Rob Smallwood
Well-known member
..having seen the Bufflehead during its brief stay in Greater Manchester I was unable to get out until late today.
I ended up driving with the family past the Great Grey Shrike site at Chapel-en-le-Frith (where I'd seen the Shrike two days earlier) but there was no sign during a brief look (the bird ranges quite a distance).
I ended up on the Derbyshire/Cheshire border at Derbyshire Bridge. The clouds blew away and as my 8 year old son played in the stream we watched Short-eared Owls hunting over the moorland, one flew over our heads only feet away, whilst a second pair displayed nearby.
With a supporting cast of Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, displaying Curlew and Grey Wagtail we watched the sun set behind the Cat & Fiddle pub, with owls still showing all around.
A magical evening!
I ended up driving with the family past the Great Grey Shrike site at Chapel-en-le-Frith (where I'd seen the Shrike two days earlier) but there was no sign during a brief look (the bird ranges quite a distance).
I ended up on the Derbyshire/Cheshire border at Derbyshire Bridge. The clouds blew away and as my 8 year old son played in the stream we watched Short-eared Owls hunting over the moorland, one flew over our heads only feet away, whilst a second pair displayed nearby.
With a supporting cast of Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine, displaying Curlew and Grey Wagtail we watched the sun set behind the Cat & Fiddle pub, with owls still showing all around.
A magical evening!
