Mix of pics LEO, LO, BO

Image from Plawsworth at dusk from DK; Two of the young Long-eareds we ringed earlier in the year, getting ready for a night out. Ring visible on this stretching bird - a right old daddy long-legs hes turned out to be !

One of this years young Barn Owls outside his roost, checking for the all clear before setting out at dusk.

adult Little Owl on a limestone cliff.

Jar on a Log

Took these images at the beginning of the month :-

Re-edited with free software from 'Picnic'

Jar nest with 2

 Took this image a week or so later.... after the downpours......

Jar nest with 2 floating....

 Watched these marvelous creatures at 3 NE locations during 2011, although the year ended, as we can see on a rather damp note.....

Looking forward to spending more time in their company in 2012.

Dayjar

We called in passing at a forest location hoping to catch up with Woodlark - a very rare species in the north east of England, it was a half hearted attempt, we were travelling home & it was looking like a stop too many, however we did connect, but sadly only got a few quick glimpses of a single bird over very rough terrain.....

We packed in somewhat frustrated & decided to find a place to eat before driving back.  

Lady luck was certainly on our side when we discovered a Nightjar (or should it be dayjar ?) literally yards away from the edge of our picnic rug !!

At first we thought it was merely a log, but it flitted up & perched superbly in open view.

 

Im pretty sure it must have been drawn in due to a certain person waving the white hand wipes about to get rid of the flies !!!

A very nice surprise indeed.

a couple of owl pics

adult Little Owl keeping a watch over his young as they explore away from the nest area


a sad end for one local Tawny Owl

Sadly a dead Tawny on the A690 - found by Jonnystretch

On a far happier note :-

The eldest of a brood of 3 young Long-eareds

A short clip showing the 3 young reacting to a Wood Pigeon clattering past close by:-

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Another short clip showing the 3 youngsters as the light fades

 

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This clutch were delayed by 4 weeks c/p other local breeding pairs.
Theyve been out of the nest @ 5 weeks, and fly strongly, although landing's are often more like crashes ! They tend to keep to the open canopy of decidious species, Oak, Birch & in this case Ash which allows easier

still dependant upon their parents at this stage - although the this bird made a few clumbsy attempts at catching small items as the light faded.
One of his siblings flew within 15' of me after the light had gone with all manner of head bobbing, twisting & posturing, to check out the rustling from a hedgehog in the undergrowth.

Quite pleased with this iPhone scoped image :-

 

adult resting in the afternoon sunshine - by late August through to October we tend not to see much of them.

Show Starter

A couple of trips to Hamsterley between the downpours at the start of the week:-
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As soon as this forest edge Tawny moved off, the show began & the first male Nightjar appeared in good light - sadly, i fluffed all the photo opportubities, but the birds put on a superb display, 4 males, 2 females & at least 2 fledged juvs. (different size, shape & weak flyers)
Earliest i heard churring was 8:10pm - although this burst may have been in responce to the prescence of a Jay near the nest area.

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#Clip, male Nightjar circling above us, moves off contact calling "goo-ick" & flies on, persued by a fledged juvenile.

Nightjar going away

# Camera phone image of 1 going past 15' away - taken well after the light had gone @ 10:40pm

A couple of fledged juvenile Nighjars were flying around , occasionally begging, with one crash landing into a tree !
Also begging were fledged Woodcock young ( couple of ads still roding )trailing adults & Green Woodpecker with fledged young too:-

One Nest site was close to the track :-

Fragment of hatched Njar egg

Sing for ya Supper

Checked up on the 2nd clutch pair
female still sitting tightly & not making a sound - a mob of noisy young Crows were close by.
Her mate came in high from a good way off, hearing the corvids, he not only dropped but snuck into the edge of the wood & continued in, i just glimpsed him on his way to the nest tree - moments later the crows were all up...
i didnt see, but presume he scattered them, as 3 flew out from cover adjacent to the nest tree.

Later he came in & followed a similar pattern - high approach, steep decent close to the wood & into the far end ( last years nest site, where young were stolen from the nest) - where the Tawny was calling, within moments it was calling again from 50metres away, whilst the male Long-eared came back out of the plantation where he had entered & continued on a direct course to the nest.

Ive had Tawnies & Long-eareds using the same woods for years & years - often the Long-eareds will switch ends (possibly in responce to available nests ?) & as such initial visits suggest that the Leos appear to have vacated the territory.... more often than not this is not the case - theyre simply more mobile than those fat old Brown owls.

No images from me on this one.....
so i'll leave you to savour a snap from one the the regions most talented wildlife camera-men, 'The Gin-Trap Ninja'.

Plenty more in his gallery, but this one is a bit special :-

 

Spot of Lunch at Lanchester - Canny gob-full there marra.

Enjoy more djohnson images by clicking here.

Artificial nest - 2 young close to fledging

A series of images showing how young Long-eared's attempt to defend themselves while in the nest.

The eldest youngster quickly jumped up onto the rim of the nest tub & took up a defensive posture - ive noticed that on taking up this stance the birds initially close their eyes for a short spell - as if to confuse any would be predators.

who've we got here then......

 A closer view

After a few moments they settled down

Side on view - at this point, one of the adults flew into view - the youngster seemed to forget about his peace being interupted, a good time to head off & leave them to it.

Female sitting on rim of nest.

Long-eared Owl youngster enjoying the sun

Some pics of a youngster enjoying a bit sunshine :-

A fat sleeping lump

Giving a passing Willow Tit the evil-eye

Waiting for the end of the day.....

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Yesterday evening visited a country estate on edge of Durham City

A pair of Long-eareds with 3 young out & about - the eldest an accomplished flier - its siblings not quite as skilful - one hanging from rabbit-netting fencing, beating its wings furiously untill it clambered to the top, the other doing its best to perch on the top strand of barb wire - comical to watch.
A couple of roding Woodcock & Little Owl with inquisitive juvs out of the nest too.

juv Little Owl - spotted me at 80 yards

Leo ringing visit

This pair were visited recently, the young were too small for ringing. They are on average around 4 weeks behind compared with other birds in the County -

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Mr Grumpy
 (hes the middle one in the nest)

The smallest of the 3.
Cute isnt a word i thought id ever use on this blog...........

Many thanks to a local owler for the 2 images above.

heres a Little Owl :-

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and another 3 in a box - just about ready to go....

Rub-a-Dub-Dub - Owls in a Tub

An invitation to inspect a location with Long-eareds utilising an artificial nest Tub.

 

nest Tub in Scots Pine @ 40' above the ground

Two Long-eared Owlets in a sturdy & safe nest - these are used by a variety of other species, from Kestrel to Wood Pigeon !

These 2 remain from a clutch of 5 eggs - both were bill clacking, the large one rocking & swaying - after a few moments the small individual made a series of begging calls.

Other larger raptors use this area, & interestingly, the adult birds, although watching us, made no vocalisations at all - perhaps not wanting to draw any attention to themselves or the nest.

Also of note, the body plumage of these birds is more advanced than we usually find at this stage.

This tub contained 3 adult flight feathers

Two images showing comparison between Long-eared & Tawny feathers :-

Long-eared Left - Tawny Right

Tawny Left - Long-eared Right.

An interesting & informative visit - Many thanks to local nest-boxer JW.