As promised I returned to Farlington Marshes in the morning. The drive was through fog as I left home but down on the coast it was clear, sunny and cold once again. Whilst not as busy as the previous day, the car park was still quite busy. I decided to walk through the bushes and then the sea wall in a clockwise direction. The recent rain prior to the cold snap had flooded much of the ground around the bushes and I found myself walking on and breaking a lot of ice, fortunately I had decided on the wellies.
Part of the stream was flooded but there were some open patches which were occupied by Black-headed Gulls. I walked to the track and then right towards the information hut. The reed bed at the back of the hut was in full sunlight and there was open water. In amongst the cut reeds were Teal.
And quite a few Snipe, you had to look carefully and as you did others would just seem to appear, their camouflage plumage doing its job. I scanned hard to see if there were any bobbing, but there was no sign of any Jack Snipe.
In the reeds there was a patch of white that revealed itself as a Little Egret.
There were a few Brent Geese in the fields alongside the path, I scanned through them for anything a little different without any luck. Lapwing were all over the place, their slow movements characteristic as the searched the grass for food.
Up on the eastern sea wall the tide was high, but still with about an hour to go until the formal high tide point. Brent Geese were in the fields but their numbers were swelled with even more birds streaming in from across the harbour.
I spent some time scanning through the Canada and Brent Geese flocks searching for the White-fronted Geese that have been present since last year. I was only able to locate the resident Barnacle Goose with its white "friend" as anything different.
Most of the pools and ditches were frozen which reduced the number of wildfowl on the marsh, most of the Wigeon appeared to be in the harbour, their whistles being heard from all over. Teal and Shoveler though would line the edge of the pools in the middle of the marsh.
I gradually made my way down to Point Field and then around to the west side. The high tide was forcing the waders to find what land they could to roost on. It was so busy, every so often a flock would fly up, only to settle back down again.
The one island had really good numbers of Dunlin, Ringed Plover and Knot, there was also a group of Bar-tailed Godwits, I counted at least a dozen but there probably was more. At the far end of the island was a roost of Avocet.
Black-headed Gulls were feeding in the clam waters close to the sea wall which produced some lovely reflections in the water.
The small bays and area around the reeds were still frozen on the Lake. This drake Teal though was happy to roost in an area of open water.
The reeds on the Lake looked a little bedraggled and Bearded Tits have not been seen in them for a while. It is interesting to watch the less experienced birds quickly look to check out any movement in the reeds, there assumption is always Bearded Tit when in fact it is more likely to be a Reed Bunting like this smart male.
It wasn't the largest roost on the Lake at high tide but there were a few waders at the back of the Lake, mostly Redshank they were starting to move back out into the harbour.
I decided it was time for some lunch and I could do another circuit before the main event starts around late afternoon. After lunch I made my way back through the bushes, the ground having defrosted a little. As I approached the Stream a Little Egret was feeding in an open patch of water and as I watched it a Kingfisher flew from the Hawthorn bush and onto a post.
Using the cover of bushes I was able to get a little closer, but it then flew up and dived into the water and immediately back into the bush. The technique looked a little familiar and as I watched it in the bush I could see the reddish lower mandible which made me think this was the female that has been around most of the autumn and winter. It has managed to find a patch of open water.
As I watched the Kingfisher I heard the calls of Bearded Tits, looking up I saw two flying with their dipping flight across the top of the reeds. They continued to call but never came any closer.
A lot of the bushes are now sitting in large pools. This female mallard was sitting in the sun under a bush and I liked reflections and the purple hue of the speculum.
In an area of the cut reeds the water wasn't frozen and there were Teal and this Greenshank feeding.
I caught up with another two Greenshank in the flooded fields on the other side of the information hut, but they were distant.
Up on the sea wall the tide was falling, but still quite high. A kestrel was hunting in the scrub behind the wall.
It flew away from me but was forced back by some walkers with a dog. It seemed to not care to much about me and started to hunt right above my head and I was able to get a vole's view of a kestrel.
Finally it realised I was there and moved away only to be buzzed by another Kestrel. The two flew off across the marsh.
A redshank stood bobbing on the shore exposed as the tide was falling.
At the Deeps some of the duck had moved to the ice. This drake Wigeon looking quite comical as it stood on the ice with its reflections burred in the ice.
Not sure what was going on here, but after this scene both Wigeon turned and walked across the ice to the shore.
At the back of Point Field a Short-eared Owl had been found roosting in a clump of grass and bramble, it was sheltered from the northerly wind and in the full sunshine.
With the tide falling the Curlew were moving from the roost on the island back towards the marsh and exposed mud.
With the tide falling the Pintail too were coming from the deeper water to the shallow areas.
The light was becoming softer now, the sun falling even lower in the sky, I made my way to the west side of Point Field and the same position I had used on the previous day. The number of photographers and birders was also increasing with many still walking around the sea wall on the west side.
As with the previous day the warm up act appeared, a Kestrel that at first seemed to have a vole on one of the white posts, having finished with that it flew to a post closer to the sea wall and entertained me and the other photographers as it sat in the sunlight with a lovel dark background
Here it was checkingthe progress of a Carrion Crow as it flew overhead.
Today it was me who saw the owl firs and I duly called out "Owl" as it appeared above the bramble and gorse, cue the many camera shutters going off. It was quite early and almost immediately dropped back into the bushes.
It was a question of waiting again and of course the Kestrel returned. Then a small cloud covered the sun and of course in the shade the Shortie appeared.
This time it was happy to fly around Pointy Field and eventually the sunshine returned.
The short-eared owl (Asio flammeus) is a
widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to
genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of
feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may not
be visible. The short-eared owl will display its tufts when in a defensive
pose, although its very short tufts are usually not visible. The short-eared
owl is found in open country and grasslands.
Short-eared owls are known to hunt hunt during the daytime in winter, flying low
over moorland, grassland and saltmarshes where they feed on field voles and
small birds. It is about the same size as the barn owl, but with longer wings. The Short-eared Owl breeds in North England
and Scotland but can be seen more widely in winter.
It
has large eyes, a big head, a short neck, and broad wings. Its bill is short,
strong, hooked and black. Its plumage is mottled tawny to brown with a barred
tail and wings. The upper breast is significantly streaked. Its flight is characteristically floppy due to
its irregular wingbeats. The Short-eared Owl may also be described as
"moth or bat-like" in flight.
Females
are slightly larger than males. The yellow-orange eyes are exaggerated by black
rings encircling each eye, giving the appearance of them wearing mascara,
and large, whitish disks of plumage surrounding the eyes like a mask.
Then like the previous day it flew to the edge of the field and over the fence and out of sight, it ten appeared crossing the main meadow flying over the rabbits.
And just like the previous day it settled on the fence posts that surround the Lake.
Based on the behaviour I had seen last night I decided to head off towards the Lake, I was sure it was going to fly around that area once again and that is what it did.
It had another tussle with the Marsh Harriers but they soon became interested in each other.
Back on the posts for a rest.
Then off again across the water heading towards the bushes by the sluice.
Its daylight hunting seems to coincide with the
high-activity periods of voles, its preferred prey. It tends to fly
only feet above the ground in open fields and grasslands until swooping down
upon its prey feet-first. Its food
consists mainly of rodents, especially voles, but it will eat other
small mammals such as rabbits, mice, ground squirrels, shrews, and moles.
There are various opinions at which time of year the owls switch to diurnal hunting, some will say when they arrive in their wintering grounds they prefer to hunt at night, while others will say they start of daylight hunting then switch to nocturnal, clearly it has to have a relationship with the activity of prey.
It then put on a show flying up and down around the fence and bushes
Here a sequence of images as it hovered to check out anything it had heard in the grass
But nothing there so time to move on.
The short-eared owl occurs on all continents except Antarctica and Australia;
thus it has one of the most widespread distributions of any bird. It breeds
in Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and
the Galápagos Islands (I have seen one on the Galapagos Islands). It is
partially migratory, moving south in winter from the northern parts of its
range. The short-eared owl is known to relocate to areas of higher rodent
populations. It will also wander
nomadically in search of better food supplies during years when vole populations
are low.
It came across and from behind the bush of bramble
Then it turned and headed out across the Lake being chased by Black-headed Gulls. It then flew up and down the rough ground on the north side of the Lake, much to the appreciation I suspect of the gathered birders then headed back across the reed bed. I picked it up high over the marsh heading slowly with those long wing beats to wards Point Field, again just like the previous day the number of those at Point field reduced as they came over to the Lake and the owl then duly returned.
It had been a wonderful show over the two nights so I decided not to race back, but to make my way home. At the Lake a pair of Teal were up ending in an open patch of water.
At the back of the Lake a Grey Heron stood in the reeds in the wonderful late afternoon light.
The perfect end to a good day!
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