20180422 Barn Owl near albino Cley Marshes

Barn Owl

Near albino hunting about Cricket and Keeper's marshes.
The Owl purple patch continues.

Barn Owl

Finally caught up with the bird this evening whilst the path was free of walkers.

Hence the congratulatory wink...

20180417 Olympus E-M1 MkII & Marsh Harrier, Titchwell Marsh

The proof of the pudding....

David Tipling with his new Olympus E-M1 u4/3 gear, handheld.

Side by side comparison with a similar spec Nikon system, on monopod.

Which would you prefer to carry dawn to dusk?

https://davidtipling.com/f/i-am-a-switcher

Marsh Harrier

Mature Alpha female and dark male low over study area.

Marsh Harrier

Alpha female.

Marsh Harrier

Female over study area on 14th April.

Marsh Harrier

Mature Alpha male low over study area.

Bright tri-coloured and in tail moult, or has he been shot at?

Marsh Harrier inner primary, 250mm.

Found by the study area 20180424.

Female triggers wing moult when on eggs.

Marsh Harrier primary feathers.

20180410 Mediterranean Gull ageing, Titchwell

Med Gull

Bird found by Chris on the Freshmarsh. 

Shunned by adult Meds in the colony here.

Head pattern, legs and bill are as 1st winter Med,

but structure and tone of upperparts are good for ad, cf BHGulls. The primaries are also full ad with black leading edge of outer showing.

No sign of hybridization, ageing the bird is a real problem... 1st winter to 3rd summer...??

Med Gull

Age and moult??

Med Gull 20180424

Classic pair on Freshmarsh, 24 April.

Black outer web on p9 and p10 of stretching bird and brighter scarlet legs, suggests 3rd summer.

Right hand bird has much black in primary tips and duller legs and is probably a 2nd summer, but the complete black hood indicates an older bird.

20180310 Snowy Owl Thornham Point

Snowy Owl

Resulting field sketch to commemorate a great day.

See Gallery tab above.

Snowy Owl

1st winter female happily on the deck in dunes for over 10mins....

Snowy Owl

Flushed by the twitch arriving on dune top behind bird...

Snowy Owl

Rain early morning causing underparts to look rather bedraggled. 

Snowy Owl 

Flew over our position and out onto the beach.

Snowy Owl

Following on from last month's article further research on the Snowy Owl has sadly highlighted its declining status, this fantastic species now faces a high risk of extinction.

The Iconic Snowy Owl has recently been classed as vulnerable and moved onto the Red List by the IUCN. Following work by BirdLife International this nomadic and patchy breeder is less numerous and widespread than previously thought. The global population could be as low as 5,000 pairs. Illegal hunting as ever and collisions with vehicles are cited as reasons for the decline along with the effects of climate change in the high Arctic. Snow melt can affect the availability and distribution of lemmings their primary prey species during the breeding period. Its breeding distribution is in the tundra climatic zone and circumpolar so you would think well away from any unhelpful attention from humanoids. Unfortunately the Owl prefers an exposed dry hummock on which to nest and to also act as a lookout post with all-round views. Being a nomadic breeder nest sites are not usually reused in successive years.

The Snowy Owl is adapted to the severities of its habitat in having dense and downy plumage with the feathers also concealing its bill and legs. This adaptation to tundra is reflected in habitat preferences of winter vagrants occurring on sparsely vegetated islands, as at Scolt Head, coasts with extensive salt marsh, and inland moors. The bird that turned up on the North Norfolk Coast was considered to be a first winter female due to extensive dark brown barring. First winter males are less contrasted the barring is lighter brown and less distinct. From a distance young males have a pale brown appearance, whereas young females look grey. This female on the morning of 10th March looked even darker as it rain heavily overnight and into the early hours, her underparts looking bedraggled and black as water logged. Females are even larger than males by about 20%, and almost the size of the Eurasian Eagle Owl, the biggest of all owls.

Snowy Owl

Found the only post out on Thornham Point

Snowy Owl