Hi and welcome to my Blog, my name is Paul Riddle and I live in south Leicestershire, UK. Back in August 2007 my quest began to locate as many local Little Owl territories as possible. The driving force was a reported decline in the uk numbers so I thought I would do my bit and conduct a study in my area. After 7 years and countless hours out in the field I have detected over 200 different sites. With a thirst for a greater understanding of the owls a more comprehensive monitoring and nest box programme then commenced. This also now includes monitoring the local and very sparse population of Barn Owls, please pop back occasionally and catch up with the life and times of my owls and any other wildlife that I come across. I hope you enjoy your visit!!!

Saturday, 6 June 2015

A summers evening and a mystery bird?

Hi all,

Again another week has nearly passed by without me really having many opportunities to get out, too busy doing other stuff! However, a few relaxing hours were had on one evening walk where a few goodies showed well in the setting sun.

This male Reed Bunting gave a great showing for a few seconds, a bird I tend to overlook whilst in the pursuit of other more interesting species, in the future I will take more notice and give them more time.

Reed Bunting
Plenty of other species were seen but nothing came close enough for me to capture any record shots of them. I also had great views of this Sedge Warbler, initially it teased me by staying out of sight whilst singing its head off from deep within the foliage, but patience paid off and I finally nailed it! 

Sedge Warbler
It was a very enjoyable walk and as the sun finally set I had views of the best bird species of this session, attaining an image proved very difficult and this offering below was my best effort. 

Mystery Bird?
I'm not going to reveal the species of this mystery bird just yet as I would like to invite you all to have a guess at what it is? 

Good luck with identifying the mystery bird and we'll catch up again soon where I promise owls will feature in my next post!

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11 comments:

  1. Douglas Mcfarlane6 June 2015 at 17:29

    I love the light on the Reed Bunting a seriously underated bird. Well done on the Sedge too. I'm split on the mystery bird a sprawk or wishfully a Red Footed Falcon

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    1. Paul Riddle6 June 2015 at 19:24

      Thanks for your comments Doug, and how I wish it was a Red Footed Falcon! Sadly neither of your guesses is correct, try again buddy....

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  2. Carl Baggott6 June 2015 at 19:15

    It looks like a Goat Sucker to me.

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    1. Paul Riddle6 June 2015 at 19:26

      Thanks for having a go Carl, ha ha no a Goat Sucker is obviously not correct, maybe another go?

      Delete
  3. Carl Baggott6 June 2015 at 19:36

    It appears to have white wing flashes on the base of the primaries, which still suggests Nightjar to me.

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    1. Paul Riddle7 June 2015 at 09:50

      My apologies Carl, I'd never heard of a Goat Sucker, I thought it was some mystic creature that you'd made up? Anyhow, yes you are quite correct, the mystery bird was indeed a Nightjar, well done buddy!

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    2. Carl Baggott7 June 2015 at 19:28

      Hi Paul, sorry mate, I thought if I was going to be smart I might as well go the whole hog. The name Goat Sucker (Nightjar) came from ancient folk tales, which told of a bird that sucked milk from goats.

      Delete
  4. Ana Mínguez Corella7 June 2015 at 12:32

    Hello!!!.. Awesome pictures.. Lovely cover.. Regards..

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  5. Richard Pegler9 June 2015 at 19:58

    Amazing !!! What will you find next to capture in your lens I wonder?

    Best wishes - - - - Richard

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    1. Paul Riddle10 June 2015 at 11:20

      Hopefully Scotland next week will throw up some goodies?

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