FARMOOR RARITIES

This page will be updated occasionally with the stories behind the finding of some of the rarer birds on the Farmoor List.

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RED-RUMPED SWALLOW (Hirundo Daurica). 8th-12th May 1997. - Nic Hallam

Red-rumped Swallow, Farmoor, May 1997. (Photo © George Reszeter).

A minor influx of Red-rumped Swallows was under way in early May with several birds recorded around the UK. The closest being near Guildford in Surrey. As it's a favourite species I decided to finish work early and take a trip down to see it. I got just a short way along the A34 before grinding to a halt in heavy traffic. It was also raining quite hard and pretty miserable. I decided to abort the journey and go to Farmoor. After all the conditions were ideal and there were Red-rumped Swallows about so why not at the reservoir.......

Predictably the place was heaving with hirundines and with a chilly westerly wind blowing and steady rain falling they were feeding low over both reservoirs. I headed up to the top of the causeway and began checking through about 300 Swallows feeding in the lee of the wind, many directly under the lip of the wave wall. The birds were flying directly towards me and doubling back an forth. Within just a minute or two one bird stood out, it had a neat black 'beret' and just as I was taking this in, it flipped round to reveal a glorious pinky white rump! I enjoyed having the bird to myself for a while and then alerted the various keen local birders.

Happily it proved to be a most obliging bird. It remained for five days, the predominately cold wet weather effectively preventing it from leaving. It was quite faithful to the south western corner of F.1. were some excellent photographs were taken by local lensman George Reszeter. It was also seen perched on the wave wall and the wire fencing of the reservoir perimeter. It gradually became more elusive as the weather improved and was last seen out in the middle of F.2. on the evening of 12th May.

This was the first record for Farmoor and Oxon and at the time was still a "BB Rarity". It has since come off the list but despite several influx years still remains the sole record.

Red-rumped Swallow, Cadiz, Spain, June 2009 (Photo © Nic Hallam). Needless to say these birds look much better in their natural environment rather than a cold, miserable, wet, desolate concrete bowl in central England.

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First winter female LESSER SCAUP (A affinius) Pinkhill Reserve 24th March 2000

Early on 24th March 2000 a female Greater Scaup was independently reported by three birders on F.1. With the reservoir occasionally attracting this predominantly coastal species it's occurrence was not especially remarkable. What was unusual however was that later in the day it had moved to the Pinkhill Reserve, a much more atypical habit. On seeing the entry in the reservoir logbook Geoff Wyatt's curiosity was aroused and he entered the hide to have a close look at the bird. It was soon found in company with a few Tufted Duck resting on one of the shingle islands. He was immediately struck by it's rather small appearance and in particular it's head shape, which looked completely wrong for Greater Scaup. Luckily Geoff was armed with a Canon camcorder and set about obtaining some footage. Now convinced this was something different, maybe an Aythya hybrid, or even a Lesser Scaup, Geoff hot-footed it over to Ian Lewingtons house and together they reviewed the footage on a big screen. The quality of the video was excellent and the bird was quickly identified as a female Lesser Scaup, the second county record following the male at Little Faringdon in December 1994. It was aged as a first winter by a combination of the dark iris colour and the square shaped tips to the breast feathers. The news was broadcast that evening but unfortunately there was no sign of the bird the following day.

There have since been a further three records of Lesser Scaup in the county. It is still an official national rarity but with the species seemingly becoming commoner year by year it is surely just a matter of time before Farmoor records another.........

All videograbs © Geoff Wyatt.

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Adult GULL-BILLED TERN (Gelochelidon nilotica) 29th July 1999. Nic Hallam.

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Adult GULL-BILLED TERN on the causeway. Painting by Ian Lewington (reproduced with the kind permission of the artist).

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Unfortunately there is no gull roost at Farmoor from about mid April to late July. The place is usually pretty dull and birdless in the summer months so it's always a relief when the first gulls begin to return. I'd made several rather half-hearted visits towards the end of July 1999 but had so far seen nothing especially interesting. Expecting the first juvenile Mediterranean Gulls to arrive any day, I was again on the causeway at about 20.00 on 29th. A smallish group of about 300 Black-headed Gulls were resting on the water about 100 metres offshore. There were also plenty of Common Terns noisily flying around. I began a quick scan through the BHG's and almost immediately noted a tern sitting in amongst them. This in itself was notable. Small groups of migrant terns, usually Arctics, occasionally alight on the water to bathe, I had never seen a tern actually resting in the roost before. I looked hard at the bird and quickly experienced four or five seconds of utter disbelief. It had a very clean white mantle, darker primaries, a black cap and, most obviously a thick, rather short all black bill. I was looking at an adult Gull-billed Tern!! It then began to bathe frantically but to my alarm then flew from the flock with a small group of gulls. I'd only watched it for a few minutes and it looked as if it was about to fly off. Happily it headed towards the causeway and landed in amongst a large group of gulls. I managed to slowly drive closer and got within 50 metres. The tern was standing with it's back to me. I was able to note the long black legs and faint white peppering in the rear of the black cap, the start of it's moult to winter plumage. I had a mobile phone, but no camera in those days. I called as many local birders as I could and continued to enjoy the bird. After about fifteen minutes I noticed that Steve Young had responded to my call. As he hurried up the causeway the birds dispersed and for a moment the tern was lost. Happily it was soon refound and was watched making repeated circuits of F.2. often flying very close to the causeway. The light was fading fast but a further 5 locals made it in time to get reasonable flight views.
It was of course looked for from dawn the next day, and in the roost that evening but was not seen again.

Gull-billed Tern is a more or less annual vagrant to the UK in very small numbers. However virtually all records are from coastal localities and it is extremely unlikely that there will ever be a repeat performance at Farmoor...........

Adult GULL-BILLED TERN, France, 2003. (Photo © John Simpson). The Farmoor bird was unfortunately not photographed.

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Juvenile Sabine's Gull (Larus sabini). 3rd October 2000. Nic Hallam.

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Juvenile Sabine's Gull (photo © Soren Kristofferson). Many thanks to Soren for this photo. The first Sabine's Gull at Farmoor was not photographed..... but it looked just like this!.

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Without doubt one of the most beautiful and distinctive of all the gulls. Breeding on the Arctic tundra, it undertakes a huge migration and winters off the Pacific coast of South America and the Atlantic coast of South Africa. Always a fantastic bird to witness on any seawatch, it is also occasionally encountered inland. That the species had never been recorded in Oxfordshire had always been a matter of some concern, and it was indeed a glaring omission on the county list. I felt convinced that one must have passed through undetected and that it would surely only be a matter of time before another was found......

On the 15th and 16th October 1987 an extraordinary weather event occurred. An extremely deep and fast moving depression, originating in central Biscay, swept through south east and central Britain causing widespread damage, traffic chaos, the deaths of 22 people.......... and an unprecedented wreck of Sabine's Gulls. Up to 30 birds were recorded in the Surrey/Greater London region, most of them at the many concrete embanked reservoirs in the area. At least eight in Berkshire, five in Buckinghamshire and five in Hertfordshire. I was stranded on the Isles of Scilly. Hermit Thrush and Philadelphia Vireo were little compensation. I felt convinced that once I returned home one or two birds would have been found. However there were no entries in the Farmoor Log and none reported from anywhere in the county. Amazingly it seemed that Oxfordshire had missed out whilst neighbouring counties had recorded multiple sightings.

I had worked out that the best thing about Farmoor was it's gull roost and I had begun to watch it with some regularity. It seemed the most obvious location for a Sabine's Gull and I started to make a special effort each year from around early August to mid October to find one. The 3rd October 2000 was a typical autumn day with a strong southerly wind blowing. I arrived at the reservoir at about 18.00 and parked up on the western bank of F.1. The prevailing conditions always dictate the viewing options for the roost, and with very choppy water, watching the birds at rest was not feasible. Instead I concentrated on the long streams of Black-headed Gulls beating low over the water in long straggling lines. In fact as close as it gets to seawatching inland! Suddenly, in amongst one of these lines of BHG's, there was a small, very dark looking and massively distinctive bird with the diagnostic tri-coloured upperwing pattern of grey, black and white. A juvenile Sabine's Gull! I managed to track it through the 'scope as it moved into the middle of F.1. Settling on the water it was immediately harried by Black-headed Gulls. It took flight again but to my dismay headed high to the west and was lost to view. I was completely elated at finally seeing the species in Oxon, although felt a little aggrieved that it had been such a brief encounter.

It was rather ironic that the following year, whilst rather casually scanning a late summer gull roost on 16th August, I found myself looking at a summer plumaged adult!! Happily this bird stayed for a further 4 days and was added to many a county list. Subsequently fellow Farmoor birder Dai John found the third, another adult, on 29th August 2005 and I was fortunate in discovering the fourth, another juvenile arriving with a small group of Little Gulls in the roost on 28th September 2007, staying until mid morning the following day.

Juvenile Sabine's Gull, 30th August 2007 (photo © Nic Hallam). The second juvenile was much more obliging.

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Adult Drake Surf Scoter (M. perspillata), 27th March - 4th April 1998,

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This North American species is a very scarce, but annual, visitor to the UK. Most records are of birds associating with large coastal flocks of Common Scoter. It is extremely rare inland, with just a handful of records. Happily Farmoor belongs to the exclusive club that has hosted this most striking of ducks. It was found by Farmoor stalwart Dai John and his exciting account of it's discovery is reproduced below:

“Every Friday afternoon since the early nineties, I have been making a routine walk around F1. On 27th. March 1998 I was walking towards the car park when a bird flew overhead. Gathering my scattered thoughts together, and with my eyes finally connecting to my brain, I realised that I had just seen a drake Surf Scoter! This was a species I believe had only been sighted inland in the UK on just a few occasions.
With mounting panic I hurried back to F1 hoping that the bird had landed and not just flown over, stopping now and then to scope for this rarity. I had retraced my footsteps back to half way along the causeway without a sighting at this point. Dejected and miserable that I had not found the bird, I sadly walked again in the direction of the car park. Pausing to look at some Goldeneye, and admiring a splendid male I was amazed to see the Surf Scoter amongst them!
A second panic attack, what if it flies off without anyone else seeing it, would I be believed? My journey to the car park seemed to take for ever. Looking around desperately for a warden to access his phone. (this was in my pre- mobile days.) and without finding one, I hurried home to use my land line to spread the news.
The first people I contacted were Peter Allen and Steve Heath. Steve phoned Ian Lewington who quickly spread the word. My last sighting of the celebrity was on the evening of fourth April when he allowed me to get within ten metres of him as though as a farewell gesture. Oh if only I had had a digital camera in those days!”

© Dai John, Oxford, 8/12/08.

Happily this proved to be a relatively long-stayer and it received a steady stream of visitors from far and wide. It was a stunning bird, being an adult drake in early spring. It showed a preference for F.1 and gave extremely good views. Given that Surf Scoter is most often encountered in British waters bobbing around in the surf, often many metres offshore, this individual gave those birders that were lucky enough to witness it probably their best ever views of the species.
One avid county lister, who was away birding in Spain at the time, was staggered when calling "Birdline" on landing back in the UK to hear the number one message: "In Oxfordshire the adult drake Surf Scoter is still at Farmoor Reservoir"!!

Many thanks to Ian Lewington for taking to time to supply the ‘video-grabs’ reproduced above.


© Nic Hallam All photos: © Ian Lewington.

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Adult Long-tailed Skua (S. longicaudus) August 31st - September 6th 1995 


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This exciting bird was found by Brian Han, who is a resident of Filchampstead, a tiny 'hamlet' nestling beneath the east bank of F.2. Brian is well known to most local birders as "The bloke who found the Long-tailed Skua". Brian, by his own admission, is not a 'birder', but takes a passing interest in the wildlife on his doorstep. 
On the afternoon of 31st August 1995 he took a walk up the reservoir embankment and was almost immediately confronted by a very curious looking bird sitting on top of the wave wall. He knew it was something different, and thought that it may be a Tern of some sort. Taking a short stroll towards the car park Brian found a couple of birdwatchers and informed them of his find. They didn't seem to take his sighting too seriously and failed to follow it up. The next morning Brian found the skua in exactly the same spot. This time he managed to persuade another birdwatcher to have a look and it was then quickly identified it as an adult Long-tailed Skua!

It was an absolutely superb bird in full adult summer plumage, in particular the two central tail feathers were complete and very impressive (these feathers are often broken or damaged late in the season). Whilst Long-tailed Skuas do occasionally occur at inland waters in late summer/early autumn, they are almost always juveniles. It was ridiculously tame and allowed a very close approach. This led some to suspect that it may have been in poor health, but it fairly regularly undertook quite lengthy sorties around the reservoir perimeter and it's flight was powerful and direct. It was seen to feed well on dead fish at the reservoirs edge. Keeping more or less to the south east corner of F.2 the skua stayed for a further five days, finally departing on the evening of 6th September. 


Not surprisingly such a charismatic bird was visited by many admirers during it's stay, but very few photographs exist, particularly flight shots. This was at a time before everybody owned DSLR cameras! It is also fairly incredible that such a distinctive bird was present for at least 24 hours and was not found independently. Certainly the reservoir is much more intensively watched these days. One can only imagine what a heart-stopping moment it would be to suddenly be confronted by such a magnificent bird!

Many thanks to Ian Lewington for taking the trouble to copy his old slide film into digital format for this article.

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© Nic Hallam ***** All photographs © Ian Lewington