I've not been able to do much birding recently. This isn't because I'm watching the World Cup (birding is always more exciting than the World Cup of course!) but because my busy job as a pioneering engineer at the cutting edge of acoustic technology has taken much of my time. So so busy... no time to just sit around drinking tea at my workplace!
Being the midsummer season, migratory birds are at a low ebb in NE Scotland, so I've only been seeing gulls, pigeons, common birds and the like. I thought I spotted a Ruddy Eared Owl resting on a post, but it turned out to be a trick of the light. I did manage to get a terrific close-up look at some nesting Grey Beaked Spallies not 1200 yards from my front door and spent some time weighing the chicks while the mother was gathering twigs. Each chick weighed just 12 grams.
There's great excitement ahead though. Next week I travel to Germany to do a week of hardcore birding. I'm going to the Black Forest to try and see some Dull Treecreepers and Yellow Twist Swifts. More significant, strong rumours abound that a pair of non-native Pig Owls will be paying a visit. The Pig Owl - which hasn't been seen in the UK since 1979 (coincidentally, two years after George Lucas' "Star Wars" movie was first released) - is so-called due to the unusual markings on its beak which gives the appearance of a pig's snout. Some maverick birders claim the Asian variety have actual pig snouts in place of the beak! Imagine!
So a fun week of birding from the middle of next week. It turns out that Germany is also hosting this accursed World Cup, but what does a dedicated birder like me care for such frivolity?
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