KenM
Well-known member
And just now the distinctive song of a male
52: Tawny Owl
:eek!:
And just now the distinctive song of a male
52: Tawny Owl
And a telescope scan of distant rooftops this afternoon netted a local rarity:
27 Starling
Freezing today!!
..
It was like raptor central here this afternoon, after three days of freezing foggy conditions it brightened up, prompting some excellent bird of prey activity and resulting in a Garden yearlist triple whammy. but it could so easily have been a quadruple...........:C
It all kicked off just after lunch when a 2nd year Golden Eagle drifted past, presumably looking for pastures new after being chased out of its birthplace by its parents who are now busy preparing this year's happy event. It flew over the first returning Red Kite of the year (which was joined by a second later on, perhaps last year's pair back on territory already). Finally, at about 3pm the crows were at it again, this time flying very high but still agitated. Underneath them was a leisurely flying Gos. So three raptors for this year's garden list.
If the neighbours ever needed confirmation that their English 'voisin' is a few centimes short of a Euro, my performance mid afternoon would have done the trick. I had just climbed over the fence and gone about 100m into the field, when ahead of me, wheeling over the forest was a big bird with a diamond-shaped tail, looks a bit pale for a Raven thought I, and that wingspan!!! A Lammergeier! After nearly ten years of scanning the mountain behind us to no avail, here was one that had come a bit lower down.
Usain Bolt himself would have admired my speed and, err, agility as I galloped back down through the snow-covered field, hurdled the fence and back into the garden to scan the area again , all in 9.79 seconds (roughly ). You guessed of course, the bird had flown, no doubt back to the mountainside, an hour of watching thereafter came up without a sign, but a great addition to my Green Patch total, even if it's still eludes me as a 'Garden' bird.
38 Golden Eagle
39 Red Kite
40 Goshawk
I think I deserve a lie down, don't you?