Monday 26 February 2024

January and February

 

Newly returned Curlew (c) Darrell Wood

There has been very little change in the water levels across the moor since I wrote at the beginning of January…unless perhaps they have got deeper! There have been just one or two dry periods of high pressure over the last six weeks and consequently temperatures have remained well above average. There have been some spectacular storms with exceptionally heavy rainfall.There have been just a few frosty nights and no sustained ice on the lagoons. I have never known the moor to be so flooded and for so long, waters usually retreat after a few days , but not this year.

Lapwings over Greenaway's (c) JR

The above average temperatures have meant that birds are starting to sing and court perhaps two weeks earlier than we might have expected them to. There is a regular chorus of birdsong now with Chaffinches, Song Thrushes and Dunnocks among the most obvious. Cetti’s are also setting up territories and any walk around the reserve is punctuated by their strident and explosive shouts. Another bird that has been announcing its presence frequently is the seldom seen Water Rail, although at least two have been appearing intermittently along the flooded path to the first screen.

Long Tailed Tit (c) Bark

It took me almost an hour to walk from the carpark to the “crossroads” a couple of Sundays ago as there were so many small birds working their way along the bridleway hedges, loosely associating with a party of Long-tailed Tits. Goldcrests have been unusually easy to find, and the mild winter may have helped these diminutive birds to survive in good numbers.


Goldcrest (c) Bark

Despite careful looking we are yet to find a Firecrest amongst them, although they have been reported on the reserve in previous years. Chiffchaffs are also starting to sing, they are probably birds that have overwintered and not fresh incoming spring migrants.
Chiffy by the bridge (c) Bark

Curlew numbers are starting to build up and the first Redshanks are being seen across Big Otmoor. It is well worth looking carefully at any Curlew that can be ‘scoped on the ground. We are hoping that the first young birds that were fitted with flags on their upper thighs will be returning as mature adults to breed, any such markers spotted should be reported to the RSPB.

Curlew on Noke Sides (c) Darrell Wood

There have also been four Oystercatchers flying together and calling between Big Otmoor and Ashgrave. The huge flocks of both Golden Plovers and Lapwings are still present and offering spectacular sightings to visitors. They are often accompanied by parties of much smaller Dunlin. Scanning across Noke sides will often reveal them scuttling about and feeding around the feet of the Lapwings and Plovers. There have also been a limited number of Ruff but they can be a bit more difficult to pick out.

Luke snoozing (c) Bark

Wildfowl numbers are still extremely high with Wigeon, Teal, Pintail and Shoveller at their annual expected maxima. Our leuchistic drake Pochard (Luke) is back again and with the Pochard this year is a rather interesting looking hybrid that may well have some Ferruginous duck in its parentage. A pair of Red-crested Pochard were at the second screen a couple of weeks ago but flushed with all the other ducks when a Peregrine went over and sadly did not return.


Brent Goose on Noke Sides (c) Julian Parfitt

There has been a Brent Goose coming and going with the feral Canadas and Greylags, in flight it is very noticeable being much smaller than the birds it flies with, and on the ground (sometimes on Noke Sides) it is unmistakeable. This is only the fourth record since 2015.
White Front (c) John Uren

There are currently four Marsh Harriers present on and around the moor. One of them is a mature male and one looks as though it may be a sub-adult male. It will be interesting to see what happens with their breeding this year.


Marsh Harrier (c) JR

There is still a Ring-tailed Hen Harrier present and although it seems to be seen most frequently during the late afternoon around the Starling roost, we were lucky enough to see it over Greenaways around midday last week. Peregrines too are making daily appearances and can often be seen perched up in the bare oak tree on the side of the Noke sides field closest to the second screen.

Peregrines (c) Sue Carruthers.

There are still Starlings coming in to roost, but they are not using the reedbed as a roost site. They are currently spending the night in the hedgerows either adjacent to the reedbed or further down the bridleway towards Noke.

Golden Plovers (c) JR

The seed feeding beside the hide is still continuing and whilst it is attracting significant numbers of Finches and Buntings they are not present in the large numbers that we have seen in previous years. This is especially true of Linnets where we would once host flocks of hundreds we now attract flocks of twenty or thirty at the most. It may be that the mild wet winter has not driven them in to our feeding station and they can still find food in the wider countryside. Unfortunately it may also reflect a fall in their population.

Damp Kestrel on the trail to the second screen (c) Bark

The Cranes are back and in varying combinations and numbers. The last ringed bird  (Ted) is being seen, sometimes in company of another and sometimes alone. There have been at least four other birds seen, although we currently cannot differentiate between them as individuals. They are very vocal and will call and their calls often elicit a response from other Cranes across the reserve often out of sight of us and even several fields away.

Homebuilding (c) Bark

The latest nesting dramas are taking place in the reedbed where there are currently at least eight active Grey Heron nests. Birds can be seen coming and going with sticks to supplement the platforms that they have made from the reeds. They are not averse to stealing sticks from each other’s nests while the owners are out looking for more building materials. This activity can lead to some angry interactions. The adult breeding plumage is very smart, fresh and characterised by a bright orange bill.
The "wickering" call of Little Grebes is also being heard (c) John Uren

The soundscape on the reserve is quite exceptional at the moment; Curlew are calling and displaying, parties of Golden Plovers and the ground maintain a chittering that rises and falls in volume it seems according to their nervousness, some Lapwings are making their “peewit” courtship calls, Redshank are back and adding their distinctive call to the mix and on Saturday we heard our first Bittern “booms” of the year from the northern reedbed. Spring is just about arriving!

Water, water everywhere..... (c) JR

Monday 15 January 2024

December and a look back to 2023

Bird of the year 2023 Pallid Harrier (c) JR

Since I last wrote at the end of November one of the Otmoor Volunteers, who lives in Oddington, measured 100mm of rain in December and 40mm in the first five days of January. As one might expect the Otmoor basin currently is more like an inland sea than a regular wetland.
Noke sides (c) Bark

To see the moor now amply explains why no one ever built houses down there. The path to the first screen is almost high enough to overtop wellies!

Nearly over wellies (c) Bark

The abundant water has led to a sharp increase in the numbers of Lapwings, Golden Plovers and wildfowl.


Lapwing (c) Darrell Woods

The Starling roost has diminished somewhat but still numbers many thousands. The huge biomass obviously continues to attract many raptors, with a ring-tailed Hen Harrier being seen frequently over Greenaways in the late afternoon and single, but different, Peregrines are being seen on most visits. Sparrowhawks are being spotted flying low over the reedbed, perhaps looking for injured or moribund Starlings. They are also making more regular visits to the seed feeding site beside the hide, where they panic the Linnets, Reed Buntings and Chaffinches into flight.
Sparrowhawk waiting for a finch supper (c) Bark

It usually takes about half an hour for the birds to regain their confidence enough to return, and resume feeding. There are currently two female Marsh Harriers being seen regularly on site and there have been reports of an adult male being seen in the late afternoons. In amongst the numerous Lapwings and Golden pLovers the first waders are being seen.
A flush of lapwings on one of the few sunny days (c) Tom N-L

A photograph that was carefully scrutinised last week revealed at least one hundred Dunlin flushing up from the flood field and five Ruff were seen on the most recent WEBS count. There are huge flotillas of ducks out on the Flood Field with significant but slightly smaller numbers on Big Otmoor and Closes. With the birds so distant it is difficult to go through them carefully to look for the more unusual species, it might well be that the American Wigeon has returned or that there may be a Green-winged Teal lurking amongst the two or three thousand Eurasian Teal that are currently overwintering with us.

Reed Bunting (c) Bark

Last year we recorded 157 species on the moor, not a record year, but still a substantial number of species for an inland site.


Great Egret and Cattle Egret (c) Bark

What was most interesting was the absence of some species that we once would have expected to see, and the arrival of three that had never been recorded before. It was a poor year for waders with no Stints or Sanderlings and no Grey Plovers. There was no passage Osprey, no Mandarin Ducks nor did we see any Parakeets. Another species that has become much more regular recently on Otmoor and in the UK is Glossy Ibis, yet we did not see one last year.


We did attract a pair of Bewick's Swans in December (c) Bark

There was a welcome increase in the number of Cattle Egrets and Great Egrets using the site. Up to three Spotted Crakes were heard calling for a number of weeks and it may very well be that this secretive species bred on Otmoor this year. Black-winged Stilt and Night Heron were new birds for Otmoor.
Stonechats are present across the moor (c) Bark

The heron was photographed in flight late in the evening but was not seen again, although another was found in the county, around the same time near Abingdon. 

Night Heron (c) Jeremy Dexter 

The Stilt, the Night Heron and the Spotted Crakes are wetland species that are thought to have been pushed further north by global warming that is drying and degrading their traditional breeding grounds in the Iberian peninsula.

Black-winged Stilt (c) Rob Cadd.


Pallid Harrier (c) Bark

Our bird of the year was without doubt the juvenile Pallid Harrier that appeared on the 9th September. Initially identified from a photograph. It remained on Otmoor until late morning before moving on. We were very fortunate to have it fly directly over our heads as we stood on the bridleway near Noke. It was without doubt my stand-out birding experience of the year. With the brief visit of a juvenile male Montague’s Harrier in August we were proud to have hosted all four common European Harrier species this year, a feat probably not matched by any other RSPB site in the country.

Ashgrave (c) JR

As we move on through January the Otmoor basin remains like an inland sea. The waters will of course draw down in time and as the surrounding countryside begins to dry out birds will be drawn into the wetland to feed and roost.
Pintail pair (c) JR

Ducks are pairing up and displaying. The Coot wars have started, with fights that look certain to cause drownings taking place across the lagoon.


Coot wars (c) Bark

The battles are conducted with a screeching chorus and a clicking clacking calls. Water Rails are also very vocal at the moment as are the Cetti’s Warblers looking for partners or establishing territories. It always surprises me how quickly spring comes around once we get through January!

The mammals are taking to the higher ground (c) JR

Friday 1 December 2023

November Round-up

 

Bewick's Swans (c) Jackie Newcombe

Until the first frosts at the very end of the month November was uncharacteristically warm and wet. The frequent heavy rain has added to the lying water and scrapes and ditches are now full and some fields, especially out on the adjacent MOD land, are already flooding up. 

Goosander courtesy of Paul Wyeth.

Water levels across the reserve are already fifty centimetres higher than they were at the same time last year.

Wigeon and Mallard (c) Bark

The Flood Field on the Oddington side of the moor is already holding a lot of water and this is attracting large numbers of wildfowl. Teal, Wigeon and Shoveller numbers recorded on the latest WEBS survey are higher than those usually seen at this stage of the winter. We have also recorded over forty Pintail which usually appear in the middle and later winter periods.


Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail on ice at the Hide (c) Bark

The winter seed feeding for seed eaters has started beside the Wetlands Watch and is already attracting good numbers of Linnets, Chaffinches and Reed Buntings.



Chaffinch Linnet and Reed Bunting by the hide (c) Bark

As the natural supplies of small seeds out in the wider countryside diminishes, we will find even larger numbers of birds coming in to feed. In previous winters Bramblings, Redpolls and Yellow Hammers have been regular visitors along with a scattering of Goldfinches and Bullfinches.
Yellowhammer (c) Bark

We were treated to a visit by two Bewick’s Swans on the last weekend of the month. The birds were on passage and left before dark, heading westward.

Bewick's Swans (c) Pete Roby

They were the first Bewick’s to visit us since February 2011, which sadly reflects their increasing rarity. They left heading west and one of them was recognised at Slimbridge the next morning, as “Bruton”. Bewick’s swans have unique bill patterns that make them identifiable as individuals.

Mute Swans (c) Bark

We tend not to pay too much attention to our resident Mute Swans, which is a pity as they are both beautiful and display a host of fascinating behaviours. A pair brought their seven small cygnets to the reedy bank in front of the second screen in the spring and spent a lot of time in May and June resting up there when not out on the water.
Cygnets in June by second screen (c) Bark

It has good to watch them develop, although the original seven cygnets are now reduced to five, they are now fully fledged.
Marching across Greenaway's in September (c) Bark

They are still sticking together as a group but will soon disperse and eventually be driven off by the adults.
In front of the first screen last week (c) Bark

The Starling roost is underway but often fails to offer the spectacle that it once did. There are significantly large numbers of birds coming into the roost, but they do not always perform the expected display.

Warming up after a cold night (c) Bark

As soon as we have significant frosts and the water under the reedbed freezes solid the Starlings will move, to somewhere that does not make them vulnerable to predation from below. The large number of birds present attracts predators.
Sparrowhawk over the reedbed (c) Bark

This year there is a ring-tailed Hen Harrier being seen, as well as three Marsh Harriers, several Sparrowhawks and at least two regular Peregrines. 

Marsh Harrier courtesy of Paul Wyeth.

People have also reported seeing  Short-eared Owls hunting in the dusk across Greenaway’s, as they make their way back to the car park.


Reed Bunting munching reeds (c) Bark

If travelling down to see the Starlings try to avoid the weekends and if possible, car-share. After the heavy rains the paths out to the viewpoints are very muddy indeed, which is further compounded by the very heavy footfall at this time of year.
The low sun in the mornings can light up the trees.

Lapwing and Golden Plover numbers are steadily increasing, as the wider countryside dries out and the moor remains wet, so it will attract even more of them.


Lapwings over the screen (c) Bark

There have been very large numbers of Fieldfares feeding in the hedges and out on the fields. They seem to outnumber the Redwings by about five to one.
Fieldfare by the hide (c) Bark

There is still plenty of fruit on the Hawthorn bushes and lots of rosehips in the hedgerows. We must hope that there are still some berries available should the Waxwings, that are already being seen in adjacent counties, come south to us!
Frosty goldfinch (c) Bark