A Farmoor Osprey 7th September 2025

It has been a good two days at Farmoor Reservoir.

Yesterday, on arriving in the very early morning there was every birder's dream of finding a rarity in the form of two Glossy Ibis, wandering amongst a large gathering of Coot at the water's edge by the causeway but they flew off at just after seven before there was a chance of a photograph.However the ibis was a new bird species for me at Farmoor so no complaints.

There has been a large influx of Glossy Ibis into Britain lately, with double figure flocks being sighted in the southern half of England, possibly forced from their usual haunts in southern Europe by drought.

Today I returned harbouring the ridiculous hope that maybe some more Glossy Ibis might have reached the reservoir but with no sign of any I resigned myself to accept that Farmoor had already been delivered its quota of this southern ibis and there were to be no more prehistoric looking angular shapes stalking the reservoir's shores to delight me, as they did yesterday.

A slow walk up the causeway in a stiff southeast wind produced the attractive looking leucistic Pied Wagtail, a shock of white wings when it flew amongst its predominantly grey coloured fellow wagtails. Up to sixty wagtails congregate on the causeway in the early morning and late evening when disturbance is at a minimum, the attraction for the wagtails being the plentiful supply of insects.

Leucistic Pied Wagtail

I stood at the far end of the causeway, the brisk wind roaring in my ears and was joined by Dave and we agreed there was currently not much about but that might change. In situations such as this we adopt a wait and see approach and sure enough, twenty minutes later a juvenile Peregrine put in an appearance.Sadly its immaturity manifested itself in not only plumage but also behaviour as it obviously had not read the Peregrine instruction manual and initially tried its luck chasing prey that was far too large to capture such as Herring Gulls, Cormorants and even a Canada Goose.

Juvenile Peregrine

It also tried its luck with a newly arrived flock of eight Black Terns which would be more suitable victims but again was unsuccessful and retired to a tree.Not unexpectedly the terns promptly fled the reservoir.

The last we saw of the Peregrine was as it flew high in the sky but then our attention was diverted  by a slightly larger and darker bird of prey suddenly appearing next to it - a Marsh Harrier, another excellent bird to find at Farmoor. 

Things were definitely looking up, certainly if you kept your eyes to the skies!

Time passed, the wind dropped to a whisper and I sat chatting with Sally on the causeway wall.She comes every morning to try and see the last of the Swifts departing. It is getting late now but Sally has a thing about Swifts and is forever optimistic that just one more might pass through on its way to its winter home in the African Congo.

Yet another Marsh Harrier appeared high in the sky above us and three Ringed Plovers and a Dunlin skittered along the water's edge below us. A good day had now become remarkable.

Juvenile Ringed Plover

Juvenile Dunlin

Half an hour later I said to Sally

All we need now to make the day complete is an Osprey

She replied laconically 

There's one right in front of us 

I wish I replied, assuming she wasn't being serious

No, there really is one  

Where?

There, right in front of us in the sky

I looked and right before my eyes was indeed an Osprey.

It was facing us, hanging in the light wind high above the water of the smaller basin known as Farmoor One, its great wings spread wide.

It slowly circled the basin and we watched it reconnoitering the placid waters below.

There is no shortage of fish as Thames Water, at vast expense, stock the reservoir's two basins each year with trout for which fishermen pay a daily fee to catch.

For fifteen minutes the Osprey circled, rising and falling but always at some height, checking every bit of the water below, both near and far.

On three occasions it looked to have seen a fish and would stall then half retract  its wngs and dive for the water, each time without success although on two occasions it actually plunged into the water. Definitely an inexperienced bird but practice makes perfect.

Undeterred it would rise from the reservoir, shake off the water from its plumage and commence gaining height to circle once again, head facing down to the water searching, searching, only one thing on its mind -food

A fourth dive came, followed by an explosion of spray as it disappeared underwater only to as suddenly  re-emerge with a small fish in its talons, then lifting off it ruffled the water from its feathers and flew to a distant tree on Wytham Hill to consume its meagre prize.

The Osprey was a young bird hatched this year, told by the buff fringes to its upperwing feathers. It has come from most probably Scotland or possibly further north in Scandinavia. Being a juvenile, newly independent and inexperienced it is having to learn quickly so I suppose to catch a fish no matter what size is a step in the right direction and bodes well for the future. Let's hope so. 

This will be its first flight south with still a long way to migrate to its winter home in southern Africa and it will not return, all being well until the year after next. The hazards facing it are many but for now all is well.