The scrape on Greenaways has now been finished and a small one has been dug next to the Wetland Watch hide. A third scrape on Big Otmoor is almost complete and so now it's just a matter of time before they fill with water and the waders and wildfowl start making use of them. All three of the scrapes can easily be seen from the public footpaths and so should provide good views.
It sometimes seems you have to work hard for your birds on Otmoor at this time of year, but during my routine electric fence checks on Wednesday 14th I had a kingfisher, 2 hobbies and a common sandpiper in the Southern Phase of the reedbed, a greenshank feeding in front of the hide and ~20 yellow wagtails amongst the cattle on Ashgrave. Thursday 16th was a beautiful September day and whilst the volunteer work party were willow coppicing to the north of the reedbed I was out in the tractor topping the Greenaways field. The tractor gives you a very good birding vantage point and I was able to get good sightings of wheatears and whinchats, along with ~10 snipe, large numbers of meadow pipits, reed buntings and skylark and upto four red kite, 2 buzzards and 2 kestrels followed the tractor as I trundled around.