(Ot)moor Dipping (12th April)

A stupid pun I know but at least it's the truth.  Unfortunately, despite investing considerable effort my brother and I both dipped on the Fudge Duck that had been present for the past couple weeks at Otmoor.  None the less, our hopes were still high despite the fact it had not been reported for the past two days.  We also failed to see Garganey, our second target species.  It became difficult scavenging a result as the weather deteriorated and the heavy rain began.  As a result, we only managed to see a roosting Barn Owl, a Bittern shortly in flight, 1 Raven and the 6 WHITE-FRONTED GEESE that had arrived the day before.

 roosting Barn Owl

one of the many Red Kites

Rather incredibly, we also counted a total of at least 21 Red Kites on the car journey to the reserve despite showers and heavy cloud cover!