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| 1st yr Northern Gannet, Staines Moor, 7 October 2012 |
Vis mig amounted to just 5 Barn Swallow N, 1 alba wagtail N and a Redpoll over before eventually the sun broke through. A couple of tit flocks, mainly Long-tailed Tits with smaller numbers of Blue and Great Tits, held a pair of Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest, and 9 Redwing (my first of the winter) flew N from the old railway line.
2 Grey Wagtail along the Colne (a good record here) also proved to be migrants as they took off high to the north west, as were the c15 Meadow Pipit out on the moor. A mixed flock of 50+ Goldfinch and a few Linnet feeding out on the moor, a few Skylark, 1 Reed Bunting and a male Sparrowhawk were also noted.
Heading back at 14:30, a Short-eared Owl appeared quartering the east side of the moor. A couple of falconers were flying some birds nearby and the owl could have been flushed. One of the falconer's birds persistently harassed the owl until it dived into the top of a tree. Shockingly, the falconers appeared to make no attempt to intervene by calling the bird back! With the vegetation on the moor still very high and overgrown, hopefully we'll get a wintering Short-eared Owl this year.
Superb stuff with the Gannet, Lee - congratulations! (Also much envy!) About how high up was it, would you say? Any corvids (etc) chasing it?
ReplyDeleteYour description of the SE Owl harassed by a falcon reminded me of an incident almost exactly ten years ago. On Oct 14th 2002, Ken Purdey and I were looking for SEOs on the moor.
My notes continue: "...only to see all four [owls] put up by a falconer’s bird (a Peregrine-type). Three circled together, one of which grappled with the falcon, locking talons in mid-air and chasing it away, although it earned a displaced feather or two on one forewing."
Finally, far less impressive than your Gannet, but still a local rarity - I saw my first Yellowhammer for Staines Moor/Stanwell Moor yesterday (Sat 6th): a male still with yellow head in a hedge by Mill Lane, about 100m north of the weir in the Wraysbury River. No further sign of it after the first sighting (or this morning).
Good birding for the rest of the autumn. Cheers,
Rob Innes
Hi Rob,
DeleteGreat sighting with the Yellowhammer! I'm gripped!! The Gannet was very low, probably only 30-40 metres above the ground (although you would never know it from my rubbish photos) and nothing was mobbing it. Maybe it had just come off Wraysbury Reservoir?
Really interesting to read about your experience with SEOs and falconers. I was really shocked! The same falconer's bird (also a Peregrine type) also took a mipit or Linnet a little earlier! They were a long way off but I could tell they were aware of people watching them.
Good birding,
Lee
Lee - I've also seen falconers' birds go after Teal and Kestrel on the moor. It was good to see that SEO get the better of the falcon, but it was "only" a Peregrine-type; more often it's monster Saker x Gyrs that are flown and I should think one of those could certainly have an owl over.
Delete30-40m... waaagh, that Gannet must have been an incredible sight. Agree, can't really think why it would have been so low unless it had come off a res. A stunning record.
ATB
Rob I
Nice work Lee!
ReplyDeletenice bird dingers!
ReplyDeleteAn excellent find, poor shots of the Gannet? I don't know what you are talking about Lee look at the shots of the birds I had over my house - that is what you call poor! http://www.birdbrainuk.com/BBUK/Blog/Entries/2010/9/25_Gannet!_Garden!_Now!_FIVE!_er_SEVEN!!!.html We'll have to try to get the old crew together for the old Christmas eve drink up in Leicester Square again and celebrate your Gannet!
ReplyDeleteHi Dave,
DeleteGreat to hear from you mate! Okay, I concede defeat with the Gannet pics, but 5 over your house is incredible. You must have been pinching yourself!! A Christmas meet up sounds like a great idea. It's been ages the crew got together. Hope you're having a good autumn.
Cheers,
Lee