Shy birds on OtterCam

OtterCam is in a quiet phase at the moment.  Single otters wander past every now and then, both the dog and the resident female as far as I can tell, but they don't do anything interesting.  I hope new cubs will be born in the first half of next month but, if so, we won't see them on camera for another three months or so.

The cameras are still in position, however, clocking up dozens of recordings a day, mostly of birds.  Young water rails, moorhens and mallards predominate, along with robins and wood pigeons.  There were also two notable recordings last week.

The water rail has a reputation of being a shy bird but it certainly isn't camera-shy.  It is usually heard rather than seen and makes a weird un-bird-like sound, often described as like a piglet squealing.  This one put on a show in front of two of the cameras.

Next another bird that is usually seen but not heard.  I previously posted videos of a common snipe and a badger, both with a Cetti's warbler singing in the background.  The video below shows the first time a Cetti's warbler has appeared on camera.  Cetti's warbler was previously a rare bird, having first bred in Kent in the 1970s and described in my (2016) field guide as a "scarce and local resident, mainly in southern England".  Since then it has been spreading north and for the past year or so there have been several in the reserve - I now hear one singing nearly every time I go in.  Unfortunately this one didn't sing to the cameras and the bird in the background is a reed warbler.

You can hear the Cetti's warbler's song here.