The Highlights
2026 continues to deliver on its excellent form and for the second time in as many months I find myself writing about a county mega I didn’t see! A few tentative reports of an American Golden Plover posted on the blog on the 18th were soon nailed on by a few photos circulating the various county channels - Oxons 3rd record! With a delay in news filtering out and confirming the identification, the next question to follow was - was it still present? Thankfully the answer was yes, and another classic Oxon twitch assembled at Otmoor, the first of 2026. Thankfully, despite an abundance of habitat to disappear into, this 2CY individual took a liking to the scrapes in front of the Wetlands Hide. This afforded some excellent viewing opportunities and most folk arrived and departed very happy indeed, even treated to a fly-by White Stork that had been doing the rounds recently. Unlike the previous two records this was not a one-day wonder and remained on Otmoor until the 20th, with plenty of out of county twitchers and locals connecting with the bird over the course of its 3 day stay. Just by chance a few of us had been discussing the possibility of an AGP just four days prior to this find - Great Reed Warbler next please!
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| Twiching the American Golden Plover from the Wetlands Watch hide Otmoor. The brilliantly reimagined area in front of the hide, is already pulling in some great birds, well done the rspb and the volunteers. |
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| The American Golden Plover courtesy of Steve Sansom |
Both previous records have come from Port Meadow and both were in the presence 100s of Golden Plover, the 1st county record in 2008 followed by the 2nd in 2012. Port Meadows status as a great Golden Plover site had meant AGP had been on the radar of birders here for a number of years. That sites subsequent reduction in Golden Plover from 1000s down to low 100s in the following decade and a half, means the likelihood of another appears slim. Although given Ring-billed Gull had almost disappeared from the radar all together, never say never. The 2008 bird was another record of interesting coincidence. Ian Lewington was checking out a report of an interesting Plover in amongst the Golden Plover flock of Port Meadow, eventually concluding this individual was an aberrant European. A scan whilst on site, however, did actually turn up an AGP! The odds of this seem incredibly slim, and thankfully after a near miss, Adam Hartley, the finder of the aberrant individual in 2008 went on to find his very own in 2012 - the county’s 2nd.
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| The 2026 AGP courtesy of Thomas Miller |
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| The Black-winged Stilt courtesy of Thomas Miller |
April has pushed the county year
list to 185 with all expected migrants now having passed through or arrived,
with maybe the exception of Spotted Flycatcher. Has 2026
peaked with three county megas in the last few weeks? May is often the
month we’re silly things can happen, so we shall have to see if things can go
one better still. That’s the great thing about birding, just when you think you
know what to expect, things can take an unexpected turn. Who would have really
thought blockers like Marsh Sandpiper and Twite would
occur again, never mind in the same year? And Bluethroat? As if!
Waders
Aside from the obvious double
header highlights section, April was a classically busy affair for waders. Wood
Sandpiper, not always a reliable spring migrant, had a very good showing
this month with four sites recording birds in the latter half of April. Balscote
Quarry Reserve was the first site to get in on the action with a well
watched bird present on 23rd – 25th. By far the most
impressive record however came from Port Meadow on the 24th.
A vis-migged bird calling as it flew over the site without landing in what must
be a fairly unique experience for most inland county birders. Clearly a few
birds were moving through the county as the 25th saw another bird at
Bicester Wetlands Reserve, whilst one at Otmoor on the 28th
lingered for a few days until at least the 30th and occasionally in
the company of the aforementioned Stilt.
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| Wood Sandpiper courtesy of Nick Truby |
Grey Plover, Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit are a staple of late April wader migration and all three put in a decent show this month. The first Whimbrel was on Port Meadow on the 12th, not exceptionally early but notable at least. Barwit and Whimbrel can often arrive in mixed flocks and so was the case for the 22nd, when one of each species was at both Farmoor and Port Meadow. With the latter site also hosting 10 Greenshank fresh in that day. Otmoor hosted a single Whimbrel from the 14th – 24th, although it seems likely that all records where not the exact same individual. Although not a classic migration day like last year, Farmoor had a great showing on the 24th. At first a single Whimbrel flew through only to be shortly followed by 11 others in a tight flock all heading Northeast, with a single Bar-tailed Godwit also managing to sneak through in amongst the flock, unseen until the inspection of some photos later that day. All in all, the site saw a minimum of 13 birds through that day, along with two over the Blewbury Downs earlier that morning it was clear a large overland movement was underway. Farmoor also saw further records of single birds on the 26th and 30th, whilst also on the 30th two Grey Plover were briefly on the causeway at first light but did not hang about!
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| Otmoor Whimbrel courtesy of David at The Hall of Einar |
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| Above Whimbrel and below Bar-tailed Godwit at Port Meadow at the same time courtesy of Thomas Miller |
The 30th saw the first
Sanderling of the year, with surely a few more yet to come in the next
couple weeks. Ruff, a seemingly scarcer migrant each year, was confined
to elusive birds at Otmoor. Two records were reported on Otmoor on
the 6th and 25th, presumably relating to different
individuals. Six sites hosted Greenshank this month, with the already
mentioned flock at Port Meadow by far the highest count. Otmoor,
having already had an exceptionally early record in late March, had
a single bird on the 12th. Two birds followed on the 24th,
with a single bird remaining until at least the 30th. The ten birds
at Port Meadow were reduced to just one by the 23rd – 24th,
whilst Bicester Wetlands also had single bird during this period. Towards
the end of the month a flurry of records came from Ardley ERF, Farmoor and
Venn Mill with 3, 2 and 1 at each site respectively. Black-tailed
Godwit were on three sites, with some big flocks seen at two of the
county’s premier sites. A flock of 15 was seen over Farmoor on the 5th,
although for obvious reasons did not linger very long. Port Meadow then
had a very decent flock of c.30, but again these birds clearly were in a hurry
and continued on their way very shortly after being found. The following day a
further ten stayed a little longer at Port Meadow, although were gone by
the following day. Otmoor was the final site to see this early migrant
come through, with seven on the 7th and a trio also lingering here
on the 18th.
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| Sanderling courtesy of Carl Salmon |
Ringed Plover were confined entirely to Otmoor, with a nice flock of 12 on the 5th followed by a lone bird on the 12th. Dunlin were also a little thin on the ground, with Farmoor and Otmoor hosting birds. Two were at Farmoor on the 10th and then singles reported on the 24th – 30th which probably involved more than one lingering individual. Otmoor however only had the single record, a lone bird on the 19th. Having returned en masse the previous month, a minimum of 11 sites had records of Little Ringed Plover in April. Nine of those sites seemed to involve territorial birds, with eight across Rushy Common the highest count this month. Ardley ERF was close behind though, with up to six here on 16th, a site which has hosted decent breeding numbers in the past. Farmoor and Grimsbury hosted birds clearly on the move, either within the county or to elsewhere, with a maximum of three birds at former and only singles at the latter.
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| Little Ringed Plover courtesy of Ewan Urquhart |
With wintering birds now gone, Green Sandpiper were on the move and were present on a minimum of three sites. Bicester Wetlands Reserve hosted 1-3 birds from the 4th – 13th, whilst Cornwall Marsh had a single bird 7th – 9th. Rushy Common was the final site, with a single bird here on the 19th. Common Sandpiper were much more widespread this month with at least 12 sites seeing passage birds. The wintering bird at Farmoor remained into at least the first week of April, before being replaced by nine birds on the 18th. The 18th was clearly a big passage day, with Grimsbury hosting six birds that day, whilst at least three other sites recorded birds that day. An unseasonable Jack Snipe rounds off the section nicely, with lone bird flushed from Waterstock on the 4th.
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| Dunlin courtesy of David Hastings |
Wildfowl, game etc
After disappearing at the end of March,
the stunning drake Long-tailed Duck had apparently ended its
prolonged stay at Rushy Common, after pleasing so many visitors over the
course of its stay. It was then somewhat surprising that the same drake was on
the main lake at Blenheim on the 19th. Where it had been in
the preceding 3 weeks is anyone’s guess but for local patch birders that didn’t
matter a jot! This was the first record here since 1973, so a must have for
almost anyone birding there today. An excellent find it did not linger longer
than a single day just long enough for some very happy locals to catch up with
it.
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| The Long-tailed Duck at Blenheim courtesy of Gareth Cashburn |
The juvenile Great Northern Diver continued at Farmoor for the first couple weeks of April, apparently leaving the site overnight on the 13th. A drake Common Scoter at Dix Pit on the 4th replaced the long-staying bird at Farmoor the previous month, and itself only stuck around for the day. The female Scaup which had spent much of the winter at Farmoor lingered into the early part of April been reported on the 2nd and 5th but not again after this latter date. Goldeneye were still present on the two sites in the first week of the month, five at Dix Pit on the 4th and a pair lingering at Farmoor between the 5th and 8th.
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| The Great Northern Diver courtesy of Ewan Urquhart |
Wintering birds done, the most notable records came from sites hosting Shelduck. A minimum of eight sites hosted birds, mostly pairs and at least some of these probable candidates for breeding birds in 2026. The majority of records related to pairs of single birds, although some larger groups were present – seven at Port Meadow being the highest count on the 20th. NCVW had the next highest count with four on the 10th, and it will be interesting to see which sites over the next few weeks place host to the rare county breeder. Speaking of rare breeders, Goosander were present in three location this month. A pair were back in their usual place of Waterstock from the 4th, whilst a single bird at Port Meadow on the 9th was likely one of the pair also present just upriver at Kings Lock on the 5th.
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| The Dix Common Scoter courtesy of Ewan Urquhart |
A lone Pintail at Otmoor was notable for its lateness, being present on the 14th. Red-crested Pochard were present on three sites – Blenheim, Rushy Common & LWV with all sites hosting paired up individuals. Finally, Mandarin records were surprisingly widespread with five sites reporting birds. Grimsbury Reservoir and Otmoor probably the most notable records, although “notable” is perhaps something of a misnomer in the context of a Mandarin record!
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| Mandarin Duck courtesy of Jeremy Dexter |
Herons, egrets etc
For the 2nd year in a row Otmoor had itself a flyover Spoonbill record, despite an abundance of suitable habitat for at least a brief stop! This individual, like many records, was juvenile and appeared to be heading south, in very similar circumstances as last years record. With so many breeding birds to the north and east of the county, it seems likely that this once mega county bird will become a reliable annual occurrence.
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| Spoonbill video grab courtesy of Rod Cadd |
Another species which was seen massively changed
fortunes in the UK, but in a very different set circumstances, is White
Stork. Records of this species has risen exponentially in thanks to the
many “reintroduction” schemes across the country, with almost all counties now
seemingly involved in their own projects. Some of these schemes are under
official channels and linked with the original projects out of Knepp Estate,
such as birds released from Cotswold Wildlife Park. One of these
released individuals was seen over Sandford Lock on the 5th,
having been released in 2022 and has subsequently travelled to Spain in
recent migration cycles. Other schemes however are outside of the official
channels and releasing birds en masse under the radar. One such project had one
of its individuals in Buscot Wick on the 17th, with the bird
subsequently seen over Otmoor and Headington on the 18th.
This project is also involved in releasing Crane, Turtle Dove and quite
unbelievably Black Crowned Night-heron! Presumably this bird was then
regularly reported over Otmoor throughout the month. A single individual
over Goring on the 18th, was presumably a different bird to
this one given the distances involved between sightings. All of these birds
present a major headache for rarity committees and birders alike, given some
may be genuine wild birds whilst others are essentially escaped caged birds. It
will be interesting to see how this situation progresses over the years!
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| White Stork over Otmoor courtesy of Gareth Cashburn |
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| White Stork Buscot Wick courtesy of Ian Sheriffs |
Cattle Egret were fairly widespread this month with at least nine sites recording birds. The breeding colony at Blenheim was well underway this month, with at least six birds present here at the beginning of April. Chimney Meadows also had six birds, and I would have a bet that there is breeding colony also somewhere either around this site or around the Thames, given the amount of activity in recent years. The rest of the sightings involved single or pairs for the most part and at regular sites throughout the month. Great White Egret continue to be fairly widespread and although my predictions for breeding records seem to fall short annually, a breeding plumage bird at Blenheim surely holds some potential? Particularly in the company of another individual, one of the colour ringed birds from down in Somerset. We shall wait and see! Other than that, most sites recording birds were regular sites for the species with Otmoor the only other site reporting more than one bird – 2 on the 14th.
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| Great White Egret courtesy of Gareth Cashburn |
Crane were back on Otmoor
this month, although only the one pair. With fingers crossed for a more
successful breeding year than the last couple! The 2nd pair that
usually comes back has yet to be reported so it’s possible these birds have not
returned or may be at Chimney Meadows, another site that has regularly
hosted birds in recent breeding seasons.
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| Glossy Ibis courtesy of Michael Enticott |
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| The Glossy Ibis trio are now a resident feature at Otmoor, courtesy of Paul Wyeth |
Gulls and Terns
Who doesn’t love a tern? There’s something about these mega wanderers that gets the heart going. Even the humble Common Tern is just a fun bird to spend a few minutes admiring as they bounce through the wind and occasionally dive for tiny unseen fish. This month we had all five regularly occurring Tern species, with the obvious standout being a pair of Little Tern. Not a reliable species in any given year, it is quite often the highlight of any major tern movements across inland counties. Unfortunately, this pair did not remain for very long only being present for a few hours on the 8th. With lots of birds moving around on the 22nd, it’s unsurprising that a few Black Tern were also recording moving through the county. A pair of adults spent a few hours hawking over F2, occasionally showing well before departing high northeast like much of the wader action that day. Not long after a 2nd pair followed and essentially performed the exact same routine. A single bird was then recorded at Otmoor on the 30th, not a typical site for the species.
Preceding the Black Tern movements,
a group of Little Gull, eight adults and a single 2CY moved through on
the 23rd. Whilst hot on the tails of the Black Tern followed
an even larger group of Little Gull, 11 adults and a 2CY performed
wonderfully for a small group of observers. Occasionally wheeling over the
causeway and even calling as they flew overhead – a quite magical experience. Further
Tern action came from a trio of Sandwich Tern on 11th at Farmoor,
followed by a single bird here on the 18th. Finally, a pair of Arctic
Tern on the 28th was the only record of the species
during this migration period. This was a disappointing return after last year’s
mega display of 120+ birds on a similar date.
The first Common Tern of the year returned on the 3rd with a single at Pit 60, a fairly typical arrival date for the species. It was a full week before the next record before the next record, with a single at Farmoor on the 11th. The real movement of birds got going in the 3rd week of the month though, with a further eight sites seeing birds from the 17th through to the 27th. Sonning Eye GPs saw the highest count with seven on the 27th, with most other records relating to one or two individuals. Rounding the group off, a single 2CY Mediterranean Gull was on Farmoor on the 12th.
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| Common Tern courtesy of Ian Stewart |
Passerines
Another year, another untwitchable Hoopoe record for the county. It seems the west of the county, Witney especially! A bird was on private land in Hailey was annoyingly present for three days from the 19th. Unfortunately, access was not possible and the wait for another twitchable bird continues.
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| Courtesy of R.Wildbury |
Also on the
elusive front, a female Pied Flycatcher proved extremely difficult to
pin down despite plenty of eyeballs searching for it on the 16th. It
was eventually pinned down with some determined effort, although it did not
exactly show well.
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| Pied Flycatcher courtesy of Ewan Urquhart |
Several Ring Ouzel were
found this month, with two unusual sites producing long awaited patch birds for
some locals. Blenheim had the first, a cracking male, on the 11th.
Unfortunately, this one did not linger long enough for everyone to enjoy. Aston
Rowant, a more classic site, hosted two birds on the 14th and
instead of losing them, these were joined by two further birds the following
day. Otmoor was probably the most notable site this month, not least
because of both an American Golden Plover and White Stork also
being present – a rather odd mix of rarities for the site. One of the major
surprises this month was the presence of a couple twitchable Nightingale records!
Although they do breed annually in the county, they are usually in inaccessible
locations and flit between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. These
two though were well within Oxon with the first Radley GPs in the
latter half of April, performing wonderfully and heard easily within 1-2km
range! The 2nd was present on Port Meadow for a period time in
late April, although given the location there was considerable concern
around disturbance pressure. In the end, the bird did move on, as with the Radley
bird, and most likely due to both birds inability to entice a non-existent female.
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| Ring Ouzel courtesy of Mark Lloyd |
After last years disappointing spring passage, it was great to see so many Wheatear records this spring. A whopping 17 sites recorded birds from 4th onwards, with several sites seeing multiple individuals. Sarsgrove, a hither to unknown Wheatear hotspot, became the epicentre of activity for the species with the only double figure count this month – up to 13 by the 18th. The Downs also continued to be the place to be to see this northernly bound passerine with eight sites here recording birds, Childrey Field recording the most, with up to eight on the 18th – which was clearly a large passage day. For the most part the remaining records related to pairs or smaller groups and were spread right up and down the county.
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| Redstart Lye Valley courtesy of Tom Bedford |
The first Whinchat of the year was at Otmoor this
year, a single bird on the 14th – a pretty typical arrival date over
the last decade or so. Further records followed on the 17th and 18th
at Days Lock and Childrey Field respectively. Redstart were
present on at least eight sites, after an early individual the previous month. The
first was at Eynsham on the 6th whilst the last was Blewbury
Chalkpit on the 21st. The most interesting though came from Lye
Valley on the 13th where a stonking male was briefly observed in
song during its stay, a fairly uncommon occurrence within the county’s borders.
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| Wheatear courtesy of George Knight |
White Wagtail were across at least six sites, although this likely to be quite a bit higher with good views needed to confirm our Pied Wagtails continental cousins. Ardley ERF had the first bird of the month on the 4th, whilst Farmoor regularly had birds between the 4th and 15th, with at least two individuals involved. The highest count though came from NCVW on the 11th, where at least six were present. Other sites included Grimsbury Reservoir and Pit 60 which both had singles on the 13th and 18th respectively.
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| White Wagtail courtesy of David Hastings |
· Reed Warbler – first record at Otmoor on
the 1st, followed by Farmoor and Days Lock on the 8th
for both sites.
·
Willow Warbler – continued to be recorded
at sites until the 19th, with Waterstock the last site to
report a singing bird.
·
Yellow Wagtail – first record at Port
Meadow on the 6th, followed by birds at Otmoor and Days
Lock on the 7th and 8th respectively with four at the
latter site.
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Whitethroat – first record at Blewbury
Chalkpit on the 6th, followed by Farmoor and Port
Meadow on the 8th and 9th respectively.
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Lesser Whitethroat – first record at Marston
Meadows (2) on the 6th, followed by Farmoor and Port
Meadow on the 8th and 9th respectively.
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Cuckoo – first record at Farmoor on
the 8th, followed by Marston Meadows and Port Meadow on
the 9th and 10th respectively. A further six sites
reported birds through to the 20th.
·
Garden Warbler – first record at Otmoor
on the 8th, followed by Port Meadow on the 20th.
· Grasshopper Warbler – first record at Otmoor
on the 9th, followed by Farmoor on the 15th
and Radley GPs on the 18th.
·
Swift – first bird at Days Lock on
the 12th, followed by Farmoor on the 17th which
had 100+ by the 24th.
Otmoor reached its 10-warbler day by the 14th, whilst Farmoor’s occurred on the 22nd – a significant milestone date for each site in any given calendar year. Significant counts of Sand Martin occurred at Pit 60 and Rushy Common with 350 and 100+ respectively towards the end of the month. Whilst rounded off things, a lingering Brambling at Blenheim on the 10th occasionally burst into song and was still present on the 21st.
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| Yellow Wagtail courtesy of Ewan Urquhart |
Below a table of arrival dates for selected
species.
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Species |
Median (since
2000) |
Earliest |
2026 |
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Raptors
Another species which is becoming more regular within the county, a White-tailed Sea Eagle was reported at Cholsey on the 25th and 26th. Despite their massive size, these birds somehow manage to evade wider viewing with most records remaining elusive and restricted to single observer records. Although potentially less surprising when you see how far these birds can and do travel in search of suitable feeding grounds between roost sites, the juveniles wander for 100s/1000s of miles in their first three years before settling on territories and pairing up. Interestingly, fisherman at Farmoor reported seeing a bird ‘much bigger than a Red Kite or Osprey’ a couple weeks after. A wandering Osprey continued to pose questions about where this individual was roosting and whether we might end up with a breeding pair at some point. The individual which had clearly been doing the rounds last month was subsequently seen at Port Meadow, Abingdon and Cutteslowe on the 1st. It was then at Farmoor and Hatford on the 4th. Farmoor hosted it again on the 9th, before it was seen over Grimsbury Reservoir on the 13th presumably on route to departing the county and heading to Northants where a breeding pair has established very close to the county border.
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| Osprey Farmoor Reservoir courtesy of Steve Sansom |
A Hen Harrier on the 2nd over the Blewbury Downs was an interestingly late record and the only one this month. A lone Short-eared Owl was also recorded at Otmoor on the 18th, although these nomadic birds are a law unto themselves and so whether this is a late stayer or early arrival is anyone’s guess. A lone Merlin was on Cornwell Marsh on the 9th, whilst the first Hobby of the year came from Otmoor on the 13th. The next record did not follow until the 18th, whilst Farmoor and Marston Meadows followed suit on the 24th and 26th respectively. By this point though, Otmoor was already into double figure counts and by the 28th over 20 birds were seen hawking over the site!
Patchwork
challenge
|
Patch |
Birder |
Points |
Species |
Highlight |
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Grimsbury reservoir |
Gareth
Blockley |
102 |
92 |
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Lye valley |
Tom Bedford |
79 |
83 |
The decent spring continues with an urban singing male Redstart(!), 4th patch record); plus singing Sedge Warbler (3rd patch record) and Reed Warbler (6th patch record) meant I hit 100% of last year's points total on 24th April. Madness! |
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River Thames |
Geoff Wyatt |
143 |
122 |
Whinchat |
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Blewbury Chalkpit |
Conor
MacKenzie |
98 |
87 |
Redstart, Whimbrel |
|
Radley GP’s |
Ian Elkins |
104 |
97 |
Nightingale, Redstart, Grasshopper Warbler, Mandarin and Cattle Egret |
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Port Meadow |
Thomas Miller |
137 |
116 |
Nightingale patch tick, Wood Sandpiper, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Greenshank, Little Gull, Osprey, Wheatear |
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| Firecrest Blenhiem courtesy of Gareth Casburn |
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