January 2nd. Year gets off with a bang.

It was impossible to get out and get started on New Years Day but yesterday offered a window of relative calm and bright sunshine between the downpours and the gales.
The wet weather has transformed the moor so it has become more lake than land, consequently wildfowl and Lapwing numbers have soared.
Lapwings must currently number well over three thousand divided roughly between two groups one centred on Greenaways and the other on the MOD land. There is also a party of at least fifty Golden Plover and they were accompanied yesterday by eight Dunlin. At least eight Ruff were feeding amongst the Lapwings on Greenaways.
Duck numbers are the most spectacular with the birds spread out over both the reserve and the neighbouring flooded fields. We estimated a minimum of four thousand birds the bulk of which were Teal and Wigeon. Good numbers of Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard and Tufted Ducks were amongst the melee as well as a handful of Pintail and Pochard.
Two Peregrines are still harassing the assembled birds one of which has lost some primaries from its left wing. Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Buzzard were seen but as yet I have not had any report of the Hen Harrier and I wonder if the area it has been roosting in has been flooded.
On one occasion when the Teal flushed from the reedbed they managed to stir up one of the Bitterns which circled with them for a while before plunging into one of the denser stands of reeds. A few moments earlier we had had point blank views of the Bearded tits which I hadn't seen for over four weeks. They moved along in front of the viewing point adjacent to where the new screen will be before moving deeper into the reeds. The Otmoor year list stands at a creditable 62 and I am sure that it will grow rapidly over the next few weeks.
Sadly not everyone's approach to this wildfowl spectacular was simply to enjoy it. From the middle of the hundred acre just as dusk set in there were volley after volley of shots as so called "sportsmen" sought to exploit the proximity of a nature reserve and the abundance of flying targets. I know that other reserves are adjoined by shooting grounds, but it seems wrong that the pleasure of  many can be overridden and ignored by the selfish few.

2013 A Review

Dozing Ferruginous Duck. Otmoors bird of the year (c) Bark

 The unusual weather patterns and odd seasons have led to some great successes and a few failures this year, but on the whole more good things have happened than bad.

We have had a record number of different species on the moor, at one hundred and fifty five it was a full five species more than last year. On the rarity front we have hosted a stunning drake Ferruginous Duck, Great White Egret, a Wryneck and the family of four (now three) Whooper Swans. In the first winter period we had between seven and eleven White Fronted Geese over-wintering and both Spoonbill and Osprey flew through. Peregrines are seen on almost every visit and in the winter we have had both male and female Hen Harriers present as well as regular Merlin sightings. Marsh Harriers are much more regular but are yet to show any signs of breeding.

Bitterns boomed for the first time on Otmoor in over a hundred and fifty years and Bearded Tits were shown to have bred. This was the first recorded breeding of this species in Oxfordshire for over two hundred years. Turtle Doves were successful breeders with certainly two and possibly  three pairs present. One pair was observed to fledge three separate broods. This is a major achievement by the reserve and its staff for a species whose status is in free fall in this country. Cuckoos were present and were seen to be attempting to lay in Reed Warbler nests (their favoured host on the moor) but may not have been successful due to the late arrival of the warblers, that was probably due to the very cold spring. Snipe bred in much better numbers and we had more “drummers” than in previous years.

Sadly this was the first year since 2002 that there was no record at all of Cettis Warbler. Hopefully if this winter remains mild they will find their way back and be shouting at us from the hedgerows in the near future. We did not see as many wader species as we had in previous years in fact Common Sandpiper was not recorded at all. The cold dry spring and the long warm Late Summer and Autumn meant that there was very little mud for them to forage on. Currently there is no mud because almost everything is submerged! It really has been a year of extremes.

The warmth of the summer benefitted our invertebrate life with Butterflies being the most obvious of these. Black and Brown Hairstreaks were very much easier to find and hopefully their higher numbers will carry over into next years population.

The area next to the first screen that was created specially for Common Lizards has proved to be very successful and there is another colony of them in the car park field. Likewise the Grass Snake population would seem to have increased or else we have got a lot better at spotting them.

Hares are present in really good numbers and the Otters are seen regularly. The Fallow Deer fawn that was adopted by the cattle on Ashgrave is still confused as to its identity.

We have an excellent new screen at the northern lagoon and will soon have another at the southern end. The hide has now lost its raw newness and is blending in. There have been some great sightings in and around it. As the vegetation develops it will become even more of a part of the landscape.

On behalf of all the local birding community I would like to thank David Wilding and the permanent Otmoor RSPB staff for the work that they carry out sensitively and tirelessly for our benefit and for the greater benefit of wildlife. I would also like to thank the legion of Otmoor Volunteers who give their time as wardens, on working parties or in the office, without them there would be no reserve.

I am really looking forward to 2014. Let’s hope that the seasons return to normal and that it rains and shines at the right times. Then in turn the amazing wildlife on the moor can continue to thrive and in doing so delight us.

 

Last of 2013 28th and 29th December

Songthrush

Teal Flushing

Over two hundred in this pic alone

Corvid versus Buzzard

Bittern from the screen All pics (c) Bark

 Saturday and Sunday offered a real respite from the run of wet and turbulent weather that has characterised the past few weeks. Both days were calm and mostly sunny and bright. There were plenty of birds to be found and some of them were particularly obliging.

Bittern was seen on both days from the second screen and on Sunday was feeding along the northern edge of the lagoon quite close to the screen and looking wonderful in the sunshine.

Two Peregrines were present in the fields to the west of the path to the second screen and judging by their size are probably males. They make frequent forays out over Big otmoor causing consternation amongst the Wigeon, other duck species, Starlings and the Lapwings. A Merlin was seen in Otmoor Lane by two different birders at least half an hour apart. There are many passerines feeding in the hedgerows there and perhaps there is less competition there with other predators.

Duck numbers are now much higher and the southern lagoon is hosting very large numbers of Teal which we estimated, when they flushed, at at least five hundred and possibly even more. There were several Pintail and larger numbers of Shoveler. It was good to see about seven or eight Pochard as they appear to have been absent for some time. The Whooper Swans are still present and are keeping company with at least sixteen Mute Swans on the fields to the north of the reedbed.

At least thirty finches are feeding on the grain by the cattle pens and there are Greenfinches, Reed buntings and Linnets among the more numerous Chaffinches. Further along by the hide there are a regular party of Yellowhammers and on Saturday I saw a Siskin in the same area. From the hide there are regular Stonechats and several Kingfishers are patrolling the water to the south of the hide.

One of the Otters was seen briefly from the second screen on Saturday and it is encouraging to know that they are still around.

I will be writing a summary of the year later and I wish all readers a very happy new Year and lots of exciting encounters with wildlife in 2014.

 

Saturday and Sunday 21st and 22nd December

Chilli chompers and gin sippers.

A rainbow over the carpark as I was leaving, an omen for next year?

 Saturday morning was largely a washout with most birding being done from under cover of the hide or the roof at the second screen. It is notable however that we now have a significant presence of Golden Plover on the reserve with a mobile flock of over five hundred. There are also similar numbers of Lapwing. In amongst these were at least two Dunlin and two Ruff both species only really noticeable when the birds flushed, which they did frequently.
Sunday morning started grey but rapidly gave way to bright winter sunshine and piercingly blue sky. A number Otmoor regulars met up for a several hours birding, nips of sloe gin, chilli chocolate, fudge, marzipan balls and mince pies.....and of course scintillating conversation about the highs and lows of 2013 and scurrilous gossip about everyone else! We managed to find fifty one species by eleven o clock and that was without the Peregrine seen by others on Ashgrave and the passing Raven. All the regular species were seen and it is good to record that the Whoopers are still settled and have now been joined by nine Mute Swans.
The current torrential rain will further flood the moor and this in turn may well draw in more wildfowl and perhaps something more exciting and unusual. I will be writing a review of the year over the Christmas period and will try to catalogue the highs and lows of what has been a brilliant year on Otmoor.
I wish the happiest of Christmases to all my readers and look forward to a great 2014
Bark.

Saturday and sunday 14th and 15th December

The Family (c) Mark Chivers

(c) Mark Chivers

Synchronised swimming (c)Mark Chivers

Dawn Greylags (c) Darrell Woods

Secretive Snipe (c) Mark Chivers

Kes (c) Bark

Fieldfare in the sun (c) Bark

Starlings always underrated (c) Bark

A reflective Badger (c) Bark

 

Despite the fatality last weekend, the three remaining Whooper Swans seem very settled and have been much admired. The better light this weekend was appreciated by the many photographers wishing to photograph them. They have  settled into a predictable routine, feeding and then flying in to the northern lagoon to feed and preen. On Saturday when they flew in they were accompanied by a lone Mute swan but the resident Mutes soon formed up into their battle formation and drove it away. It was interesting to see the degree of interaction between the three with a series of head bobbing movements and calls that meant when they flew back to the feeding field, their take off was perfectly co-ordinated and from the onlookers point of view predictable.

There are still very large numbers of Fieldfares and a few Redwings feeding throughout the reserve they have been coming closer as the easier berries have already gone. There is now a regular flock of Bullfinches working the hedge that runs beside the path to the second screen, there are also several Greenfinches, Wrens and the usual mixed tit flocks. Both Lapwing and Wigeon numbers have risen steadily and there are always flocks of Starlings feeding out on the fields The starlings are performing well at roost time and are largely responsible for the good numbers of raptors to be seen. On Saturday I watched a Kestrel (behaving very much as a Merlin does) fly in very fast and low and take a Starling that was feeding on the ground. The Kestrel was then instantly mobbed by Rooks and Jackdaws until it was forced to relinquish its prey, the starling flew off rapidly but now with two corvids in hot pursuit. I don’t know whether they caught it or not, as they disappeared over the hedge into The Closes.

It seems to be almost certain that there are at least two Bitterns on the reedbed. Although not seen simultaneously two birds were seen to fly from the southern to the northern reedbeds within a short space of time and unless one bird jogged back under cover there must be two!

It is worth spending some time looking carefully around the margins of the first scrape on Greenaways. This is a regular spot for Snipe to lie up and once you get your eye in they can be seen hunkered down and beautifully camouflaged along the edge, hiding in the clumps and tussocks. On Friday twenty four were seen to flush from here when a raptor went over. In fact it is always worth spending some time just standing scanning over Greenaways, it is one of the best spots to pick up raptors and always holds something of interest.

Saturday and Sunday 7th and 8th December

Three Whoopers in flight (c) Bark

two of the juveniles (c) Mark Chivers

The family group (c) Mark Chivers

Flying off to feed (c) Bark

Portrait (c) Mark Chivers

The berries will soon be gone (c) Bark

 

My delight last week at having a family of four Whooper Swans on the moor evaporated on Sunday morning when we realised that by then they had been reduced to three. The family group, of two adults and two second winter juveniles, looked very settled and comfortable, commuting between an arable field to the north of the reserve and the northern lagoon. On Sunday morning there were just the juveniles and one adult remaining, the body of the other adult was in the field and already being scavenged by Magpies ,Carrion Crows, Buzzard and Kites. It was not possible to get access to the bird to ascertain how it died but one must presume fox predation or some kind of illness. All four had seemed fit and well on Saturday and if it was disease it came on very quickly. It is very hard not be anthropomorphic about it. The fracturing of the family unit of a long lived iconic species is depressing but as a wise friend commented yesterday “We admire them because they are big and beautiful and remind us of aspects of ourselves. Remember that every day the raptors on the moor are taking out several dozen starlings from the roost and this is all a part of the same process”

Elsewhere the aforementioned raptors were very much in evidence with at least two Peregrines present one of which, probably a juvenile male, has several primaries missing from its left wing. The Hen Harrier was seen from time to time and there is a strong possibility that there are two. Kestrels are post sitting on Greenaways and I was fortunate to see a Merlin on Sunday as I drove up the lane towards Beckley.

The raptors are present and thriving because of the abundance of prey. Lapwing numbers on Sunday were nudging the thousand mark and Wigeon numbers are also approaching the same figure. The Starling roost is estimated at between forty and fifty thousand birds. There are still only smaller numbers of Golden Plover present but usually their numbers peak later on in the winter. Winter Thrushes are also very abundant but the hedgerow food supply is becoming very depleted and it will not be long before all the haws have been eaten. There has been an increase in the number of finches and buntings on the reserve with a count of fifty Yellowhammers last week near the hide and a population of Greenfinches that seems to have recovered from the slump of the last few years. It seems appropriate to end this week on that more positive note.

2nd December Whoopers

On the lagoon as it got dark (c) Tezzer

Feeding in the field (c) Tezzer

 I was beginning to think that I had lost the ability to predict what was about to turn up on the moor and just in the nick of time four Whoopers spared my blushes!
As has often happened in the past the birds were favouring and feeding on the fields to the west of the reserve however at dusk they came in to the southern lagoon to bathe and presumably roost out on the water. They are clearly a family unit of two adults and two juveniles and it would be wonderful if they stayed around for a while.