Sunday, 22 December 2019

Otmoor- Forty Four Thousand Birds

Another incredible day at Otmoor. I did a few hours in the morning and then returned with Jacob for the Starling roost. Using the WeBS counts for the Golden Plovers and Lapwings HERE (recorded by Otmoor birders in the week) and using a figure for the Starlings in the roost which I recall seeing HERE I probably saw 44,000 individual birds today of 63 species  Ebird list HERE . Two of them were Otmoor lifers, Ruff and Merlin taking my Otmoor list to 126. Also had 8 Dunlin and 2 Shelduck. With so many birds I can't help thinking there is a rarity hiding in there somewhere- will do my best to get back over there over the holidays to keep looking.

The flood water continues to rise and most of the birds were on Big Otmoor and Flood Field today.

 6 Ruff  (above and below) 

 This distinctive white-headed male Ruff was one of two white headed birds in the group 
 Otmoor flocks (above and below) 

 2 Shelduck at dusk with the Starlings 
 Muntjac. Also six or seven Brown Hares on Big Otmoor and also had a couple of voles running along the path presumably been pushed off the fields by the flood 
 Jacob enjoying the puddles 
Greenaways in flood 

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