Didn't expect to see this bird in a field on the outskirts of Sheffield yesterday. Long-tailed skua apparently - according to my Collins guide it shouldn't even be in the UK at the moment let alone in a very non-coastal area.
Thought that was jammy enough then on the way home another (see my post "owls of delight") barn owl flew past me (it's getting a bit spooky now - I think they're stalking me) and I was able to get some decent snaps in the dying light...
Unknown said:I think they're stalking me
I meant to ask...you're not small and vole shaped are you?
What a lucky find, a long-tailed skua, and as the others have said, lovely photos Mike, including the barn owl.
I would have said my favourite bird was a curlew - I love their calls (just now returning to the moors round here) and their incongruously long beaks - but these barn owls are really testing my loyalty - they're stunning...