Yesterday I returned to where I had been earlier in the week, hoping to catch sights of the birds of prey present. Arriving at 1pm I soon encountered the pale breasted buzzard seen last time before heading up the road towards Wallington. On the right were two Red kites in a tree with a smaller bird. I parked and through the binoculars noted it was the male merlin. It flew off just as I took a long distance photo. Several kestrels were about, too before I headed to where the Short eared owl seems to appear from, along the public footpath to Bygrave. After a while, I headed off to get some late lunch before returning to the same place. Around 2.30pm it appeared from nowhere, working its way along the hedge line before disappearing from view. I scanned the fields and now, on the other side of the road was either the same bird, or a second one. It was wide ranging, following hedges before flying over ploughed and winter barley fields to the next hedge. At no point was I anywhere near to it so all shots are either as they came of the camera, or heavily cropped. Several corn buntings were in a tree, a flock of common gulls flew overhead as did a few skylarks. At one point, a peregrine flew through, again, to distant for a photo.
I now know where I think the owl roosts and will return and position myself in a hedge much closer to where it hunts to get better photos.
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| Perched on a hedge some 300 yards away |
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| Size of lorries on A505 and the huge field dwarf the SEO |
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| Seems to have spotted me from 500 yards away |
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| Checking another hedge |
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| Spotted something |
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| Quartering the wild strip along the edge of a field |
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| Another hedge to check |
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| Off again |
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| female kestrel |
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| 3 Red kites and a Carrion crow |
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| Watching another kite feeding on the ground |
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| Merlin is off as I take the first photo |
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| Distant Common buzzard |
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