Friday 11 March 2011

Windswept but Wonderful

Long-eared Owl
ditto
ditto
Rear view - with tufts down
Marsh Harrier - immature male
ditto
ditto
ditto
ditto
Tormenting Greylags
ditto
ditto
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Black-tailed Godwit
ditto
Wigeon
Weasel
Shelduck
Chaffinch
Pheasant
The conditions were pretty gruesome at Blacktoft Sands yesterday with gusts exceeding 60 mph, but the Long-eared Owls continued to cling on as Willow wands whipped around in the wind. Some of the other wildlife seemed pretty hard to find, but an immature Marsh Harrier provided good value-for-money, as did a cheeky Weasel. Even flying Mute Swans found the winds difficult, and apparently a Barn Owl had to make a crash landing. Blacktoft Sands is no longer the grim place it was after the terrible long-staying snow, and the species seen there can only grow as the spring migrants begin to appear!

No comments: