End of November

 

Whooper Swan (c) Tezzer

Over the last two weekends I have only managed one visit when the weather was bright and dry, the other three times were grey, misty, damp and cold! There has been further rain and the moor is looking like a proper wetland and one can begin to see what it might have looked like before it was enclosed, drained and modernised.

Stonechat (c) Bark

In the winter people from the surrounding villages would catch fish and eels and they would also hunt wildfowl. They would then sell this wild harvest in the market in Oxford.

A blizzard of ducks over Big Otmoor (c) Bark

Wildfowl numbers are very high especially Wigeon, Teal and Shovellers. A couple of Saturdays ago we spent some time scoping a very misty damp and flooded Big Otmoor. We attempted some counts, although visits from a Peregrine and Marsh Harriers frustrated us when everything flushed, and we had to start over again. 

Stonechat (c) Derek Lane

We did establish that there were at least two thousand two hundred Wigeon out there and at least five hundred Shovellers. Teal were more difficult to count as they were well tucked in amongst the sedges. There were also sixteen Pintail that we could see, although I had counted more than these out on the Flood and in a flyover between Flood and Ashgrave.

Snipe at the second screen (c) Bark

Lapwing and Golden Plover numbers are also very high as they particularly like the very flooded Fields. There are over Four thousand Golden plover and approximately three thousand Lapwings. All of these birds with the addition of forty or fifty thousand Starlings roosting every night, means that there are plenty of potential meals for raptors and as usual we are drawing more of them in. As well as our “resident” Marsh Harriers we have two different Peregrines visiting regularly, one of them significantly larger than the other. 

Sparrowhawk(c) Bark

There are several Sparrowhawks, one of which we assume, is the bird that leaves the remains of Starlings in the window of the screens and we also found one unfortunate, partly eaten Starling hanging in the brambles along the pathway. Merlin, both male and female are being seen regularly. I have twice seen one over Closes and once over Big Otmoor. 

Short-eared Owl (c) Roger Wyatt

Two Short Eared Owls were seen hunting over the north eastern side of Greenaway’s last week, their prey however is more likely to be mammalian rather than avian. They were the first to be seen for over three weeks.

The flooded fields have also attracted large numbers of Snipe, on Monday a flock over one hundred and fifty were seen flying together when flushed by a raptor, while another flock of over a hundred were seen at the same time on another part of the reserve.

Reflective Mute Swan on the one fine visit I had lately (c) Bark

Amongst the ducks that have been seen was a male Goosander last week. These are fairly unusual birds to find on the moor as they favour moving water. 

Six adult Whoopers on The Closes (c) Tezzer

Best birds of recent days however have been two visits by two different parties of Whooper Swans. On Monday seven birds were seen to fly in and land on Ashgrave, they stopped for a bit of a “wash and brush up” before moving on again after just twenty or so minutes. This was obviously a family party of two adults and five cygnets.  

First family party in the mist (c) Steve Roby ( it is possible to see bill colour)

Despite the grey misty and murky conditions, the photographs show two of them have yellow bills and the others have pink coloured bills and rather grubby off-white plumage rather than the clean bright white of the adults. On Tuesday, another group of seven Whoopers turned up and this time the pictures clearly show that they were all adults. They landed on the Closes and again did not stay for very long. The Goosander and the Swans bring the yearlist up to one hundred and fifty-three species.

Reed Buntings (c) Bark

The winter finch feeding programme is starting to attract larger numbers of birds, as the natural resources start to be depleted in the wider countryside. There have been up to fifty Reed Buntings and smaller numbers of Linnets and Chaffinches. 

Yellowhammer in the gloom (c) Bark

This past weekend I found five Yellowhammers amongst them. When one stands quietly and patiently by the gate it is surprising just how close the birds will come once they start feeding. It is well worth checking through them carefully as a similar feeding programme in the north of the county in 2017, attracted a Little Bunting, which stayed for nearly a week.

Cetti's Warblers (c) Old Caley

I have no very clear idea just how many Cetti’s Warblers there are on the moor at the moment but there must be at the very least twelve. There are regular places that they call from and they also have a range of rather “chuntering” sub-songs. They often seem to call in response to movement. Now that the leaves are off trees it is much easier to see them properly as they forage through the bushes and brambles.

Wren (c) Old Caley

 I have also noticed just how many Wrens there are about especially along the track to the second screen. Both the Cetti’s and the Wrens will be vulnerable if we experience any sustained periods of very cold weather.

Hare (c) Old Caley and Early morning Muntjac (c) Bark