An early evening walk around the fields with Ted. A couple of highlights, which sadly didn't include any Short-eared Owls. Apparently none have been seen here since October 2020!!
I digress the highlights were a Chiffchaff in the Obs garden and a Little Owl in the Obs Quarry.
Here are a few images and videos from today:
Just the two Stonechats seen this evening. This female and.....
.......a male.
The male Stonechat was just waiting for the horses to move away from their water trough, before flying down to catch a few flies. The background noise is one of the horses, not me I might add.
Birds Recorded: 1 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 3 Pheasant, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, 2 Little Owl, 2 Meadow Pipit, Dunnock, Robin, 2 Stonechat, Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Chiffchaff, Wren, 30+ Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 2 Raven, House Sparrow and Chaffinch
Just two birds of prey over the top Fields, a Buzzard and this Kestrel
A Meadow Pipit keeps its beady eye on me and Ted.
Yesterday I had a hen Pheasant, today a male in the Top Fields
I had already had a look for the Little Owls a little earlier, but having spoken to Martin Cade (Portland Bird Observatory Warden) a bit later, he told me the best time was around 4:45pm. And he was spot on. As soon as I went back, there was one on its favoured ledge in the Obs Quarry. I had to lighten up the video (it was almost pitch black) and I have slowed it down a bit, so that you can see it blink. When I got back to the Obs Car park, you could here 2 Little Owls calling to each other. And was that a third bird!!
A huge bank of fog approaching Portland Lighthouse.
And a fishing boat returning to port as the sun begins to set.
I have no idea where he gets his energy from, but........
..........Ted was having a whale of a time on our walk.
Birds Recorded: 1 Buzzard, 1 Kestrel, 3 Pheasant, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, 2 Little Owl, 2 Meadow Pipit, Dunnock, Robin, 2 Stonechat, Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Chiffchaff, Wren, 30+ Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, 2 Raven, House Sparrow and Chaffinch