an adult and 1st winter throughout the month. Port Meadow had three age groups at various points this month with 2nd winter, 3rd winter and an adult all in the latter part of January.
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| Adult caspian Gull Appleford courtesy of Ian Lewington |
Rounding off the group, a lone adult Mediterranean Gull was also in the Port Meadow roost on the 20th.
Passerines
Another group which had a quiet month, only two real notable species were recorded this month. Black Redstart were at three locations, the long staying Christchurch male continued to entertain and pleased a line of admiring birders throughout the month, looking particularly stunning when the sun was shining. Another male was then located in Farringdon on the 20th and remained in place until at least the 27th, whilst another bird was reported from Brize Norton on the 24th.
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| Marsh Tit Warburg courtesy of Connor Pimm |
We had at least two Siberian Chiffchaff present this month, both in usual wintering spots. Port Meadows Burgess Field had one on the 1st, whilst Peep-o-Day Lane continued to host one on the 11th and 24th, although clearly present throughout the month.
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| Siberian Chiffchaff Abingdon Sewage Works courtesy of Ian Lewington |
Brambling were recorded at only two sites this month, but were surely present on many more despite it not being a classic winter for the species. That being said, a nice count of 10 birds was recorded at Blenheim on the 3rd, taking advantage of the sunflower strip here.
Crossbill get themselves an honourable mention this month, mostly due to the popularity of the flock at Blenheim, which remained at least at 25 strong in the early part of the month. A further five sites reported smaller flocks, although both Bix and Cowleaze Wood had 20+ birds at various points this month.
Raptors
A lone Short-eared Owl was the only bird of note for this group, over Otmoor on the 12th. It has been a notably quiet winter for this species in 25/26, particularly in contrast to the last two winters.
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| Kestrel at Pinkhill courtesy of Debbie Cummins |
Although a quieter winter was probably expected at some point with such a nomadic boom or boost species. Four sites reported Merlin in January, Hinton Wildrist, Blewbury, Otmoor and Days Lock from the 7th through to the 31st.
Patchwork challenge
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Patch |
Birder |
Points |
Species |
Highlight |
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Aston eyot |
Ben Sheldon |
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Ardley ERF |
Gareth Casburn |
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Dix pit |
Simon Bradfield |
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Grimsbury reservoir |
Gareth Blockley |
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Lye valley |
Tom Bedford |
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River Thames |
Geoff Wyatt |
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Sutton Courtenay |
Conor MacKenzie |
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Radley GP’s |
Ian Elkins |
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Freeland |
Glen Pascoe |
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South Hinksey |
Alex Figueiredo |
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| Siskin Farmoor Reservoir courtesy of Ewan Urquhart |
Access to Bicester Wetland Reserve (BWR)
Those of you that have completed permit details to visit BWR were issued a padlock key. During the past 2-3 years Thames Water has operated a 24 hour open gate policy and your keys have not been needed.
Please note:
From Friday afternoon the 6th February the main entrance gate will be open from 07.30 to 15.30 Monday to Friday. Outside of these times the gate could be locked and you will need your key to the black BOS padlock.
If you arrive and the gate is locked you can enter using your padlock key and lock the gate behind you. If you need any more information please contact me by email birders@sky.com
Include your phone number and I will contact you.
Alan Peters Reserve Manager
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