End of November Update.

 

Peregrine(c) Bark

A very rainy month has meant that Otmoor is starting to look like a wetland again. The prolonged dry spell however had some advantages, it allowed the RSPB to carry out extensive remodelling and rotovation around all the large scrapes. Edges have been softened and drawn back, invasive rush and sedge has been controlled. It still looks raw but will be perfect for breeding waders next spring.

It has remained surprisingly mild throughout the month, and we have yet to experience a frost. Despite the recent stormy weather there are still leaves clinging to the trees. Haws and sloes remain bright in the hedgerows, and they are now being eaten by winter thrushes. There appear to be many more Fieldfares than Redwings on the moor at present.

Fieldfare and sloes (c) Bark  

There has also been an influx of Blackbirds, probably from the continent, that are competing for the same  berries. We have also noticed at least eight Stonechats usually in pairs. They have been seen at Noke, out at the Pill, on Greenaways and along the path to the second screen.

Good to see Goldies back 

 
Lapwing and Golden Plover numbers have finally started to climb after a rather quiet autumn. We estimated a thousand Lapwings in two or three distinct flocks and possibly as many as two thousand Golden Plovers. The Lapwings are settling out on Greenaways, Ashgrave and the Flood Field. They can be seen as they take flight when flushed by a hunting raptor.

Marsh Harrier (c) Bark

The Golden Plovers seem to spend more time in the air than on the ground and at times seem to be scattered across the whole sky, forming loose skeins that form and dissolve continually. All the while their plaintive soft and evocative calls can be heard.

Kestrel

They are flushed and unsettled by the regular raptors that are now resident across the moor for the winter. Last Sunday I was lucky enough to see a pair of displaying Sparrowhawks, four different Marsh Harriers several Buzzards, several Kestrels and a pair of Peregrines hunting above the reedbed.

Peregrine and Marsh Harrier 

The Peregrines clashed angrily with a corvid that came too close to them. A Hen Harrier has been seen occasionally, often in the late afternoon or early morning.

On the hunt (c) Bark

As the number of roosting Starlings continues to build it is likely more raptors will be seen as they take advantage of this ready source of prey. At least one Short-eared Owl is still being seen hunting across the moor during the late afternoons.

Lone drake Pintail at the second screen (c) Bark

Probably due to the very dry autumn, the number of  wildfowl is much lower than we would      expect at this time of year. Both Wigeon and Teal are present in lower numbers and we are seeing just a handful of Shovellers. As rainfall increases and the water levels rise we hope that the birds will return. It may take persistent heavy rain that floods the fields to attract back the large flocks we usually host in winter.

Reed Buntings feeding on Phragmites seeds (c) Darrell Wood

Our resident Canada and Greylag Geese have been joined by what appears to be a family party of White-fronted Geese comprising two adults and four youngsters. They have been moving with the greylags but once settled on the fields remain just a bit separate from the main flock.

Linnets are eating dried up blackberries (c) Bark

A juvenile Kittiwake was seen briefly on the reserve last week. There were several other reports from across the county, including sadly, a dead bird found near Cholsey. It was just the second record of this species for Otmoor, the first being seen in January 1998, in flight over Saunders Field.

Juvenile Kittiwake (c) Malcolm Bowey

I had thought that the Kittiwake was the only scarce species that I was going to mention in this posting, but since I started writing a Dartford Warbler has been reported from the MOD land adjacent to the reserve. This is only the fourth record of this secretive and fascinating warbler, the last one being found in the same area in October 2014. It constitutes the one hundred and fifty-fourth species to be reported on Otmoor this year.

Roe Deer (above) and Fallow Deer (c) Bark

Roe Deer are grazing out on Greenaway’s and Fallow Deer are on the MOD land. Otters are proving most popular with visitors.

Young Otter (c) Bark

There is a single, possibly male, Otter that is appearing regularly at the second screen, its serpentine contours give a passable impression of the early photographs that were once passed off as being the Loch Ness Monster.

North Lagoon Monster! (c) Bark

There are perhaps three other Otters present around the reserve, but their locations and appearances are much less predictable.

A misty view of the hide and a fantasy dream! (c) JR