Water, waders and wildfowl

As a wetland reserve we can get a bit obsessive about water, always wondering if there's going to be too much or not enough to keep the wildlife as happy as possible. Variation is important and a few really wet or really dry periods can add dynamism and benefits to the wet grassland habitats, but in general we aim for wetness during the winter, with the fields then slowly drying out through the spring and on into the early summer. This mimics the process that would have occurred naturally when the whole of the Otmoor basin acted as a large flood plain for the River Ray. As wetlands are a dwindling habitat, it's important we keep the reserve in as optimal condition as possible for the wildlife that we provide board and lodgings for, this means we try to control the water levels on the reserve (whilst taking fluctuations and local situations into account) to keep the birds, hares and earthworms as happy as possible.

Water levels are building in the fields at the moment and this combined with the drop in temperature is driving the increase in bird numbers as recorded during our most recent WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey) count:

Tufted duck and pochard photos taken by Terry Sherlock