New bird for Billy's Farmoor Life List.

Two new birds for the Farmoor 2018 year list were seen today. In the morning Dave Lowe found a Mandarin Duck which is a rare bird at Farmoor with only a handful seen here. The second was a Red-throated Diver again a rare bird at Farmoor with only three others recorded in Oxfordshire this century. Sadly the Diver was only present for a short time and was seen by only three observers Peter Allen Billy and myself. This was a new bird for Billy's Farmoor Life List and takes his total seen to 168 and Farmoors 2018 year list to 117.


                                Below are my favourite photo's taken at Farmoor in March.



 Rock Pipit (c) Tezzer

 Common Scoter (c) Jeremy Dexter

Farmoor Common Scoters ( My favourite bird )

A second visit to Farmoor on Saturday to refill the feeders at Pinkhill Reserve and Bushy Leaze Copse was rewarded when I got a phone call telling me that there were three Common Scoter on F2. On hearing the news I took a quick walk back to Bushy Leaze Copse where I had parked my car. Within two minutes I was back at Farmoor watching the Common Scoters on F2 from the East bank. I continued my drive down the causeway where I met Andy Last the finder of the Common Scoters.  We decided to drive around F2 again to see if a Wheatear I saw earlier was still present. No luck with the Wheatear but Andy did manage to spot a Ringed Plover which like the Scoters was new for the year. Well done to Andy for finding the Common Scoters which are my favourite bird,  and made my day. A mid afternoon visit Sunday produced a Jack Snipe that was flush accidentally from short grass. This is the first seen here since last Autumn, and the good spell continued when a morning visit today produced single Kittiwake and Little Gull which takes the total birds seen at Farmoor this year to 109. 


 

  

 Black-necked Grebe (c) Tezzer

Common Scoters (c) Andy Last

Kittiwake (c) Roger Wyatt

 

Siskin

 Marsh Tit

 Water Rails

Treecreeper

Barnacle Goose





Bushy leazes Cat