Farmoor Reservoir 21st March

Spotted Redshank seen early morning on the causeway then flushed by a walker then later by a runner. Also seen were five Sand Martin over F2. 

Farmoor 16th March 2021

2 kittiwake present on f2 from early morning

Farmoor 2nd - 3rd March 2021.

First Rock Pipit of the year was seen on the 2nd, but was disturbed by walkers, and only seen briefly. Also a early Sand Martin that was seen over the main car park today when waiting for friends to arrive was my earliest record for Farmoor.

Farmoor Reservoir 8th January : two Brent geese seen briefly on F2.

 

 

F1 Tuffed Duck

After reading about the Tufted Duck which Ewan photographed on F2  took me back a few year to the the time when more birds were seen with nasal saddle's fitted to their bills. The last one present here was found on F1 with the nasal saddle code F1. This bird spent the week distressed with trying  to remove the saddle. I feel this practice should be terminated immediately along with most bird ringing. Birds are not a commodity and I feel that this approach does not serve any purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WADERS THAT HAVE BEEN SEEN AT FARMOOR RESERVOIR SINCE 1965 WHEN F1 WAS  FILLED.

 

 

 

LESSER YLLOWLEGS  Rare vagrant one record 15th September 2020.

 

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OYSTERCATCHER

 

 

AVOCET   
Very scarce visitor with only  eighteen records, the highest count being ten on the 28th April 1978. Latest record is a single bird seen on the14th April 2022. 

 

 

                                                                                                 

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER

Common visitor bred in past years.

 

 

RINGED PLOVER
Passage migrant. 

KENTISH  PLOVER   
Rare vagrant one record 15th May 1970.


GREY PLOVER 
Scarce passage migrant. 
 

 

 

GOLDEN PLOVER
Common passage migrant.

LAPWING
Common passage migrant.



KNOT Calidris canutus
Scarce passage migrant.

  

SANDERLING 
Common passage migrant.
                                                       

                                                                                

PURPLE SANDPIPER 
Very scarce visitor with Twenty three records, latest record was on the 29th 

December 2024. First record 2nd September 1976.   

TURNSTONE 

Regular passage migrant

DUNLIN 

Common passage migrant

CURLEW SANDPIPER 

Scarce visitor,

 

TEMMINCK'S  STINT 

Rare passage migrant with thirteen records, single bird seen on the 26th June 2026 being the latest record.





Temminck's Stint (c) Noah Gins





LITTLE STINT 

Infrequent passage migrant, with an amazing 84 birds present on the 24th September 1996.

 


 



 

 

 

WOOD SANDPIPER 

Very scarce passage migrant with fifteen records, latest 7th August 2021 

 

 

GREEN SANDPIPER

Scarce passage migrant

COMMON SANDPIPER 

Common passage migrant
 

REDSHANK 

Resident

 

 

 

SPOTTED REDSHANK

Scarce passage migrant



Spotted Redshank (c) Tezzer

 

GREENSHANK

Passage migrant

MARSH SANDPIPER

Rare Vagrant one record 5th August 2007

 

                               

 

                                            

                                                                                            

 

BLACK-TAILED GODWIT

Passage migrant

.

 

BAR-TAILED GODWIT  

Scarce passage migrant

 

 

 CURLEW

 Passage migrant.

 

 

WHIMBREL 

Passage migrant  





Whimbrel

WOODCOCK 
Scarce visitor


SNIPE    

                                                                                 

 

 

JACK SNIPE

Regular winter visitor in small numbers.

 

GREY PHALAROPE
Very scarce migrant with  twenty one records, latest 1 23rd September 2023



Grey Phalarope (c) Tezzer

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE  

Rare migrant with four records of single birds,17 May 1974, 8th June 1974, 21st-25th September 2017 and the 1st June 2026.

 

 

 

RUFF
Passage migrant

 

PECTORAL SANDPIPER

Rare vagrant with six records.  
 

 Pectoral Sandpiper (c) Bryan Manston

 

SPOTTED SANDPIPER

Rare vagrant with three records : 1st May 1989 first Oxfordshire record.




 Spotted Sandpiper (c) Roger Wyatt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farmoor : September Review.

 

 

                                                                    

Lesser Yellowlegs

 

September produced three outstanding birds, two being  new birds for Farmoor. The star bird was a Lesser Yellowlegs found and photographed by the sole observer Terry Sherlock on the 15th. This was followed by a Yellow-browed Warbler which was present briefly on 21st and seen by only two lucky birders. Then on the 11th a Manx Shearwater was found and stayed the day giving views to the many admirers. Other noteworthy birds were a Marsh Harrier found by Andy Last on the 12th and four Black-necked Grebe, two adults and two juveniles seen on the 11th.The first Rock Pipit of the autumn was seen on the 21st with another on the 24th. Stonechat and Wheatear number were up compared with recent years, Siskins and Lesser Redpoll noted earlier than in most years with birds seen and heard in recent weeks. Waders reported this month included Knot, Ruff, Golden Plover,Turnstone Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Lapwing, Snipe, Greenshank and Redshank. Ospreys were reported on four days and Sandwich Terns on three making it a good period for them.

                                                               

                                                                          Osprey 

                   

 Osprey 

Black necked Grebe

                                                                        

                                                                        Sandwich Tern 

                                        

                                                                         

                                                                         Ringed Plover

                                                                          Dunlin 

                                                                           Wheatear

                                                                             Turnstone

Rock Pipit

                  

                                                                   

                                                                                   

                                                                            

 

                                   

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