birdman
Friday 13th June 2003, 00:44
Got to take advantage of these light nights, so yet another stroll around the Outback. We went at pretty much the same time as last night (9pm to 10.45), but it seemed noticeably lighter, and was definitely cooler.
Perhaps this coolness was the reason why it was a quieter night bird-wise, with nothing new to add. (As usual I’ll end this with a list for completeness.)
We did see three owls (two Long-eared and one Little) but apart from this, a flock of Feral (Racing?) Pigeons and a general gathering together of the 20 or so House Martins, we saw only individuals.
However, also noticeable tonight, was the increased number of insects, especially around the pond. There are also quite a good few moths for those who are skilled in lepidoptery to identify; the readily identifiable Cinnabar was also showing in larger numbers this evening.
Mammalian interest was piqued this evening. Prior to tonight, the wild mammal count has comprise one dead mole, two live hedgehogs, one live vole and a gazillion rabbits. Tonight we saw our first bats on the walk – but even more exciting, on the path that runs past the end of our garden were some tracks that looked suspiciously like deer tracks. Neither myself nor patnyorsha are experts, but short of someone taking their goat for a walk, we can think of no other reasonable explanation. We do know there have been deer seen within a couple of miles or so, but that is on the other side of the rail lines.
Finally a bit of plant information. Anyone who has taken a look at my map will have seen a large “grassy” area. This is actually a mixture of grasses and clovers, with some cow parsley, dandelions and buttercups (and probably a million others) thrown in. Other than this, the most prevalent wild flowers seem to be White Campion, and there are also some Poppies. As for trees, there is quite a mix, including oak, ash, sycamore, willow, elder and some conifers. Doubtless there are other trees as well. There is also quite large patch of recently scythed-down Giant Hogweed!
So, as promised, the evening’s bird list – all seen!
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Coot
Feral Pigeon
Green Woodpecker
Grey Heron
House Martin
Kestrel
Lapwing
Little Owl
Long-eared Owl
Magpie
Mallard
Skylark
Swift
Wood Pigeon
Yellowhammer
Perhaps this coolness was the reason why it was a quieter night bird-wise, with nothing new to add. (As usual I’ll end this with a list for completeness.)
We did see three owls (two Long-eared and one Little) but apart from this, a flock of Feral (Racing?) Pigeons and a general gathering together of the 20 or so House Martins, we saw only individuals.
However, also noticeable tonight, was the increased number of insects, especially around the pond. There are also quite a good few moths for those who are skilled in lepidoptery to identify; the readily identifiable Cinnabar was also showing in larger numbers this evening.
Mammalian interest was piqued this evening. Prior to tonight, the wild mammal count has comprise one dead mole, two live hedgehogs, one live vole and a gazillion rabbits. Tonight we saw our first bats on the walk – but even more exciting, on the path that runs past the end of our garden were some tracks that looked suspiciously like deer tracks. Neither myself nor patnyorsha are experts, but short of someone taking their goat for a walk, we can think of no other reasonable explanation. We do know there have been deer seen within a couple of miles or so, but that is on the other side of the rail lines.
Finally a bit of plant information. Anyone who has taken a look at my map will have seen a large “grassy” area. This is actually a mixture of grasses and clovers, with some cow parsley, dandelions and buttercups (and probably a million others) thrown in. Other than this, the most prevalent wild flowers seem to be White Campion, and there are also some Poppies. As for trees, there is quite a mix, including oak, ash, sycamore, willow, elder and some conifers. Doubtless there are other trees as well. There is also quite large patch of recently scythed-down Giant Hogweed!
So, as promised, the evening’s bird list – all seen!
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Coot
Feral Pigeon
Green Woodpecker
Grey Heron
House Martin
Kestrel
Lapwing
Little Owl
Long-eared Owl
Magpie
Mallard
Skylark
Swift
Wood Pigeon
Yellowhammer