January 2025

For 2025 I plan on focussing on my local patches again but will also try and visit some other local sites more often. 

The Balscote Bewick's Swan got my year off to a nice start with a county tick. 

A Marsh Harrier at Blenheim on the 8th was very unexpected. It's the first harrier species I've seen at Blenheim and I think only the second record of Marsh Harrier for the site. The fact it was a tagged bird added some extra interest and it seems to have made the local area its home for now.

There hasn't been a great deal else of interest at Blenheim this winter. Low numbers of ducks generally and nothing unusual. I've not seen a Goosander here this winter which is very unusual. Far lower numbers of Pochard compared to last winter with only single figure counts so far. A pair of Pintail on a couple of occasions in January was nice to see. Since the Queen Pool has been deepened, it's not quite as attractive to dabbling ducks. Far fewer Teal and Shoveler winter now, but Gadwall still like it and up to 50 Wigeon in January suggest it has its perks for some species. 

Two or three Great White Egrets have spent the winter there, too. Gull numbers have been generally low. A second year GBBG over was the best for January.

The Ardley ERF patch has had a steady start. A fly-over Great black-backed gull is only my second at this site. I've yet to have one on the deck here. 

GBBG and LBBG

Gull numbers were generally low and aside from the GBBG there were a couple of stand out birds during January. The first was a Herring gull showing a quite extreme amount of white in its outer primaries. I would think this will be a nominate argentatus bird from the northerly part of their range. A great looking gull! The second came a week later and was a lovely adult Caspian gull, my third here this winter. I managed to get reasonable shots of both flying out of the site allowing for a nice comparison, below. Amazing to consider the distances both of these birds will have travelled to end up here. Herring gull on the left and Caspian gull on the right in the images below. 

 

The same adult Caspian gull was seen again the following weekend along with a third winter / 4CY bird. JFT also saw a 2CY bird on the same afternoon which made three Caspian gulls in one day which is good going for the site. 

I managed to catch up with most of the rare and scarce wildfowl dotted around the county this month. Smew was a nice county tick albeit only distant and brief scope views of the drake. It took a few attempts to pin down the female Ring-necked duck in the LWV pits, but thankfully the White-fronted geese at Standlake and the Scaup at Hinksey Lake were a bit more straight-forward. The Green-winged Teal at Otmoor was also another county tick, although its status as a full species is due to cease imminently so I'll enjoy it while it lasts!