A quiet Monday in January saw us waiting in vain (but in beautiful winter sunshine) for the Gyrfalcon to appear...................but for the 1st time in 8 visits this year it didn't. After 2 or 3 hours we gave up.
The above photos are from Onuma just before sunset. There were 3 very active Black Woodpeckers. They were calling and drumming but were difficult to approach. They were making weird cat like noises and moved from tree to tree, always just out of camera range and generally behind branches and twigs..................so no decent photos just the record shots above.
The Ural Owl wasn't in its hole either, there are now warning signs telling people not to go too near. Footprints in the smow seemed to indicate some folk ignored this, a couple of weeks before I had seen 2 idiotic women walk right up to the tree and trying to take photos on their iphones (the owl of course disappeared into the tree).
Other stuff around today included most of the common winter stuff. White Tailed Eagle and Redpoll were the most interesting.
Stunning first two photos. They are picture perfect. Have never seen Black Woodpeckers before, they are very striking. I have just posted some rubbish photos, but not much is happening at this time of year in my patch, so.....!!!
ReplyDeleteCheers.
Thanks for the comment, actually winter is arguably the best time of year here.......
DeleteHi Stuart. Great. Shots and perhaps next time you will see the Gyrfalcon.
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret, well I got some quality time with it earlier in the month so I can't complain.......
DeleteWell you had a good run with the Gyr. Several hundred pics on the database I'd guess. I'm still in Spain so wondering what that fluffy white stuff is?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comemnt Phil, tes my hard drive is groaning under the weight of Gyrfalcon pics. Actually the last time I was in Spain we came off the road due to snow/ice............
DeletePeople trying to take photos with their iphones!? That doesn't sound good for the owl. Hope it'll continue to use the tree. Great shots of the nuthatch as usual.
ReplyDeleteHi Ayuwat, yes it was pretty selfish and a bit stupid of them, the sign saying you shouldn't get too close may be a case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.
DeleteBlack Woodpecker is just one of those birds - spectacular.
ReplyDeleteIndeed it is...........but in this location they are difficult to photograph alas.............
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