Finally some rain! A decent 11mm in the gauge this morning and it rained on and off all day too. After over 3 weeks of nothing it was long overdue. Not sure there is too much more to come though for the foreseeable though
The day was fairly typical with sheep feeding, Manx shearwater box checks (no new arrivals last night), chough nest site checks (most incubating now but a few still to go) and computer work in front of the fire. The rain and lack of sun saw the need for more layers and the farmhouse felt like early March again!
Dewi the sheepdog had a fairly quiet day so we took him for a nice walk this evening and were rewarded with the first short-eared owl of the year. After a gap over 20 years a pair bred again in 2009 and then did so on and off for the next few years. After a short gap two pairs bred in 2016 and 2017 but none since. Fingers crossed this is a sign of a returning pair for 2020. On the way back to the house we chanced upon one of our little owl pairs. Anyone who visited in 2019 will remember the showy pair on the path up from the house towards the south coast route. This pair are back again nesting in a section of old stone wall.
This evening's short-eared owl over the central heath - the late was fading unfortunately
Little owl late on this evening - note the 'V pattern' on the back of the head that mirrors that on the front. This makes it difficult for predators and prey alike to know which way the bird is facing
Hey Thanks again. Fingers crossed for the returnmof the short eared owls.