My Local Grey Wagtails - 12th May 2026

At my local Farmoor Reservoir there are at least three pairs of Grey Wagtails breeding and this year they have commenced early and the first broods are already out of the nest and catching flies and invertebrates on the concrete banks of the reservoir.

Traditionally associated with fast flowing, rocky streams in uplands they have spread to slower moving lowland rivers and streams such as here in Oxfordshire and are not uncommon.

I see one or more Grey Wagtails virtually every day throughout the year when I visit the reservoir and confess that often I grant them only a cursory glance, especially in the winter months when they are not in their bright breeding plumage. However, for the last two years I have given them more attention as a pair have bred at the end of the reservoir's central causeway, their nest hidden below the metal covering over the main inlet where the water from the nearby River Thames is pumped into the reservoir. Grey Wagtails invariably like to be near water and seem, at Farmoor anyway, to be partial to placing their nests on inaccessible ledges of man made structures over water and of which, courtesy of Thames Water there is no shortage at Farmoor!

The location of this particular Grey Wagtail nest at the end of the causeway and where many people pass close by all day has meant the birds have become relatively confiding.and consequently granted a great opportunity to observe them close to and more to the point, linger awhile to appreciate and record their breeding finery and understated beauty. 

The male in particular, on closer examination is very handsome with a black chin and white moustaches and eyebrows, contrasting with a bright yellow breast and undertail coverts.

His breast glows lemon yellow shading slightly paler on flanks and belly and then becoming rich buttercup yellow on his undertail coverts. His mate is a paler version, possessing the same colours but her plumage is muted and less defined and lacks the strong face pattern of the male. 

Male Grey Wagtail

On a recent occasion I stood slightly back from the metal grill cover and watched the two birds coming and going, slipping below the grill to their hidden nest and its young or perching on the surrounding railings which has given me a multitude of opportunities to watch and photograph them.

The birds were constantly coming and going, the female with beakfuls of flies she had gathered from the reservoir edge, while the male perched on the railings and seemed less inclined to make as great a contribution as his mate to feeding the young.

.

Female Grey Wagtail with food for her young

Compared to the more numerous Pied Wagtails they are supremely elegant, due in no short measure  to their very long tail which they bounce up and down so vigorously it is as if the whole of its hind body is in motion. Truly if you take a closer look at them they will not fail to impress with both their colours and slim, elegant presence

Sometimes I have been told by non birding passers by on the reservoir that they have seen a Yellow Wagtail but often I have to disappoint them and ask did the bird have a grey back and if  they confirm it did I tell them the bird they have seen was a Grey Wagtail. A look of confusion comes over them and they say 

But it was bright yellow

I reply 

Yes, a Grey Wagtail does have bright yellow on its breast and undertail but it has a grey upperbody  hence the name Grey Wagtail. A Yellow Wagtail is much brighter yellow all over - believe me.

 

After watching the two wagtails I walked down to my favourite Pinkhill Lock where one can cross the river using the walkway on Thames Water's metal barrier that controls the flow of river  water in times of flood. There I discovered another pair of Grey Wagtails, again with a nest below the metal structure, hidden on a ledge just above the onrushing water.

  

I could just about hear a plaintive repeated alarm call above the noise of the water and it was the devil's own job to locate it but finally I found the  originator, a male Grey Wagtail perched in a nearby willow, his yellow underparts complementing perfectly the yellow, pollen heavy catkins of the willow so that he was almost as one with the tree in which he was perched.