Saturday and Sunday 28th and 29th January

Three hints of spring #1 Singing chaffinch (c) P. Barker

#2 boxing Hares (c) P. Barker

#3 mad Hares (c) P. Barker

Not a great deal happening on the moor this weekend. We did however have one very interesting sighting, of a bird that is common elsewhere but I have only seen once before on Otmoor. On Sunday morning in the gloom “Clackers” and John Prowse found a female Goldeneye out on the northern lagoon in the company of some Tufties. I later had very poor views of it on the southern lagoon badly hampered by the mist. We also recorded our first Coot of the year. Where have they all been?
In the sunshine on Saturday Skylarks were singing and on Sunday I heard my first singing Chaffinches of the year. Two Brown Hares boxed and raced round madly on Ashgrave sometimes coming close enough to be photographed. There are now at least sixty Wigeon on the water in front of the hide and a flock of about three hundred Lapwings. We also had several smaller groups of Golden plover flying over.
The new niger feeder is being used regularly and during the week attracted its first Redpoll. Many of the visitors I spoke to commented on the Bullfinches in the car park field that are becoming more used to people and easier to see, as they are now feeding on the blackthorn buds alongside the track.
There were still at least five Short eared Owls out on Greenaways at dusk on Saturday.

Saturday and Sunday 21st and 22nd January

It was this close! (c) Darrell Wood

Approaching (c) Peter Barker

Crossing the ditch (c) Peter Barker

Kestrel (c) Darrell Wood

.....and the same bird (c) Darrell Wood

Wren in the sun (c) Peter Barker

A mild but very blustery and windy weekend that meant most birds were keeping their heads down.
Bullfinches are very much in evidence in the hedgerows and in the car park Field. They seem to have moved on from dried blackberries to feeding on buds and shoots. Ravens were present on both days and a Peregrine was again sitting out on Big Otmoor.
A walk up around the southern edge of Ashgrave against the woodland edge added Treecreeper and Nuthatch to the Otmoor year list. There were at least a hundred Golden Plover and twice that number of Lapwings out on Saturday morning. The single Whitefronted Goose is still keeping company with the Greylag flock, that now numbers well over a hundred and fifty. Goldfinches have now found the niger feeder and are taking advantage of it all the time. Wigeon are now using the slightly larger ponds in front of the hide and there were at least thirty there on Sunday morning.
Best sighting of the weekend was another close encounter of the mustelid kind. There were two young otters criss-crossing one of the ditches on the way to the reedbed. We stood still and could scarcely believe just how close one of them came (there will be a photo on the blog that is taken looking down on the animal not more than a metre and a half from the camera, the photo is not mine as by this time it was too close for my camera to focus on!) Size and a complete lack of fear suggested that they were both juveniles. It was a wonderful encounter. People often ask “where do I go to see the otters? “ I have never seen them in the same place twice and any of the ditches or lagoons will have them in at some time or another. The best place is probably one or other of the screens, but they roam everywhere and can appear out of the blue crossing the bridle way in front of you. It all comes down to chance, but if you are lucky it is an unforgettable experience. It more than made up for the fact that all of Oxfordshire's rare birds are turning up elsewhere in the county!

Midweek Additions and Frost pics

Ghost Short eared owl (c) Ian Curtis

Frost Pictures (c) P. Barker

A Brambling was seen yesterday behind the feeders (per Terry Tossel) that brings the year tally up to 76 he also saw another Woodcock.
I have also included some of the threatened ice pictures and a "ghost image of a S.E.O. taken by Ian Curtis in what must have been the dark!

Saturday and Sunday 14th and 15th January

Frosty Meadow Pipit (c) Peter Barker

Fieldfare flying in to feed (c) P.Barker

And about to feed (c) P.Barker

Frozen Reeds (c) P. Barker

It has become something of a joke in the group that I bird with at the weekend that: “You can’t have too many pictures of frosted reeds / seed heads /spiders webs etc..” This was the weekend for those subjects par excellence. Sparkling hoar frost gave way to cloudless skies of intense blue and photographers were out on the moor in numbers. I am even thinking of putting a supplementary posting on the blog of wintry pictures. Just to compound our problems with lack of water, what water we have is now frozen fast, apart from a portion of the reedbed lagoons.
There were birds to be seen however. Large numbers of Fieldfares and smaller numbers of Redwings were gleaning the last berries from the hedgerows and by standing quietly and patiently by a bush that still had fruit it was possible to get very close views of what can be shy birds. Peregrine was seen on both days with a large female sitting on a post in the middle of Big Otmoor for about an hour on Saturday morning. The Merlin has also been seen twice over the weekend. The Short eared Owls put in brief appearances at dusk but might have been put off by the very large numbers of people who have been turning up to see them. There were more Meadow Pipits around and several Skylarks. Siskins were seen once again along the bridle way between the pump house and the Roman road.
We have added a niger feeder to the feeding station and are looking forward to seeing Goldfinches and Redpolls using it soon, it would be good to hear if anyone sees it in use. The seed scattered by the gate is attracting good numbers of Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers and Chaffinches.
Hares have been very noticeable chasing, boxing and even mating, out on Ashgrave and Big Otmoor. Even the frost has not slowed them up although I thought that March was the month for those antics.

Saturday and Sunday 7th and 8th January

S.E.O. at the Pill in the sunshine (c) Peter Barker

White front back with the flock (c) Peter Barker

Dunnock starting to sing (c) Peter Barker

It continued mild this weekend with bright winter sunshine from mid-morning on Saturday and much calmer winds than of late. Short Eared Owls put on great displays both out at the Pill and around the carpark field as this E-mail from Steve Roby describes.....

“Cracking views of a 'Shortie' flying around the car park field from about 3.45 - 4.40 on Saturday. Pete and I thought it was our best SEO experience of the winter. At approx 4.25 the bird perched up in full view which allowed us to show about a dozen other visitors some very good scope images. There were at least three other birds flying around but these were distant, two over the South Pill Field and one at the back of The Closes.”

We found five birds out at the Pill on Saturday morning. The White fronted Goose is once again accompanying the Grey lag flock. It seemed particularly attached to a pair of them and was following them away from the flock. They however did not want company, several times driving it away and eventually evading it in flight. Duck numbers have remained fairly constant and the water levels have not increased much, sadly it looks as though we are in for a dry week!
The year count has moved on to sixty eight species with the addition of a number common birds including Meadow Pipit and Water Rail. As far as I know the Hen Harrier and Merlin have not yet been seen this year.
There are lots of very active passerines in the hedgerows and some are even beginning to sing, albeit in a slightly optimistic and half hearted way.

1st and 2nd January 2012

The year changed but not very much on the bird front.
Water levels are starting to creep up slowly but wildfowl numbers are sill low compared with normal years. A pair of Gadwall were out on the Southern reed bed as were a pair of Pintail along with the normal Teal and Wigeon. I visited on Monday afternoon and the car park was completely full with cars parking up the lane. The Short eared Owls failed to put in an appearance and that seems to be the case when it is very windy. There were good numbers of finches and buntings on the feeders and on the bushes by the cattle pen. Amongst them were several Redpolls and some Siskins. A Peregrine put in several appearances over the holiday period and the Cettis warbler was both heard and seen. A Redshank in front of the hide along with several Snipe were the years first waders.
The White fronted Goose would seem to have moved on and may in fact have re located to Wytham. The Hen Harrier has not been seen or reported since last week.
Despite these absences the Otmoor year list is currently sixty two. I will try to update it as records come in.

A subjective and personal review of 2011

Extremes of weather and major habitat projects have radically affected the numbers and species of birds that we have seen this year.
The first major impact was from the extreme cold last winter. Cettis Warblers went from at least nine singing males in 2010 to one very occasional bird this year. It is very unlikely that any breeding took place in 2011, but there is now one regular bird, wintering in the ditches along the bridleway and with a mild winter it should survive to get things going again in 2012. Likewise the Water Rail population took a major dive but the presence of juveniles this autumn suggests that at least one pair managed to breed. The ice last winter caused the Starling roost to collapse and the drought this year, of which more later, meant that it failed ever to get established. Stonechats were also badly hit by the winter and have been very few and far between on the moor this year.
In order to prepare the land for re-profiling the Flood Field was drained and kept dry. This was an important habitat for both wintering and breeding wildfowl especially Garganey. Garganey did however find areas on Ashgrave and on the MOD land that suited them. The work was carried out quickly and efficiently and in several years time when the field is allowed to flood up again it will be a major asset to the moor.
The dry spring, summer and autumn meant that as we went into the winter water levels on the reserve were lower than ever before. This has had significant impact on the birdlife. We attracted very few passage waders, wildfowl numbers are massively reduced when compared with other years and as mentioned earlier the Starling roost failed to materialise.
The upside of the drought has been an increase in the vole population which has attracted the highest numbers of Short-eared Owls, Kestrels and Hen Harriers for years. As we go into 2012 they are attracting enthusiastic admirers to watch them quartering the fields in the late afternoons.
Lapwings and Redshank had the best breeding successes in terms of successful fledgings per pair and we look forward to spring 2012 with real excitement. The anti-predator fence on Big Otmoor has proved to be highly effective in deterring land based predators.
A major breeding bird survey was undertaken this year of all the hedgerows across the reserve. It took four separate teams of observers, with each team making ten visits, to cover all the reserve. The data has not been formally processed yet but the surveys showed just how many passerines use the reserve to breed. Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats seemed to have had a really good year as did Grasshopper Warblers. Willow Warblers seemed to be less common.
Turtle Doves continued to thrive on the reserve, highly significant given their collapse in population in this country. Cuckoos too were present in expected numbers.
There was a really good passage of Whinchats this autumn and they were around for at least six weeks. It seems that Redstart bred on land adjacent to the rifle range with the first juveniles being seen begging from their parents at the end of June, Redstarts were seen until up until the end of September and sometimes in double figures. The breeding record is the first recorded in the county since the beginning of the nineties.
Significant rarities this year included: Common Crane, White Stork, Spoonbill and Great Grey Shrike.
Let’s hope for more predictable and less extreme weather in the coming year and the reserve continuing to mature. Thanks as always to the permanent RSPB staff particularly David Wilding, the volunteers and my birding friends.