A Little Owl Evening

Having had a brilliant morning with dragonflies and then spent the afternoon working. by evening I was ready to be out again so, after tea, I set out to see what had changed at Scallows Wood whilst I had been away in Scotland.  An what a change:  the trees were now in full leaf and the undergrowth was thick with bracken and pink campion at the west end whilst the east end was heavy with the scent of wild garlic from the patch of ramsons.  It was good to see that there had been a good display of bluebells.  The wood was very much in its summer raiment now.  Sadly one of the huge old beech trees had been brought down in recent gales; not uprooted, but snapped off near the base of the trunk.  These beeches are huge and stately and must be as old as the house and date from the 1700s.  How sad.  The sheep have now been moved out of the meadows and there is a good display of buttercups with much more coming through; hopefully the bee orchids will put in an appearance in a month or so.
Having renewed my acquaintance with the wood it was time to go and check on the little owl that I had found just before leaving for Scotland.  Sure enough, as soon as I had parked up it was there.  It seemed very comfortable with my presence, merely giving the car a stern look from time to time, but other than that it surveyed its territory and dozed in the late evening sun, before eventually going off to hunt.  On the way up to the little owl site some poppies made a magnificent display and there was a good sunset on the way home.  A perfect day.

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The Yard, Badgers and Little Owls

Having had the seed feeders run out completely the last couple of times I had topped up the feeders at the yard, I decided to return after only two days.  I spent half an hour or so in the hide but there was very little activity.  I think that maybe winter feeding station photography is over for another year.  The yard itself was more productive, though, with both dunnock and pied wagtails allowing a reasonably close approach.  It was also good to see a buzzard wheeling in the air close by, not something that would have been seen a few years ago.

After topping up the feeders I headed out to Wold Newton to have another look for 'Badger City', this time armed with further directions.  I was successful this time, not having walked far enough two days previously.  This is a very big sett positioned in a deep dip on the edge of the field and tucked in under the hedge.  There are several very large entrances and evidence of much activity.  I even found a small skull outside one entrance; a young one that had died perhaps.  There seems to be potential fro watching and photographing from the lip of the the hollow.  Early spring before the barley and grass obscure the view or later, after harvest.

On the way home I checked in on the little owls and was pleased to see one bird in residence.

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The Great Grey Shrike at Last.

A good forecast for Tuesday 20th February encouraged me to plan a session at Scallows to reacquaint myself with the wood and grounds.  Breakfast over, I packed up a flask and sandwiches and heading for Wold Newton planning to have yet another look for the elusive great grey shrike that has been in residence here most of the winter.  This time I found it as soon as I arrived at the location.  It was perched in to top of a small tree surveying its territory.  I quickly parked up and wound down the window, fully expecting it to fly as soon as I poked the lens out of the widow.  To my delight it took no notice and I was able to take a good number of images against a perfect blue sky before it moved on.  Feeling satisfied and smug I drove up the road a short way to turn round and on my way back saw that the bird had returned and was posing again in the same tree so I was able to secure another batch of images of this superb bird.  Sometimes known as the butcher bird from it's habit of hanging its prey of lizards, insects and small mammals on thorns, the shrike does not breed here but the UK is part of its wintering range.

Feeling very pleased with myself I moved onto Scallows where I had a wonderful few hours rediscovering the wood and grounds.  There was a fabulous display of snowdrops and aconites and nuthatches were calling constantly.  Three buzzards hunted over the wood and I had excellent views of a goldcrest and tree creeper.  Great, blue, coal and long tailed tits were busy hunting for food.

From Scallows I called off for some time with the little owls on the way home.  What an amazing day.

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Great Grey Shrike

Great Grey Shrike

Great Grey Shrike

Great Grey Shrike

Winter Aconite

Winter Aconite

The Wood in Winter

Snowdrops line the drive.

The Old Quarry

Looking towards the little owls from the meadow.

Snowdrops

Snowdrops

The potting shed

Little Owls

Little Owls

Little Owls

Little Owls

Little Owl

Waxwings and Little Owls

Another beautiful day today.  Very mild and spring-like.  Not downhearted about the lack of success with the shrike last week I set out for nearby Immingham to look for the waxwings that have been photographed there over the past few days.  Not really expecting to find them I was delighted to come across fellow bird photographer Neil Kurz right in the middle of the town outside the Oasis Academy with his lens pointing at a cotoneaster tree.  I quickly parked up and joined him when he told me there was a small flock of about half a dozen that kept coming back down to feed.  I had to wait half an hour or so but sure enough down they came, fed for a short time and then retreated to the nearby taller trees.  It is amazing how confiding these stunning birds are; here we were in the centre of a busy small town by the bus stop and the birds were feeding quite confidently.  Not only were the waxwings coming in there were also several redwings, a fieldfare and the odd blackbird making the most of the food supply.  The light was excellent and it was not long before I had filled a memory card.

I hadn't come  prepared to stay out but, as it was such a beautiful day, despite having no lunch, I decided to go on the Wold Newton to look for the shrike again and, perhaps call in at Scallows once more.  I again met with a total lack of success with the shrike, although I have since discovered it was seen a couple of hours previously, but did find John and Judith in at Scallows.  It was good to see them again and they were more than happy with the idea of my project.  I look forward to spending some time here and began by photographing the superb display of snowdrops to either side of the drive. The beautiful old house is fronted  by a lawn and ancient ha ha separating it from one of the meadows.  Surrounding the house on the other sides is woodland with another meadow to the south east of the house.  There is also a beautiful old red brick walled garden.

On the way back to top up the feeders at the yard I again had some time with the little owls, this time managing a shot with both birds in the frame.

Another fantastic day.

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Blackbird

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Fieldfare

Waxwing

Waxwing

Waxwing

Waxwing

Waxwing

Waxwing

Waxwing

Steps, Scallows Hall

Woodland path, Scallows Hall

Snowdrops, Scallows

Snowdrops, Scallows

Snowdrops, Scallows

Snowdrops, Scallows

Little Owl

Little Owl pair

Little Owl