Another Good Owl
Returned to find most of the marshes void of birds of any real interest. Maybe it’s time to take another trip? In the mean time, some more migrants seemed to have arrived, though I still have to find Wryneck, Common Redstart, Garden Warbler, and Common Whitethroat here at Voss. Are they just late, or are numbers so low that they are hard to find? I didn’t see the years first Common Cuckoo her at Voss until the 20/5, several days later than normal, so things may still be on their way. I have spent some time looking for woodpecker nest sites. At one locality there was a very agitated Great-spotted Woodpecker, but after I moved back, he seemed to accept my presence and settle down. Suddenly he seemed very uneasy and started calling with a rapid “kek-kek-kek-kek” call. Surely it couldn’t be me, I was sitting still. Then the reason for the woodpeckers alarm landed a few feet away, a Pygmy Owl (above photo).The second good owl within a week. The woods also produced two Common Crossbill, a rare sight so far this year at Voss and the year’s first Icterine Warbler. I have also been checking farmland for Sky Lark. At one time this was a common species all over Voss. So far this year I have found 3 singing males, and at one locality two single birds, possibly females. Let’s hope so, and that they breed.
