CJW
Hit-and-run WUM
Well, today has been one of those days when you just sit indoors watching the rain lashing against the windows and hoping for something exotic, like a Brambling, visit the garden feeding station.
Horrendous winds and horizontal rain all day have gone a good way to helping me understand why some people suffer from S.A.D.
Anyways, at around 3pm the rain eased to a fine drizzle, and eventually stopped altogether, leaving me with something of a dilemma. Do I go out for the last hour of birdable light and leave the roaring log fire?
In the end I decided to brave the conditions and get out there for my weekend 'fix'.
I drove the 6 miles or so to Close Sartfield Nature Reserve in Ballaugh Curraghs and arrived at the tower hide at 4pm.
The first birds I saw were 3 ringtail Hen Harriers in the air together closely followed by a Merlin dashing over the tops of the willows. Ordinarily this would be a pleasing sight, but it left me wondering how long the birds had been coming into roost before my arrival.
After just 25 minutes and in almost complete darkness, I headed for home, and that fire, having counted 56 Hen Harriers (inc. 16 males) and a Long-eared Owl all enjoyed with the background noise of ½dozen squealing Water Rails.
Horrendous winds and horizontal rain all day have gone a good way to helping me understand why some people suffer from S.A.D.
Anyways, at around 3pm the rain eased to a fine drizzle, and eventually stopped altogether, leaving me with something of a dilemma. Do I go out for the last hour of birdable light and leave the roaring log fire?
In the end I decided to brave the conditions and get out there for my weekend 'fix'.
I drove the 6 miles or so to Close Sartfield Nature Reserve in Ballaugh Curraghs and arrived at the tower hide at 4pm.
The first birds I saw were 3 ringtail Hen Harriers in the air together closely followed by a Merlin dashing over the tops of the willows. Ordinarily this would be a pleasing sight, but it left me wondering how long the birds had been coming into roost before my arrival.
After just 25 minutes and in almost complete darkness, I headed for home, and that fire, having counted 56 Hen Harriers (inc. 16 males) and a Long-eared Owl all enjoyed with the background noise of ½dozen squealing Water Rails.