End of March and into April

Green Woodpecker on the sheep fields at Noke (c) Bark

The first Willow Warbler has been heard and the first swallow seen. Over the next few weeks, the summer visitors will start to flood in. Some of them will be using the moor as a staging post on their way further north and west , others will remain here to breed. Already the Lapwings, Redshanks and Snipe are calling, courting, mating and sitting on eggs.

Early morning Curlew flyover (c) Bark

Both on and off the reserve Curlew are present in significant numbers and are filling the soundscape with their wild evocative calls.

Big Otmoor is attracting passage waders with up to seventeen Ruff being recorded. They are predominantly males recognised by their markedly larger size and very varied plumage colours. There was one bird we saw last weekend that was so white we had initially thought it was a gull! There have been both ringed and Little ringed Plovers scuttling about on the drying mud and almost disappearing when they have been standing still.

Oystercatcher Big Otmoor (c) Bark

Varying numbers of Dunlin have been stopping over with numbers often in double figures. A small flock of about twelve Golden Plovers are still out in the middle, all of them now having moulted into their striking summer plumage, their number a far cry from the thousands that were here just five or six weeks ago.

Meadow Pipit (c) Bark

There are certainly two, probably three and perhaps as many as four booming Bitterns across the moor. It is very difficult to be certain about precise locations as one has to hear them calling simultaneously, however once booming they tend to become very sedentary. The bird that has been calling out on Greenaways was seen to be displaying to a female on one evening last week. It was stalking around behind her and fluffing out its feathers.

Cetti's Warbler (c) Bark

There is another individual booming on Ashgrave up towards the Noke turn and last weekend a lot of booming was coming from the middle of the northern reedbed. Once the males have attracted a partner and mated, the rest of the nesting and rearing of the young is undertaken entirely by the females.

Geese are sitting all over the reserve, but we are still to see any of the hundreds of goslings that will hatch over the coming weeks.

Pochard Passion (c) Bark

Wildfowl are displaying, courting and mating, the latter part of the process often resulting in a near drowning for the female part of the pair!

Above Great Crested Grebe (c) Tom N-L  and below Little Grebe (c) Bark

There are still some Wigeon grazing out beside the pools and significantly there are still a few Pintail present. We think they bred on the moor last year for the second season running and hope that it will happen again this year.

Garganey pair Big Otmoor (c) Bark

Garganey are back and are displaying. Last summer we were sure that two pairs bred successfully and hope that this year they will succeed once again.

Marsh Harrier Greenaways (c) Bark

All three Egret species have been reported, although there has just been one Cattle Egret seen. They are present regularly on the Cherwell just a few miles away and once we have livestock back out on the fields again, the moor will look more attractive for them.

Great White Egret Greenaways (c) Bark

Two Great White Egrets have been seen regularly on and around the reserve. We currently host five or six pairs of Grey Herons that nest in the reedbed and speculate that maybe this will encourage the Great whites to become the next Otmoor breeding species.

Singing Song Thrush (c) Bark

Over the last few weeks each morning as I have arrived there has been a Song Thrush belting out its repetitive song in the early morning sunshine. In the trees and hedgerows Chiffchaffs are continuously feeding whilst giving their onomatopoeic songs.

Chiffchaff (c) Tom N-L

By the end of this month most of the regular summer visitors will have arrived and will be singing and breeding flat out. It will be very interesting to see whether Turtle Doves manage to return, they were barely present for more than a couple of days last summer. Might we find that we are exchanging Turtle Dove for Cattle Egret as a breeding species?

Common Lizard by first screen (c) Bark

End of February and well into March

Singing Dunnock (c) Bark

An overseas trip has rather blunted my intention to post bi-weekly this year. Change is happening rapidly on the moor as we move into spring. The weather has been wet but generally mild and frequently sunny. 

Male Brambling one of four birds by the hide (c) Bark

Water bodies across the moor are now very much at optimal levels and the lagoons in front of the screens are looking very full. This water will be drawn down onto Greenaways and Big Otmoor as we move into summer, and it will help to keep the main breeding areas for our waders wet for longer.

Redshank on Ashgrave (c) Tom N-L

The first Coltsfoot is starting to flower along the side of the bridleway and Bumblebees and Brimstones are on the wing. Pussy Willow is dusted with sulphur coloured pollen and is attracting lots of insects.

Blackthord and pussy willow with Bumble Bee (c) Bark

Chiffchaffs are pumping out their monotonous onomatopoeic songs, Cetti’s Warblers are setting up territories and are much easier to see while there are fewer leaves in the hedgerows.

Song Thrush in early morning sunshine (c) Bark

Song Thrushes, Chaffinches and Reed Buntings are all singing and pairing up. Great Spotted Woodpeckers are drumming from Roman Road and we found at least five in the same vicinity drumming, calling and presumably competing for nest sites.

Cetti's Warbler at the second screen (c) Bark

The ”hotspot” on the reserve shifts with the seasons and Big Otmoor and The Closes are currently the prime places to spend time scanning and searching. Golden Plovers are at their highest numbers and there are several flocks of over a thousand with one that must number over three thousand.

Goldies en masse (c) Bark

It is difficult to separate them, but we noticed that one of the flocks appears to contain more individuals that are moulting into summer plumage than the others. Perhaps just coincidental or a group from a different breeding location? The Plovers are very restless and jittery, flushing en masse at the slightest threat. They are also very vocal, keeping up a continual chattering when on the ground and making alarm calls when they flush.

Goldies with Lapwing and one Dunlin (c) Bark

They flicker gold and white as they wheel and bank, sparkling in the sunshine, flying in tight formations when threatened and forming loose chevrons as they descend once again.

Goldies (c) Bark

There have been up to thirty Dunlin feeding around and amongst the Golden Plovers on both big Otmoor and Closes they are less flighty and settle more rapidly if they have been alarmed. Redshank are calling and displaying across the whole site as are Lapwings.

Displaying Lapwing (c) Bark

The first Lapwing nests with eggs are usually found towards the middle of March. On a survey earlier this week, we watched Curlews doing their distinctive display flight, where they fly up with shivering wings and almost stall before gliding down and then flying upwards again. The whole display flight is of course accompanied by their distinctive and evocative curlew call, that for the next few months will be one of the signature defining sounds of Otmoor.

Curlew (c) Nick Truby

Once again there are two pairs of Common Cranes on and around the moor. The pair that successfully reared a youngster last year have returned alone, and both pairs are keeping well away from each other. One pair can sometimes be seen feeding on the northern side of Greenaways or from the second screen on the reedbed bund. For very large birds they can remain out of sight for considerable lengths of time!

Marsh Harrier over the reedbed (c) Bark

Marsh Harriers are displaying over the reedbed and this year again there appear to be two females with a lone male in attendance.

Hen Harrier (c) Bark

The Hen-harrier is still being seen but unpredictably and sporadically now that the Starling roost has dispersed. A Barn Owl has been seen out and about in the early evening and early mornings.

Barn owl (c) Nick Truby

This crepuscular behaviour is much more likely when there has been steady rain overnight, making night time hunting more difficult. Tawny Owls have been heard calling in the Roman Road and there is still at least one Short-eared Owl present in the wider Otmoor area.

Short-eared Owl (c) Bark

There is a lot of courtship and breeding activity from the wildfowl. Although Wigeon do not breed on the moor they display and pair up whilst here and drakes can be seen displaying to females.

Pochard showing his ruby red eye (c) Nick Truby

The Pochard that are one of our breeding species are very busy in their courtship rituals the males showing a bright ruby-red eye. “Luke” seems to have moved away as we have not seen him for some weeks. An early visit from a pair of Garganey for one day, was probably a pair that was moving through rather than one of our breeding pairs.

One of six Oystercatchers present (c) Bark

Male Bitterns are starting to tune up their booming with a series of practice grunts and croaks but are not yet into their full-on booming calls, that carry across the moor during the spring.

Stupidly tame Pheasant and ridiculously confiding  Munjac (c) Bark

During the next few weeks migrants will start to arrive in greater numbers and the Redwings that are currently feeding in the fields will depart for the north and east. It is a very exciting time of year and it is always good to hear a new or different species adding its voce to the Otmoor soundscape.

Grass Snakes are showing along the bridleway. (c) JR

First two weeks of February

Ring-necked Duck (c) Tezzer

There is a palpable sense of spring in the air despite it only being mid-February. It has been very mild although sometimes grey and cloudy with blustery winds.

Goldfinch near the hide (c) Bark

There have been some notable returnees to the moor, turning up very  much when we might have expected them. Two Cranes have returned one of them un-ringed and the other after some initial difficulty was identified as Maple Glory. She was the female Crane that attempted to breed unsuccessfully for five consecutive years on the moor when partnered with Wycliffe who sadly disappeared in 2020.

Record shot at a distance (c) Bark

We are also expecting last years successful breeders to return probably with last years youngster in tow. The pattern would then be for them to drive the youngster away once they start courtship, mating and nesting. There were a further two Cranes that made occasional visit to the reserve last spring and they may well put in another appearance this year. Expert opinion suggests that there is enough space on Greater Otmoor to accommodate three pairs of Cranes although issues of disturbance by people and predation of eggs and young would be a major problem.

Glossy Ibis (c) Debbie Cowee

There is no way of knowing for sure if the Glossy Ibis that put in a brief appearance at Port Meadow and promptly left for Otmoor, is the same one that spent so much time with us last year, but it does seem likely. It may very well still be in the vicinity and out on one of the flooded fields to the north, where it spent a lot of time last year.

"Luke" (c) Bark

One bird that we can be certain is a returnee is “Luke” the leuchistic Pochard. He was back in front of the first screen with a party of mostly male Pochards and three females. His pale blond head mean he is unmistakeable. We first saw him in 2015 as a juvenile and have seen him every year since. He seems quite able to compete with more conventionally pigmented males and has been seen in company with a female. We assume that the leuchistic gene is regressive as we have yet to identify any of his progeny.

Bullfinch chewing desiccated Blackberries (c) Moth Clark

The Starling roost and murmuration is to all intents finished for this season. There are still large numbers of Starlings in the vicinity, but they are not staying in the reedbed anymore, and their choice of roosting places is variable. They are frequently using the body of water that is halfway up Ashgrave for a pre roost wash and brush up. Unfortunately, this is one of the most difficult parts of the reserve to watch.

Lapwings and Goldies (c) Bark

We have noticed that many members of the  public are still coming down to see the murmuration and are leaving under the impression that the massive whirling flocks of thousands of Lapwings and Golden Plovers are indeed Starlings. These flocks fly very densely when they first flush and if they are being pursued or threatened by a raptor, they will take evasive action in tight synchronous flocks.

Tufted Duck Diving (c) Bark

A drake Ring-necked Duck appeared at the first screen on Saturday afternoon but did not linger until the next day. Another odd-looking duck arrived at the end of last week and was still present at the weekend. It is a hybrid that shows some elements of Teal, Ferruginous Duck and Pochard. It is associating with the Pochard out in front of the first screen.

Duck of dubious parentage (c) Bark

Another interesting fact is that its arrival coincided with that of a drake Ferruginous duck at another Oxfordshire site. There were over fifty Common Snipe out on the reed stubble at the right of the second screen on Sunday, once again one individual was hunkered down in the reeds right in front of us on the water’s edge.

Common Snipe back in front of the second screen. (c) Bark

Redshank are already back on site in small numbers as are Curlew, over the next few weeks I would expect the numbers of both species to rise steadily.

Yellowhammer by the Hide (c) Bark

Finally, there is a male Marsh Harrier that may occasionally be mistaken for a Hen Harrier as it has quite a pale rump that in some lights and at a distance can cause confusion. I have attached one very fuzzy distant shot that was taken in poor light to illustrate this. The Hen Harrier itself is still present on the moor although unpredictable.

Marsh Harrier showing pale rump (c) Bark