Natural History Diary : January 2026
Thursday 15th January
There was a male Bullfinch in next door's cherry tree again today.
Wednesday 14th January
A cold but sunny morning. I went to Buckland Warren. A Mistle Thrush was on the track leading to the wood. In the wood it took a while to find anything, but eventually I saw a Buzzard, two Jays, two Nuthatches (my first record of this species at Buckland Warren), two Great Spotted Woodpeckers and two Goldcrests. A Song Thrush and a number of Great Tits were singing. Back at the larches a small flock of Common Crossbills and Siskin flew in, but unhelpfully they stayed at the top of the tree they were in. At home two male Bullfinches were feeding on buds on next door's cherry tree at dusk.
Common Crossbill ♂, Buckland Warren, Oxon, 14th Jan
Nuthatch, Buckland Warren, Oxon, 14th Jan
Siskin ♂, Buckland Warren, Oxon, 14th Jan
Common Crossbill ♂ | Buckland Warren, Oxon Nuthatch | Buckland Warren, Oxon Siskin ♂ | Buckland Warren, Oxon
Tuesday 13th January
A flock of around 100 Fieldfares flew over the house mid-afternoon.
Sunday 11th January
A male Blackcap was feeding on Honeysuckle berries again this morning. No sign of the Song Thrush today though.
Saturday 10th January
A sunny but cold day. The usual birds were in the garden. The Song Thrush came to feed on ivy berries several times. Also Great Spotted Woodpecker and Stock Dove were notable.
Blue Tit, Aston, Oxon, 10th Jan
Song Thrush, Aston, Oxon, 10th Jan
Starling, Aston, Oxon, 10th Jan
Blue Tit | Aston, Oxon Song Thrush | Aston, Oxon Starling | Aston, Oxon
Thursday 8th January
There were five Goldfinches in the garden today, feeding on teasel heads. Also there were at least 21 Redwings and a Green Woodpecker in the sheep field.
Monday 5th January
A Song Thrush was feeding on Ivy berries and a male Blackcap was feeding on Honeysuckle berries in the garden today. As it continued to be cold there were a lot of birds coming in for food, particularly Blue Tits and Long-tailed Tits. A flock of around 20 Lapwing flew over.
Saturday 3rd January
This morning I saw two Collared Doves in the garden, and a Song Thrush was eating Ivy berries. I went to Farmoor in the afternoon. There was a very cold and brisk NW wind blowing. I saw three Herring Gulls in the SE corner of F1. A Little Egret flew across the causeway and was pursued by one of the gulls halfway across the reservoir. A couple of Pied Wagtails were along the causeway. I found the female Scaup on the west side of F1 - it seemed to be missing its right eye. A Kestrel flew over. The Pinkhill lagoon was frozen over. I was surprised to see a Chiffchaff fly in to the bushes near the hide. On the way back I saw at least two Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the roost. A Common Scoter was diving out in the middle of F1, but it was hard to see because of the choppy water. Finally there were four Little Grebes with a group of Coot on F2.
Song Thrush, Aston, Oxon, 3rd Jan
Little Grebe, Farmoor Reservoir, Oxon, 3rd Jan
Scaup ♀, Farmoor Reservoir, Oxon, 3rd Jan
Song Thrush | Aston, Oxon Little Grebe | Farmoor Reservoir, Oxon Scaup ♀ | Farmoor Reservoir, Oxon
Thursday 1st January
The start of another year, and a new bird list. I recorded 12 species in the space of an hour in the garden before I went over to Standlake Common. There were two Stock Doves in the trees opposite the school. There were lots of birds on pit 27, particularly Wigeon, as well as Tufted Duck, Gadwall and Shoveler]. Also six Cormorants, four Mute Swans, two Great Crested Grebes and three Grey Herons. As I went further along Shifford Lane there were lots of Fieldfares and Redwing flying about. The water level at pit 60 was very high. From the north shore hide there were lots of Teal and Wigeon feeding on submerged vegetation. I spotted a redhead Goosander. From the Langley Lane hide I could see around 200 Pintail and a couple of Pochard. A drake Goldeneye came fairly close to the hide. Seven Black-tailed Godwits were also present. Two Marsh Harriers (male and female) made several passes over the lake, causing the ducks to take to the air. There were a few Lapwing about. As I was leaving a flock of around 150 Russian White-fronted Geese passed to the east, but then turned westwards and landed on the lake. These were presumably the birds that had been at Chimney Meadows earlier. There were a lot more Fieldfares and Redwing - maybe the cold weather in Europe had caused a lot more to arrive here. 41 species today, so a decent start to the year.
Fieldfare, Standlake Common, Oxon, 1st Jan
Goldeneye ♂, Standlake Common, Oxon, 1st Jan
Marsh Harrier ♂, Standlake Common, Oxon, 1st Jan
Fieldfare | Standlake Common, Oxon Goldeneye ♂ | Standlake Common, Oxon Marsh Harrier ♂ | Standlake Common, Oxon