Sunday Shortie Spotting

Wouldn't you just know it; Saturday was beautiful, sunny and clear all day, but we were stuck in most of the day due to having some plumbing work done. And today when we are free, the weather has been misty, grey & cold!

Walking the dogs this morning, Louise came across some slightly more exotic visitors than the usual garden & woodland species; a pair of Little Egrets. Although they're no longer a particularly rare sighting, it's always odd to see birds which we'd normally expect to find on our Spanish trips on a small steam running through a council estate in the middle of Swindon! If only the weather was more like Spain, too...

In spite of the rather miserable conditions, this afternoon I decided to chance another trip to Salisbury Plains in search of the elusive Short-Eared Owls. There wasn't quite as much to be seen today as when I visited earlier in the week, and much less raptor activity.  Even the local Kestrel was looking more inclined to perch up on the hawthorns than to hunt.

After staking out the owls' favourite valley for some time, we were rewarded with brief appearances by two of them. We only got quite distant views of the birds flying along the brow of the hill - apparently moving from one roost to another. They certainly weren't actively hunting, and the second bird was being harassed by several of the local rooks. Still, it was good to at least get a look at the owls. I'll pop back along later in the week for another go!

As with earlier in the week, there were good numbers of Fieldfares & Redwings, Stonechats and Goldfinches - as well as a group of buntings roosting up for the night inside one of the hawthorn bushes.

Just as we were leaving, a beautiful female Hen Harrier came gliding down the valley, passing very close to us. It's always a pleasure to see these fantastic birds - and it was certainly today's highlight.


Hen Harrier - Ringtail