In terms of birds the reserve is proving to be really good at the moment, the spring migrants continue to flood in, with first sightings of the year during April including: Cuckoo (13th), two Garganey (14th), Yellow Wagtail (14th), Reed Warbler (20th), Grasshopper Warbler (19th), Lesser Whitethroat (20th), Hobby (24th), Whitethroat (24th), Garden Warbler (24th), Common Tern (26th) and Swift (28th). I saw my first Whinchat of the year yesterday (2nd May) from the first reedbed screen.
Other recent records of note during April include seven Ruff (7th), two Little-Ringed Plover (14th), two Redstart (17th), two Shelduck (20th), Ring Ouzel (20th and 28th), Whimbrel (24th), Bar-Tailed Godwit (24th), three Ringed Plover (28th), Nightingale (30th) and two Marsh Harriers (29th). At least six Wheatear, up to 200 Golden Plover, a Merlin, a Peregrine, two Short-Eared Owls and a White-Fronted Goose were present throughout April and on into the beginning of May. The Big Otmoor field is giving possibly the best oppurtunites ever on the reserve for people to see lapwing chicks and a careful scan of the field should give you good views.
After the drought when the moor almost turned into a barren desert our pleas for rain were rewarded with flooding, it came a little late but our water levels are now on target and in fact we are pumping water off the reserve and into the reedbed to control levels on the grassland areas. With so many chicks about it's important to have lots of bare, muddy, feeding-areas around the edges of the foot drains and scrapes. Drawing down the water levels will help expose these areas may of which were originally created by our rotavating last year.
Talking of water I had a delightful time yesterday, totaly submerging myself in the ring ditch with a snorkel mask on trying to figure out why water is running the wrong way through one of our sluices. The sight of a water scorpion just before I ducked under was a bit unnerving. Hopefully the mystery has now been solved though and the problem can be rectified.