A change of tactics!

Thank goodness for some half decent weather this evening, a cloudless sky and would you believe it the sun was even shining, a great opportunity to get out there and attempt some late in the day owl images.

The chosen location was site No 128, my most recently found site just a stones throw from home. A great setting in a local orchard, all I needed now to complete the perfect evening was for the local owls play ball and allow me to attain my first ever images of them.......if they showed?

I hopped over the fence and had a walk about the orchard to see if they were showing in the late evening sun. I zig zagged in between all the trees and eventually sighted one, albeit at distance but nevertheless it was my first owl ever image from this site.

I sensed the owl was a little nervous and wasn't going to tolerate my presence for too long. My tactics then changed, I left the orchard and returned in the Landrover, I had to play a bit of a waiting game but it payed dividends in the end when the owl returned and came closer than before when I was on foot. 

A much improved image than the first, shame about the shadow though!

Eventually it came very close, shame that the light had all but gone!

A cracking site that will hopefully offer some great photo opportunities in the future, especially now that I have worked out how to get near to them!

Super September!

As it was a reasonably bright evening and the last day of September  I dragged myself out for a couple of hours tonight to see if I could add some more sightings to what has already proved to be a very good month.

The only publishable image I managed was of this bird at site No 11 at Claybrook.

Even though I didn't managed any more images it was still a good evening, the second site to be visited was an orchard not far from Whetstone. Although I have never seen any owls here the landowner believes he hears them on occasions, he seemed quite convincing so last weekend I put up a box.

This was my first visit since then so I was very surprised and very pleased when as I approached a Little Owl flew from the box!!!  Blimey that didn't take long did it?........Get in site No 128!

I am really hoping they take up residence here as the setting is absolutely brilliant for photo opportunities, loads of light throughout the day and some very nice and interesting trees and perches,  I am going to spend some serious time here next spring if they move in.

Birds were seen at a further two sites ( No's 14 & 66) before the light beat me, and the good news here was these were the first sightings for a good six months!

So that's another month that has come and gone, and if my records are correct it was a record for me on two counts. Firstly it was the most productive month I have had with records being made across 38 different sites totalling 76 birds and best of all.........EIGHT new sites, it's going to be a long long time before I get anywhere near those figures again.....or is it!!!!