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Displaying Great Crested Grebes (c) Bark |
March came in like a lion and has departed in a
similar robust fashion. There have been only a few dry, calm days but the
temperatures have remained higher than average, with just a few frosty nights.
The moor is still very wet but at least the sluices on the River Ray have been
lowered and the water levels in the ring ditches have gone down. Fields like
Greenaways and the Closes are at their optimum levels and birds are starting to
nest on the higher drier sections. The ground-nesting waders are very much in
evidence calling and displaying. |
Curlew over The Closes (c) Bark |
Curlew are making their iconic wild rippling
trills, while undertaking their stalling display flights, both over our fields
and the MOD land around the rifle range. Snipe are drumming and “chipping” above the Closes and Greenaway’s, even in
inclement weather. Some Lapwings are still pairing up and others are already
sitting on eggs, the first nest was found by the RSPB on the 20th
March, which is the expected first nest date. The concern now is that if we
have further heavy rain nests could be flooded out and abandoned.There has been much more activity from resident birds
setting up territories and singing urgently. |
Blackbird (c) Bark |
Robins, Blackbirds and Song Thrushes
have been pairing up and singing. Two of the smallest species on the moor have
been responsible for some of the loudest songs. Wrens and Cetti’s Warblers have
been very voluble over the last few weeks, with Cetti’s seeming to follow us everywhere
along the paths. |
With Cetti's there is always a stick in the way! (c) Bark |
Towards the end of the month the first Willow Warblers
were heard in the carpark field and along the trail leading to the first screen
and just at the end of the month the first Sedge Warbler, out at the reedbed
and near the Greenaway’s cattle pens. There had been some singing Blackcaps
from mid-month, but the most noticeable and common singing warblers were Chiffchaffs.
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Chiffy singing (c) Bark |
As the month had progressed they had been pumping out their bi-syllabic song at
every opportunity. It seemed to me that that there have been more present this
year than ever…a subjective and not a statistically based observation. One or
two of the Chiffchaffs seen appeared to be much greyer and paler than the more
regular yellower individuals, they may have been overwintering birds but of
course it’s difficult to tell.
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Two different Chiffs in the same bush at the same time very different colours (c) Bark |
Another species than seems to be present in
greater numbers this year is Water Rail. They can often be seen scuttling from
side to side over the puddles in the path between the bridle way and the first screen.
They are much more likely to be seen than heard and they make a number of other
strange sounds too, as well as the familiar “piglet squealing” call.
Looking out from first screen there is now much more activity
on and around the Grey Heron nests in the reedbeds. This last weekend it was
possible to discern at least two scruffy looking downy heads appearing beside
the adults on the nest closest to the first screen.
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Lots of Heron activity (c) Bark |
Bitterns are booming from a
number of different places that suggest that there are several different calling
males. As in previous years there has been a regular boomer in the closest
reedbed to the bridleway adjacent to the bench. We saw a male there, booming and
sky-pointing on the edge of those reeds last weekend whilst another, presumably
a female, flew out and over to the main reedbed.
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Seventy Godwits from the second screen over Flood (c) Bark |
The Flood Field is living up to its name and is still
very flooded, as it has been since November. It is viewable from the Oddington
track and has had vast numbers of wildfowl on it over the late winter and early
spring. It has attracted our first Garganey of the year and for most of the
month has hosted up to seventy Black-tailed Godwits, a flock that has commuted
between Otmoor and Port Meadow. There have been a number of Dunlin out there
often into double figures and several Ringed and Little-ringed Plovers. They
have also been seen out on Big Otmoor. |
Record shot of Avocet on Flood. (c) Bark |
Right at the end of the month a pair of
Avocets arrived and have remained there until into the start of April.
There are a number of different individual Marsh
Harriers on site and both display behaviour and stick carrying has been seen.
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Marsh Harrier (c) Bark |
We think that there are at least four and possibly five different birds, two of
which are clearly adult males. The over-wintering Hen Harrier is still being
seen intermittently and irregularly and Merlin is still on sand around the moor
we had a good sighting of it out on Ashgrave just two weeks ago. An Osprey was
seen on passage towards the end of the month, a welcome addition to the year-list,
as we failed to record one at all last year.
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Blackthorn blossom (c) Bark |
The Blackthorn blossom has been prolific this year and
now as the flowers fade they shower the pathways with a light dusting of white petals
like a first snowfall.
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Blossom on the moor (c) Tom N.L. |
There are splashes of yellow along the bridleway from
the Coltsfoot flowers and they are attracting bumble bees. The first
butterflies are on the wing and we have seen Brimstone, Peacock and Red Admiral
recently out of hibernation.
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Coltsfoot (c) Bark |
There are Muntjac, Fallow and Roe Deer on and around
the reserve and there have been recent reports of a Chinese Water Deer on the
eastern side of Greenaway’s. A large male Otter has also been seen, and the
RSPB trail camera recorded an Otter chasing a Badger out in the middle of the
reserve. |
A red-crested Pochard has dropped in (c) Bark |
With April now here, there will be lots of new
migrants arriving and fresh additions to the year-list, which stands as I write,
at one hundred and thirteen species. Perhaps with conditions being so unusual we
might manage to attract a rarer and more unusual bird….we will certainly be out
there looking. |
Five of the seven Shelduck That were present during March. |