In the end, 2023 local year listing finished in a bit of a whimper, adding just Red-crested Pochard and Great Black-backed Gull. I also continued to somehow evade this winter's Waxwing invasion!
Having said all that, there were a few bits and bobs to enjoy! Wildfowl was the main source of interest, with a group of 5 Red-crested Pochard at Grimsbury Res on 05/12, together with a drake Pochard. Both reasonably scarce on patch, so a nice duo! A handful of Goosander sightings at Grimsbury were also very welcome. In fact amazingly my first records there since 2019. It wasn't that long ago you could almost guarantee them on and off every winter.
While it can be pretty much guaranteed to be an escape, the unexpected sight of an adult Ross's Goose at Grimsbury, at least provided a bit if interest! I caught up with it on 03/12 and also bumped into it in the mid Cherwell, near Aynho a couple of days later.
Elsewhere, a Cattle Egret had been encountered at Bicester Wetland on and off. I luckily saw it come into roost on 29/12. A couple of visits to Calvert Jubilee Lake looking for Bittern drew a blank, but some good views of Water Rail. Finally, a Peregrine was sat up on the spire of King Sutton church on 13/12 - presumably a regular roosting site?
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