November and into December

 

Red-breasted Geese (c) Bark

November was for the most part an unseasonably mild month until close to its end. I have only had to clear the windscreen on my car on two of my morning visits to the moor, which is remarkable for this time in the year! Only the last couple of visits have required gloves, hats and proper winter gear.

The Frost Moon

For a while the seasons seemed to pause with very little changing, but the first proper winter storm at the end of the month has pushed things along.

Wren (c) JR

This time last year Otmoor was largely flooded, due to an excessively wet autumn but water levels across the reserve have only been creeping up slowly, both on the reedbed and across the scrapes in the fields.

Grey Heron (c) JR

Winter thrushes arrived almost a month late and only now are the hedges beginning to look bare of berries, whereas last year they were stripped by the end of October. Redwings seem to be the predominant species now and are quieter than their noisy chuckling cousins the Fieldfares.

Redwings    above (c) JR   and below(c) Bark

There also appears to have been an influx of Blackbirds during the last couple of weeks they are much more noticeable now in and around the paths and bridleways.

Even Blue Tits eat Haws

There are mixed roving tit flocks moving through the hedgerows and taking advantage of the feeders in the car-park field. We are about to start the winter-feeding programme for Finches in earnest from next week.

Linnets (c) Bark

Already there are good numbers of birds coming down to the limited seed we have been spreading to start things off. They are mostly Chaffinches, Reed Buntings, Goldfinches and Linnets at present but as the weeks progress, I am sure that we  will draw in Yellowhammers, Bullfinches and any passing or over-wintering Bramblings.

Reed Bunting, Chaffinch and Dunnock (c) Bark

If we are really lucky, we might attract one of the rarer Bunting species.

In mid-month two Red-breasted Geese were spotted out amid the feral goose flock. They were keeping very close company with a small party of four Barnacle Geese. They arrived two days later than two other Red-breasted Geese had arrived on the Essex coast.

It is possible to see just how small they are beside a Greylag (c) Bark

We have no way of ascertaining where the birds originated unless a feather could be obtained for radio isotope analysis, a very unlikely possibility. All we can say with certainty is that the birds are not ringed and are full feathered, whatever their provenance they are very beautiful birds.

With Canadas (c) Bark

They are very small and frequently disappear when feeding amongst the much larger Canada and Greylag Geese. They get lost to sight down dips in the ground and hidden behind tussocks. Despite their stunning colour and attractive patterning, they can be difficult to pick out amidst the numerous feral geese.

Pair on Stonechats on the path up to July's meadow (c) Bark

Apart from the Red-breasted Geese we have recorded two further species that can  legitimately be counted on the Otmoor Yearlist. We had a party of seven Ring-necked Parakeets fly over the hide and along into the car-park field whilst we were watching the Red-breasted Geese. This is the largest number we have recorded on Otmoor and reflects the rapid rise of their population in the county.

Marsh Harriers    above (c) JR    below  (c) Bark

There was also a Whooper Swan seen, that flew over the reedbed heading north-west at the end of the month. These last two species have brought the yearlist up to one hundred and sixty-seven species.

Displaying Mandarins (c) Pete Roby

Mandarin Ducks have become much commoner on the reserve in recent years, but we usually only see females or eclipse males. In the last couple of weeks, a pair have been seen displaying in front of the first screen, the male resplendent in his superb, over the top breeding finery.

Distant Hen Harrier (c) Bark

The Starling roost continues to attract both avian predators and many human admirers. At this, the darkest time of the year, the birds often arrive as dark is falling and dive straight in and settle in the reeds. This can prove disappointing for visitors hoping for a dynamic murmuration display. The raptors however, often flush the flocks and can provide dramatic scenes as thousands of Starlings take to the air simultaneously.

Wigeon and Shovellers flushed at the screen. (c) Bark

All of the regular winter raptors are being seen including Merlin, Peregrine and Hen Harrier. There have also been Short-eared Owls hunting across the fields at dusk. Woodcock are also being spotted as they leave the security of the scrub in the car-park field, where they roost in the day time, and move out onto The Closes and Greenaway’s to feed.

Even leafless willows can be beautiful (c) Bark

Throughout October and into November.

Goldfinch (c) Bark

October has been unusually mild and occasionally showery with no frost at all. It has however been quite misty and moist in the mornings and coincidentally many of the foggier mornings have been at the weekends when I tend to visit the moor. Autumn and early winter seem to have been delayed.

Wayfaring Tree Berries (c) Bark

Although there have been movements of Fieldfares and Redwings seen going over the reserve, they have yet to start stripping the hawthorns of berries and occupying the hedgerows in noisy parties.

Michaelmas daisies on the way to the second screen.

Numbers of our regular overwintering wildfowl have started to increase slowly with groups of Wigeon out from the first screen and on Big Otmoor

Wigeon over (c) Bark

The first substantial flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers have started to be seen but in groups of low hundreds rather than the thousands we can expect later in the winter.

Lapwings (c) Bark

The Egret bonanza of late summer has declined with fewer appearances at the first screen of the confiding and much photographed Great White Egret. There are still reports of both Little and Cattle Egrets, but they are now much more infrequent.

The first Golden Plovers (c) Bark

The starling roost is already starting to build up and as always is attracting opportunistic raptors.

Murmuration (c) Tom N.L.

The most notable being a Ring-tailed Hen Harrier that causes consternation amongst the roosting Starlings causing them to flush in dense clouds from their initial roosting areas.

Hen Harrier over Greenaway's (c) Bark

There appear to be three readily recognisable resident Marsh Harriers, all of which can be seen diving into the starlings as they settle, but strangely don’t seem to catch any. It may be that their strategy is to work through the flocks looking for weak or injured individuals.

One of the Marsh Harriers at the evening roost.(c) Bark

A single Peregrine has been noted regularly over the reedbed and perched high in the dead oak tree out on Noke Sides. A Merlin is present on the moor and has been seen regularly but always unpredictably, frequently just flashing low and fast across the fields, just a metre or so above the ground.

Short-eared Owl (c) Tezzer

There is certainly one and just possibly two Short-eared Owls on the moor, it/they have been seen hunting in the late afternoon across the top of Ashgrave and Greenaways. The scrub that has been allowed to develop on the eastern side of Ashgrave interwoven with grassy areas mown at different heights, looks very like the gallops that they frequent on the Downs in south Oxfordshire. We saw one hunting low over Greenaway’s and Big Otmoor just this week in the late afternoon sunshine, drifting over the ground like a giant moth.

Distant Shorty over Greenaway's (c) Bark

Winter finches have arrived with a smattering of Redpolls being reported along the bridleway, there have also been Siskins seen and heard.

Green Woodpecker on path to the first screen. 

A Lesser-spotted Woodpecker was seen and photographed near the second screen, it was seen more than once and may very well still be in the vicinity, feeding and moving with a roving tit flock.

Goldcrest (c) Bark

A Rock Pipit was heard flying over plus a Black Redstart seen in on a roof in Charlton-on-Otmoor bring the yearlist for the Otmoor Basin up to one hundred and sixty-five species.

Kestrel (c) Oz

We will shortly be starting the winter finch feeding programme adjacent to the hide, this should attract a large number of Linnets, Chaffinches and Buntings and might very well attract some scarcer seed eaters, such as Brambling or even Tree Sparrows. During the last couple of weeks while undertaking tractor work across the fields, RSPB staff have flushed several Jack Snipe. It will be worth looking carefully at the reed stubble in front of the first screen to see if one can be spotted feeding on the edge.

Fox from the first screen (c) Tezzer

Two Otters were seen crossing the bridleway last week and a Fox was spotted out on in the reed bed in front of the screen.

Autumn (c) Bark

This past weekend (start of November) saw the first significant influx of both Fieldfares and Redwings.

All of September

 

Great white star of the month (c) Bark

Autumn has truly arrived and the equinox has come and gone. It has been an averagely warmer September than usual. After a steady run of generally dry warm days the end of the month there has been a pattern of low-pressure fronts bringing occasional spells of heavy rain.

Otmoor Pearls (c) Bark

The cooler nights have meant that we have experienced some early morning mist and fog patches, that in the still air, have laced the abundant spiders’ webs with strings of pearls.

Comma and blackberries (c) Darrell Woods

GWE showing off (c) JR

I could populate a whole blog with the series of stunning images that have been taken by many different photographers over the past two weeks of the Great White Egret. It has spent most of its time on and around the lagoon in front of the first screen and has been remarkably confiding.

GWE (c) Tom NL

It has been coming so close to the screen that photographers have had to remove teleconverters from their equipment in order to fit the bird on their screens. It has been fascinating to watch its fishing techniques, sometimes stalking purposefully and stretching its extraordinary neck out to the side, at other times literally hopping and fluttering over the water, presumably to flush the fish.

 

Neck out to one side (c) Bark

It has often seemed to work in concert with the Cormorants, taking advantage of the diving birds as they panic the shoals of Rudd.

Landing (c) Tezzer

Fishing accomplices (c) Bark

We have also become very blasé about the Cattle Egrets that have been out around and amongst the livestock.

Two adult and two juvenile Cattle Egrets (c) Bark

Although their numbers have gone down during the last couple of weeks, after a peak of over twenty at the start the month, there are still two or three to be found out on one or other of the fields.

Egrets preening (c) Paul Wyeth

Little Egrets too have been ever present, sometimes in double figures and often feeding out on the Greenaway’s scrapes.

Young Garganey first screen (c) Bark

Garganey were present for all but the last couple of days of the month with a maximum count of ten mid-month, there were six young birds and four eclipse adults. It was interesting to notice that when they were swimming, they appeared to be lower at the front than at the rear, something we had not realised before and possibly another id pointer. The first of the Wigeon have arrived still in their rather plain eclipse plumage.

Shovellers (c) Bark

There are also rather more Shovellers present than earlier in the month. The two, apparently juvenile, Pintail continued to spend a lot of time at the far end of the lagoon.

Bittern in the mist (c) JR

Bitterns are being seen regularly as they move between feeding areas in the reedbed and along the ditches.

Black-tailed Godwit Lapwings and Snipe (c) Darrell Woods

Snipe have been abundant on the lagoon and there have been a few other waders coming through including occasional Black-tailed Godwits and a mobile flock of what we assume are resident Lapwings.

Winchat at the Pill (c) Bark

Out at the Pill and on Greenaways there have been Stonechats, Whinchats and a smattering of Wheatears. We have often come upon mixed feeding flocks of Tits and Warblers, these feeding parties often seem to coalesce around flocks of Long-tailed Tits.

Chiffy spotting the fly and taking it.(c) Bark

Although most of the warblers have gone there were still Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs amongst them, last weekend, they were flycatching insects among the brambles at he second screen. After a period of relative quiet Cetti’s Warblers are become more vocal again as they stake out territories for the winter.

Spotted Flycatcher (c) Bark

In the middle of the month there were a couple of Spotted Flycatchers hunting from the dead elms, midway along the bridleway.

Late Reed Warbler (c) Bark

It was very encouraging to hear that “our” Cranes have made it back to the Somerset Levels with their youngster in tow and we look forward to their return next spring. It was also very exciting to hear that one of the three Curlews chicks fledged on the MOD land, that were ringed and given numbered “flags” on their legs had appeared and been identified on the west coast of Ireland in County Kerry, three hundred and forty miles away!

Kingfishers are back at the first screen (c) Bark

We have recently taken delivery from the printer of the first edition of “The Birds of Otmoor”. It is a booklet produced in cooperation with the Oxford Ornithological Society as a part of their “Patchwork Project” which produces guides to important sites within the county. In it I have described the over two hundred and twenty species that have been recorded in the Otmoor Basin. I have also added a site map, a seasonal guide to the moor and also a record of the mammal species that are to be found there. It can be purchased from the Abingdon Arms in Beckley, by post from Barry Hudson the secretary of the O.O.S. whose e-mail address is: secretary@oos.org.uk or from myself on the moor most Saturday and Sunday mornings.