Otmoor Birding

Sunrise over Otmoor near the first screen @ Adam Hartley

This is a blog of sightings and matters of interest at Otmoor RSPB and in the greater Otmoor basin in Oxfordshire.

Overview
For information on access instructions and species that one might expect go to Background Info section.

Photos
All photo's are copyrighted. Contact details for the photographer can be found by clicking on the photo album link on the right-hand side and then selecting the appropriate album where the contact details will appear at the top of the page. We always welcome photos from contributors which will be full attributed.

Lists
PLEASE NOTE: We have now updated the Otmoor systematic bird list. The mammal list and insect list to follow in due course.

Contact Details
In all cases replace the "at" with @
For birding issues: Peter Barker -  peter"at"otmoorbirding.com
For web-site issues: Adam Hartley - adam"at"otmoorbirding.com

I went back for another look on Sunday for the Water Pipit but couldn't find it. However I did see a Hen Harrier (Ringtail) along the back hedge on Greenaways, a Black Tailed Godwit flying about over the reed bed, and around 20,000 Starling in the roost. Also a pair of Stonechat, half a dozen Snipe flying over, lots of Fieldfare and Redwing about, 200 Lapwing, 30 Golden Plover and the Wigeon numbers are slowly building up.

 No sign of the Red Crested Pochard that was there the previous weekend though it may still be about.

Pete Roby

Last week's red-crested pochard © Pete Roby

Flying wigeon © Nigel Forrow

Teal © Nigel Forrow

A water pipit was found by Tom Wickens and Pete Roby on Ashgrave on the new scrapes which apparently are starting to fill with water now.

A cold and dismal early morning on Otmoor, with few birds venturing into the north wind. Redwing and particularly fieldfare seemed to be present in all the hedges, as did calling cetti's warbler. A single kestrel hovered over the scrub next to the main track as dawn grudgingly lightened the dark sky, but despite hunting for ten minutes it made no strike. A pair of red kite sent about two hundred lapwing up from the main field and these were joined by fifty starling as they flew over the reedbeds and headed west. Six grey heron were in the air over the first lagoon and four snipe whirred above them; kingfisher, water rail and golden plover all called, but were not seen. The wind was strengthening by 8am, shivering the surface of the water. Most duck were tucked into the edges of the water courses. By 9am Brill hill and Beckley mast had disappeared into heavy rain. Undaunted, a solitary stonechat flitted along the hedge top near the Pill.

Darrell

A merlin was reported on Saturday morning, flying across the bridleway along Greenaways.

A stonechat © Nigel Forrow
Hare © David Brown
A jackdaw harrying a red kite © Pete Styles

We are delighted to announce that Otmoor lane is now open. The Council have done a great job re-surfacing and the drive down is so much more enjoyable.

The starlings are still staying at about 10,000, but it really varies as to whether they display or not. The wildfowl numbers are slowly building with the best views over the reedbed where shoveler, teal and
wigeon can be seen. You can get good views of kingfisher feeding in front of the first screen. But no more sightings of the bearded tits.

Comments on Starling Roost
The Otmoor starling roost usually starts in full swing about mid to late November, but this can be so variable, last year it didn't really get going until November and then only lasted a month. In 2006/7 the roost didn't get going until December but lasted into the middle of February. The past three years we have usually reached about 40-50,000 birds.

When the roost starts could be related to cold weather, as we have only really had a couple of frosts so far this Autumn. What I would love to know is why some nights they display and some the don't, obviously rain and wind can impact on this, but even when the conditions appear perfect they sometimes don't display. And why do they move on so quickly within 2 nights a roost can go from 50,000 birds to 500! Is this because they have exhausted the food supplies in the area?

So many unanswered questions, but this is what makes the starling spectacle so amazing we just don't know why!


David Wilding
Site Manager,
c/o Folly Farm
Common Road
Beckley
Oxford OX3 9UR
Tel. 01865 352034
Fax. 01767 685601
www.rspb.org.uk

Otmoor starling roost © David Brown

Just one visit this weekend due to the appalling weather on Sunday morning. A beautiful morning on Saturday after the overnight rain departed and lots more Autumn and winter visitors arriving. All morning there were parties of Fieldfares and Redwings passing over the reserve Redwings, outnumbering Fieldfares approximately five to one. A fly by from a Peregrine flushed at least three hundred Lapwings from Greenaways and there was a flock of approximately five hundred Golden plover. Duck numbers are building slowly with only low numbers of Wigeon present but at least thirty Shoveller and several hundred Teal. There were over a hundred Skylarks on the Closes and mixed finch flocks in the hedgerows. Several pairs of Stonechat can be found at the reedbed and in the major hedges. Water levels are very low all over the reserve after one of the mildest and dryest autumns.It has meant that massive amounts of groundwork have been completed ,the hide will soon be finished and the new path has been laid. I will not be posting for a while but look forward to coming back to wet scrapes and big flocks of wildfowl.
Cheers Peter

Lapwing © Nigel Forrow

Just one visit to the moor his weekend as the weather was so wet and grey on Saturday. Sadly there was no sign of the Bearded Tits in the reedbed but they might stll be there. It was very windy which makes birds keep their heads down and also makes it difficult to hear well. It is also a very extensive reedbed. It was quiet on the birdfront with perhaps just a few more Teal having arrived. One Green Sandpiper was seen. Several pairs of Stonechats are now resident for the winter. The most interesting and unusual sighting was three Crossbills that flew across the reserve from North to South and seemed to be heading for Noke Wood. This is only the second time that I have seen them on Otmoor. Massive progress is being made on the hide and even in its unfinished state the Lane is better to drive down than it has been for years.

Cheers Peter

A teal © Nigel Forrow

An excellent weekend on the moor with lots of Autumn arrivals the best of which have to be the nine Bearded Tits that we found on Saturday morning. They were relocated this morning and I managed to get some decent pictures of them despite the murky start to the day. They were a mixed group of both adult and juveniles, they were very flighty and vocal. Sadly I was told that they were seen to fly high this morning at approx 9.30 and head North. They were doing this yesterday as well so it is just possible that they went down onto the Flood Field or decided to come back later. They should be easy enough to pick up if they do return as few calls are as distinctive or charismatic. It would seem that the reedbed is perfect for Bearded Tits and it supported a group of seven birds throughout the winter several years ago. On Saturday morning there was a stedy trickle of small groups of both Fieldfare and Redwing moving westward across the reserve with half a dozen Fieldfare feeding in the carpark Field. There are several pairs of Stonechat to be found on the reed bed and in the hedges. The males are often doing a hovering display, which may be to attract a mate or perhaps to claim a winter territory. Kingfishers were seen from both hides on both days and Cettis are very noticeable with at least five different individuals to be heard between the one in the carpark field and the one calling from beyond the second hide. A Brambling was heard to fly over and three Redpolls were seen and heard in flight. There was a report of Siskins being seen on Saturday beside the bridle way. There are at least twelve Wigeon on the North lagoon, there are a few pairs of Shoveller and at least fifty Teal some of which are just starting to come out of eclipse. We saw two Green Sands and a Dunlin on the South Lagoon.

Cheers Peter

The bearded tits © Peter Barker


Addendum - Some comments on the stonechats hovering behaviour by Ewan Urquhart

I am writing to inform you that Otmoor Lane, the road from Beckley leading down to the RSPB Otmoor nature reserve car park, will be closed for approximately 3 weeks.  The road is closed for re-surfacing, which I am sure that many of you who have travelled down the lane recently would agree needs to be done.  However, this is going to cause some disruption.

Otmoor Lane closed from Beckley to reserve car park
Monday 19 October 2009 - Friday 6 November 2009

We are sorry for the late notice on this closure, but this is out of our control and we have only had the terms of the closure confirmed by the Oxfordshire County Council Highways today.  It will be closed for the full 21 days, however it should be left passable at the end of each working day.  Pedestrians can still pass the works, the walk down the lane from the village is approximately 1 mile.  The closure could include weekends if they choose to do so, and we will have no notice if this is the case.  So the advice is to avoid the lane for the next 3 weeks.  The reserve is still open and can be accessed from other footpaths and bridleways around the moor.  If you choose to do this please take care in parking, and avoid blocking field gates etc.

Unfortunately the Otmoor Feed the Birds Day which had been organised on the 28 October, has been cancelled, due to the lane closure.  An alternative event is now available at Port Meadow http://www.rspb.org.uk/events/details.asp?id=tcm:9-222686

We are sorry for any difficulties this is going to cause, however we will all see some benefits once the work has been completed.  We will keep you updated of any changes.

Thanks

David

David Wilding
Site Manager
C/O Folly Farm
Common Road
Beckley
Oxford OX3 9UR
Tel. 01865 352034
Fax. 01767 685601
Email: david.wilding@rspb.org.uk
www.rspb.org.uk

No report on Saturday as I was enjoying the delights of Didcot Power Station and the tip. I also saw the gull in question and am now worried that I might have to go over again and try to see the Baltic Gull.
The reserve was very quiet on both days and on Sunday it was grey, misty and wet. Yesterday was beautiful however and the colours of the berries and the turning leaves glowed in the hedgerows. There was not a great deal to be seen on the bird front our summer visitors have gone and our winter birds
have not returned in any numbers. There are several flocks of skylarks over all fields and larger numbers still of meadow pipits. There were three green Sandpipers on both days and the Black tailed Godwit is still on the southern lagoon. Most interesting was a Raven that was seen being pursued by a jackdaw over Big Otmoor on Sunday morning and was seen again on Monday feeding on the ground on Greenaways. A flock of about 200 Goldies was seen in the distance on Sunday.

In the sun yesterday morning there were still a lot of dragonflies to be seen but no sign of the Hobby which has probably left. There is now a large metal skeleton on the edge of Ashgrave and the hide is
finally taking shape. It is very exciting as we were very surprised at the scale of it and the amount of elevation it will give to view both Ashgrave and the western end of the Closes. It is great to see all of these major projects coming to fruition and the RSPB staff should be congratulated on the complicated work that has been going on to get these works done. Well done.

Cheers Peter

Two green sandpipers © Nigel Forrow

On returning along the bridleway I almost stepped on what I assume is a juvenile Common lizard. However, on closer inspection it turned out to be a newt, probably a smooth newt. It was no more than 1.5 inches long and was completely motionless in the middle of the path.  Suspect the sudden drop in temperature when the sun went in caught it out.  Anyway, I moved it into the nearby vegetation and when the sun momentarily popped out it seemed to spark it into life & it promptly scuttled away.

Jonathan Crouch

A smooth newt © Jonathan Crouch

During a brief visit on Sunday morning there was not much to report at the first screen. A Black-Tailed Godwit and a Snipe were feeding amongst the Teal and Mallards. Five other Snipe were visible at the end of the right hand channel. A Kingfisher put in a couple of brief appearances. A very quiet afternoon for raptors - only a Red Kite was seen over Greenaways.

Nigel Forrow

Black-tailed godwit © Nigel Forrow

A snipe amongst the teal © Nigel Forrow

A stonechat © David Brown

I went on a lunch-time run down at Otmoor today, partly to have the experience of actually venturing along the diagonal track across Greenaways whilst work is being done on the bridleway. It was rather quiet on the reserve with the main activity being at the first screen. Here there were plenty of mallards getting into fights with each other for some reason whilst the teal looked on or slept. The kingfisher came and landed on the branch briefly, looking dazzlingly splendid in the sunshine. The main wader activity was along and at the back of the right-hand channel as viewed from the screen with at least half a dozen snipe dotted around, two green sandpipers and a black-tailed godwit all seen. There were lots of grey herons hunting in the unusually shallow water in the reeds. Apart from several kestrels and a single red kite no other raptors were seen. Interestingly, along the path to the second screen there was briefly a reed warblerstill singing.

Adam

A flying heron © Darrell Wood

As some of you may already be aware, there are some path works going on at present on Otmoor. It is anticipated that these will carry on throughout this week and into next. Some of this work involves the stretch of bridleway between the fields of 'Closes' and 'Greenaways'. This is the first stretch of surfaced
bridleway, just after the bird feeders and stretching up until the path turns north towards the reedbed, via the kissing gate.

We will not be closing the section of bridleway while the machinery is working along it. If people wish to use it, the drivers will stop to let them past. We have, however, opened an optional diversion for the
duration of the works. The route is only open during the contractors working hours, outside of which the gates will be locked.

The route follows the diagonal track across 'Greenaways' and around the southern edge of the reedbed bund. This should allow everyone to have a look at areas of the reserve otherwise out of bounds. Please make use of the route and enjoy the different perspective of the reserve, but it would be very helpful if everyone could help with the smooth running of the arrangement by keeping gates closed and keeping to the advertised route.

Signage is in place at either end of the diversion, showing maps of the route. To get to the other end of the bridleway using the alternative is approximately 2km, roughly double that of the bridleway. To reach
the first screen is approximately the same distance as using the visitor trail.

If you haven't had a chance to get to the 'moor in a while, its well worth coming down at the moment, purely for the great views of kingfisher at the reedbed! Also, as Peter Barker has pointed out, there
is a fairly steady stream of waders coming through at the moment, along with a nice compliment of raptors which currently includes all 4 species of falcon.

If there are any questions, please let me know. All the best and enjoy!

Martin Randall
Warden
RSPB Otmoor Nature Reserve
C/o Folly Farm, Common Road
Beckley, Oxford
OX3 9UR
T: 01865 352033 F:01767 685463 M: 07990 736881

Kingfisher © Nigel Forrow

Another calm and settled weekend and one that was quieter birdwise that  recently. The highlight of the weekend occured first thing on Saturday morning when we were treated to a fantastic flying display by a Merlin and a Skylark. The Skylark tried to escape by climbing rapidly and keeping the Merlin below it
but after almost a minute of frantic, high speed evasion, it dived and tried to get into the hedge beside Greenaways. It may have made it, we could not see exactly what happened, but the immediate interest shown to the area by a Kestrel probably suggests that the Merlin was enjoying its breakfast in the
hedge. There were a small number of waders present including four Green Sands on Sunday and probably the same Black tailed Godwit on both days. There are still good numbers of snipe present either flying or feeding and roosting in front of the screens. There were good sized finch flocks to be seen and more than a hundred meadow pipits were active over the main fields. Hobbies were present on Saturday but I didn't see one on Sunday. There are still warblers to be found including both Sedge and Reed in the reedbed, the latter outnumbering the former by at least five to one. A reed warbler even started to sing for a while from the ditch next to the bridle way. We found at least five Blackcaps in the Carpark Field and wondered whether they were about to leave or had just arrived for the winter. There were also a lot of Chiffchaffs to be seen and only one Willow Warbler. Sharp eared members of our group heard a very high pitched sound along most of the paths and we saw quite a few Roesel's Bush Crickets and also a Dark Bush Cricket. Rosels are the easiest to identify as they look as though they have been branded by Nike and sport the yellow "swoosh" on their sides. Nothing from me next weekend but I gues that something interesting will turn up in my absence and will be reported by another of the Otmoor regulars.

Cheers Peter

A little egret © Nigel Forrow
A Shoveler © Nigel Forrow
Roesel's Bush Cricket © Peter Barker
Dark Bush Cricket © Peter Barker
Meadow Pipit © Peter Barker

A glorious morning on Otmoor: the small copper butterfly, stonechat and winchat were all seen on the run up to the first screen. Also in evidence were kingfisher, perched and aerial hobby, buzzards and red kites.

Pete Styles

A Whinchat making use of one of the new posts that have been installed on Big Otmoor © Pete Styles

A stonechat © Pete Styles

Small Copper © Pete Styles

A chiffchaff © Pete Styles

The two Marsh Harriers were seen on the Closes with plenty of Meadow Pipits and a Golden Plover was heard overhead. As usual Cetti's were singing strongly along the bridle path and a Water Rail was calling from the ditch. A Hobby was hawking over the reedbed but was pushed away by a female Sparrowhawk. A single Snipe was roosting left of the second screen and a Reed Warbler was feeding in front of the screen. On the way back a male Stonechat was feeding along the hedgerow before the corner. A Little Egret flew across the reedbed at the first screen.  At this point I picked up a pale juvenile Buzzard that could get confused with Rough legged - it almost caught me out. There were now two Hobbies hawking over
Greenways but unfortunately no sign of the big white egret.

Gareth Blockley

A reed warbler © Nigel Forrow

A buzzard © Nigel Forrow

The fine settled spell has continued but it was breezy at times making small birds keep their heads down. The Great White Egret was still present on Saturday but I did not see it or hear of it on Sunday. It has been very flighty and spends quite a lot of time in heavy cover down in the ditches. There are alarge number of its grey and much more common cousins around and earlier in the week I counted nine on the flood field alone. There are also at least two Little Egrets on the reserve and flying at a distance they can be confusing. A sign of winter on Sunday morning, as a flock of at least fifty Golden Plover wheeled low over the Closes and eventually set down on a ploughed field further up the hill. There are good numbers of Whinchat around on hedges and fences two were particularly prominent on the new anti predator fencing around Big Otmoor and on Saturday there were at least nine together hawking from the top of the hedge out on the MOD land at the Pill. Another sign of the season were the first Autumn records of Stonechat with a female seen at the Pill on Saturday morning and another in the carpark field in the Afternoon. There are still individual Wheatears to be found and they seem to favour the newly rotovated patches to feed on. There are still parties of hirundines feeding and moving through. Seven species of raptor were seen at different times over the weekend with Peregrine putting in a guest appearance on Saturday morning and afternoon. There was also report of returning Merlin on Thursday.

A word of warning to visitors. Otmoor lane was very badly damaged on Saturday between 7.30 in the morning when I arrived and 12.30 when I left, a heavy piece of farm machinery has abraded several of the larger bumps and broken the surface. It is now treacherous for cyclists and not good to drive over in light vehicles. Perhaps the local Authority will finally sort out their wrangle with the people who built the sewage works and repair it.

Hopeful cheers
peter

A black-headed gull © Nigel Forrow

A heron catching a perch © Nigel Forrow
A lapwing coming in to land © Nigel Forrow

A quick jog down to the two screens found not very much on show this lunch-time. There was a large flock (c. 40) of linnets along the wires leading from the car park to the bird feeders. There was a single snipe asleep by the first screen together with a few teal. Right at the back of the right-hand channel there was a green sandpiper wading in front of the reeds. The second screen held another snipe and an assortment of ducks. Several red kites and kestrels were giving good views and a juvenile hobby was hawking around the track behind the car park that goes down the Saunder's Field. A few warblers still in the hedges though not many. A water rail was also reported as being seen by the first screen.

There was no sign of the egret during my visit but it was reported on OxonBirds as being present still on the "main RSPB field" (presumably Greenaways).

Adam

red kite © Nigel Forrow

Two green sandpipers (taken a couple of days later) © Nigel Forrow