Thursday, June 26, 2008 - An Evening on the Downs
After a frustrating day at work being stuck in the house all day I thought that I would head up to the downs to clear my head and have a look round. I arrived at about 8:30pm with the sun out and the wind starting to die down to a gentle breeze. I was fortunate enough to meet a fellow birder just returning from his walk who was watching a barn owl hunt over some fields. I joined him in watching the owl and he also filled me in on good spots to investigate. As I walked off in the direction he suggested, with the sun bathing the hills in a beautiful orange glow and the yellow hammers, corn buntings and whitethroats all singing away, I was thinking to myself that there's no better place to be on a summer's evening than this type of habitat.
As I walked along I was constantly amazed by the sheer numbers of corn burntings around. It was also interesting to learn their wide variety of calls apart from their usual song trill. After a while I came to some more open spots. A quick scan through the bins revealed plenty of lapwings and red-legged partridges as well as lots of rabbits. A scolding churr revealed the presence of an incoming grey partridge which touched-down in the same field. It's always a pleasure to see this increasingly rare partridge.
As I started to head back, I heard the unmistakable "whit-whit-whit" of a calling quail. I listened for some minutes but of course it was deep under cover. As I walked back in what was now the gathering dusk I heard the distant call of a second bird. Nearing where I parked the car I saw the barn owl again sitting on a post. Close by I could see a smaller blob and a look through the bins revealed a little owl surveying the countryside from his vantage point.
A wonderful evening's visit to one of my favourite habitats. I shall certainly be back to enjoy some more downland sightings.
Another tick for the year list:
180: little owl
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About Me
I used to be a birder in my youth but rather lost interest in my teens as other things became more interesting. However recently I've rediscovered this interest and would like to share my sightings and thoughts in this blog.
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