Otmoor is still proving to be an amazing area for raptors with short-eared owls being seen everyday (seven reported on 15th Nov) and hen harriers, merlin, peregrine, kestrel, buzzard, sparrowhawk and red kite all being seen over the past couple of days. After the Wednesday work party this week I got amazing views of two of the owls over Closes, one seemed in a particularly bad mood, as it started off attacking the crows that were mobbing it, then grappled with a kestrel, talons locking as they tumbled to the ground and then it started attacking the other calmer owl that had been circling overhead. The owls have been seen over all the fields on the reserve and are more noticeable in the early evenings as they quarter the grassland. Look out for high flying birds too, as the owls aren't just being seen low to the ground. Groups of mobbing corvids are also worth checking for a shorty in their midst.
The work parties have been doing lots of willow coppicing this week and we're doing well at getting all the willows on the reserve into a three year coppice cycle. Work has been done clearing the channels feeding the reedbed sluices and conditions are looking good for us to soon start doing this years reed cut.
Three bearded tits were reported in the reedbed this week (15th Nov) although they've not been seen or heard since and the starling roost is continuing to build. I estimate 10000 birds roosted in the northern phase of the reedbed on the 15th Nov, they started arriving at 15:45 with most of the birds coming in from the north and east. The flocks ranged from about 20-2000 birds, but unfortunately although the individual flocks did swirl around and display for a few minutes there was never a moment when all 10000 were in the air together and the birds fairly quickly went into roost. There was also the issue of the first starling I saw getting grabbed by a sparrowhawk which ambushed it from an oak tree.
With the glut of berries and loads of seed around there are lots of passerines along the bridleway between the feeders and the hide. This morning (17th Nov) lots of chaffinches and reed buntings were feeding on the seed spread in front of the Greenaways gates and mixed flocks of tits and finches were working their way along the hedgeline. A water rail was calling from the ditch, a great spotted woodpecker was on the feeders with an out of place snipe underneath and I got excellent views of two treecreepers in one of the sections of mature hedgerow which have been nicely opened up by the recent flailing.