Black Redstart in Oxford 12th January 2025

On a dull Sunday with the temperature at last rising above freezing although remaining markedly cold I was at a loose end. It was too cold to do anything in the garden. The weather was dreary, a shroud of heavy grey cloud had sunk over the land, pressing downwards and feeling slighty claustrophobic 

I decided on a trip to Christchurch College in the heart of Oxford to try my luck with the male Black Redstart that has been reported virtually daily from there since before Christmas. Today was not exactly the ideal weather conditions to take any photos but I was desperate to get out of the house and feel busy.. 

The Black Redstart was a first winter male which rendered it more colourful than the more usual drab brown individuals that are either females or sometimes first winter males. Confusingly young males can often not adopt the attractive male plumage until their third year while others such as the one I went to see in Oxford do so much earlier.

The male's plumage is a pleasing mix of black and grey- the body and head blue grey, face and chin black, contrasting with rufous orange tail feathers that are only visible when the tail is spread - the striking colourful feature that gives rise to the second part of its name

A half hour drive to the outskirts of the city took me to the Peartree Park and Ride where I was able to leave the car and courtesy of my free bus pass take a bus into the heart of the city. Parking in Oxford these days is a nightmare and very expensive, even on a Sunday,Far better to use the bus which is frequent and quick and far less taxing on one's stress levels.

Getting off the bus in the city centre it was a fifteen minute walk through the crowded streets, past the Town Hall and thence to turn off into the Broad Walk with Christchurch Meadows on one side and the imposing Meadow Building, constructed in 1862, on the other side and frequented by the Black Redstart which has made this superlative structure of honey coloured stone and immense history, its winter home

The part of the Meadow Building favoured by the Black Redstart.
Note the vine clinging to the wall

As  usual there were tourists from many lands and visitors aplenty and I wondered if this would mean  the absence of the redstart. I need not have worried as the one other birder present told me that the redstart was showing quite well, unphased by all the passing human traffic and appearing on the 'Building' facing us  about every twenty minutes.It was apparently favouring one  of the stone balconies in particular or an ancient vine that clung to the walls.

A fifteen minute wait brought due reward when the Black Redstart appeared not on the 'Building' but on the railings on the other side of the Broad Walk.. It then flew up into a tree and from there back over to the 'Building' and fluttered around the vine, picking off berries.

This was fortuitous as it provided an opportunity to see the tail spread in all its russset glory as the bird clung somewhat precariously to the thin stems of the vine.

It then, in stages flew up the face of the Meadow Building to the very top of thc roof and was gone. 

We stood and waited for the next appearance. Standing in the open with many tourists passing or milling around made me feel  more than a little self conscious and some people obviously were curious as to what I was looking at but never actually felt able to enquire while others, I am sure thought I was simply admiring the building although taking a rather long time in doing so.

The Meadow Building has featured in the Harry Potter films and a young Japanese lady passed me humming the theme tune,. we smiled at each other in mutual recognition.  Other couples stood in front of the building and took photos of themselves  or of the ancient 'Building'. It was never ever quiet.

 

I stood my ground as time passed slowly and ever more visitors walked by.me

Then the faintest flick of movement caught the corner of my eye signifying the return of the redstart. Its tiny dark form was dwarfed into insignificance against the huge stone walls as it flew from perch to perch on the balconies and buttresses. 

It fed and behaved very much like a Robin, flicking tail and wings with nervous energy, perching and then flying to seize any prey it could discern. It seemed to be finding enough to eat, picking off unappetising shrivelled berries from the vine or chasing after spiders and insects on the windows and stonework.

It was gone again in five minutes and I resolved to wait for one more appearance and then leave. It took quite some time but eventually the redstart returned, not on the building but on the ground at the base of the building.So unexpected I nearly missed it. Hopping along it fed from the grass and pebbles and then flew up onto the vine and gradually progressed ever higher until it once more disappeared around the back of the 'Building'.

Up until now no one had asked or troubled me about what I was doing but then a beadle approached me complete with bowler hat (remember Porterhouse Blue by Tom Sharpe anyone?) and enquired what I was looking at and photographing.I told him about the redstart and he told me that the students were returning to the college today and could I ensure I did not point bins or camera at the windows. It was all perfectly amicable but it took the gloss off my enjoyment  and I felt uneasy and was glad to leave,

Birding in situations like this is always fraught with the potential for misunderstanding.

A Winter Warbler 9th January 2025

A Yellow browed Warbler has, since before Christmas, been spending its winter days feeding on the ground beside the lake at Frampton Court, Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire and giving exceptionally close views.

I was away in Scotland when it was first found but daily reports from birders going to pay homage kept me enthused and it became obvious that the bird was likely to remain there for the winter. If its continued presence was not incentive enough to go and see it the fact it was highly approachable, ridiculously so and  for the most part feeding on the ground in one small area presented an almost unique opportunity.

I decided that should it still be there on my return home I would go and see it.After all it was only an hour's drive away and how often can one get really close to a Yellow browed Warbler for an extended period?

We arrived at Frampton Court around lunchtime and making our way down a lane from Frampton village we crossed a stile and ventured out into the open parkland of Frampton Court with its scattered trees of varying sizes and the lake beyond.

We were aware that the warbler had slightly changed its feeding habits in the last few days by leaving its regular spot by the lake and beginning to range further over the parkland although still choosing to feed on the ground.

There were a couple of other birders wandering around fairly aimlessly when we arrived but on enquiring of one we were told the warbler had been seen only ten minutes ago but was ranging from various isolated areas of dead vegetation under the small trees.We were shown where it was last seen but now, of course  there was no sign of it

This small patch of withered and cut stalks, leaves and grass below the small tree was the warbler's chosen place to feed. When it had thoroughly examined the whole patch it would fly to another  patch similar to this one

As nobody currently knew where it was we checked the various favoured areas it had been reported from, more in hope than expectation. We knew it was definitely here so all we had to do was find it - a tiny, dull green bird no bigger than a Goldcrest feeding on the ground amongst dead vegetation - no problem then!

For fifteen minutes there was nothing to show for our efforts. I walked towards another small tree with a circular patch of dead vegetation and grass below it and detected a tiny movement amongst the tangle of leaves, stalks and blades of grass. 

It could almost be a mouse but no, it was the 'yellow browed' flicking in and out of the jumble of  aforesaid cut stalks, stems, dead leaves and grass. A tiny bird superficially similar to a Goldcrest in size but with a plumage that was much more varied, pale lemon yellow stripes and bars breaking up  its predominantly moss green upperparts and the yellow brows  (supercilia) prominent across each side of its crown.I was also taken with its orange feet and legs, something you do not get to see that often as these hyperactive sprites are usually zipping about in trees.

It was forever active, never stopping feeding for a moment, hopping in and  out amongst the litter of vegetation at ground level, picking off tiny invertebrates from the stalks and leaves. It was relentless in its searching and judging by the microscopic size of its prey it had no option but to keep feeding this way in order to survive.

As far as I could see it was in excellent condition and the severe cold weather so far had not brought any adverse effect on its well being. Maybe its tameness was a result of it having to balance the need to feed constantly against a wild bird's innate caution.Conversely, coming from the vast forests of Siberia it may never have seen a human before and as a consequence felt no fear of its human admirers.Whatever the reason it certainly never ceased feeding for the hour we were there and came as near as a couple of feet at times in its quest for food.

I have never been this close to a Yellow browed Warbler before, even on Shetland where they are now almost common in autumn. Individual birds are wintering in Britain on an annual basis now and it is a growing trend for a number of these tiny Siberian gems to be found in Britain during our winter.Today for instance there were reports of individuals in Glamorgan, Hertfordshire and Devon as well as this bird at Frampton and in previous years I have seen birds in winter in both Sussex and Norfolk.

It is thought that a genetic defect in the bird's compass results in it migrating northwest which is in the opposite direction to where it normally would go to winter in southeastern Asia. A process labelled reverse migration. However it does not quite explain why more and more of these tiny birds are heading in our direction, the numbers increasing year on year each autumn.

We continued watching it hopping in and out of the stalks, dead leaves and grass - no blade or stalk remained unexamined and when it had satisfied itself that there was nothing more to be found it flew low and fast across the open ground to another similar patch and the ceaseless search for food began all over again.

We left it there.

The next day the warbler could not be found in any of its usual places despite thorough searching.Last night was one of the coldest on record and I fear the worst and that it may have succumbed to the cold.

Christmas Lights and a New Year Otter 2nd January 2025

As is our custom myself and Mrs U spent Christmas and Hogmanay in Scotland. By way of a change we opted to forgo staying on our favourite Isle of Arran and rented a cottage on the mainland at a place called Arduaine (pronounced Ardoony) which is a collection of a dozen or so houses by the shores of Asknish Bay in Argyll on the west coast of Scotland.

The cottage, elevated on a bank from the road had a large picture window that overlooked the bay and from here, through my telescope I was able to watch a pair of White tailed Eagles perched on a distant islet out in the bay. What more could you ask for?

Being Scotland the weather was, as expected, dull, wet and for the first few days of our stay extremely windy although strangely mild. Cosied up in the cottage, with the elemental sound of the wind roaring in the trees that rose up the steep hillside behind us we were happy to sit and admire the view with a log fire and a coffee or two for company. Later of an evening, it being dark by 4pm, came a malt whisky.

With Christmas over the weather changed, becoming markedly colder.and with the cold front came welcome but weak sunshine, something we had begun to feel we would never see. It's all very well feeling snug and secure in the cottage but there are only so many books you can read and with the arrival of the sun I began to get restless and felt an ever increasing urge to get outside.

This prompted us to drive to a nearby small village called Ardfern and from there walk along a deserted single track road for a mile to where the land joins the sea at a point called Craignish. Scotland in the depths of winter in this wild and rugged landscape cannot fail but inspire. The vast loneliness of land and sea created an intense feeling of place, a homeland where the heart is imbued with the myth and magic of this ancient and timeless landscape that makes you want to linger as if touching, however faintly, a sense of history and ancestry 

Out across the distance of cold grey sea and desolate fingers of land the snow covered and irregular peaks of the mountains and hills of Mull shone like icebergs below an ice blue sky in the late afternoon's golden sunlight. The only sounds that broke the silence were the harsh calls of Hooded Crows and Ravens in the bare winter trees and occasionally the otherworldy calling of a Great Northern Diver,far out on the sea and come here from Greenland to spend the winter.

We lingered reluctant to leave on a day such as this which is all too rare in Scotland.A day insisting that every last minute be savoured as if it is the last

One last joy of surprise came when driving back to Ardfern a grey shape flew over the saltmarsh. A gull? No, it was a male Hen Harrier, a uniform soft dove grey, of body, head and tail with a gash of white rump feathers marking the join of tail to its slim body. It circled the marsh once, hovered with yellow legs extended then flew before us across the road and up above the trees to disappear over a hillside. It was impossible not to feel a sense of elation at encountering this beautiful, rare and sadly much persecuted bird. Our day was now complete.  

I have my obsession with birds and Mrs U is equally obsessive about the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights as they are also called and for two nights when the sky was clear there was a major alert about the Aurora being highly visible across Scotland.

Situated in almost the middle of a mountainous nowhere, we were in the ideal location as there was no lights of any sort around us just the dark slightly forbidding mass of a pine clad hillside behind and the invisible black presence of the sea in front of the house.

Mrs U. not to be deterred  took to a track in the ink like darkness behind the house and ventured up the hillside when the aurora was at its peak, and below are some of the results she achieved of the spectacular show that spread far and wide across the firmament.

But you ask why is this blog titled as it is and especially about otters or an otter to be precise.Well  at the end of our stay at Arduaine we were invited to spend four days with friends who own a house on The Isle of Mull. Their house is situated by the single track road on the Ross of Mull that leads to Fionnphort where you get the ferry to nearby Iona.

The views from the house on its elevated position a couple of hundred metres from a sealoch going by the name of Loch Scridain  are spectacular. 

,

On the opposite side of the loch the land rises up to the distant majesty of peaks, white with snow, while below the burnt sienna colour of dead bracken and moor grass covers a terrain that undulates down to the loch's shore.

Sat at breakfast looking out over the loch my wife remarked There's an Otter.

Sure enough it was swimming up the loch just offshore. Our hosts watched with amusement as I grabbed my bins and camera, struggled into warm clothing and boots and rapidly departed round the side of the house and down to the loch shore.

At first I could see no sign of the Otter and was perplexed at how it had disappeared so quickly. Familiar with the ways of Otters from many encounters on Arran I walked some way along the road in the direction of where the otter had been swimming. It could now go two ways, either the otter had been returning to its holt or was continuing its fishing. If it was the former there would be little to no chance of seeing it.

I was in luck as I caught a glimpse of the Otter now diving for food in the loch. still only a little offshore.I was standing on the road and by judicious stealthy movements slowly made my way off the road, through some gorse bushes and down onto the rocky shore, getting as close as I dared. It was a process fraught with anxiety as at any moment the otter might catch sight of me or my scent as due to the wind's direction and the location I had no choice but to remain upwind of it.Every time it dived I scuttled to the next rock or bush that would conceal my profile and get me closer.When the Otter surfaced I remained immobile. Once it was underwater I moved as fast as possible  to the next suitable place of concealment.

The light at this time in the morning was still dull and there was little time to check camera settings apart from when it was underwater. A first the images appeared too dark but jacking up the ISO I got better results. All this having to be achieved in a matter of seconds and.with only partial success.

The Otter dived and surfaced, obviously eating something then it dived again and continued doing so for some minutes. Personally I find photos of otters swimming unsatisfactory as all you see are a head, its back and sometimes tail as it swims low in the water.

I duly took some images of it swimming but was hoping that it would come out onto the rocks.Otters when they catch a large prey item often feel it is  easier to subdue on land and will make for the shore and then if you are fortunate you can get shots of the whole animal while it is eating its prey.

For some minutes the Otter carried on diving and eating in the water but then to my intense pleasure swam towards a rock, subsumed under a thick matt of wet seaweed and clambered out.It did not have any prey to consume and it became apparent it was intent on a bit of fur maintenance. It revelled in rolling on its back and squirming like a tickled child in the seaweed and then righting itself would lick its fur and attend to whatever part of its body it considered required attention.

The Otter continued rolling and slithering on its bed of rubbery seaweed appearing to be thoroughly enjoying itself. Ten minutes of bliss passed for both myself and the Otter before it rose and scent marked its place on the seaweed before creeping down to the water and sliding in, swam further out into the loch where.I lost sight of it behind some rocks. 

I ran back up the shore to the road and then down the road for fifty metres in the hope of intercepting the Otter as it swam onwards but there was no obvious sign of it

I then, in my haste, made an error of judgement as I was no longer partially concealed or with a dark background of gorse to reduce my profile. I saw the Otter very briefly but it must have seen me.

Otters when alarmed will dive unobtrusively and swim for many metres underwater away from perceived danger and even when they surface will only show the tiniest part of their hesd checking if all is clear

The last I saw of it was a tiny nose and part of its head surfacing ever so cautiously in the middle of a floating patch of seaweed and then just as cautiously sinking down again without a ripple.

It was over in a couple of seconds and I never saw the Otter again

A Photographic Review of my Birding Year 2024

This is a highly subjective photographic review of my 2024 birding year. The photos are ones I particularly like. There are notable absences such as Indigo Bunting, Pale legged Leaf Warbler, Yellow Warbler and Scops Owl all of which I failed to see this year due to my unavoidable absence for one reason or another. I should add I have no regrets.

I added two new species to my British List this year - South Polar Skua and Booted Eagle but neither feature in this review. Currently I have seen 537 species of bird in Britain.

There is always next year.

So here we go.

JANUARY

Northern Waterthrush Heybridge Essex 17 January

The eighth record for Britain of this North American warbler and my second, having seen one on The Isles of Scilly in October 2011. Provided one was prepared to withstand sub zero temperatures and wait for long periods doing nothing but staring at a bird free ditch of water lady luck would eventually play ball. A sensational and totally surprising start to the year.

Barn Owl nr Hawling Gloucestershire 28 January 

The day after my birthday an unexpected opportunity presented itself whilst waiting in a rural lane in The Cotswolds for Short eared Owls to commence flying in the late afternoon This Barn Owl appeared from nowhere and made two close passes of me as it hunted. A sheer fluke but none the less very welcome.

FEBRUARY

Lesser Yellowlegs Frampton RSPB Lincolnshire 14 February

I spent an entire day watching and photographing this long staying, supremely elegant North American wader on one of my favourite reserves. So much more delicate in build and refined in movement than our familiar Common Redshank, its British counterpart.

Waxwing Abingdon Oxfordshire 25 February

The winter of 2023/2024 was a relatively good one for Waxwings irrupting into Britain and Oxfordshire had its fair share of this visitor from the pine forests across the North Sea. After a frustrating wait a small group showed themselves well in a large tree on a housing estate with this one bird coming down low to snatch one of the last berries left on a hawthorn

MARCH

Woodlark  Greenham Common  Newbury Berkshire  14 March

This bird allowed me to get very close as it both sang and fed on the ground. An early harbinger of Spring its haunting song could not fail but bring a sense of hope and promise in equal measure

APRIL

Black necked Grebe St Aidans RSPB  nr Leeds West Yorkshire  5 April

I got really lucky when a pre breeding pair swam into a small channel of water very close to the bank on which I was standing.When such a circumstance arrives you do not hesitate. I particularly like the composition of this image of a bird not quite in full breeding plumage. 

Yellow rumped Warbler Kilwinning North Ayrshire 13 April

This image was taken on a third visit to see this rare American warbler (only the 28th to be found in Britain) residing in an unremarkable garden in Scotland and which through the winter had gradually assumed its full male breeding attire, transforming itself from a rather drab brown bird to this very pleasing smart.  grey, black and white plumage with a dash of bright yellow. As they say 'a real stunner' and it is very rare (only the second time?) that an American warbler has been seen in full breeding plumage in Britain. I much prefer its alternative name of Myrtle Warbler.

Puffins Farne Islands Northumberland 14 April

Having seen the Yellow rumped Warbler the day before, on the way back south we diverted to spend an afternoon on the Farne Islands. Taken from the boat as we approached the Inner Farne to make our landing I like the symmetry of these two Puffins flying over a blue sea and everyone likes these sea parrots do they not?

Gannets Bempton RSPB  East Yorkshire 16 April

It is impossible to not get acceptable images of the Gannets at Bempton as they stand close to the edge of their breeding cliffs displaying or flying past.These two, pair bonding, were oblivious of me as I stood on one of the reserve's cliff edge viewpoints.

Marsh Sandpiper Lymington Hampshire 22 April

On a morning of strange diffused sunlight which I at first considered would preclude anything but a record shot the resulting image surprised me as it gave this rare sandpiper an almost ethereal appearance as it fed in the still water of a distant lagoon.

Swallow Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire 28 April

On a foul day of high wind and rain migrant Swallows were forced close to the reservoir's causeway where I stood, to avoid the strong wind and where they could more easily pick off hatching flies from the water's surface. A quite moving experience watching them struggling to survive in the hostile conditions and a chance to admire their supreme elegance and grace as they flew back and fore.

MAY

Alpine Accentor Pitstone Buckinghamshire 5 May

A real surprise and one that required immediate action as it was found on Sunday lunchtime and was gone the next day. It was doubly remarkable that the bird was found in a quarry by a person looking for a rare type of moss and not knowing what he was looking at sent some images to a colleague on holiday in Turkey who identified it and put the news out on social media. Isn't the internet wonderful!

Little Stint  Isle of Arran North Lanarkshire 28 May

Whilst on holiday and casually checking a group of migrating Sanderlings that had stopped off to feed on the seashore I was delighted to discover this Little Stint amongst them, the first to be recorded on Arran for twenty two years. It was also notable that it was in breeding plumage not something that I have seen for a very  long time

JUNE

Yellow crowned Night Heron   Belcarra  Co Mayo  Rep of Ireland  14 June

I rarely twitch birds in Ireland but this spectacular heron was just too tempting being a first for Britain and Ireland. It was frequenting a small river with a high shaded bank which made for the almost perfect background to highlight the bird. Myself and my twitching pal Mark were the only people looking at it and were there and back in two days. The trip was memorable also for the fact I caught covid for the first time, probably from a man coughing and spluttering  in the seat next to me on the flight over. The first time I have got anything for free from Ryanair!

JULY

Franklin's Gull  Crossness  nr Erith Kent  16 July

A spur of the moment decision to go and see this rare gull from North America feeding with Black headed Gulls at a sewage outfall by the River Thames on the furthest outskirts of London seemed a good idea at the time. It was great to see the gull but not so enjoyable was the nightmare drive across London to see it and enduring the malodorous smell at the sewage outfall. This was only the second one to be recorded in London with less than a hundred having been recorded in Britain

AUGUST

Three pelagic trips off The Isles of Scilly 29-31 August

I took hundreds of images over the three days and it was difficult to choose from them but the three below strike a chord with me.The image of the Long tailed Skua will win no prizes but the bird hanging above our boat in the afterglow of a late evening out at sea seems to capture the essence of a very different existence. I also rather like action shots such as the Cory's Shearwater pattering along the sea on take off and the raft of Great Shearwaters becalmed far out to sea on a day of little wind was also notable.I remember them calling to each other with voices like a toy trumpet

Long tailed Skua

Cory's Shearwater

Great Shearwaters

SEPTEMBER

Sabine's Gull  Burnham on Sea Somerset 12 September

It took many hoursof waiting but finally this juvenile turned up and performed beautifully, It came very close and was fearless but I rather prefer this image showing it more distantly, swimming in one of the pools it frequented

Steppe Grey Shrike  Dunbar  Lothian 19 September

On the way to my annual stay on Shetland I stopped off to see this very confiding bird on a golf course by the sea. A great start to my three week birding trip.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Each year I go to Shetland in the hope of seeing rare birds and generally enjoying just being in a strange and bewitching land. Sometimes it can be disappointing birdwise but these last two years have been the opposite and below are some of the highlights from this year's visit. 

Long may it continue!

Red breasted Flycatcher  

Pechora Pipit

Golden Oriole

Little Bunting

Arctic Warbler

DECEMBER

Purple Sandpiper  Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire  8 December

A very unusual and out of place visitor to my local reservoir on a day of extraordinarily high winds.I was the only person to brave the conditions and was overjoyed to be rewarded for my persistence with this birding prize.

Short eared Owl  nr Hawling  Gloucestershire  19 December

Look into my eyes! At the end of the year I was indeed fortunate to get this image of one of the owls perched on a drystone wall. It was entirely luck being in the right place at the right time, and the light being nigh on perfect. This allowed me to get this image which in my opinion is the best of my efforts throughout the year.

Best wishes for the New Year