Monday night’s forecast wasn’t too promising. When I woke up and looked out the weather didn’t seem so bad, so I made a journey to Out Rawcliffe where I could have a wander about and maybe find a sheltered spot for a few nets. First off I saw the young Tawny Owl in the exact same spot of a couple of weeks ago: so was the side branch, partly obscuring the bird.
The stiff north-west breeze left a couple of spots unaffected on the east side of the plantation, so within 20 minutes of my arrival the nets were up and were operational. I stayed busy the next three hours with a good catch of mainly warblers, many of them newly arrived Whitethroats, so I reckon I hit upon the right morning. The overall catch was 29 new birds but no recaptures: 17 Whitethroat - all juveniles, 5 Willow Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Swallow, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Blackbird and 1 Tawny Owl.
If rough calculations are correct there are now exactly 100 new Whitethroat captures on site this year with an overall total of 128 if all the recaptures are added.
The two Swallows caught were an adult and a juvenile.
Migrating Reed Warblers turn up in young woodland growth occasionally.
The second Garden Warbler here in a week.
The second juvenile Tawny Owl of the day turned up, but this time in the bottom panel of a mist net, just a foot or two from where it flapped out of the net on two previous occasions. As I processed the downy owl, Rachel came walking by and offered to take a photograph of the still sleepy, docile creature. Thanks Rachel.
Other birds this morning: 2 Jay, 18 Tree Sparrow, 4 Greenfinch, 3 Skylark and approximately 80 Swallows. Swallow numbers seem definitely lower following the clear out of last week, and they were noticeably absent from the nearby fields and farms on such a bright, sunny morning.
10 comments:
Hey Phil..I love that Tawny Owl..or any Owls for sure.
So as the weather moves along into a change of season birds you net should be changing soon!!
It might just be a white morning soon indeed..where has the summer gone!!
I noticed that my Hummer psot is not showing up on your sidebar either ...I posted it yesterday morning at 9:30am..what's with that??
My daughter said it was published because she came on my blog to check it and it is there ,but not on her sidebar...thats just about 12 hours ago ???
I know you will have some wise cracks for me about this : }}}}
Hi Grace. Don't know why your post isn't showing because I never do anything wrong. You must have messed up somewhere along the line.
Impressive stuff from two nets.
These north-westerly mornings do seem to produce birds on occasions and it was a pity we couldnt cover Heysham Obs this am as Janet P said Heysham Moss was "teeming" with warblers this morning. Not a lot of ringing weather tomorrow or Thursday, or indeed possibly for a week!
Regards
Pete
The Tawnies do look quite handsome and I'm trying to work out which family the whitethroats belong. They're quite handsome too.
What a beautiful owl, great photos. The swallows are pretty birds, love them. Awesome photos as usual, have a great birdie day!
The Tawny Owl, such beauty in the eyes, their faces, love the feather colouration that hides them when they need it. To be able to view them is so amazing, but also being able to be this close and handle them, how thrilling. I am so glad that the juvie did not escape again. The Swallows are loverly ;) and wow, 100 new Whitethroat captures, pretty good then! I am thinking of the United Kingdom these days~
The owl is sumptuous!
Estupendas las cosas que nos has dejado. Como siempre un placer haberme pasado de nuevo.
Saludos y un abrazo.
genial como siempre en tu trabajo amigo Phil, logras una simagenes preciosas, un abrazo para ti amigo mío
You actually have a Tawny Owl in your hand....wow! Seeing the Garden Warbler and Reed Warbler again is delightful. You have such a variety of birds. It must be a pleasure for you as it is for us to read/see your blog. Thanks Phil.
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