Despite living only a street apart, Mick @houghtonbirder & I @stevie_evans1
don't team up as often as we ought.
When we do, we rarely fail.
We decided on a spot of Birdwatching or
"Bird-Walking" as it is known round these parts.🚶
We had a decent start, within a mile :-
2
Kingfisher, 3-4
Green Sandpiper, f
Goosander, f
Brambling
We popped into 'The Freezer' at Rainton Meadows, where the sun shone on a displaying pair of
GCGrebes, the light was so clean & bright - one of those mornings that you really appreciate every bird you look at - be it the red-eye
Coot or the flick-winged
Dunnock
We could have very easily spent the remainder of the morning there, but moved on before we became too comfortable.
Wetlands & woodlands with singing
Chaffinch &
Reed Bunt made way for farmland & the
Larks sang above as we added some miles.
A sheltered country stile nestled between Gorse and thorn showed little signs of use, although it was easy to picture a
Barn Owl post hunting there, after seeing its pellet & splash.
It just so happened that our route skirted by a likely spot for a
Snipe or two.....
Well it would be rude not to have a look....
We managed a right eyeful of a
Jack Snipe
 |
| Initial views after 2 of its mates had fliggied off |
 |
| Needle in a Haystack.... |
 |
| There it's |
 |
| Micks camera - the bird showed superbly against dark vegetation. |
To be fair, had we ( well had I ) been more careful we probably could have had 3 sitting together....
One for another day.... anyways Jacks weren't the target today.
We had a Spring in our step after that encounter & strode on as
Grey Partridge pairs called and chased & a
Water Rail announced its presence, but remained unseen in a ditch.
It was Buntings we were after - a welcome sight was a flock of 60
Reed & 70
Yellow - a good look through them failed to reveal their larger cousin though the field is now past its best.
A rough area at the bottom of the field looked interesting & we hit on lucky with a cautious approach &
Jack Snipe
 |
| Bit of a shit picture... |
Its not clear at which point Michael suffered his
Jack Snipe Alopecia - but the evidence is plain to see.
A careful scan revealed a second bird 10' away, our SIXTH of the day we must walk past hundreds of these....
By now a pattern was developing & all birds without long beaks were ignored.
I took the opportunity to knock on at a large country house to ask permission to walk another marsh for Jack Snipe. Consent was granted although we failed to turn up the goods, though some small consolation in 2 invites to quote for tree-work at the property.
With so much time wasted on Jacks the day was beginning to slip away.
There was no clear route home planned - the general view is go bird-walking & after it gets dark then make a return journey.
This was an easy stroll - after all there were NO hills.... except the large one through a ploughed field.
After losing & finding the path a few times we made it to a quiet little spot, a
Buzzard slipped away from us, just as the farmer & his noisy topper was knocking off for the day.
The light was fading & there was a very good chance of
Little Owl, which we added.
I was watching a male
Kestrel roosting, when hawk eye put me onto a
Barn Owl flying by a close range ! Wow decent light & a nice surprise, only to have a
Tawny Owl appear silhouetted in the tree tops. Three owls without moving a foot.
A great way to end our day - well apart from walking back cross country 6mile in the dark.
Torches helped at times on the return & we were full of craic after such a good day out.
A
Moorhen went over giving its territorial flight call & Mick spotted a
Pipistrelle Bat in zero visibility, which then fluttered right past my face. No further owls on what turned into a damp dull evening
So there you have it , our inaugural Jack Snipe Tour :-
12 hours
a half marathon
35,000 steps
75 species of birds including 6 Jack Snipe, 3 on the deck.
A Great day out.
