Birds, Leps, Observations & Generalities - the images and ramblings of Mark Skevington. Sometimes.

Monday, 20 January 2020

IFO

My garden bird list is not exactly big, but relative to the location and surrounding habitat it's about what you may expect. It could/would be bigger if I spent hours gazing upwards in case something flew over, or if I listened out more at night and actually tried to work out what I'm hearing.

I added a new species to the list back in October, one that you may think would be an obvious omission, but trust me hearing a calling female Tawny Owl was unexpected. In 25 odd years of living around here I've seen and heard far more Barn and Little owls than Tawnies - in fact I can only remember seeing one Tawny perched up on a low branch as I drove down the lane years ago. This one was also immediately recogniseable and in perfect context.

Last night, as I opened the front door to get into the car and pick up the youngest from work, I heard a flyover that sounded familiar but not quite right, and I've been mulling it for a bit. Tonight I've realised what it was, and why it didn't seem right. It was a flyover Coot. Not exactly what you'd expect in suburbia some way from any likely water bodies. There a few examples of nocturnal flight calls on Xeno-Canto. Either way, there are no previous Coots on the garden list.

No such excitement tonight, except that despite the frost I have two Early Moths sitting on the living room window. Not a sniff of a moth recently when it was mild, blustery and wet, but they must be bloody hardy to start flitting about in these temps.

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