Psilos
allotment birds |
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Wednesday
April 18th 2007 - "Tawny Owl" |
Back in 2001 I stepped onto my allotment
for the very first time and within minutes came face to face with a
Tawny Owl. Trying to roost it had been mobbed and driven out of the
woods. It had landed on the fence next to my allotment and for a few
wonderful awestruck seconds we had stood and looked at each other. This
I thought was an amazing omen of things to come. It had never happened
again until today. |
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Well it didnt really happen in quite the
same way but the owl had still been obvious. As I drew up in my car
I noticed a large brown shape sat in front of the large holly bush that
had been attracting the jays. A totally unobstructed view of a bird
so rarely seen in the daylight. Not wanting to photograph him through
the fence I drove round to the woods and found him. Sitting beside a
busy path he really didnt mind my presence at all. |
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This was the first proper visit I had made
to the allotment since the week before Easter. My son Ben had been rushed
into hospital and all my spare time was spent visiting him and then
staying with him whilst he recovered. Ten days is along time at this
time of year and the allotment had really changed. There are now very
few birds visiting the feeding station. The Blue, Great and Coal tits
keep coming in as do the Chaffinches but the Nuthatches have disappeared.
As I work I hear them calling in the woods and am reasurred that they
havent gone far. There are also plenty of Long tailed tits around but
my fat balls are no longer attracting them. |
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This week many of the summer migrants have returned in force. Willow warblers and Chiff chaff can be heard calling and Swallows and House martins fly overhead. I also get a visit from a new species to the allotment. A flash of red and a pair of Linnets drop in. They are too far away for a decent photograph but I have never seen them here before so it is great to see them. Also of note are the butterflies. There seem to be alot of them around at the moment and in particular my favourite, the male Orangetips. When I have amoment I will have to set up my macro lens and try to photograph them. |
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