Short Eared Owls

Today there seems to have been a movement of Short Eared Owls.  Firstly there was one reported near Falcutt. I have to confess that I have never heard of this place and had to look it up. It is a small hamlet in the south of the county near Helmdon.                                                                     It was always my intention to visit Harrington Airfield but it was mid morning by the time I got there. I spent a couple of hours there zig zagging about and slowly meandering through the bushes around the bunkers and it was here that I flushed 2 Short Eared Owls sitting together.  They then flew over me and headed towards bunker 3.  I  continued my wandering around and as I approached bunker 1 a Short Eared Owl got up and flew low towards bunker 2 where I again accidentally flushed it. I'm pretty certain that this was a third bird.                   Other birds seen on my visit were 4 Stonechats,  a Woodcock and 15 Golden Plovers.                                                                       One Short Eared Owl was seen by others late afternoon and also a Merlin. 

My first bird of the day was a Green Sandpiper near the flooded brook below Hanging Houghton.  I then headed off towards Blueberry and had a good look around the area. There was a Woodcock in one of the favourite hedgerows for this bird and a pair of Stonechat.  Plenty of winter thrushes around and several Bramblings going over.         This afternoon I was heading towards Blueberry from the Brampton Valley Way and came across a Short Eared Owl. By the time I got back home I had bumped into Barn, Little and Tawny Owl !!

Other birds reported today include Ruff, Golden Plovers and Egyptian Goose at Summer Leys,  6 Cattle Egrets and Bittern at Stanwick GP, Caspian Gull,  2 Dunlin and 2 Stonechats at Hollowell Reservoir and a flock of Golden Plovers at Hinton in the Hedges Airfield. 

Regards Eleanor 

Robin courtesy
of John Tilly.

Red-legged Partridge
courtesy of Tony Stanford.