Blog
Bwlch Nant yr Arian
One of my places of work is Bwlch Nant yr Arian in Mid Wales. It is a Forestry Commission for Wales site and the RSPB (for whom I work) work in partnership with them and The Welsh Kite Trust. I work there three days a week and my role is to promote the site, meet and greet visitors and recruit members. I also have the fantastic job of feeding the Red Kites that gather on site daily and telling visitors their amazing survival story.
I arrived at work early one day last week to take some photographs of the site. It was a beautiful quiet, sunny morning so I decided to walk along one of the many trails. The views are spectacular and I can safely say that it is one of my favourite places one earth.
Once you turn off the main A44 into the carpark area, the site opens up with ridge top trails in one direction and the lake and visitor centre in the other.
This is the start of the "Yellow Trail" and is probably my favourite trail. It takes about 40 mins to walk around and takes you through a variety of different areas such as hill top, woodland and lake side. There are several trails to walk around for all abilities and there are also mountain bike trails for those who are feeling very energetic!
The trail leads you across the top of Nan tyr Arian and then gently decends down through the coniferous woodland. The woodland is a hive of activity. You can expect to see ravens, goldcrests, willow warblers, chiffchaffs, nuthatches and many more different types of birds along the way. Pine martins are a nice spot if you are lucky enough, as are foxes.
When the sun is shining and the birds are singing, the woodland really is the most beautiful place to take a stroll.
At the bottom of the woodland path is a clearing which is the main environmental education area on the site. There is log style seating and a wooden log cabin classroom. I have spent many an hour with groups here in the woodland doing minibeast hunts or environmental art activities. The Forestry Commission run some fantastic events throughout the summer which include shelter building and outdoor survival techniques, the woodland is the perfect place for these activities.
Keep on the same path and it brings you out on the lake side walk. The lake is always very quiet, the odd mallard sometimes breaks the silence but generally bird life is limited to the ocassional gooseander, goldeneye, little grebe and in summer swallows. There is also rumours of otter but I have never witnessed one here...(but then that is absolutely typical..they seem to generally avoid me where ever I go to see them) The trees around the lake are teeming with activity, with nest boxes attracting blue tits, pied flycatchers and robins and the larches attracting crossbills, nuthatches and tree creepers, not to mention the giant feeder which is always heaving with greefinches, siskins, gold finches and on the odd ocassion great spotted woodpeckers. Birds of prey seen around include sparrow hawk, buzzard, red kite, merlin and hobby. It really is very rare to not see some amazing bird life somewhere on the site.
Back up at the top you'll come across the RSPB's "Virtual Hide" so called because we have footage of red kites inside shown on a tv, but it is really just an information point, affectionately called "the hut" by staff.
Just across from our hide is the main Forestry Commission building with offices, cafe, shop and shower facilities for mountain bikers and play areas for the kids.
You can sit here in the sun with a cuppa and look out over the lake...lovely :0)
So that's the site in a nutshell, there is loads to explore and as visitor numbers reflect, it is a popular place to go to (and I haven't even mentioned the kite feeding yet)
My usual working day consists of a walk on one of the trails, to see what is about, filling the giant feeder, opening the hut and putting the pop-ups up, waiting for our lovely visitors, talking (a lot), feeding the kites, closing the hut up and going home. (and yes...it is absolutely the best job in the world!)
KITE FEEDING TIME!!!!!!
Kites are fed daily (including xmas day) 2pm in the winter and 3pm in the summer.We feed them off cuts of either beef or lamb from a local butchers and RSPB staff and Forestry Commission staff are on a rota for feeding. Generally I feed twice a week (but I have been known to volunteer to feed for other people too as I love it...a lot)
Buckets are kept refrigerated and weigh 10kg (fairly heavy after a 10 min walk to the feeding area!) We feed on the opposite side of the lake and visitors get the best views on the near side, opposite the feeding area.
The kites have a very clever, in-built clock and arrive on site in large numbers about 20 mins before feeding time. One of the best bits of feeding them (apart from actually standing in amoungst them as they feed) is the walk along the lake, as they circle above me calling and swooping, following me down the path. As I get to the far end of the lake, the path bends out and it is quiet and secluded, which is my favourite bit as it is more often than not, just me and the kites. They then circle above the tree tops as I walk through beneath and out to the conservation area.
As soon as a handful of meat is thrown out they swoop down to grab a bit. They are usually very acurate and barely touch the ground as they snatch a piece of meat and fly off again. They have been known to misjudge and make me jump as they crash land and tumble on the grass a bit, or even more scary, bump into me or clip me with the tips of their wings as they swoop in. The noise of their wings is the most striking thing, like litle flapping tents!
Average numbers of kites are between 90 and 100 but it can vary from anything as little as a handful to over 200.
I then walk back up to the hut the opposite way round the lake to give anyone watching the chance to ask questions if they want to. Usually people want to know what we feed them and most are suprised how well we treat them with beef or lamb!
So...if you are in the area, do pop in....you'll be glad you did! :0)
http://www.rspb.org.uk/datewithnature/sites/ceredigion
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/bwlchnantyrarian
The Red Kite
A hundred faces look on in anticipation, breaths held and cameras steady. Mournful whistles break the silence, as skywards a circling body of russet and white begins to form. Shadows ripple across the lake, appearing from nowhere, whispers rise from the banks and cameras begin to point towards the heavens. Sunlight dims as bodies swirl and swoop in its warm rays, gathering and waiting patiently in the air above, until…WOOSH…one giant, delicate gust of wind fleets past, the breeze moving hair and the noise of beating wings numbing the distant gasps. Another soon after, dive bombing earthwards, talons bigger than you have ever seen stretched out wide, then another, just inches away, filling the view with reds and browns. Soon, like a cascade of autumn leaves they all descend. Cameras flash and voices rise excitedly. For that one brief moment you cannot think of anything else, each sense is consumed and time is standing still. You feel fear, joy, excitement and amazement and a deep down respect and understanding, as dark piercing eyes never leave your gaze.
I have not experienced many things in my lifetime that can challenge the feeling of standing in the middle of 100 plus red kites as they feed and no matter how many times I witness it I never fail to be left speechless.
My love for red kites grew when my husband and I moved to Mid-Wales nearly 9 years ago to start a family, deterred by the bustle of city life. We found a small village nestled in the foothills of the Cambrian Mountains and enchanted by its views and local charm we decided to stay. We soon discovered that we weren’t alone in our choice of home, as we shared our skies with the most glorious bird we had ever seen, the red kite. With an average wingspan of 5ft 7” it is difficult not to notice these mesmerising raptors flying overhead. Their distinctive forked tail and outstretched gliding wings, set them apart from all other birds of prey. Their almost eerie whistles are quite unique and of course, as they fly closer, the red and russet colouring is very apparent. Catch one of these beautiful creatures on a clear sunny day as they soar above in the sunlight and their striking colour will be one you remember for many years to come. They are sociable birds, not often seen alone and as opportunists, seem to have a natural attachment to humans, they are never far away from the farmers as they plough juicy worms up in the fields. Now the national bird of Wales, the red kite is a well-known and well-loved symbol throughout the country, especially here in Mid-Wales. It is difficult to go very far without seeing reference to it, known fondly in welsh as “Y Barcud Coch.” There are hotels, newspapers and even museums in its name and local land owners have the most amazing stories to tell of how the kites come back year after year to breed on their land and they are as guarded and loved as if part of the family.
Although Wales remains proud of the kite, it isn’t a species unique to its land, in fact only a mere hundred years ago red kites were probably not uncommon in the skies of the very city we had moved from all those years ago, which is why it shocked and saddened me to learn of their tragic history. Attitudes towards red kites changed for the worst in the 18th Century when gamekeepers and landowners believed they were a threat to livestock and taxidermy and egg collecting became popular and lucrative pass times. Red kites were slaughtered in their thousands, birds shot and trapped, eggs stolen and nests destroyed and once widespread throughout the entire UK these glorious birds were reduced to just a handful of pairs, clinging on to existence here in the wilds of Mid Wales. I am very lucky to now be working at a local red kite feeding station. I enjoy every minute of my work, from feeding them, to sharing with visitors their remarkable story. It is feeding stations like these, and the hard work and determination of conservation organisations such as the RSPB, the Forestry Commission, local landowners and here in Wales, The Welsh Kite Trust that have led to the kites ultimate survival. There have now been successful reintroduction programmes into parts of England and Scotland and most recently Ireland, which along with a change in the law, will hopefully ensure that many other people will have the chance to be touched, as I have been, by this amazing and iconic bird.
Not a lotta otter!
Now, generally speaking, I would consider myself to be the patient type (having three small children requires the patience of a saint in anybody's books, I am sure) but the word "patience" takes on a whole new meaning when the natural world is concerned, it is more like durability, pre-planning and a whole lot of luck!
I have been on a bit of a mission recently, to try and see an otter that was spotted locally. (I say locally even though it takes me an hour to get there, but for the rural part of Wales I live in, an hour is about average to get anywhere!) I have been following our local online bird blog where the otter movements have been causing quite a stir and have spoken to oodles of people who have all had the pleasure of seeing it, assuring me that it appears frequently and seems undettered by onlookers, going about its business in full view of spectators. Iolo Williams has even heard of it and has been filming it on and off for a week or so for his new television series. But I haven't actually managed to see it for myself.
I have been going for the last 2 weeks, camera and binoculars in hand, hoping to catch a glimpse of the much talked about mammal. I've been up at 6am in the hope of catching it at dawn, I've been early afternoon, late afternoon, low tide and high tide, I've stood in the wind, fingers falling off from cold, I've waited until dark to see it but still I haven't!
The otter hotspot is near the mouth of the River Leri, along a stretch of mud flats near a boat yard, overlooked by a railway bridge and a road bridge on the other side. Its muddy banks are laced with seaweed and smothered in fresh muscles which provide the perfect meal for the otter, not the most obvious of places though as it is quite a busy place.
Despite not seeing the otter I have however seen some fantastic things as I wait by the river. There are always the screeching redshank who flit backwards and forwards and the tall heron who seems to be in the same place as if unmoved since my last visit. A kingfisher perches on a nearby moored boat hunting for its supper and a graceful barn owl, as regular as clockwork patrols the adjacent reedbeds dipping and diving out of sight. A scaup and a little grebe take turns to dive and make my heart miss a beat as they break back through to the surface and I launch for the binoculars incase the disturbance is the otter. Further down river the canada geese group to feed, honking and flapping and generally filling the air with noise. Fishermen wade out to collect muscles under the bridge and trains rattle past shaking the ground beneath your feet. The sky line stretches for miles, mountains and coast lining the horizon, it is a beautiful place no matter what time of day you go.
I have also discovered that crows are a lot more intelligent than I have ever given them credit for! The railway is littered with empty muscle shells from where crows have dropped them from up high to break them open. The track is probably the hardest surface in the vicinity and they have cleverly taken full advantage of it!
So...even though I haven't seen the otter yet, I have had a wonderful time trying!
Starlings on the Pier, Jan 2010
After witnessing a fantastic starling/redwing flock back in October last year, on a walk along farmland close to my home, I was looking forward to seeing the starling flock which congregates each year under the pier on Aberystwyth sea front. There is something about the starling that I absolutely adore. They are lively, chatty little birds, and although dull in appearance from a distance, up close they are a collection of greens and purples and their almost metallic shimmer is really quite stunning. They occur in abundance pretty much all over the UK all year round, but numbers increase to millions during winter months when our resident birds are joined by wintering European birds. Gigantic flocks of starling can be seen in fields, reedbeds and town centres. Aberystwyth is one of the lucky towns to have such a flock. Thousands of birds gather at sunset to roost in for the night underneath the busy pier. They are an absolute treat to watch as they fill the sky with their fantasticly coordinated aerobatic display. The starlings come to the coast from inland in large groups of at least 100 birds at a time and group by group, join together at the sea front.
For passers by the noise of thousands of chattering, squawking, fluttering starlings is quite overwhelming. The arial display alone has people stopping dead in their tracks to watch as they swirl in perfect formation above heads and passing cars. As the starlings land beneath the pier hundreds upon hundreds of birds can then be seen lined up, covering every inch of bare metal, wooden beams and struts as though the entire structure is covered in a noisy, feathery lace. It is one of those bird spectacles that leaves you spell bound and truly blessed to have witnessed and the best part is, you don't have to travel miles to see it.
Gigrin Farm, Jan 2010
I have to admit, I have never been to Gigrin before today. I have heard a lot about it and nearly everyone I know has been, so I was quite looking forward to having a look around. It is the largest red kite feeding station in Wales and is also the oldest. It started as an official feeding station in 1992, when the late Mr Powell, who was already feeding a few kites on his land, was approached by the RSPB to expand on the ocassional rabbit and provide local kites with a regular source of food. Today there are 8 feeding stations so I believe and I happen to work at one of them during the summer months.
Now run by Chris Powell, Gigrin certainly is a lot bigger than I am used to. We usually top about 150/160 kites and average about 90. Today I was astounded to see numbers in excess of 500! (mind bogglingly difficult to count) the sky was literally crammed with foraging birds. As they all swoop down to feed it reminded me of a snow shaker...but with kites instead of snow flakes!
Gigrin is set in the most picturesque of places, nestled inbetween the Wye and Elan valleys and is some 1200 feet above sea level.
A rare visitor to Gigrin has been causing a stir lately and I was hoping beyond all hope that the star of the show was still around to see. A beautiful black kite, who has taken a fancy to the freshly prepared beef (and with up to a 1/4 of a tonne laid out each week who could blame it)
Happily it was still there and what a gorgeous raptor it is too. There has been some debate as to what species it actually is, some say black kite, some think black eared (both very similar but markings are slightly different) the trouble is this kite is still juvenile and its adult plumage has not appeared fully so it is very difficult to say for sure.
Sadly I couldn't actually get a photo. For a start I decided against a hide view. So many people had turned up to see the kites and were packed in the hides like sardines. I could see elbows and lens ends poking out from the little windows so thought better of trying to squeeze my way in. Also, my photography skills do not cut the mustard when it comes to following one kite through a hundred (or 500) others. I could only just manage to keep my binoculars on it and that was tricky enough! But I did get a fantastic look at it. It is slightly smaller than the reds and the fork in its tail is less pronounced. it also has 6 "finger" feathers whereas the reds have 5. It was more of a mottled grey than black and blended in rather too well with the visiting buzzards. It was very difficult to pick it out and keep a track of it in amoungst the huge numbers of birds there today. I was also of course working, so had leaflets and cuddly toys in one hand and intentions of recruiting members so had to mingle and chat to as many people as possible.
So, I took up a viewing spot in the field above, along with at least 50 other visitors who had also thought better of trying to squash into the hides below. The view was utterly spectacular even at that distance. If anything we got a better appreciation of the enormous numbers and the amount of sky they filled.
Here are some images I did manage to capture...
All in all I had a fantastic day. The whistling calls that filled the air were very comforting and transported me back to happy summer months at Nant-yr Arian. The black kite was a real treat and I also manged to see a Leucistic kite, several grey herons (who were remarkably skilled at pinching meat!) dozens of buzzards and even Chris's personal peacock collection, which was a pleasent suprise!
The Snow of 2010!
I think you will agree we have had our fair share of snow so far this year! I certainly can't remember a time when it fell so hard and lasted so long. The snow seems to make the landscape so much more mystical. Everything you were once surrounded by gets transformed under a blanket of white. It makes the trees and the rivers, the mountains and the houses all look completely different.
Our village life here has been at a standstill, roads blocked and drifts meters high. The little shop and post office working hard to keep shelves stocked with the essentials and everyone has mucked in to get paths and schools open and make sure the elderly and those living in remote areas have been warm and have had enough supplies. It has been great to be a part of such a friendly community.
We did of course take advantage of the snowy hills with communal get togethers, sharing sledges, inflated inner tubes provided by the village garage and even fertiliser bags from the farm. It was a real treat for everyone to just do nothing but have some fun!
After all it doesn't happen every day!
Give the birds a helping hand:
I have spent most of the day trying to stay warm, the fire has been kept stoked up, fleeces on and two layers of socks in the vein attempt at conserving some all important heat! It then occured to me that if I'm feeling the cold and I'm wrapped up and sat by a nice fire, then how is our wildlife fareing out there in the harsh winter weather? Luckily there are several ways to give them a helping hand.
1. Food
A really easy, fun way to help our wildlife is to provide a good, reliable source of food over the winter months. Food is vital, providing animals with energy, (to enable them to forage for more food) giving them sustenance (to stay alive) and provide fat. (to keep them warm) Feeding our birds is reletively simple and very rewarding.
Commercial Feed: There is a whole array of feeders on the market from nut feeders, seed feeders, fat feeders and bird tables, to window feeders, pole feeders and ground feeders! The choice of food is equally as extensive, there are peanuts, sunflower seeds, hearts, feeder mixes, table mixes, nyger seeds for finches, mealworms (both dead and alive!) fat balls, fat cakes, suet nibbles, fruity treats...phew, the list goes on and on! Whilst all these are undoubtably in the birds best interest, you don't want to get too carried away as it can get quite expensive! This is not a good idea as once you start feeding the birds, ideally you need to continue doing so. Once the birds have discovered your feeders they will come back several times a day expending a lot of energy in the process so if your feeders are full one day but empty the next then they won't benefit the birds. With this in mind here are some tips on cost effective food for the birds:
Bread: Now as a rule bread isn't the best food to give the birds. It is dry, low in fat/protien and fills the birds up quickly with empty calories. If you want to give bread, then brown/wholegrain is better and is much more effective if soaked in fat so it is easily digested and has some calorie value.
Kitchen Scraps: A firm favourite for most birds. The scraps can include cake, raisins/sultanas, fruit and cereals.
Peanut Butter: The birds go wild for peanut butter. Spread it on small squares of wholemeal bread, smear it onto pine cones and hang on trees/washing lines, even smudge it on a tree trunk or two!
Suet: If you have packets of suet hanging about in the back of the cupboard then put them to good use. Either vegetable or meat suet will do the trick (although meat suet has a better calorie/fat content) Heat the suet up, add some raisins, nuts (even stir in some peanut butter) cool in yoghurt pots for homemade feeders or simply let harden in a bowl and tap out in a big lump to put on a table.
Of course its not just birds who will visit your garden for food. There are mammals lurking nearby in need of a good meal too. Meat scraps will help feed the carnivores such as foxes and weasels (and some birds of prey) and vegetable scraps/seeds/nuts to feed the herbivores/omnivores such as rabbits, badgers and squirrels. I have heard that a good way to attract animals such as pinemartins is to drill holes in a log and fill the holes with nuts/peanut butter.
Water: Equally as important, even throughout the winter so you need to ensure it doesn't freeze and is renewed regularly.
2. Shelter
Providing as much shelter as possible is also a good plan during grim winter weather. Bird boxes are a good roosting place and shelter from bad weather. Buildings such as shed or barns are also good if a small gap can be left in windows or doors for animals to get in and out of. Trees and bushes are a bonus, especially if near walls or buildings for extra cover.
So, give a helping hand during the cold period and you'll be rewarded with some beautiful wildlife to admire, right on your doorstep!
Red Kites:
During the summer months I work at a Red Kite feeding station. I absolutely love it! These birds are the most beautiful raptors I have seen. Their colours are absolutely gobsmacking as they glide in the sunshine above your head! I don't know whether you have had the delight of watching a kite at a close distance, but they are the most vibrant chestnut brown, with reddish tints and a striking white band on each underwing. Their tails are forked, which is how you might recognise one in the first instance. They have piercing eyes and elegant heads. Despite their size (6ft 5" on average) and their rather "stand-offish" appearance, they are the most un-aggressive, tender and agile of birds of prey. Their ability to glide and steer effortlessley with that giant forked tail rudder, and feed together in their hundreds as perfectly co-ordinated as a military regiment always astounds me.
This bird has earned my upmost respect. Its history is a sad one, as with many birds of prey. Origionally, the Red Kite was well respected and valued. In the middle ages, this natural scavenger would keep the streets clean, helping to reduce the spread of disease within small settlements. They lived in perfect harmony with humans for many years. They were also widespread throughout the British Isles, healthy numbers colonised even the largest towns and cities. As humans health standards slowly increased and food was no longer thrown into streets, kites would then gather, in large groups at the town "midden", a big dumping site on the outskirts of the settlement. Kites are very sociable birds. They will happily feed and roost communally.
Sadly though, humans attitudes changed and by the 16th Century birds of prey were deemed as vermin, and laws allowed their extensive persecution. The red kite's story is a long one of battle for its own existance. They were being shot at free will, their eggs stolen for very large sums of money and their feathers collected for fashion. They were being shot, trapped and poisoned by their thousands, until a handful of birds became restricted to most rural areas of Mid-Wales (I'm lucky enough to live in the place where these birds took refuge and slowly clawed their way back to healthy breeding numbers) Luckily this near extinction was recognised by a handful of people and through dedicated nest surveillence and 24 hour protection, the kites number slowly but surely increased.
Today, kite numbers are very healthy indeed. Very sucessful re-introduction programmes have secured their future once again. The Welsh population have managed to make it with no direct re-introductions which proves testiment to the dedication of landowners and organisations such as the RSPB and The Welsh Kite trust, who fought for their protection. Those kites now colonising England and Scotland have sucessfully been re-introduced from Spain and Germany, and are doing amazingly well. The influx of healthy genes has also helped the welsh population emmensley but we still see signs of their awful history, low numbers meant a shallow gene pool which resulted in several defects, such as Leucism (pale colouring) and infertility.
But, anyway, thankfully the story is a happy one and I'm very pleased to see these birds everyday, either at home or at work and never tire watching them, and the reactions of visitors when they have seen these birds in all their glory back in our skies.
I've been lucky enough to get to know this species quite well. We monitored a nest over the spring, sadly it was unsucessful. I think this was down to infertility as the eggs simply didn't hatch. The female was a superb mother, caring for her eggs day and night while the male did his share of keeping mobbing crows at bay and bringing back food for the female. They are a bit like magpies too, they like to collect objects and line their nests with them. This particular pair seemed to like anything red! They had little bits of red paper and plastic weaved into the giant mass of twigs. I have read that Shakespeare even comments on the red kite and how it has been known to take ladies underwear to line its nest! (I can see why...nice and soft!)
Despite their agility, they can be suprisingly clumsy birds too. They are easily dis-orientated on windy or wet days. They don't like heavy rain and can become grounded and too wet to fly. We had a kite accidently fly into the lake at work. It was rescued and promplty wrapped in a towel. They are unusually passive when being held, if you tried the same with say, a buzzard, it would take your arm off with either its huge beak or talons! but the kite sits patiently, throwing you the odd dirty look! Indeed, when ringing ot tagging young birds, they lie motionless through the whole thing. The kite was dried with a car heater and it made a full recovery. One day as I left work in the late afternoon, my collegue and I witnessed a kite fly straight passed the car and smack bang into an embankment at the back of the car park! My collegue scrambled into the thorns to retrieve it and checked it over. A quick shake of its head, and regathering of its senses, it was off as quickly as it came!
Definately a bird in my top ten (well top five actually) I often drive home with a huge smile on my face after being so close to these amazing creatures all day.
Starlings and Redwings:
Two more birds in my top ten...I absolutely love the winter months as they bring the starlings to my garden. I never tire of hearing their bizarre little chitterings. I was very fortunate this October to witness a massive scale feeding frenzy of huge flocks of starling and redwing. I had gone for a walk to try out my new binoculars and as I approached the farm behind my house I was quite aware of a large number of birds all sitting and intermittantly flying up into the hedge. I took a detor so as not to cut across the field and scare them and slowly walked along the field line to a stile underneath a long row of Rowan trees. I perched for ten minutes or so on the stile, looking across at the birds (which by now I had realise were mainly redwings and starlings) Thinking I had a fantastic view I sat and watched, wishing I'd bought the camera, when all of a sudden the whole flock moved up the field toward me and into a line of Oak trees just meters away. The noise was undescribeable! It was a fluttering, babbling, unco-ordinated jumble of bird! It actually felt like I was in a mad bat roost! They then moved on mass to the Rowan trees right above my head! I literally sat, holding my breath for at least the first three minutes until I realised exactly what was happening. I have honestly never, ever seen (or had the mad pleasure of being in the middle of) such a huge, noisy and delightful flock of birds! I sat for what seemed like hours...watching the redwings gulping down berries and the starlings hoovering up the dropped ones on the field floor. They were mesmorizing, they never really stayed still enough in one place to watch fully, they would land, grab a berry, have a quick shake then fly off to be replaced by another. I didn't need my new binoculars, that was certain, they were literally a hands reach away, but I sat as still as stone the whole time! WOW...I was soo thrilled, and went back the next day with a camera and kids in toe, with the hope of sharing the experience but found nothing but the bare Rowan trees and empty field. Sigh...maybe next year they'll be back.
My next mission is to capture the starling flock that roosts underneath Aberystwyth Pier. I have sat and watched it quite a few times in the last couple of weeks, but it doesn't really get into the thousands figure until January/February time.
Barn Owls:
I have grown very fond of Owls. I used to spend countless hours as a child lying on the roof of the boat, looking up at the trees and watching my dad "talk" to the owls. I eventually learned the trick and would be fascinated as their calls got closer and closer along the tree line in response to my somewhat amature noises. The owls we "spoke" to all those years back were Tawny Owls, as they are the only owl species to make the familiar "Twit Twoo" noise. The female makes the first part...the "Twit" and the male responds immediately with the deeper "Twoo"...which when put together make "Twit Twoo"
I had a wonderful encounter with a Barn Owl earlier this year, during an early morning guided walk at work. My collegue and I opened up a hide ready to show our visitors the view, only to be met by the most beautiful bird I have ever seen! During the spring we had swallows nesting in the beams of the hide so one of the wardens removed a window to provide them free access to the nest and the owl had obviously flown in. It was sat on the bench top and had obviously been unable to negotiate its way out but it was suprisingly calm. It shuffled along the bench to the other end of the hide so we left the door open and stood well back to see if it would fly out. It eventually did but straight out the window it had come in, so it must have known where to go all along! It was a lovely suprise and a brilliant wow factor for our guided walk!
We also monitored a barn owl nest box over the summer. There were two barn owls using the box to roost, they didn't breed but it was still amazing to watch them snooze and go about their business. I also had the opportunity to collect lots of pellets to dissect which was really useful.
