Thursday, January 29, 2009

Its looking cold....

Yesterday on the way home from work a Barn Owl flew over the car just north of Hadston. Later on, at home, a Tawny Owl was hooting near the church. I've not heard one here now for a good few weeks...

I popped along to our new house this afternoon to meet a plumber ( the second one, the first should have been wearing a highwaymans mask and carrying a gun...). While I waited, a Buzzard was mewing and seeming to enjoy being tossed around the grey sky in an increasingly cold wind.

The weather forecast shows that Sunday is to be a day of strong nor'easterlies stretching all the way from Siberia via the Baltic. They look to be freezing too. If this is correct, it might push some birds across from the low countries and the Baltic states to look for some unfrozen ground. Already, Slavonian Grebes are numbering in the high twenties up on the Lindisfarne reserve, maybe they've seen the same forecast? You never know we might even get some more divers, grebes, bitterns or shorelarks on our coasts....

Pity I'll miss out....

6 comments:

Warren Baker said...

I like a bit of snow Stewart, keeps the non birdwatching folk indoors! i do worry for my local barn owl though,if the snow persists.

Alan Tilmouth said...

Sorry I'm on the wrong blog, came looking for Boulmer Birder and stumbled on Boulmer Builder! Lets hope that Dark-throated Thrush is one of those pushed across or Ivory Gull on its way back north pushed onto the NE coast.

Owlman said...

Lucky, Barn owl are pretty rare in these parts!

Stewart said...

WB - Me an'all Warren. :)
AT - Winds not good for arctic gulls, needs to be NW then N. This easterly is a good waterbird and passerine blow ( says he?)...
OM - Hi Owlman. If you look back through my blog this winter you'll see that I've seen a lot of Barn Owls recently. They are our most easily seen owl at the minute ( years back it would have been Short eared...)

Alan Tilmouth said...

I was meaning that French Ivory Gull sneaking back up here, I'd noticed the increase in daylight owl sightings see the post today at Bird North East.

Anonymous said...

I`m hoping the cold front dumps a Long-tailed Duck, on the patch.