The last week has been a difficult one for me since my return from Spain and the theft of my equipment. It's been hard trying to get myself organised and to get my gear to work properly. For example, I had the battery charger taken so once the battery on my camera had been depleted, I couldn't use my Pentax K5. To make matters worse, Battery chargers were not in stock and it was going to take weeks to get a new one. I decided on a "3rd party" universal charger (available from stock), and when it arrived it didn't work successfully. In the end I finished up adapting another charger by adding wire to the terminals and in the end managed to get some charge to my battery....... bingo! So now I am up and running again.
At this point I need to mention the fantastic service and help I have had from SRS MICRO SYTEMS my supplier of choice. They have bent over backwards to try and help me and I am so grateful for their help which was way over the norm and what you would expect.
The garden has started to see some birds again. Over the last few days we have had Blue Tits and Goldfinches on the feeders and I have heard the first Robin of the Autumn. Hedge Sparrows are quite constant. Insect-wise, we have not seen half the amount of Hoverflies that we normally get.
I have continued to try and photograph the Barn Owls for four nights running but without success I am afraid. It is interesting to know that Kestrels- (Falco tinnunculus) require the same sort of habitat as Barn Owls, fallow fields with longish grasses, hedgeows ets. that provides the correct habitat for field voles, the prefered prey of both species. It's not surprising that I have seen them a few times when I have arrived before dusk, The other night, from the hide, I took the phot above, of a female hunting just before the sun went down. Feeding and other activity at dawn and dusk is known as being "crepuscular". This female was perched on telephone wires that crossed the field and from the chair hide that I have left set up in the field, near to the barn, I had a good view of her hunting and also managed a photograph.
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