I had a busy day today and wasn’t able to go down my patch until later on, which was no bad thing today, with the weather being so cold. I made sure I had a full flask of tea and a flask of warming soup and headed out mid-afternoon to look out for owls.
The trouble with my patch is if the wind is from the east, it blows directly across the valley and slices straight through you. It was bitterly raw as I stood at the watch point and, with no sign of any owls, it was difficult to keep my mind off the cold. A female Sparrowhawk tried to help as it flew across in front of me, but it was too quick and I soon began to feel the cold once again.
A pair of buzzards were in the far corner of the valley, with one just sitting on top of a tree and the other flying around in front of it. The short-eared owls were still not showing and I was getting colder and colder. My flask of tea and flask of soup helped, but I was getting colder and colder as I stood there. Finally, I had had enough and started to pack up to leave. I took one step back towards home when a shorty finally decided to show.
There was only one owl again, but it put on a good show this time. It quartered over most of the valley and gave some reasonably close views. Barn owls will often fly breath-takingly close when they are about, but the shorties never do. It is obvious that they are aware of me, and they stare me out with their great headlamps whenever they come within a hundred yards of where I stand.
It is amazing how I can forget all about the cold whenever the owls put in an appearance, but it eventually makes itself felt again. I couldn’t stand it anymore today, so I decided to leave once again, stopping every now and then to re-check the owls. I had reached the cycle track that runs alongside the valley and turned for home, when a superb woodcock flew up from close by, giving some stunning views as it flew at head height just in front of me. What a way to finish of the day!
Grey Heron 1
Eurasian Sparrowhawk 1 Female
Common Buzzard 2
Common Kestrel 2
Common Pheasant 1
Eurasian Woodcock 1
Black-headed Gull 8
Mew Gull 3
Common Wood Pigeon 450
Eurasian Collared Dove 1
Short-eared Owl 1
Chinese Muntjac 1
Green Woodpecker 1
Meadow Pipit 1
Winter Wren 2
Hedge Accentor 4
European Robin 2
Common Blackbird 4
Mistle Thrush 2
Long-tailed Tit 3
Blue Tit 3
Great Tit 2
Black-billed Magpie 1
Eurasian Jackdaw 1
Rook 3
Carrion Crow 1
Common Starling 18
House Sparrow 1
Chaffinch 8
European Greenfinch 2
European Goldfinch 1
Common Bullfinch 1
Reed Bunting 1
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