Un-bee-leev-abul!

Dear Reader - what a beltin' evening in the company of the Guv'nor.  A call at 6:21 indicated the Little Owl was relocated and in the open.  Into Cruella mode and off at all due speed to Beacon Lane.  En route, a text to say it had disappeared.

So, in position, looking west, towards the fence posts, and some direction from Himself that the hedge would be worth a through check.  Bush No. 1?  No!  Bush No. 2?  No!  And on to Bush No. 6 and Bingo.  And after a wee while, off it flew to No. 1 where s/he stayed for over an hour whilst we chewed the fat.  And then it flew north, low and out of sight, obscured by a dip in the cornfield.  Time to move position, at which point The G had ornithological Tourrettes and uttered, 'Ring Ouzel!'

A 'blackbird' flew in high and veered north and whilst the state of shock caused Mr G to freeze (or may be he's gettin' on a bit!), the Liver-legs as described last night negotiated the bend in the path like Usain Bolt to see the bird land in a hedge but facing away.  Dull bill?  Yes.  Lighter wing panel?  Yes.  White crescent?  Yes, but just about visible whenever the bird turned to its left.

And then it dropped into the horse field, and through the medium of digital photography, a Patch Lifer for the Big Man (but a third one for me!).

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie....

Last night's fantastic, sunny, warm, still evening demanded a wee stroll in search of an owl or two (or anything else for that matter, so Beacon Lane's always good as a starter.

Arrived at about 7:15pm, 'Herself' snoozing after a long walk around a relatively quiet West Hartford, Mrs L working, and so a conscience-free hour or two.

Nothing to get the pulse up, but a call from The Guv'nor had my heron-like legs at pheasant-like speed back to the area near the horse fields for a brief glimpse of a Little Owl.

Search as we might, it could not be re-located, and no sign after a wee look-see this morning, so back again tonight it is then.

The Early Bird

Time and tide wait for no man (origins?) so with the causeway at Holy Island open from 05:35 and first light about 45 minutes before, it was up and out and scope-out at 5:00am.

Chilly, breezy but clear and dry, time to scan the hundreds of constantly reshuffling Dunlin and Ringed Plover.  And scan again, and again, and again.  And then joined by 'Alan the Butcher' and his colleague, and then Eric Barnes and Woodhorn Birder, so now some co-ordinated scanning, all from the first lay-by on the right.

And then some spread-out scanning, with Alan et al moving to the second lay-by (just island-side of the white hut), and Messrs Barnes and Woodhorn in between.

And then, after about an hour, Eric announced he had the Kentish Plover nearer the second lay-by, right hand side, and voila, a peek through his scope and then a bit of focus on mine and second Lifer of the year.

Funny how the photos don't do the bird justice, in terms of how different it was from the RPs; paler, quicker, dumpier (cut off back end) and so it made picking it out far easier than I imagined and the previous hour of eliminating every RP one by one a wasted endeavour.  Still, older and wiser!

Moving to where Alan and Co. were, the White-rumped Sandpiper was there.  If I was year-listing, I would have got a wee tad more excited, but alas, no.

And calling in at WH, a Garden Warbler in the trees opposite the Fire Station entrance.  Bonus!