Tarred and Feathers 16th February 2026

After yesterday's rain it was with some trepidation I looked out of the window to be greeted by bright sunshine! What's going on! So accustomed to the doom and gloom of what has been weeks of rain  I was thoroughly unprepared for this welcome sight.

An hour later I determined to take full advantage and make a day of it, out birding the local lakes around my part of West Oxfordshire. I say local lakes but so much rain has fallen that many other transient lakes have formed over fields and in low lying river valleys hereabouts to add considerably to the natural ones which in turn have expanded exponentially, overflowing their banks to such an extent that adjacent roads and paths are now temporarily shallow streams as the huge volume of extra water seeks an escape route.

My destination of choice was just south of Witney, our local town, at what are now called Rushy Common and Tar Lakes, the former a nature reserve for key holders with a range of habitats including standing water, ponds, ditches, islands and a gravelly shore line while the adjacent Tar Lakes is an area of open lakes and grassland available to the general public for recreation.Both form part of what is the Lower Windrush Valley Project (LWVP) which was set up in 2001 to convert former gravel pits and quarries back to  a diverse range of natural habitats.  It was opened to the public in May 2011 and the whole area can be accessed via the single track Tar Road which runs for several miles from Witney to Stanton Harcourt.

A short drive along the wet and puddle bestrewn Tar Road, its verges churned to mud by passing cars brought me to the car park at Rushy Common that requires a key to unlock a padlocked gate to access the track to the hide, the key also serving to open the hide door. A necessary precaution to maintain the hide in good order and prevent misuse 

I should add at this point my visit was not wthout a specific purpose. A drake Long tailed Duck, a rare visitor to Oxfordshire, has been frequenting Rushy Common and the flooded disused gravel pits on the opposite side of the Tar Road. Long tailed Ducks are more normally to be found on the sea where large numbers congregate in winter on northern coasts of The Atlantic before moving to their breeding areas in the tundra and taiga  zones of the Arctic. Single birds do occur inland in Britain but this is exceptional, especially as far inland as Oxfordshire.The last bird recorded in the county was a summer plumaged male that spent a day on a disused gravel pit at nearby Cassington on the 14th of May 2021. 

This latest visitor had been discovered on the lake at Rushy Common on the afternoon of the 3rd of February and was seen by a few lucky observers who could get there in time but had gone by the next morning. Nothing more was seen of it until it showed up  in torrential rain on  the gravel pit complex opposite Rushy Common on the afternoon of Friday the 13th. After a fraught journey through heavy traffic and frantic diversions around flooded roads I made it to the car park at Rushy Common and in failing light and the inevitable downpour crossed the road and traversed a muddy slick of a permissive path to view it diving and feeding on a former gravel pit amongst a small flock of Tufted Ducks.It was touch and go but nevertheless a triumph of will to actually see it after such a difficult journey. and  to even record the moment with my camera. As you can see the quality of my photo left a lot to be desired. 

Valentines Day was predicted to be very cold and sunny and of course I returned first thing with high hopes the duck would still be there and with better light I could improve on my photographic efforts. Almost inevitably there was no sign of it nor on the adjacent Rushy Common lake. Resignedly I went to look at displaying Goshawks near my home which almost made up for the disappointment.

Sunday the 15th February was again rainy and a birding group visiting the hide at Rushy Common mid morning re-found the Long tailed Duck amongst the hundreds of Shoveler, Wigeon and Teal on the lake.Where had it been in the meantime as this lake had been thoroughly checked yesterday  and there was no sign of it. Then it did its disappearing act again as disappointed birders advised there was no trace of it there by mid afternoon or on any of the other lakes nearby. 

This duck's regular disappearances has brought no little frustration amongst local birders, as unfailingy it is found on one day but the next day is nowhere to be seen.I am sure it remains locally but there is so  much suitable habitat for it to choose from it can make it impossible to find.

So today with the Long tailed Duck very much in mind I went looking for it. I checked as many of the former gravel pits as possible but with no success only finding the usual flocks of chirruping Teal and Tufted Ducks. Two Egyptian Geese scolding harshly flew up to perch in a dead tree.

My final throw of my birding dice was the bird hide at Rushy Common. Taking the track to the locked gate I was confronted with a path transformed to a stream which required wading through. 

The Tar Road on the other side of the hedge was also underwater as floodwater spilled in a torrent from the former gravel pit on the other side.

The Tar Road underwater

Thankful to have remembered my wellingtons it required much care to get to the gate and then to the hide without the water spilling over the tops of my boots.Needlesss to say I was the only person visiting the hide and gazing out  I checked and re-checked the many ducks out on the water.There was no sign of the Long tailed Duck but I put it to the back of my mind for a short while, enjoying the uplifting sight of so many ducks including a dozen splendid Northern Pintails, all resplendent in their finest plumage in the sunshine.The drake Shovelers were especially striking, their handsome colours diverting my gaze from their outlandishly huge, spatulate bill.

I devoted half an hour in the hide and then left to wade my way back to the padlocked gate. Once through the gate, rather than returning to the car park I crossed the flooded Tar Road to a gate on the opposite side of the road that opened onto Tar Lakes.

The first of the lakes is immediately on the left after passing though the gate and although it seemed a forlorn hope that maybe just maybe the Long tailed Duck might be on the lake I thought it worth a cursory look. No one to my knowledge had checked this lake recently but then why would they as with free access people take their dogs for walks here with resulting ongoing disturbance which causes most of the wildfowl to seek out the undisturbed Rushy Common on the opposite side of the Tar Road.

The left side of the lake looked almost impassable, the track submerged in deep water with just a thin strip of waterlogged grass by the thick hedge that screened the lake from the road. 

The left side of the lake.The normal path is deep under the water

The right side of the lake looked just about passable although much of the path that circumvented it was also under water but not above wellington height.

I scanned the lake expecting very little and it looked like I was right. It was almost free of waterbirds apart from four or five Tufted Ducks at the far end. I watched as they dived but one individual dived in a different manner to the others, using its wings to assist propelling it below the surface.Tufted Ducks never do this but Long tailed Ducks most certainly do employ this distinctive method of submerging. I have seen it many times when watching Long tailed Ducks in Scotland.

Could I really be sure of what I had seen or was it fanciful imagination? Only one way to find out and I told myself I was probably wrong. The ducks were very distant and had been viewed through my bins so.I waited until they surfaced and got my scope trained on the far end of the lake to observe the ducks more clearly.  

For once the birding gods smiled on me for I had not imagined what I had seen. Joy of joys, one of the ducks now back on the surface  looked very white on its head and flanks, almost like a drake smew but larger with a brown patch on the side of its head and brown wings.This was no Tufted Duck but most definitely the elusive Long tailed Duck.

I stood savouring this moment. Why not? Every serious birder gets to experience this one or more times in their birding career.This was one of mine.

I wanted to get closer to get a photograph  if possible. Easier said than done as the water was already half way up my wellingtons and the waterlogged grass edge soon ran out  and I found myself gingerly edging along the left side of the lake in fairly deep floodwater, hard up by the hedge. The still distant ducks showed little concern assuming they had even noticed me. I tried to remain as close  to the hedge as possible to mask my profile and moved slowly towards them. At any moment it could go wrong and the birds fly off or the water would come over my boots.

Eventually I could progress no further as the water was too deep, so stopped and tried for some record shots.The light was very trying and the duck constantly diving so frustration levels began to rise but I did what I could. Eventually the duck ceased feeding and loafed around with its tufted friends which it seemed very attached to.Then followed a short bout of preening and wing flapping and once satisfied all was in order it tucked its bill into its back feathers and went to sleep. Not for long though, for as soon as the Tufted Ducks recommenced feeding so did the Long tailed Duck.

I returned to the gate and took the path to the right of the lake which would get me to the end of the lake unlike on the left side. Again much of the path was underwater but passable in my wellingtons. As before I hugged the hedgeline to conceal my approach and slowly I advanced until I was  almost opposite to where the ducks were diving on the far side.Still a bit distant for my camera and lens but there was nothing more I could do. A tall dense hedge behind me hid my profile and a willow growing at the edge of the lake was handy to hide behind.

This was it.The best I could do. It was now or never. Please let it be.The sun shone and the water was almost blue. The duck's white feathers shone brightly in the sun. I raised the camera and as I did a rain squall arrived turning the water grey and bringing increased misery in the form of even stronger gusts of bitter wind.I cursed my luck as at the very moment I had planned and worked so hard towards I was confounded by the unpredictable elements. There was nothing I could do but wait it out.Thankfully the shower was over in minutes, the sun returned, the wind dropped and once more I pointed the camera in the direction of the Long tailed Duck. 

I waited with camera poised until the duck surfaced from a dive and took my photos. It was the same procedure each time; wait for the duck to submerge and when its distinctive white and brown body resurfaced take as many images as possible before it dived again. The wind remained troublesome, strong gusts buffeted me but thankfully the rain did not return. Many of the images were  disappointingly blurred as my camera  lens and indeed me were at the limit of our capabilities but thankfully some images were acceptable.

I put the news out on Oxon Birding and assumed there would be some local birders who would want to come and see it but I saw no one in the hour I remained at Tar Lakes.

A couple with a large dog arrived and threw a ball into the lake for the dog to retrieve but thankfully the ducks were distant enough not to be troubled by the splashing and barking. They left after a few minutes and I was on my own again.

It was now quite pleasant in the sun although the wind was annoyingly chilly and I entered an enjoyable period of reflection and self congratulation. Well wouldn't you?

Little else was on the lake. A Great White Egret stalked the edge of the flood before flying off over the trees. Formerly a great rarity they maintain a regular presence here now. A flotilla of Wigeon cruised aimlessly on the water, the drake's sharp melodic wheeooo whistling accompanying their progress 

I walked, sorry waded, back around the lakeside to the gate and then through the flood on the road to my car in the Rushy Common car park.

A good day of local birding at last. 

I will sleep soundly tonight. 

The whistling of Wigeon and chirruping of Teals still echoing in my ears.