Saturday and Sunday 2nd and 3rd September

Spot Fly (c) Bark

September is a beautiful month: leaves start to change colour, hedgerows are full of seeds and berries, the mornings are cool and the light is flat and even. In the reedbed the phragmites turn their silky purple-bronze heads and start to set seed. Both resident and passage birds are busy making the most of the abundant food available.

Signs of the season (c) Bark

There were good numbers of passage birds on show this weekend with Whinchats, Stonechats, Redstarts and Spotted Flycatchers in all their regular haunts. There seems to have been fewer Wheatears coming through so far, but it may be that the settled weather last week has meant that many have gone straight through without stopping.

Lesser Whitethroat (c) Bark

There has been what must be a family group of Spotted Flycatchers in Long Meadow where they have been for several weeks. As well as the Redstarts, there were good numbers of Lesser Whitethroats and also juvenile Blackcaps. Sometimes all these species could be seen in the same hawthorn bush. It was very similar out at the Pill with the welcome addition of four Whinchats.

Spotted Flycatchers (c) Bark

On Sunday morning we were treated to sustained views of the male Hen Harrier as it drifted back and forth over Greenaways. Its’ flight is effortless and buoyant, it appears to be able to turn instantly in response to movements in the grass. The Marsh Harriers, themselves very agile and adept fliers, seem almost clumsy and deliberate in comparison. It has been a real privilege to have the chance to become totally familiar with their different flying styles. It is now easy to recognise one from another just by the flying jizz. Having said that, there is no danger now of confusing the two species as our bird has now moulted into smart grey, black and white plumage.

Hobby and Kestrel (c) Derek Latham

There are four or five very vocal Kestrels hunting over the fields now, they may be a family group. It is almost impossible to look up and not see one or two of them hovering somewhere above Greenaways or Big Otmoor riding on the wind. Several Hobbies have been hunting along the ditches after mid-morning and occasionally chasing the Hirundines that have been moving through in steady numbers. On Saturday we spotted one late Swift feeding above the reedbed.

Snipe at and over first screen Top (c) Bark Below (c) Derek Latham

Another sign of the changing season is the steadily growing Lapwing flock that is now well over two hundred strong. They were feeding out on Noke Sides in one of the short grass fields. Most interesting however were the four Golden Plovers that were in amongst them, one of them still showing some signs of its summer black belly. They really are harbingers of autumn and winter.

Pike and lunch (c) Derek Latham

On the 31^st August 1997, the RSPB finalised the acquisition of the first part of the reserve, namely Greenaways and the Car Park Field. In the subsequent twenty years the reserve has grown and prospered, going from strength to strength. This is due to the vision and application of the staff both on site and in the regional and the national offices. However, nothing would have been possible without the countless hours that have been generously donated by a huge team of willing volunteers. The reserve is now almost a thousand acres and is a rich patchwork of wetland habitats and wet grassland. Bitterns, Marsh Harriers and Bearded Tits have once again bred in Oxfordshire after well over a century of absence. We can all enjoy a place where nature thrives and we can draw breath in the midst of busy lives.

Thanks as always to David Wilding and the Otmoor Team, thanks of course to the volunteers and a big “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OTMOOR”

Happy Birthday!

.

August Bank Holiday Weekend

Kingfisher (c) Derek Latham

Summer finally arrived and provided the warmest august bank holiday weekend for years. Yet again I managed to miss most of the best birds that were around especially the adult Red Backed Shrike that was found in Long Meadow on Sunday morning perched in the hedge on the left, about a hundred metres in, sitting and preening in the sunshine. The most galling part of this being that at about this time I was close by in the carpark! It is always a good idea to carry a mobile phone and be able to get through to Oxon Bird Log just in case one comes upon something unusual such as this shrike. The observer also found five Redstarts in the same field, although by later in the day they had moved into July’s Meadow and now numbered ten. There were Stonechats and Whinchats out at the Pill and on the part of Ashgrave that borders July’s Meadow.

Spot Fly at the old stop butt (c) JR

We are also experiencing a rise in the number of Spotted Flycatcher sightings that always occurs at this time of the year. As well as being seen in Long Meadow and along the main bridleway, we saw one flycatching from the very top dead branches of the oak behind the first screen on Saturday morning. Yellow Wagtail numbers are still on the rise. They are hunting around the feet of the cattle on Greenaways and Ashgrave and can also be seen coming in to roost on the reedbed at dusk.

Looking out from the first screen there have been regular wader sightings. There have been three Greenshanks, two Common Sandpipers and two Green Sandpipers as well as lots of Snipe. Larger flocks of Lapwings are beginning to be seen with a party of at least one hundred and twenty over the reedbed and Noke Sides on Sunday.

Snipe (c) Derek Latham

The waters’ edge and the mudbanks look as though there has been a light snowfall. It is the down discarded as the moulting ducks continually preen, primp and pluck at their feathers. Already some of the Gadwall and a few Mallard are beginning to show some colour as they emerge from their drab eclipse plumage.

Circling Cranes as they left (c) Norman Smith

The Common Cranes appear to have left now. They were seen by several observers last week as they flew over Greenaways bugling loudly and then circled for a while still calling, and gaining height, before finally heading off in a south westerly direction. They left a week or so later than last year and they may just have been waiting for favourable conditions and good thermals to give them lift. It has been wonderful having them on the moor and although they failed to raise any young again this year it is a credit to the reserve and the habitat that has been created, that they tried. We expect that they will over-winter on the Somerset Levels, as they have for the last two years and look forward to hearing them and seeing them back again next spring.

Bitterns are still with us but are still unpredictable and elusive being seen mostly in flight. Later in the autumn is the best time to see them on the ground as they haunt the reedy fringes of the northern lagoon.

Sprawk and Hobby (c) Derek Latham

There are a variety of raptors on and around the reserve at the moment. The Hen Harrier is showing more frequently but always at a considerable distance usually on the northern side of Greenaways.

Distant Hen Harrier and Kestrel (c) Pat Galka

Hobbies are present but not in the large numbers that we would normally expect to see pre-migration. Peregrine is being noticed a bit more frequently and should become regular as we move on through the season. Marsh Harriers are ever present as are Common Buzzards and Kestrels. The latter appearing in small loosely associating family parties. Several Sparrowhawks too are hunting the small passerines in the hedgerows and the reedbeds.

Kestrel (c) Bark and Sprawk at the screen (c) JR

News of a Night Heron just a few miles away in Buckinghamshire has piqued our interest and we will be looking carefully for any grey and black egret sized birds that might be lurking around the edges of the reedbed.

Still here! (c) JR