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

A very quiet weekend on Otmoor with the dull grey weather on Saturday making it almost impossible to see anything in the murk. Despite the gloom a Chaffinch and a Yellowhammer were singing by the  feeders and the Marsh Tit made frequent appearances. Geese and ducks could be heard calling  mournfully as they passed overhead or fed out on Greenaways but mostly hidden by the mist. A sign of  spring was evident in the ditches, as we heard the first frogs/toads croaking out their lovesongs. On Sunday visibility was better and very large numbers of Lapwings could be seen along with a few small  flocks of Golden Plover. The Lapwing flock had several Dunlin attached and one Redshank was seen on  Greenaways. Both Merlin and Peregrine were seen as well as the expected Buzzards and Red Kites. Two Ruddy Shelduck flew from Ashgrave over the reserve and disappeared in the direction of the Flood Field  where most of the wildfowl are lurking. Anyone having to do a Webs count at present is faced with a  daunting task as the ducks are well hidden unless a raptor flushes them and then they are impossible to count. Pochard were visible from the second screen 33 of them along with 28 Tufted Ducks. All other  expected duck species were present but I have no idea of numbers. I spoke to a visitor who had watched  a Jack Snipe in the tussocks on Greenaways from the bridle way on Monday, so its worth a look if you are along there.

Cheers Peter

The marsh tit © Peter Barker
These goosander dropped in at the second screen on Friday afternoon © Terry Jones

Over the weekend it was clear to see winter tightening its grip on Otmoor. There were significant  differences between Saturday and Sunday as more of the open water froze solid and birds relocated  within the reserve or left altogether. Despite the bright sunshine it was bitterly cold with a strong wind.
On Saturday there were two Little Egrets on the Closes as I arrived but they were absent by Sunday. There were at least 3500 lapwing over Greenaways and the fields adjacent to the path to the second hide  on Saturday, on Sunday we saw no more than fifty. There were large numbers of wildfowl on The  Flood on Saturday and by Sunday they had all moved into the open water on the northern and southern reedbeds. Amongst them were several parties of Pintail often flying in tight formations, at least thirty  Shoveler and on Sunday there were 26 Pochard and 31 Tufted Ducks on the Northern lagoon. On  Sunday a female Goosander flew over the first screen and Peregrine was present on Sunday morning. Despite the difficult conditions this winter most of the small passerines can be found in the hedgerows  and Bullfinches can nearly always be seen in the carpark field and along the main tracks. They seem to have splintered into three or four seperate flocks of four or five individuals and are guaranteed to brighten  up a chilly morning.

Cheers Peter

Male bullfinch © Pete Styles

Flying Pintail © Jonathan Crouch

An excellent weekend on Otmoor with the flock of 52 White fronted Geese taking pride of place, but with a impressive cast of supporting acts. The geese had been seen to fly in on Thursday evening, were not reported on Friday and so we were very pleased to relocate them on Saurday feeding on the Flood field. They were very restless and wary and took flight mid morning. They appeared to fly off towards Muswell hill but turned and circled the reserve for about an hour almost landing several times on the flooded fields next to the path to the second screen. Eventually they landed out on Ashgrave at the large shallow pond half way up the hill. On Sunday morning they were back on the Flood Field and again visible from the second screen, but took flight when a Red Kite flushed all the ducks that were also out on the flood. They flew off and may have come down on the very flooded MOD land or Malt pit. I have previously only ever seen groups of six or seven White-fronts here and it is very pleasing that Otmoor has contributed to what has been a very "goosey" few weeks in the county. In addition we saw our first Short Eared Owl of this winter flying off along the river Ray having been roosting in the long grasses beside the second screen. There were significant numbers of duck continuing to build up on the Flood field with a pair of Red Crested Pochard amongst them, although their provenence is dubious they are incredibly attractive and bright, as if they had been coloured in by an imaginative child with a brand new set of felt tipped pens. There are massive numbers of gulls out on the flooded fields including 220 Lesser Black backs on the field next to the path to the second screen and on Sunday morning there were at least two Yellow legged Gulls with them and several hundred Black headed and one lone Shelduck. Every so often large flocks of Lapwing could be seen flushing off the surrounding land and we estimated that the largest of these flocks comprised at least 2500 individuals. There were also similar sized flocks of Starlings feeding over the grassland. With so many potential prey items available it was not surprising to see Sparrowhawk, Buzzard and Peregrine several times as well as the now ubiquitous Red Kites. Other sightings this weekend included a single Stonechat, so not all of them succumbed to the cold nor did the Cettis Warblers as at least two different individuals were heard calling. All told a great weekend's birding.

Cheers Peter

The goose flock on the Flood Field © Peter Barker
Taking off! © Peter Barker
Some record shots of the geese whilst they were at the west end of Ashgrave © Adam Hartley
Short-eared owl © Peter Barker

Only one visit to the moor this weekend as the weather on Saturday morning was foul. What a difference a week makes. The snow had nearly all gone and the sun was shining brightly. Some of the ducks missing during the freeze were back with at least five hundred Wigeon on the reed bed and probably the same number of Teal although they are much more difficult to estimate. There were not so many passerines to be seen but there are at least a thousand starlings feeding on Big Otmoor and Greenaways. Five raptors put in  an appearance: Red kite, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard, Kestrel and Peregrine. The feeding regime has helped at least one Bittern survive and it could be seen intermittently patrolling along the reed edge. We also saw at least five Mistle Thrushes which are not common out on the grassland. There were also Black  backed Gulls feeding and roosting on the quieter parts of Ashgrave. The RSPB staff have reported seeing  three different Barn Owls hunting over the reeds while they have been distributing their largesse to the bitterns.

Cheers Peter

Barn Owl © Jonathan Crouch

Otmoor Sunset © Jonathan Crouch

Here is proof positive that the RSPB bittern feeding strategy is working. Reserve staff  have been putting out frozen fish in the reed fringe on the northern reedbed. They also set up one of the nest cameras, normally used to monitor Lapwing nests and these are the images that were captured yesterday. Sadly it is not just the bitterns that are taking advantage of the frozen sardines but also magpies and carrion crows !

Peter


Video Footage of the feeding bittern

Bird Guides are reporting two Bitterns seen by the second hide this afternoon. This could well be a vindication of the RSPB bittern feeding programme that started on Sunday morning. The Otmoor staff would be interested in hearing from anyone who has access to any small whole frozen fish, or any ideas where they could be obtained. So far they have contacted bait shops and fishmongers. Maybe youve had a pack of frozen whitebait at the back of your freezer for the last three years and don't quite fancy cooking them....this is your chance to give them a good home ! please E-mail me or contact the Otmoor Office on 01865 351163. Good news though that the birds have survived.

Peter

We made it down Otmoor lane today and enjoyed the solitude of Otmoor.  The highlight of our walk through the snow was when we flushed a woodcock just on leaving the car parking spaces.  It was unmistakable in flight, with its heavy, pot-bellied shape and broad, very rounded wings and I had a good view of it through the binoculars. 

Neil Bird

A peregrine flying over Otmoor (taken yesterday) © Peter Barker

I walked down Otmoor lane from Beckley to the moor yesterday, the lane only being passable to 4x4 vehicles. The landscape was breathtaking, huge, bleak and clean. We seemed to be only the second set of tracks on the paths after someone had obviously gone through on cross country skis. There were very few birds about in the sub zero chill. On the way down the hill there was a mixed flock of finches composed of Yellowhammers, Greenfinches and a few Reed buntings. Up in the village there had been good numbers of winter thrushes but they seem to have abandoned the snowy fields below. There was no open water on the northern reed bed and only a tiny open puddle on the southern. This had a very disconsolate looking group of Mallard sat around it with a single drake Pintail. A male Peregrine overflew us while we walked down the lane and probably the same bird was seen sitting out in the open on  Greenaways. Sadly there was no sign at all of the Bitterns from last week and I feel that they must have moved on. A single Green Woodpecker worked through the Oaks behind the first screen. It was beautiful but cold visit where I saw for myself that shadows in snow really are blue and not something added in by  imaginative photographers in Photoshop!

Cheers Peter

Redwing © Nigel Forrow

Happy New Year All! Firstly, apologies about the delay with this posting but there have been some technical problems with SurfBirds which has prevented any posts until now.

The year has got off to a wonderful start on the moor. The weather has been bright, crisp, sunny and bitterly cold. The water bodies are now mostly frozen but there are open leads on the both of the lagoons and this is mostly where the really spectacular action has been going on. There are currently three Bitterns on the Northern Reedbed. Because of the ice they are feeding along the sunny northern edge and are spending time stalking along the edge of the ice right out in the open. This behaviour has led to a number of spectacular confrontations with much display puffed out feathers and posturing. They have been seen by large numbers of visitors many of whom are seeing Bittern for the first time. I was concerned that they would not be able to feed but one of them was seen to catch two small fish yesterday. They have also been very popular with photographers and we have been sent some spectacular images that can be seen on the blog. Water Rails were also seen from time to time scuttling along the edges and Ducks still swimming in the open water. Wigeon predominantly but respectable numbers of Teal as well. There were at least ten Pintail, a few Tufted Duck, Gadwall and Shoveler. Raptor were also seen and it is very exciting to report that a male Hen Harrier was seen on all three days hunting over the reedbed and over the Flood and Barn fields,sadly I didn't see it. The last time I remember seeing a male here must have been seven or eight years ago. Merlin was seen briefly and on Saturday there were two male Peregrines together over Greenaways and a single bird seen over the reedbed on Sunday. There were at least 230 Golden Plover on Ashgrave on Sunday and a similar number of Lapwing. Stonechats were seeen on Ashgrave , Big Otmoor and out at the Pill. Fieldfares were scattered over all the grasslands  feeding with Starlings and Meadow Pipits. A Kingfisher was seen flying along the main ditch which is still unfrozen. With the weather set to continue like this I can't wait for the hide to open!

Chilly Cheers Peter

A wealth of bittern shots to choose from this week!

A Bittern in the reeds © Steve Burch

Bittern in flight © Pete Styles

Bittern in the reeds © Nigel Forrow

Skulking Bittern © Nigel Forrow

Bittern Confrontation © Nigel Forrow

Bittern in flight © Nigel Forrow

A distant shot of the male hen harrier © Steve Burch

Two bitterns seen from the second screen which even got into a bit of a scrap.


The two bitterns © Peter Barker

I just wanted to share a few thoughts and memories of the last year on the moor, which has been exciting and exasperating at times, but always beautiful and fascinating. I have recently been reading Jon Bakers Otmoor reports from the Late nineties and it is remarkable how much the landscape and the fauna have changed in the last ten years. Species that were major rarities then are now much more commonplace; Red Kite, Little Egret and Cettis warbler to name just three. Equally the last decade has seen both Nightingale and Willow Tit disappear from the area. Habitat changes with the full development of the reedbed and the wet grassland with its kilometres of ditching have created a place that pulls in wildlife both avian and otherwise. Good birds this year include Great White Egret, Bittern, Bearded Tit and Spoonbill but the bird of the year has to be the Marsh Warbler that was with us in May and was such an obliging bird, singing and feeding right out in the open for a large number of admirers. "Dip" of the year has to be the pratincole sp.that was seen by two observers just as it was getting dark one summer evening, but was not there at four the next morning unlike quite a number of us who had gone to look for it! My personal highlight was not a bird but a sighting of Otter on the northern reedbed, my first ever in Europe. With the hide now almost complete and the groundwork on Ashgrave finished after four autumns of adverse weather we can look forward to some excellent birding in 2010. I predict that the next new bird to be seen on the reserve will be Cattle Egret and the next new breeder will be either Marsh Harrier or Little Egret. I have never yet managed to get one of these predictions right and I am sure that every Otmoor regular will have their own views and expectations. Massive thanks to all the RSPB staff and volunteers who are continuing to manage and develop this place into a truly remarkable wildlife haven in an increasingly busy and crowded part of the country. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has sent in sightings, reports and so many stunning photographs. This input has turned the blog into a very rich record of the wildlife of the moor. Thanks also to Adam for putting it all together and to the Otmoor regulars with whom I have spent most Saturday and Sunday mornings trudging round, often cold, sometimes wet, even sometimes almost bird free, but never ever bored.

Happy New Year
Peter

At least one of the bitterns is still present at the second screen and was photographed this afternoon by Pete Styles

A bittern in the reeds © Pete Styles

A bittern was seen in the reeds in front of the second screen at around lunch-time today. Three (!) have been confirmed as having been seen at dusk from the same location

An interesting visit to the moor to view the Starling roost on Boxing day. I was reliably informed of a good display by at least 20,000 birds on Christmas Eve, although they tended to roost in the hedgerow rather than the reedbed. Sadly on this occasion there was no roost at all. We saw probably no more than 500 birds going in to the reeds which was a disappointment to the twenty or so people who had come to see them. It may be that the frozen reedbed offers less protection from predators, a big dog fox flushed the
ducks by strolling across the ice in front of the first screen on Sunday morning. On Sunday morning the area of open water had increased and there were good numbers of both Teal and Wigeon present, but Shoveler and Gadwall were less numerous than a week ago. There are still winter thrushes about
but fewer and more scattered. I only managed to find one pair of Stonechats on Sunday they were out beside the Pill. The female Merlin is still around and was seen both on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. I will shortly be posting a round-up of the year on Otmoor, hopefully before the year is out! As I write I have just heard that Rare Bird Alert are reporting three Bitterns in front of the second screen. I know for sure that there was one there yesterday and look forward to some confirmation of numbers.

Cheers Peter

A redwing in the hedgerow © Nigel Forrow
Only one pair of stonechats currently around on Otmoor © Nigel Forrow

I got this message from Steve Heaven concerning the identity of the two Bewick's swans that were by the second screen on Sunday.

I ventured out before dawn on an icy and misty morning to see what was about. It was all rather magical with a hoare frost on many of the branches and a light dusting of snow. Otmoor Lane was full of pheasants by the road side and thrushes in the hedges. The Car Park Field was teeming with fieldfares with some redwing and blackbirds also thrown in. Fortunately the overnight snow had covered the ice which made walking along the paths relatively easy and there was little wind so I soon warmed up as I walked briskly along. Along Greenaways itself there was not much about with only a kestrel seen flying off from the hedgerow. In Ashgrave the merlin was seen as it flew over into the Closes. At the first screen there was one clear patch of water which was occupied by teal, wigeon and a few shoveler and gadwall. A kite flew over, just visible in the mist.  A party of bullfinches was working its way along the hedgerow towards the second screen at which there were more teal and wigeon though they took flight as I approached and headed over to the first screen pool. A small flock of meadow pipits was working its way along the frozen channels on Big Otmoor and several wrens and robins were flitting around in the hedges hungrily looking for food. Quite a few snipe were flying around over Greenaways.

A wonderfully wintery view over Greenaways © Adam Hartley

The fresh snow gave an opportunity to look for animal tracks and there were a couple of distinctive tracks along the paths
I think that these are fox prints with the distinctive five pads © Adam Hartley
I'm guessing that this is a badger print as it was quite large and has the distinctive claw marks © Adam Hartley


Adam Hartley

As many of you will already know we perform a bi weekly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS), across Otmoor nature reserve and adjacent land. We thought that people might be interested in the general findings of this survey so I'll endeavour to keep you posted with our findings.

This week the reserve is all but iced over, with only small sections of unfrozen water on Ashgrave and the reedbed. It was on these areas of free water where the small number of duck were seen, including 90
wigeon, 105 teal and a handful of pintail. The general consensus is that with the site iced over, many ducks are residing at larger bodies of water.

Lapwing and golden plover were more in evidence with flocks numbering in the hundreds. Ashgrave held the highest number of lapwing and golden plover (575 and 280 respectively) counted feeding amongst the new pool and island network of Ashgrave.

No sign of the Bewick's swan or spotted redshank seen on Saturday morning, however a merlin was spotted patrolling the grassland.

Cheers
Sam Davies

Assistant Warden
RSPB Otmoor Nature Reserve
c/o Folly Farm, Common rd, Beckley,
Oxford. OX3 9UR
Office tel: 01865 352032
Mobile tel: 07979731421
Email: sam.davies@... sam.davies@...>

A glorious weekend on the moor with some excellent birds to warm our very chilly hearts. Birds aside it was a stunningly beautiful couple of days with gin clear skies and bright winter sun. It must be very difficult for birds to find food and many took advantage of the sun to warm up. There are still significant numbers of wildfowl on the lagoons and they are concentrated around the small patches of open unfrozen water. They are predominently Teal and Wigeon but we counted over eighty Shoveler on Saturday and there were also good numbers of Mallard and a few Gadwall. A party of Coots presented a pantomime chorus line as they walked across the ice with many slips and falls and precious little dignity. There were at least twenty Snipe feeding out in the grassland and a flock of thirty Skylarks on the Closes. Fieldfares again outnumbered Redwings by more than two to one and were very abundant feeding amongst the Snipe on Greenaways. The Bullfinches seem to have fragmented into small parties of four or five and several such groups could be seen in the hedgerows along the bridle way and between the two screens. The Merlin put in an appearance both mornings and a Peregrine was seen over the reedbed on Sunday. Buzzards, Kestrel and Red Kites could be found most of the time somewhere perched up or gliding through. Birds of the weekend however were the Spotted Redshank that was seen flying out of the reedbed on Saturday morning, probably the bird that later appeared on Port Meadow and the pair of Bewick Swans that we found on the Northern reedbed on sunday morning. I had heard that there had been an influx on the East coast and was very gratified to be able to help Jason to his two hundreth Oxfordshire tick for 2009. It was also a pleasure to toast his success with a nip of Graham's, Otmoor picked, Sloe gin.

Glowing cheers
Peter

The two Bewick's swans on the only patch of clear water at the second screen © Adam Hartley
One of the swans, having a well earned rest from its travels © Adam Hartley

Coot parade © Peter Barker
A "tree rat" © Peter Barker

Mark Avery, the conservation director for the RSPB, has written an entry on Otmoor on his blog. Click here to view.