Friday 3 April 2009

Night watching

I was out this evening with Steve H for a walk around the Beacon Lane / Arcot area.
We were walking through the fields bordering Beacon Lane when 4 Golden Plovers – Patch Tick, flew over.
It was around half 8 when we were walking down the lane and a Grey Partridge – Patch Tick, began calling from the stubble field next to us.
A few minutes later another called, the light was fading rapidly but I just managed to see the back of one moving through the stubble and out of sight.
Another started calling from near the farm and possibly more. After walking around the scrub between the pond and the golf course we stayed for around an hour listening for Tawny Owl.
The Partridges were still calling and a few more Golden Plovers went overhead, as did 2 Mallard, Snipe and a Woodcock.
Tonight was a good opportunity for me to improve on learning bird calls and I think I’m starting to get there, I now know what I’m listening for in the right areas as well, which always helps.
After an hour there was no Tawny calls so we called it a night, but there was a strange indescribable call, which might have been a female Tawny but, we weren’t sure.

77 – Golden Plover

78 – Grey Partridge

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