Henley Road GPs: 10th January

Henley Road GPs
2 Smew: 1m 1f.

Hugh Netley

Grimsbury Reservoir: 10th January

Grimsbury Reservoir
3 Goosander: 2 drk.
2 Lesser Redpoll: One ringed bird (couldn't get ring details).
19 Snipe: In wet field to NW of reservoir.
22 Lapwing: In flooded fields north of reservoir.
32 Wigeon: In flooded fields north of reservoir.
13 Teal: In flooded fields north of reservoir.
3 Gadwall: In flooded fields north of reservoir.
6 Shoveler: In flooded fields north of reservoir.
Green Sandpiper: In flooded fields north of reservoir

Gareth Blockley

Bicester 9th January

Still no sign of the Glossy Ibis at the Bicester Avenue Garden Centre by 14:00

Bicester Avenue Garden Centre 8th January

Glossy Ibis courtesey of T.S

GLOSSY IBIS imm again at The Bicester Avenue Garden Centre on floods adjacent
to the car park (about here). The bird flushes easily so please view at a sensible distance.

Present until about 1pm when it flew off and no further sign so far by 2:15 p.m. though
it may well still return.

 
Green Sandpiper                                                        All photos below courtesey of Derek Woodard
Chiffchaff (singing)
Redwing & Fieldfare flock c300

 

Grimsbury Reservoir: 7th January

Grimsbury Reservoir
7 Goosander: 4 male, 3 fem.

Graeme Porter

7th January: Bicester Garden Centre

(c) Nick Truby

GLOSSY IBIS at 3pm today feeding on the floods in the north east corner of the Bicester Avenue Garden Centre (about here) where it remained on and off until dusk.
Jeff Pursey very kindly alerted the wider birding community to its presence this afternoon.
Apparently first seen and identified yesterday at the Bicester Wetlands reserve.
Note that as it's quite close to the road it does tend to flush rather easily but seems to return to the same spot so best viewed from your car.

All above pictures courtesey of Nick Truby



Video (c) Gnome

Alkerton/Balscote 7th January

Great grey Shrike still near Alkerton at disused quarry this afternoon. (per Barry Batchelor) Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

Didcot 7th January

Peregrine 3 Didcot Power Station (per Brian Wyatt)

December Highlights

Iceland Gull by Andy Last

Once again the concrete basin took most of the limelight this month and once again it involved a pelagic county mega; also a potential first for Britain but only a second for Oxon stopped off at nearby Stanton Harcourt briefly.

A family of four Whooper Swans arrived at the RSPB Otmoor reserve on the 2nd of December and stayed throughout the month. Was this the same party of two adults and two juveniles that spent some time on Otmoor last winter? Sadly one of the adults was later found dead.

The ring-tailed Hen Harrier remained on the RSPB reserve over the course of December with perhaps

two ring-tailed birds on the 8th. A Marsh Harrier was an all too brief visitor to at the same site on the 2nd. A Short-eared Owl was near the airfield at Weston-on-the-Green on the 12th with at least two other birds being seen regually in the south of the county. Merlins were seen on the 8th at Grimsbury Reservoir and sporadically on Otmoor and the Downs until the end of the year.

A Bittern was seen on Otmoor on the 7th with possibly two present on the 13th and 15th. A third Bittern was seen in the county this time on the Pinkhill reserve adjacent to Farmoor reservoir on the 9th. 

courtesey of Lew

The first of at least two stunning Iceland Gulls arrived in Oxfordshire on the 8th near Didcot and was seen sporadically over December. A second juvenile Iceland was discovered loafing again near Didcot on the 9th with a brief appearance in the Farmoor roost on the 12th. The first bird was subsequently then re-found amongst the throngs of Larids roosting on Port Meadow on the 9th.

The second Iceland Gull courtesey of The gun-slinger

Adult Caspian Gull (c) Gnome

Caspian Gull sightings were down on last month but still included an adult on Port Meadow on the 2nd with a 1st winter at the same site on the 6th. A superb Mediterranean Gull was also at Port Meadow on the 3rd.

A Sanderling was an unseasonal sighting at Farmoor on the 3rd with the long staying Red-necked Grebe last seen on the 4th.

Velvet Scoter (c) Gnome

On the 4th of December a Velvet Scoter was discovered at Farmoor - its arrival had county listers hastily re-arranging work schedules and extending lunch breaks in order to catch a glimpse of this nationally scarce pelagic duck. This was the first record of this species in the county since 1997. Unfortunately the Scoter had gone by first light of the 5th.

Falcated Duck courtesey of The Gun-Slinger

A drake Falcated Duck was found on the 21st during a monthly wildfowl count at Dix Pit and it is easy to speculate that it is the same bird that was at Farmoor last year from the 9th-13th December returning for a second winter in the county. It was still present early the next day but had gone by midday and presumably went straight on to languish in category D.

A drake Smew added a shock of winter colour at Standlake on the 8th and again on the 26th with what was probably the same 'Nun' nearby on Dix Pit Stanton Harcourt on the 15th.

A flock of up to seventy Egyptian Geese were being regularly seen near Shiplake to the south of the county mid month with three Barnacle Geese of unknown origin gracing Farmoor on the 16th.

Last month's Great Grey Shrike retained its winter territory to the north of the county throughout December ranging between Alkerton and Balscote.

The Otmoor Starling roost numbers ranged between an impressive 30-50,000 birds over December. As to when and if these murmurations decide to dance, that remains a mystery.

A very late Swallow was seen in Thame by the church on the 17th.

Going forward, as we edge onwards towards the teeth of winter, we could find one of the scarcer goose species hidden amongst all of our regular feral goose flocks.

The remaining 3 Whoopers (c) Nigel Forrow

Otmoor 6th January

Whooper Swan 3 (1ad)
Dunlin 22

(per Zoe Edwards RSPB)
Full RSPB WeBs count Here

Appleford Iceland Monday 6th

The Juv Iceland Gull departed WSW (without prompting) at 13:15pm from the flooded field
at this location. Approx SU527928
Adult L B-b Gull wearing blue ring on right leg - just too far away to read. Probably a Dutch bird(?)

Balscote: 6th January

 

iPhone-scoped Shrike courtesey of Tom Coyne

Great Grey Shrike Still present at abandoned quarry - viewed from 5 bar gate.

5mls WNW of Banbury and 3/4ml NW of Balscote.
Take A422 from Banbury then take 1st left after Balscote Quarry turn signed to Alkerton

Tom Coyne

Appleford: 5th January

Iceland Gull juv by puddles in ploughed field before flying to join distant gull flock
at the back of the field. SU529928.

Michael Pocock

Port Meadow 5th January

Jack Snipe, 1 flushed at midday today

Mongewell 5th January

Blackcap in my garden.

Cuddesdon: 5th January

1 Raven
Fieldfare 500
Redwing 200
Gadwall 4

Birdless Cuddesdon blog

Farmoor 5th January

Rock Pipit

Cowlease Wood: 5th January

Cowlease Wood
5 Brambling: At least 5, with Chaffinches near the house in south-east corner of wood. Please note site is Cowleaze Wood, not Cowlease Wood.

Roger Morton

Alkerton/Balscote 5th January

Great Grey Shrike still 5mls WNW of Banbury and 3/4ml NW of Balscote at disused quarry
at 10:10am.Take A422 from Banbury then take 1st left after Balscote Quarry turn signed to Alkerton
and view quarry from double gates on right. (per RBA)

Still present this afternoon (per Roger Evans)

Otmoor 5th January

Whoopers courtesey T.S

Whooper Swan 3 (1ad)
Hen Harrier r/t
Peregrine 2
SparrowhawK

Ruff 27
Dunlin 11
Golden Plover c1000
Lapwing 1500+
Bearded Tit (h) nr 2nd screen
Large numbers of Teal & Wigeon over the reserve

nb: No access to the reserve from Noke due to flooding.



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