GG

I’ve spotted a few rarities over the last couple of days.

Firstly these was this Short-eared owl. I’m sure they’ve been over-wintering locally as I’ve seen glimpses over the last few months.

Today, it all fell into place as I had my big camera with me and the light was good. I also managed to get within 20 feet of it. I watched it hunting low over the fields and then land on various perches. It often went on the ground and stayed there for some considerable time. I couldn’t see whether it had caught anything. I suspect it had. A stunning bird!

The other good spot was a couple of groups of Oxlips. I know they are in Park woods, but this is the first time I’ve seen them in Poor Park Woods. These are pretty rare countrywide; only to be found in this area of East Anglia. Very similar to cowslips, but lacking the orange stripes inside the petals. Also the leaf is a slightly different shape. They also grow almost exclusively in woods as opposed to fields.

Finally the Golden plovers were just sitting on the runway of the local disused airfield. Not so much a rarity, but I’ve never seen them here before.

We’ve off to Hatfield soon for our Wilderness Immersion Course. I’ll let you know how it went next week. Until then, thanks for the visit.

\P/