In years gone by I'd never had to make a special effort to record owls at Morton Bagot. There's always been at least a known Tawny Owl roosting tree I could rely on. But a few years ago the oak tree in question was damaged in a storm and the Tawny stopped using it.
A different tree stump which had been good for Barn Owl has also become less of a shelter and seems to have been abandoned.
The only option was a dusk visit, so I resolved to pay a visit this evening. Arriving before the sun dipped below the horizon I was in time to see a few woodland species at the edge of Bannams, including a Goldcrest which was a belated patch year tick. I'd started to wonder whether I could hear them any more, but this one was audible before I spotted it so I'm ok for now.
A more pressing problem was the presence of a very loud farm vehicle strimming the branches bordering the wood. He kept this up until 17:00, by which time I was overlooking the scrape field counting the Pied Wagtails coming in to roost.
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| Pied Wagtails approaching |
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| Pied Wagtails |
My highest count was 54 Pied Wags, although that assumed that each time they flew around I was looking at the same birds. As it got darker I saw twenty plus Redwings going to roost, two Grey Herons, a Peregrine, and what was almost certainly a Sparrowhawk. But no owls.
Finally, at 17:30 as I was heading back to the car, a Tawny Owl hooted from the direction of the church. Later on, another called from Clowse Wood. There were no Barn Owls to be seen, but I think the ringers saw one a month or two ago, so hopefully there will be another chance.
PS: Tony K was here ringing on Tuesday night and his thermal imager picked up at at least 120 Pied Wagtails, so I guess some of the flocks I saw were different birds causing me to under-estimate. He caught a Common Snipe and a Reed Bunting.
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