Travelled across to Oxfordshire in search of the reported Curlew Sandpipers at Farmoor Reservoir.  This is a place i have not visited before so Curlew Sandpipers aside it should be a good day out.

On arriving at Farmoor I was told by a few locals that the Curlew Sandpipers hadn't been seen today.  I began with a walk around the Edge of Farmoor 2. The water level here was a lot lower than Farmoor 1.  Farmoor is a man made reservoir spilt into two by a causeway that runs through the middle of Farmoor 1 and 2.  There was a lot of Canada Geese and Greylag in and around the water.  There was a large number of Hybrid Greylag all had a lot of white in them.

Greylag Goose, Farmoor Reservoir, September 2014

First bird of note was a Common Sandpiper that was always one step ahead of me.  There were large numbers of Coot, Mallard and Black-headed Gull on the water.  There were also a few Cormorants and Great Crested Grebe about.  Whilst walking along the bank i noticed a Green Woodpecker feeding on the grass, no chance of a photo as it was to far out in the open.

Next bird of note was a Ruff that was feeding up and down the waterline i spent about half an hour photographing this bird hoping the sun would come out and add a bit more light. Unfortunately not.

I moved further around the reservoir and it wasn't long before i spotted my first Dunlin it was feeding along side a Ringed Plover.  Again like the Ruff they didn't seem bothered by my presence and i could get quite close to them.  I continued on and walked down the causeway here there were large numbers of Pied Wagtails, 2 more Ringed Plover and a couple a groups of 2-3 Dunlin.  I spent sometime photographing these birds as i was able to get really close with out disturbing the birds who were quite happy feeding up and down the shoreline.

As I walked further along the causeway the next bird i saw was a Black-tailed Godwit these again was happy to feed very close to me.  Guess most of these birds are in fact Juveniles so haven't had much in the way of human contact.

After some time with the Godwit i though with the improving weather (didn't last long) I would try again With the Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Ruff.  Unfortunately the Ruff had gone, but i did managed some more Dunlin and Ringed Plover shots.  I also managed a few decent shots of a Great Crested Grebe being very successful fishing around some boats.  Close by was 2 Yellow Wagtails but no photos of these flighty birds.

All in all a good day out.  Stopped on the way home at Aust Warth on there were 5 Whinchats and 2 Wheatears around the Area