Turned Out Nice Again! - on 8th March, 2018

If I've been a bit quiet in Bloggerland for a couple of weeks, it's because I have been away on the Isles of Scilly for a family holiday. I'm back in the saddle now, and feverishly working through the several thousand frames I fired off whilst there - hopefully there will be a few good ones (he said with a grin on his face!).

This post concerns a visit to Rutland Water, prompted by an attendance at the Volunteer Training Centre for the pre-season meeting for volunteers on the Rutland Osprey Project. As this meeting was scheduled to start at 18h00 so I set off mid-afternoon with the intention of visiting some of my Little Owl sites as the weather was fine.

Unfortunately, as I headed eastward across the county, the weather got more and more windy, and I realised I had little hope of finding an owl in the cold and windy conditions.

Near Queniborough, a Buzzard flew up from beside the road, but my attempts at photography were rather poor. Further on, near Burrough on the Hill a spotted a distant pair of Buzzards having a bit of an altercation. Here are a couple of images of that, although I wish I had been somewhat nearer the action.

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) - near Burrough on the Hill

 To my surprise, I found an owl tucked in away from the wind at my Little Owl site No.37.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.37

There were no further owl sightings before I got to Rutland Water, where I called in at the Egleton Visitor Centre, enjoyed my first ice cream of the Rutland season, and then set off northwards.

Cutting a long story short, it seemed to be unusually quiet on the bird front on this part of the reserve. I spotted little of interest on Lagoon 4, and only photographed a Pochard.

Pochard (Aythya ferina) (female) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Most of my photos were taken from Shoveler Hide on Lagoon 3. I missed the potentially most interesting shot as a Water Rail shot across in front of the hide and instantly disappeared into the reeds. I reckon it must have been lurking within a metre of where I was sitting, but below my line of sight - unless I had stuck my head out of the window and looked down!

Here are some of the shots I did take - all of very common birds. There was much strong and low sunshine on occasion and I found photography challenging, although it did give a fine blue colour to the water. Fortunately the wind had died down somewhat too.

Shoveler (Anas clypeata) (male) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Shoveler (Anas clypeata) (female) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Teal (Anas crecca) (male) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Gadwall (Anas stepera) (male) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Gadwall (Anas stepera) (female) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Pintail (Anas acuta) (male + female) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Pintail (Anas acuta) (male) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

I'd taken a picnic tea with me which I'd left in the car and, at the appropriate time, headed back to the car park. By now it had turned very dull and rather cold. On the way back I found one of the meadows to be full of Redwing. However, these flew off the moment I saw them (and they saw me!). One Song Thrush did, however, decide to be brave.

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Whilst eating, I reflected that the afternoon had been a little disappointing - little did I know what was in store! Having finished my picnic at an appropriate time, I set off for the VTC. I was nearly there when I noticed a familiar shape sitting on a roadside fence post. I stopped the car at an angle in the road, and took some shots. I then moved forward a bit further and took some more.  The second image is a poor one, but it gives an indication of the depth of the feathering on the head as it was caught be the wind.

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) - near Egleton

Having taken my shots, I had to pass the owl to get to my destination. As I set off it flew to a fence a short way back from the road, and I got some more shots from a closer range.

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) - near Egleton

The owl then flew from this position to another roadside post ahead of me. However, it flew off again as I approached on my way to the VTC.

It was a short and enjoyable meeting at the VTC, where it was good to catch up with old friends and meet new faces. 

Afterwards, the weather had gone downhill, and I headed straight home, with no further sightings - but I was still buzzing from my Barn Owl encounter. 

If someone with a reliable crystal ball had told me that, including this day, I'd see four different species of owl in UK over a nine day period, I'd have assumed Little, Barn, Tawny, and possibly Short-eared. Little did I know that one of those would be missing and the substitute would be fabulous!

I suspect that it will be a while before I'm ready to publish a post on my Scillies visit, so my next post will probably be about something closer to home.

Thank you for dropping by.

March and April Little Owls - 2017

Occasionally I find myself on the receiving end of a gentle prod, usually from my good friend David, encouraging me to feature an owl or two. I've not written much about the owls lately, so here goes!

March, 2017

The number of sightings of Little Owl for March (19) were slightly up on last year (17), but the number of sites these sightings ranged over was well down from 9 sites last year to just 5 this year. I won't go through all my sightings but just speak of a few days that resulted in some photos - of variable quality!

Saturday 4th March

The Little Owls were busy at my LO Site No.02 not long after I arrived just before dusk. First the male arrived on the remains of the roof of the barn.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

Eleven minutes later the female showed from inside the roof, and then also perched up on the roof timbers.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (female) - my Site No.02

As it was getting too dark for photography, I set off homeward, spotting a Barn Owl on my way home. I just about managed a record shot.

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)  - near Ashby de la Zouch

Friday 10th March

A trip out mid-morning until early evening resulted in the sighting of five owls, although it wasn't totally an owl-based excursion. It was very dull and rather misty, and I nearly didn't go out at all!

At my LO Site No.34, both birds were visible - just!

Little Owls (Athene noctua) (male + female) - my Site No.34

Having spent some time by Eyebrook Reservoir, I made a rash decision to visit a place around 60 miles (100 km) away that I'd been told was a sure fire place for some unusual Little Owl photos. I'll not go into any details, but I didn't get the photos I'd hoped for and this was the best that I could manage! 

Little Owls (Athene noctua)

My numbered Little Owl sites are all ones that are relatively local to me, or on routes that I regularly travel. That last one does not fit the bill so has not been included in the monthly tally that I mentioned. I expect, however, that I shall return there sometime, as it has potential.

Sunday 12th March

An evening visit to my LO Site No.02 had the male owl emerging at 17h53.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

It wasn't until 18h26 that the female joined him. They copulated almost immediately.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male + female) - my Site No.02

Thursday 16th March

This day I had an afternoon out with pal John. Pairs of Little Owls were seen at two sites, although we didn't realise that we'd seen two at Site No.37 until we looked at our images after getting home that evening! My excuse is that photographic conditions were difficult, trying to shoot through numerous intervening twigs that were constantly moving about in the wind, and so I was struggling to find the bird through the lens and achieve focus. Furthermore, we have only ever seen a lone bird here, so were not expecting there to be a second bird.  In fact, I'd commented to John as we left the site that it would be great if we had a pair here!!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male + female) - my Site No.37

Thursday 30th March

I'd had a break from the owls as I had been away in Devon, where I'd not seen any owls at all. This was a few days after my return when John and I were on Osprey duty at Rutland Water. The afternoon resulted in me seeing four Little Owls (one of which was at my Site No.02, on my way to John's place) and one Barn Owl. The most exciting find was an owl by my old Site No.21, where I last saw an owl in July 2013! Sadly, the only owl images I obtained that day were of a sleeping owl at LO Site No.02.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

April, 2017

April 2016 had been my worst month ever for Little Owl sightings, with only 3 sightings over 3 sites (i.e. single birds at each site). Happily, April 2017 was a distinct improvement on this, although not great, with 13 sightings over 5 sites. The events of 8th and 12th April have featured previously on this blog, so I will not cover them here.

I'll just give a few notes from a couple of dates which resulted  in some images.

Thursday 20th April

This was an afternoon and early evening out with John. It resulted in me seeing 5 LOs over 4 sites, with two of the owls being on my way home from John's house. The exciting event, although no photos resulted, was seeing an owl at LO Site No.47, where I'd last seen an owl in August 2016.

There was good news at my LO Site No.41, where the nest tree had come down earlier in the year. The owls are still around, and we suspect that they are living in a hollow part of the fallen trunk of the tree.  I managed some photos of one of the owls in the failing light.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.41

I only photographed one of the owls at Site No.02 on my way home from John's. The second owl was in a really dark corner and not findable through the camera lens.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

Monday 24 April

A quick trip out in the afternoon on this day resulted in disappointment at my LO Site No.17, where the roof of the building that was home to the owls was found to have suffered serious damage, with no prospect of the owners trying to repair it. Enquiries resulted in me being told that the owls had not been seen for a while. I suspect that they have gone.

I did, however, see a Little Owl at my Site No.03, and another at No.02. Here's one from No.03.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.03

I've had a few sightings of Barn Owl over the past couple of months, but mainly fleeting glimpses in the distance. I've not seen a Tawny Owl for ages, so must try to put that right. This last winter, I really missed having sessions with Short-eared Owls, and have made arrangements to ensure that this is rectified - albeit in the distant future. I've just arranged a week in a remote thatched blackhouse on the island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

As usual, I'm not sure what my next post will be - possibly about my first encounters in 2017 with damselflies.

Thank you for dropping by.

After The Storm - on Friday 24th February, 2017

Pal John and I didn't have our usual Thursday afternoon out on 23rd February as Storm Doris held this area in its grip throughout that day with rain, and winds up to 100 km/h, and the recommendation was to avoid all unnecessary travel. 

By the Friday morning, things were looking completely different weather-wise and, with some trepidation, I set off for John's place at around 10h45. I'd left a little earlier than usual as I wanted to check out my Little Owl Site No.02. My concern was that there is so much of the roof missing that a strong gust of wind would lift the rest of the roof off, like a kite.

I arrived at No.02 to find things looking remarkably unchanged. At first I did not notice the bird which was tucked into the edge of the end wall with just its head visible from my position. I took a few photos from the roadside, and had a chat with a gentleman who was valiantly picking up litter from the adjacent gateway.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

The owl was still there when I decided to make a closer inspection of the building. As part of this process, I halved the distance between me and the owl. This resultant shot is for Noushka and Doug - it's a foot thing! I'm pleased to say the owl was still sitting there when I departed in my car.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

Feeling a little more confident, I continued to John's place, encountering only minor debris on the road. It was John's turn to drive and we set off on our usual owling route so that we could check on the situation. We did see the occasional blown-down tree, and quite a few broken tree limbs. 

On arrival at my LO Site No.41 we had a major disappointment.  When John and I first became aware of this site, it was because the farmer was bemoaning the loss of a major limb of the tree that his owls resided in. The owls were, fortunately, unaffected by this. However, just three months later, we arrived on site to find that a huge part of the tree had split off, totally destroying the nest cavity. John and I quickly erected a nest box, but this was never used. The owls spent all winter over on the far side of the field, returning to the original tree in the spring of 2014 where they found another nest hole and raised young that year.

Now we arrived to find that the rest of the tree was down, leaving just the stump of the trunk, although our nest box was still in place as you can see on the right of the remains in the next image. 

my Little Owl Site No.41 - remains of nest tree

I spotted an owl fly up from the debris on the left and land in a nearby hawthorn bush, then John spotted a second one sitting on those remains.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.41

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.41

It was good to see that the birds were still around and had survived the experience. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they find another home nearby, if not in the owl box. We shall be keeping an eye on things, but being careful not to disturb them at all.

As we approached a corner on a country lane I spotted a pair of Stonechat. The female kept her distance, but the male was less concerned by the car.

Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) (male)

We've only ever seen a solitary owl at my Site No.37, but this seems to be an extremely hardy bird, and out in the most unexpected weathers. When we first stopped, with the usual tree on John's side, John couldn't see the bird as it was so well hidden. In the end, I managed to point it out to him, and then went to try and get a better viewpoint.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.37

We stopped for our picnic lunch by my Site No.34. All seemed fine here, with both birds visible in the nest opening. 

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.34

We saw no further owls that afternoon, and set off to Eyebrook Reservoir in the hope of seeing and photographing Kingfisher. This was not to be, but a gentleman on the bridge pointed out a distant Great Egret. At first, it was only showing by the top of its head becoming visible from time to time. Then it moved into a more prominent position. Google Earth tells me that it was 220 metres away at this point. Although this has become a relatively common bird at Rutland Water in the past 12 months, it was a noteworthy sighting for Eyebrook.

Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) - Eyebrook Reservoir

I changed my position and waited, and eventually it fully appeared, although further away by now.

Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) - Eyebrook Reservoir

A Little Egret was somewhat closer, landing at one point on the perch often used by the Kingfishers.

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - Eyebrook Reservoir

John had a call from home to say that one of his dogs was poorly, so he needed to pick up some medication from the vet's on the way home. The Kingfisher had still not shown when we set off homeward, stopping briefly at the second stockade on the west side of Eyebrook Reservoir. Here I attempted some distant shots of Pintail and Snipe.

Pintail (Anas acuta) - Eyebrook Reservoir

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Eyebrook Reservoir

There were no further sightings of note and, having picked up the medication at the vet's, we arrived at John's home at 17h00. As Lindsay wasn't expecting me home until sometime between 18h30 and 19h00, I decided to pay another visit to my LO Site No.02. Both owls soon appeared and, although there was no hanky-panky, there was plenty of calling and they did sit together for a while. Unfortunately, at this site, evening shots will always be directly into the low evening light.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male on left) - my Site No.02

I watched for a while and eventually they departed so I set off homeward. Five minutes later I found myself looking at a Barn Owl. What a wonderful end to the day!

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) - near Ashby de la Zouch

If it hadn't been for the upset at Little Owl Site No.41 it would have been a most satisfying day, with 7 Little Owls and one Barn Owl seen. 

Please can I leave you with a request. The raptors in UK (and in many other parts of the world) are suffering terribly at the hands of mankind - either through persecution or from environmental destruction. If you only do one thing this week please make it something, no matter how small, to further the cause of these wonderful creatures. Better still - make it a weekly target!

Thank you for dropping by.