Ouseing with Tree Sparrows!
4/3/06 Ouse Washes RSPB Leaders: James, Simeon, Matthew.
We finally got the chance to go a little further afield - the Ouse Washes! When we got there we were greeted by the calling of about 25 Tree Sparrows. They were just around the corner feeding on the Peanuts and on the bird table. Together we got some beautiful shots of them(see gallery). We went into the visitor centre to find about 70 more on the grass. Amongst them we also saw 2+ Brambling, a few House Sparrows, several Chaffinches and 3+ male Yellowhammers. On the reserve we saw Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Pintail, Snipe, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Whooper Swans, Bewick's Swans and many Mallard. We were up on the bank desperately trying to find the Lesser Scaup (we never saw it!), when suddenly there was a crash and a splash in front of us! Something had been hiding behind a tree. The tree was in the frozen water and the animal had seen us. It was a fox! It lept out from behind the tree and fell through the ice! It scrambled out again, slipped, and fell through again! After doing this three times, it finally got to the bank and ran off into the distance! It had been an amazing encounter for all of us. Unfortunately, it happened so quickly, that none of us were able to get a photo of it. On the way back to the car we saw a Barn owl and a Short-eared owl that landed on the bank! James saw a Water Vole in a ditch near the car. On the journey home we saw a second Barn owl and about 4 Kestrels. It had been a tiring, nevertheless fabulous day for all of us. It had been our first visit there and we are definately going there again! It's a really nice place.
On the way back I got this photo of the sunset! If it was to have a title, I would call it "Amazing Grace".
We finally got the chance to go a little further afield - the Ouse Washes! When we got there we were greeted by the calling of about 25 Tree Sparrows. They were just around the corner feeding on the Peanuts and on the bird table. Together we got some beautiful shots of them(see gallery). We went into the visitor centre to find about 70 more on the grass. Amongst them we also saw 2+ Brambling, a few House Sparrows, several Chaffinches and 3+ male Yellowhammers. On the reserve we saw Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Pintail, Snipe, Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Whooper Swans, Bewick's Swans and many Mallard. We were up on the bank desperately trying to find the Lesser Scaup (we never saw it!), when suddenly there was a crash and a splash in front of us! Something had been hiding behind a tree. The tree was in the frozen water and the animal had seen us. It was a fox! It lept out from behind the tree and fell through the ice! It scrambled out again, slipped, and fell through again! After doing this three times, it finally got to the bank and ran off into the distance! It had been an amazing encounter for all of us. Unfortunately, it happened so quickly, that none of us were able to get a photo of it. On the way back to the car we saw a Barn owl and a Short-eared owl that landed on the bank! James saw a Water Vole in a ditch near the car. On the journey home we saw a second Barn owl and about 4 Kestrels. It had been a tiring, nevertheless fabulous day for all of us. It had been our first visit there and we are definately going there again! It's a really nice place.
On the way back I got this photo of the sunset! If it was to have a title, I would call it "Amazing Grace".
posted by Simeon,Connor,James,Matthew @ 1:02 PM
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