Well it got cold finally and snowed a bit...................
I had a spare 3 or 4 hours so we went to look for a flock of Rook we had seen a few days ago in the snow covered ricefields. We couldn't find the crows but we did see this female Merlin.............like a Gyrfalcon mini-me.
Onuma is pretty wintry..................
No Varied Tit today, just Marsh (or Willow?) Tits............
Will the colder weather bring the Gyrfalcon with it?
these shots are all fabulous however it would be fantastic to see the Gyrfalcon
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret, yes it would be fantastic, hope it comes back very soon..............
DeleteMarsh/Willow ?? blowed if I can tell them apart, either. The Merlin is a fine bird !
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment John, I think the east Asian subspecies of the Marsh/Willow are even trickier to seperate than the ones in NW Europe.............
DeleteI remember seeing a Merlin chasing a Corn Bunting ( surprisingly unsuccessfully) when I was with you and Alban in a field near Hesketh Bank. Surprising how some memories stick.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not I remember the day well Derek. Must have been in early 1983, February maybe. Almost 32 years ago! It was my first Merlin. We also saw Hen Harrier and Short Eared Owl that day, both also firsts for me. The Merlin was at Hundred End I believe. Weird the same 3 species occur here (no Stellers Sea Eagles on the Ribble Estuary though). Alban still lives in Penwortham and still goes birding sometimes.
DeleteApropos Hen Harriers, one of my favourite wildlife writers has lost his job at the TIMES where he was a sports columnist too, there reason "budgets" my guess would be that it was because he was raising quite a stink re the persecution ( aka poisoning) of Hen Harriers both in the forest of Bowland and the Peak district by game keepers in charge of grouse moors. I suppose there must be a lot of "SPORTSMEN" who read the Times who were feeling rather uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteHaven't read the paper in years (since it went subscription) but it was always the paper for country toffs...............................
Delete