Dropped 'her indoors' off at her tennis match and skipped off to RSPB Otmoor. Conditions were wet underfoot but not as bad as I'd feared. Fields were underwater but the paths were all pretty passable. The car park was as full as I've ever seen it. 
People didn't seem to be congregating anywhere around the reserve but when I got to the 1st screen there was a small group all focussed across the reeds to the hedgerow. Sure enough a couple of minutes later, up rose a hen harrier (female) which quartered the reedline along the hedgerow and then over. Short but sweet, unfortunately too distant for decent photos. Up rose flocks of lapwing and golden plover as the harrier progressed rightwards and out of site. The others drifted off but I waited a few minutes in hope of a repeat - none came.
I pushed on to the second screen where I was told that I'd just missed a brief show from the bittern - damn, if only. Never mind, next time.
Today's sightings (32) included: magpie, lapwing, kestrel, starling, mallard, chaffinch, great tit, blue tit, pheasant, great spotted woodpecker, marsh tit, canada goose, red kite, coot, wigeon, shoveler, buzzard, teal, little egret, hen harrier, tufted duck, great crested grebe, gadwall, golden plover, pochard, black headed gull, woodpigeon, blackbird, reed bunting, cormorant, robin and wren.
No comments:
Post a Comment