There we were, three of us in the middle of nowhere, muffled up against the cold with woolly hats pulled low over our eyes. We had stopped the car by a barn, and had binoculars and a telescope trained on a distant bush looking for Tree Sparrows, when all the birds suddenly flew.We looked across at the road and saw a local hunt had stopped at the sight of us, presumably thinking we might be hunt saboteurs. After some tense questioning, we let them pass.
We were also hunting, and cleared 87 species in the day. Many were distant, with few photo-opportunities for those of us who are telescopically challenged.
The best part of the day was again the evening, watching two Hen Harriers fly over and into a nearby reedbed, with nearby sights and sounds of Woodcock, Bewicks Swans, Snipe, Water Rail, Cetti's Warbler and finally a Tawny Owl that we rescued from the middle of a busy road.
5 comments:
good grief..people still dress up like that and chase some poor fox?
I think Rambling Woods said it well!! Ha!
I love the last photo!
I agree with the others...all seems a bit silly, but I guess no siller than putting on full camouflage and sitting in duck blinds shooting at some poor goose or duck that just wants a nice place to set down on the water. It amazed me to think you saw that many species in one day! That's a lot! Your "life list" for your area must be pretty well checked off...mine is dismally incomplete.
I bet the bloke dragging the scent was knackered with those chasing after him! There's no way they will be chasing foxes, its illegal you know...
There sure seems to have been a lot of horses and dogs. No way they could be birders and hope to get a few quiet looks at a bird.
Lovely dog pictures and a great silhouette of 'men with cameras' on the road.
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