14-02-07 NEW TRACKS

Heron Tracks

Found the Barn Owl nest

from the farmers directions

Spent today exploring where I have not been before hoping for raptors but the wind was perhaps to strong a very cold Westerly,I did have two Buzzards that followed me for some time always keeping a safe distance,I did come across about 400 Fieldfare with a few Redwing and further on about 200 more, I think they start to gather in huge flocks before they head back to the breeding grounds,I Digiscoped a Fieldfare nest in Estonia it was a large nest just on a flat bough,a lone Mistle Thrush probably wondering what was going on with the invasion,came across the tracks of a Heron I thought they where worth a photo ,also past a sheep farmer and we had a word the usual talk about weather etc he was saying there had been a heavy fall of snow last week no lambs unlike the coast,,after about 5hrs I got back to the car to find more Fieldfare sitting right above it before flying off,also a Buzzard flew past low over the field,and also what I thought a Green Woodpecker seen very briefly,sitting having a coffee before heading home,a Landrover pulled up and the driver asked if I was having a problem,turned out to be the same farmer I talked to earlier,he told me of a Barn Owl nest nearby,so I checked it out on the way home and sure enough it was sitting in the open ,I had the foresight to put the camera on the front seat and electric windows open very quietly,so got a couple of shots in the fading light,

The only sad thing,I asked the farmer if he ever got any owls on his side,NO the gamekeepers sort them out !!!