Natural History Diary : November 2025
Tuesday 25th November
A Sparrowhawk was in the garden again this morning.
Monday 24th November
A Stock Dove was on the bird table at around mid-day today.
Sunday 23rd November
I walked down Ham Lane and back this afternoon. There were lots of Fieldfares in the hedgerow, but they were all quite distant. Otherwise I saw a few Dunnock, Blue Tit and Chaffinch. At least six Blackbirds were all bathing in the pools at the north end of the lane. There were a lot of noisy Rooks in the trees.
At dusk I put the moth trap light in the kitchen window. It attracted one Winter Moth - my first of the year.
Saturday 22nd November
I found a Common Brindled Brown in the house this evening.
Friday 21st November
I visited Farmoor this morning. The reservoirs were flat calm when I got there - not often that happens at Farmoor. There wasn't much of note on the bird front. The usual Coot, Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebes were on the water, but there were hardly any Cormorants. It looks like there has been a deliberate effort by Thames Water to make them go elsewhere. I saw two (maybe three) Grey Wagtails, just one Little Grebe and a couple of Mute Swans. Down by the river I saw a Goldcrest and a male Blackcap.
Grey Wagtail, Farmoor, Oxon, 21st Nov
Pied Wagtail, Farmoor, Oxon, 21st Nov
Tufted Duck ♂, Farmoor, Oxon, 21st Nov
Grey Wagtail | Farmoor, Oxon Pied Wagtail | Farmoor, Oxon Tufted Duck ♂ | Farmoor, Oxon
Tuesday 18th November
There was a Sparrowhawk in the garden at lunchtime today.
Saturday 15th November
A flock of about twenty Fieldfares flew over today - my first of the autumn. A Great Spotted Woodpecker and seven Long-tailed Tits were in the garden.
Thursday 13th November
There were 13 moths from 8 species in or around the trap this morning. Firsts of the year were Cypress Carpet, December Moth, Mottled Umber and Satellite. There was also a late Silver Y, a Feathered Thorn, four White-point and two Turnip Moth.
I went over to Buckland Warren. It was sunny and quite warm for mid-November. There were various small birds in the larches, including two Crossbills, about six Coal Tits, a Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest. When the sun came round onto the ride, six Red Admirals and a Comma came out to bask on the track and fly around a bit. Quite unexpected! A bit further to the west I found two more Red Admirals and a late female Common Darter.
Cypress Carpet, Aston, Oxon, 13th Nov
December Moth ♂, Aston, Oxon, 13th Nov
Mottled Umber ♂, Aston, Oxon, 13th Nov
Cypress Carpet | Aston, Oxon December Moth ♂ | Aston, Oxon Mottled Umber ♂ | Aston, Oxon
Satellite ♂, Aston, Oxon, 13th Nov
Common Darter ♀, Buckland Warren, Oxon, 13th Nov
Red Admiral, Buckland Warren, Oxon, 13th Nov
Satellite ♂ | Aston, Oxon Common Darter ♀ | Buckland Warren, Oxon Red Admiral | Buckland Warren, Oxon
Wednesday 12th November
A Grey Wagtail was in the garden at lunchtime today.
Friday 7th November
Just five moths in the trap this morning. A Northern Winter Moth was a new species for me. A Scarce Umber was first of the year. The others were Large Yellow Underwing, Sprawler and White-point. Both male and female Great Spotted Woodpeckers and at least five Long-tailed Tits were in the garden.
Northern Winter Moth ♂, Aston, Oxon, 7th Nov
Scarce Umber ♂, Aston, Oxon, 7th Nov
  
Northern Winter Moth ♂ | Aston, Oxon Scarce Umber ♂ | Aston, Oxon  
Wednesday 5th November
I put the actinic light from the moth trap in the kitchen window for 3 hours this evening. Not much turned up, though: one Red-green Carpet, two Light Brown Apple Moths and a White-point.
Tuesday 4th November
Yesterday evening two moths traps were set up in Alvescot - my actinic and Chris's MV. After a mild night the actinic trap only had six moths in it (six species), whereas the MV had 79 moths (15 species). Fifty-three of the moths in the MV trap were accounted for by Turnip Moth (26) and White-point (25). Other items of note were two Black Rustic, three November Moth, one Rush Veneer, four Sprawler, eight Vine's Rustic (by far the latest I'd ever seen this species), a Red-green Carpet, two Feathered Thorn and a dead Merveille du Jour. The only species in the actinic but not the MV was a Garden Rose Tortrix.
In the afternoon I saw a Red Admiral and a Holly Blue in my garden - the latest I'd ever seen a Holly Blue.
Feathered Thorn ♂, Alvescot, Oxon, 4th Nov
November Moth, Alvescot, Oxon, 4th Nov
Red-green Carpet ♂, Alvescot, Oxon, 4th Nov
Feathered Thorn ♂ | Alvescot, Oxon November Moth | Alvescot, Oxon Red-green Carpet ♂ | Alvescot, Oxon
Vine's Rustic, Alvescot, Oxon, 4th Nov
Holly Blue ♂, Aston, Oxon, 4th Nov
  
Vine's Rustic | Alvescot, Oxon Holly Blue ♂ | Aston, Oxon  
Monday 3rd November
I had a quick trip to Farmoor this morning. There were two Egyptian Geese asleep on a pontoon at the sailing club. There were three Meadow Pipits on the grass bank at the waterworks, but there was no sign of the recent Black Redstart.
Sunday 2nd November
A Red Admiral was in the garden again this morning. I went over to Standlake and walked down Shifford Lane. Along the lane I saw two Goldcrests and a Chiffchaff. There was hardly anything on pit 27. Pit 60 was almost devoid of waterfowl - only three Shoveler and a few Teal. There were at least 200 Lapwing, a couple of Little Grebes and a Great White Egret. I also saw a male Common Darter, which was in surprisingly good condition.
Common Darter ♂, Standlake Common, Oxon, 2nd Nov
Little Grebe, Standlake Common, Oxon, 2nd Nov
  
Common Darter ♂ | Standlake Common, Oxon Little Grebe | Standlake Common, Oxon  
Saturday 1st November
A Red Admiral was in the garden again today.