LEO

I am lucky enough to live less than a mile (so dead easy to walk) from were these magnificent birds are hunting. However, I didn’t know they were there until last Thursday when at the clap for the NHS a neighbour told me over our hedge he’d seen two birds the night before.

 

Twitter

I have just read some comments on Twitter about the current situation regarding coronavirus and going for a walk. Someone said when he goes for a walk now he does not take his camera with him only his binoculars. Let’s see what essentially are binoculars oh yes they are a body containing a prism and some lenses. And what about a camera, essentially it is a body containing a prism and some lenses. Here are a couple of scenarios. A man goes for a walk with his binoculars observing social distancing etc he spots a bird, stops, lifts binoculars to his eyes, observers bird moves on. A man goes for a walk with his camera observing social distancing etc he spots a bird, stops, lifts camera to his eye, takes picture (at nine frames a second if necessary) moves on. Am I missing something here, what is the difference? The only difference I can see is the man with the binoculars goes away with memories the man with the camera goes away with an image. Where is the harm in that?

Hold on I can here you say, I’ll bet the man with the camera didn’t move on when he was photographing the Owls and you would be right. However let me put it into context. While I was out last night (I haven’t gone through the pictures yet) the nearest house was nearly half a mile away. I only saw two people both of whom were well within the government’s social distancing guidelines, and neither of them said “I hope I don’t catch coronavirus from you while I am out here” instead they both wished me luck when I told them what I was doing.

But it is not ethical, it goes against the sprit of the lockdown, its people like you who will get exercising stopped I can hear you shouting. It is about being safe and observing social distancing. Where am I more likely to catch coronavirus, outside virtually alone or in a supermarket shopping surrounded by dozens of people some of who haven’t a clue what social distancing means? I know where I would rather be.

I know what you are thinking “proper togger him” I hope I’m not, but at the end of all this madness I hope we can all be a little more tolerant but judging by some of the comments on Twitter ( and probably what you are thinking now) I very much doubt it.

No cars were…

…used in the taking of these images exercise walk only.

Long-eared Owl

 

Causey Walks

Here are a few more images from our every other day exercise in the Causey Woods.

Nuthatch

Robin

Chiffchaff

Collard Dove

A very poor image but this is my first Blackcap of the year

A couple of GSW having a bit of an altercation

A Wren making itself look threatening

Another wren not too far from the one in the last image

Another Chiffchaff

Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly

A small nest, which, unfortunately, has ended up on the ground

 

Three walks…

…(just for my daily exercise) in the same area, Causey Arch.

I wouldn’t normally take pictures of dead animals but this unfortunate Mole was on the path we were on. It wasn’t there a couple of days later so something may have benefited from its death.

Pheasant

Nuthatch

GSW

One of many Chiffchaffs that I both saw and heard

Pity it wasn’t a Red

This Bee was flying close to the ground, it went down a hole stayed down for a while and here it is coming out

Fungus

I have seen this Red Kite before in the same area.

Loads of these little fellows were around

Treecreeper

This one was singing its head off

Mallard

Another Chiffchaff

Yet another Wren

Grey Wagtail

A pair of Grey Wagtails

Dipper

I didn’t hear it call so it must be yawning

Dipper being photobombed by yet another Wren

Yet another one

Quizzical Robin

Long-tailed Tit