A Sandwich at Farmoor 28th March 2021

c Mark Pidgeon

It was a cold blustery Sunday morning at Farmoor which frankly is about par these days. I was walking up the central causeway in the company of Mark but with little hope of anything good in the way of  birdlife showing itself. The reservoir as suspected was indeed hard put to provide any signs of birdlife apart from the raucous Black headed Gulls, staking out the filtration pontoon at the western end of the causeway. Some gulls managed to nest there last year, finding loose bits of straw, which comprises part of the filtration process, to construct flimsy nests on the flat wire top of the pontoon but the structure has been renovated this year and there is now little straw available for the gulls to make a nest from.Not that this lack of nesting material has put a stop to the gulls incessant squawking and territorial displaying.

It is such a shame that Thames Water cannot be bothered to do more to provide nest sites for the Black headed Gulls, Great crested Grebes and Coots that grace the reservoir. It would not take much effort to make things better but as of now there is absolutely nowhere for the birds to nest. Any suggestions from birders such as myself and others fall on deaf ears as far as Thames Water are concerned. A bit of a public relations own goal in my opinion as Thames Water along with other water companies have a deserved reputation for being one of the worst polluters of our waterways. Helping the birds would surely give them some welcome positive publicity, and especially as the reservoir is currently so popular with a covid constrained local populace but no one at Thames Water seems to have a care.

However let us move on. Grievances  with TW can be taken up on another day. 

The southwest wind was ferocious on the exposed causeway with just two Linnets braving the shuddering blasts of cold air, the tiny birds cowering amongst the weeds growing in the cracks of the retaining wall. You know it is bad when you cannot find a Pied Wagtail on the causeway!

When Mark and myself made it to the far end of the causeway it was to find ourselves in a blessed calm as we were shielded from the wind by the topography around us and we stood for  while enjoying the peace and absence of buffeting wind. As we stood wondering what we could do to find any birds our first Swallow of the year came twisting and swooping, flying into the wind and passing at speed over our heads then out over the troubled waters of the reservoir.

The sight of the Swallow brought an instant buzz to our senses and the morning became more bearable. No matter how dire the circumstances somehow something of interest always seems to turn up. Minutes later a few Sand Martins followed the same course the Swallow had taken, before it fell quiet again. Mark was determined to try his luck at seeing the usually showy Water Rail on Pinkhill Reserve just down from where we stood. It has almost become a standing joke now as the Water Rail once so reliable has become impossible to see despite our continued optimism and countless visits in the hope that one day it will appear 

As per usual there was no Water Rail. Plus ca Change!

Tired of looking at nothing other than reeds and water we went back to our former position at the top of the causeway I thought the strong wind might be good for a Little Gull or Common Tern to put in an appearance. A Little Gull  has already visited the reservoir for a day and both Common and Sandwich Terns have been seen recently at a gravel pit in the adjacent county of Buckinghamshire. Migrants seem to be arriving very early this year and in the case of Farmoor Reservoir sightings of both Sand Martins and Swallows have been the earliest ever recorded on the reservoir

I looked out over the grey waters of F2 and the teeming gulls, forever bickering and flying around above the pontoon. Then, in amongst the whirling mass of white, I could hardly believe my eyes as a tern joined the throng, flying close to the pontoon. In a state of high excitement I shouted above the noise of the gulls 'Mark. Look it's a tern!' Even in the dull light its shining white undersides and very pale grey upperparts stood out. A large black cap, shaggy at the rear and a long shiny black bill with a sulphur yellow tip told me it could only be a Sandwich Tern.

They are a good find inland and especially at Farmoor where they are an irregular passage migrant.This one was, in addition to its scarcity, very early (in fact it is the earliest ever recorded in Spring at Farmoor) and one could only speculate where it had come from and where it was bound. The Black headed Gulls, sensing it was different, immediately began harrying it but the tern was not to be deterred and landed on the pontoon but the gulls close attention unsettled it. This prompted another fly around before the tern settled once more on the pontoon to preen, albeit briefly, before flying off over the causeway to check out F1 before returning to fly around near the pontoon once more but then, rising higher in the sky, headed southwest over the surrounding trees and was gone from our sight.

We hung on in the faint hope it might return but knew in our hearts it had truly gone and was unlikely to return.The morning however had now taken on a whole new positive aspect and was enhanced further when I found a pair of Goosanders on the adjacent River Thames.

I wonder what will be next to provide some excitement at Farmoor?

With grateful thanks to Mark for acting as team photographer