More Short-eared Owl action from Eldernell, Cambridgeshire

Barn Owl at Eldernell, Cambridgeshire

Taken on different days, but I am pretty sure they are all of the same bird that can be told from the other two Barn Owls that are present at this site by its' dark colouration on the back.

Kestrel

Short-eared Owl at Eldernell, Cambridgeshire

One of 4 Short-eared Owls that were present yesterday evening at the RSPB site at Eldernell in Cambridgeshire. A pretty ropey effort when compared with others, but as yet, my 'best' effort. I will return again to photograph these beauties, but the area in question is getting pretty busy with photographers from all over the place at the moment, leading to no room at the prime viewpoint!

Great White Egret

This Great White Egret has been present for the past few days at Eldernell, part of the RSPB`s reserve on the Nene Washes. It is showing signs of being in breeding plumage, having a black bill instead of the yellow bill which it sports in the winter. The definite `kink` in the neck is an identification hint when confused with a Little Egret, although the size of the bird should negate that problem on its own. This bird is about the same size as a Grey Heron.

The Great White Egret is a bird that used to be seriously rare in Britain with less than a dozen birds reported from 1825 - 1975. This has increased somewhat with 25 birds being reported annually since 2000, although, as far as I am aware they have not bred in this country as yet, but surely colonisation is just a matter of time?

A very nice addition to my PBC year list, which is going along quite nicely with the addition of Raven, Whinchat and also Red Knot to hit the heady heights of 160.

As a postscript, I have just noticed that in the second photo there is something in the bill of the Egret, I assume a prey item of some sort, although the photo is too blurry to see what it is! If you click on the photo you can clearly see something in its` bill, although not that clearly! I really must become more observant!

A pair of Wheatears

At this time of year the summer migrants are beginning to appear in our area. Some are arriving to set up territories, others are just passing through on their way to their breeding grounds further north and west. One of the latter birds is the Wheatear, a bird that tends to only be seen on passage in the PBC area, but is a guaranteed annual tick for my year list. This year the bird was added to the list yesterday, 3 days later than last year and not by a single bird, but a pair were seen at a place called Eldernell, which is part of the RSPB reserve at the Nene Washes. The above digiscoped photos show the male in the top one and the female in the other two.