A short walk with the dog along the Whaupie road, made narrow by high drifts of snow, was enlivened by the call of a Peregrine fly over the moor. It flew towards one of the pylons and proceeded to buzz another bird which turned out to be a Peregrine also, this all visible from our garden.
Later I decided to brave the deep tiring snow around the ponds. I was not disappointed. On the West pond at a wet flush with grass and water flowing 4 Moorhen were joined by a Water Rail and just as I was enjoying this I realised a Barn Owl was hunting over the reed bed. I kept going to the East pond, and at the inflow from the West pond a Kingfisher was to be heard. Nearby 2 brilliantly coloured male Bullfinch were feeding at which point I heard a small bird calling which produced excellent views of a Willow Tit. 15 Snipe flew over flushed by an unseen predator, while as I left for home a Brambling added a final splash of colour.
Keith
No comments:
Post a Comment