Owling Mad Again

 Any trip to the wind magnet that is Eldernell always requires a look at the weather forecast beforehand, this is no place to visit when the wind is blowing in from the north. Today's forecast suggested  that the weather was coming from a south-westerly direction and Alan Shorrock and I took advantage of this seemingly promising situation and popped over to the Nene Washes this morning. Our journey was not that straightforward as recent rainfall meant that some of the roads around Whittlesey were closed by flooding while the washes themselves were inundated.

Corn Buntings and Stonechats

On our way to the washes a road closure forced us to divert at one point but this turned out to be a stroke of luck. At a spot called Owl's Rest near the village of Eye Alan spotted several passerines sitting on telephone wires which on closer inspection turned out to be Corn Buntings. There were at least three present and I grabbed a record shot of two of them. We began our exploration of the washes at March Farmers where a drake American Wigeon had been reported. We had no luck finding the wigeon but were treated to a fly-by Bewick's Swan and at least forty Ruffs, several flocks of Golden Plover were noted too.

Tawny and Long-eared Owls

Our next stop was at Eldernell where there appeared to be more birds than at March Farmers. A Great White Egret was seen from the car park and we also noticed good numbers of Pintails on the flood waters. At least half a dozen Marsh Harriers were hunting the margins of the flood and all of them appeared to be female. One of the highlights was a Tawny Owl roosting in a tree, this is presumably the same bird that was here earlier in the year. Two Long-eared Owls roosting in the area were also presumed to be returning birds from last winter. Large numbers of Whooper Swans were noted, I estimated at least two hundred were present. Sadly we didn't catch up with the local Cranes and the only other birds of note were several Stonechats. Other wildlife included about ten Roe Deer, a couple of Muntjac and a Brown Hare. We ended our day at the Carpenters Arms in Coates where several pints and an open fire was just the ticket after a day out on the washes.

Great White Egret and Muntjacs.