Saturday and Sunday 26th and 27th November

Kestrel by the hide

Wren in the hedge

Female bullfinch

Two male bullfinches

The windy conditions meant that many birds were hunkered down in the bushes or hurtling past at great speed. Grey, misty starts gave way to bright blue skies and the last autumn leaves glowed brightly in the hedges.
On Sunday morning the first bird we saw was the female Hen Harrier, it flew from car park field across into the Closes where it stayed for at least half an hour before flying up the hill towards Beckley. Buzzards, Kites and Kestrels were common. There were large flocks of winter thrushes out on the fields or flying over with Fieldfares outnumbering Redwings by about ten to one. There are still large quantities of berries in the hedgerows and I assume the mild weather has meant that there is more to forage out on the open fields than to tuck into the hips, haws and sloes. The regular small flock of Bullfinches have taken up residence in the hedgerow that runs alongside the path to the second screen and flew ahead of us piping quietly as we walked. They were feeding on dried up blackberries and rose hips. There seems to be a lot Wrens buzzing around the bushes and chasing each other around, is this early courtship activity?
On Saturday we saw at least four Ravens and heard Raven again on Sunday. We heard and saw several parties of Golden plover on both days. The injured Lapwing that has been in front of the first screen since at least Wednesday continues to survive although it certainly looks as though its wing is either broken or dislocated, I don’t hold out much hope for it still being there next weekend.

Rainbow over the reedbed all pictures(c) Peter Barker

Wednesday evening 23rd November

Sunset over the moor

The only raptor I did photograph

I thought that I would go and try to get a better photograph of the Short Eared Owls. Sadly they did not appear until it was too dark to get anything but the most blurry blobs. There were several birds over Greenaways and the MOD and two other birds quartering the Closes. The Ringtailed Harrier put in a brief appearance and the Starlings put on a cursory display. There were a large number of people there to see the Starlings and the car park was very crowded, a friend of mine refers to it as the "Autumnwatch" effect. it is a pity that they were a bit disappointed but there was a stunning sunset as compensation.

Tuesday 22nd November Odd Fungi

If anyone has any idea what these are I would like to know. I couldn't find them in either of my two fungi guides. I assume that one is a more mature version than the other, thus they are the same species. They were along the Roman road on the way out to the Pill.

Saturday and Sunday 19th and 20th November

Reed Bunting (c) Peter Barker

Short-eared Owl(c) Darrell Wood

Misty Reeds (c) Darrell Wood

A quieter weekend on the moor with foggy mornings giving way to sunny afternoons.
Short-eared Owls have been hunting over Greenaways and the Closes every evening and the Hen harrier/s and Merlin have been seen quite frequently. Peregrine was seen both days. The Cettis Warbler was both seen and heard on both days this weekend and is very mobile along the ditch beside the bridle way. A few Redpolls were seen occasionally in company with Goldfinches, but never in range of my camera!
Golden Plover were seen but usually flying over, on one occasion a large number flying high in long skeins. Two Pintail seen on Saturday morning were the first record of this winter period.There were five Stock doves on Big Otmoor on Saturday. On Saturday morning we found a Grey Wagtail by the first screen and as far as I know that is the first record of one on the moor this year. The scattering of grain by the cattle pen is paying dividends with a flock of over sixty Chaffinches and some Yellowhammers feeding on the ground. We will shortly be adding a Niger feeder to the feeding station in the carpark field and this will add to the interest around the feeders.
I spent a lot of time this weekend looking and listening for Bearded Tits but without success. I did however realise just how many Reed Buntings there are taking advantage of the reedbed. We now desperately need rain as the ecology of the reedbed is under considerable stress.

Some rather grainy video footage of the owls taken by Adam Hartley

Thursday evening 17 November Starling update

At least 3500 Starlings came into the reed bed to roost. They came without any great display and again moved about only a few metres above the reeds. However from whwere we stood between the two halves of the reed bed we could see a huge Starling display going on with clouds of birds like smoke in the distance. The roost seems to be to the east of Charlton and we estimated that it was two or three miles away from where we were. Anyone in that area who has seen it might like to get in touch.
As compensation we saw a female Muntjac suckling two fawns, something none of us had seen before.

Tuesday 15th November No sign of Beardies

Spent a couple of hours looking and listening for the previous days Bearded Tits. There was no sign this morning but we were looking for four small birds in a fifty acre reed bed. It got quite breezy which didn't help either. They could easily still be around. In compensation we saw the Otter cross the bund between the two reedbeds and several passes by a Peregrine.
Short Eared Owls and Ringtail Harriers continued to entertain this evening and the Cettis has not been chased away by ditch clearing.

Saturday and Sunday 12th and 13th November

A fall of Robins overnight

Golden Plover back again

Fly over Raven

Autumn Colour All pics (c) Peter Barker

A great weekend on the moor with today being particularly beautiful,calm and sunny, with some good birds.
Raptors have been very much in evidence with Peregrine seen both days as was Merlin. The Peregrine spent a good deal of time sat out on Greenaways on Sunday morning. Kites, Buzzards and Kestrels were ubiquitous. The Hen Harrier was seen this morning hunting along the northern edge of Greenaways as was a Short Eared Owl. At mid day on Sunday a Raven flew low across Greenaways and right over our heads as we walked back from the Pill.
Large numbers of Lapwing and Golden Plover have appeared this weekend flushing regularly from the farmland adjacent to the MOD fields. We estimated at least seven hundred and fifty of each with a feeling that we probably undercounted the Goldies.
Ducks numbers continue to increase with Shoveller, Wigeon and Tufties increasing slightly but Teal topping the charts with three hundred and forty from the second screen alone. There was also a Water Rail feeding along the edge of the reeds and I assume from its black and not red bill that it was a juvenile.
The game cover strip alongside Saunders Ground continues to attract good numbers of Greenfinches, Linnets and Reed Buntings. Amongst them yesterday were at least one Redpoll and a Brambling. Bullfinches are feeding along every hedge in small parties of threes and fours.There seemed to have been an influx of Robins overnight as I saw at least eight on my way out to the second screen.
Bird of the weekend is without doubt Cettis Warbler. We heard one calling fairly quietly from the ditch to the right of the pump house and on Sunday morning it was heard again further along the bridle way. It is the first that has been heard or seen on the reserve since a brief visit from and individual in May. Last winters cold evidently killed off the population on Otmoor which in the summer of 2010 had numbered at least nine singing males. It’s great to have one back, let’s hope that this is the beginning of a recolonisation and that their distinctive voice, much missed this summer, will once again become part of the Otmoor soundscape.

Starling Roost November 10th afternoon

Moonrise over the reedbed

French Starlings

The Otmoor roost.

There is a starling roost happening on Otmoor but last night it was not spectacular and the birds failed to display any of their aerial pyrotechnics. I estimated that at least three thousand birds came in to the northern reed bed, as they arrived they dived straight in and the only flying that went on was a few metres above the reeds as they changed position within the reedbed. Perhaps it was the weather, very calm and clear, or maybe there is a "critical mass" that has to be reached for the event to be triggered.

I was in France earlier this week and there are very large numbers of starlings feeding on the cliffs around Calais and I saw one group of at least five hundred head out to sea in the direction of Dover. It suggests that there are still large numbers yet to arrive.

Three Goldcrests moving along the hedge were a bonus as I walked out to the screen and a Short eared Owl hunted over Greenaways. As the sun sank in the west the full moon rose in the east and lit the path back to the carpark. A Tawny Owl called from the oaks in the Roman Road.

Saturday and Sunday 5th and 6th November

A much quieter weekend on the moor after the excitement and endeavour of last weeks bird race. Notable additions to the regular winter visitors were Redpolls and Brambling.The Redpolls were seen in the Carpark field on Saturday and Sunday. They were accompanying a good sized flock of Gold Finches. There were also several others associating with a very large flock of Greenfinches that were feeding in the south eastern corner of Saunders Ground (first mod field that you come to) flying between a set aside game strip and the hedge. It was very encouraging to find a flock of almost a hundred Greenfinches as they seem to have been very heavily hit by the parasitic disease and had become uncommon on the reserve. Brambling was seen under the new feeding station adjacent to the hide and flying over and calling by the roman Road on Sunday. Short–eared Owls were seen both days as well as Merlin, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine. The latter made several spectacular stoops into a party of Wood Pigeons that it flushed and came within inches of snatching a bird that it had separated from the flock. Kites, Buzzards and Kestrels were ever present but I had no reports of the Hen Harrier and would like to know if anyone else saw it. Duck numbers are creeping up slowly but I feel that they are unlikely to grow much more until we have further heavy rain and some of the small pools, ditches and scrapes fill up. Green Sand was still on the northern lagoon along with a Dunlin on Sunday and one or possibly two Greenshanks were heard over Big Otmoor. There was a substantial flock of Lapwing and Golden Plover that could occasionally be seen flushing from the farmland to the east of the rifle range.

Golfinch (c) Peter Barker

Monday 7th November

My first posting on the new home of Otmoor Birding. I will be importing much of the old material in terms of bird lists and maps and hopefully adding new material in terms of mammal, butterfly and dragonfly lists ( with help from Adam).

It will be good to get my blog alongside Port Meadow and all the other splendid county blogs. Later this morning I will post this weekends sightings and pictures.

Peter