BIRDING THE LUNE ESTUARY THE FOREST OF BOWLAND AND BEYOND...............................................................RED GROUSE HAWTHORNTHWAITE PETE WOODRUFF

Tuesday, 9 January 2018

Find One Get Two Three!

Stonechats.

On the marsh in front of Lighthouse Cottage at Cockersand yesterday, it was good to see the 11 December 1st winter male Stonechat again. I saw this bird again twice 15/18 December, but if this really was the same bird again yesterday, it's been very successful in avoiding me despite three visits since 18 December. I also had excellent views yesterday of the 1st winter male and female Stonechat at Cockerham Sand. So three Stonechat again, and four in two days....In my book that's excellent.


Stonechat Female. Half Moon Bay 7 December. Pete Woodruff.

And on the same theme, having collected a tasty morsel, the female Stonechat at Half Moon Bay also showed well on Sunday, having tolerated a few hundred dogs and a few more hundred people since it's arrival here, it was accompanied by a Rock Pipit at one stage.

Barn Owls.

Also yesterday, as I arrived back at the Lighthouse Cottage about 4.00pm, a Barn Owl was quartering the field behind the cottage. A local who I saw minutes later, told me the bird has been around all year, and hunts all over the place, and with the home range of a Barn Owl extending up to 4km outside the breeding season, this Lighthouse Cottage bird, the Cockerham Sand bird reported, and my two records on Moss Lane, could well all be the same bird.

Interesting, that around the same time in early January 2016, a similar situation with the Barn Owl was happening in this same area See Here ....The harsh weather seems to be building up the same picture again in January 2018.

Thanks to AC for his contribution to this post.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Pete!!! Beautiful lady.. :-) Happy new year..

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  2. Beautiful indeed, a pity about the orange tint in the image though.

    Thanks Ana....HAPPY NEW YEAR.

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