Author Archives: sarahthurlbeck

When I was a child I didn’t like butterflies or moths. I somehow was scared of their fragility if they fluttered around inside the house. Now I’m fascinated by them and happy to observe them out in the open. Here are a selection which were photographed on a morning walk at Aberlady Bay in EastContinue reading “Winged Wonders”

The other afternoon I received a call from one of our friends with whom we had helped make and erect a barn owl box. Last year two barn owls fledged from it. This year we had heard sounds from the box but were not sure if there were chicks within or not. Our friend toldContinue reading “Barn Owl Rescue!”

Remember the fluffy long eared owl chicks? Well, they are not so fluffy now. They are bigger and bolder, still mewing plaintively for food at dusk but now flying out onto posts near their woodland roost. When one flew out, the other followed. What a treat to see them out in the open, as theyContinue reading “Older and Bolder”

Over a week ago we were surprised to hear the plaintive mews of long eared owl chicks. The sound was in a different place from last year and much earlier than expected. Here is a youtube video of its call. We tried to locate the cries and eventually spotted this fluffy pair in tree branches.Continue reading “A Pair of Fluffy Owlets”

I’m just back from a visit to the North Uist in the Outer Hebrides where I was lucky enough to see and photograph short eared owls. Here they are a common sight as they hunt in broad daylight over rough moorland and machair. This was one of the reasons for visiting this island. They haveContinue reading “Short Eared Owls”

There is a hive of activity going on in my local wood. A woodpecker pair are busy feeding squealing youngsters, not yet peeping out their hole. Here is a busy parent going in with a beak full of grubs and insects. This one is the dad, I can tell by the red patch at theContinue reading “If you go into the woods today ….”

A sight I’ve always wanted to see for myself …goosander chicks hitching a ride on their mum’s back! I’d seen photographs but had never ever seen goosander chicks, let alone them hitching a lift. We were nearing the end of a riverside walk where all we’d seen were some black headed gulls. But then weContinue reading “Hitchhiking Chicks!”

This time of year is so special, the time of new life in Nature. This Spring I was thrilled to get a proper view of a baby hare, called a leveret, for the first time. It has become a regular visitor to my brother’s garden first thing in the morning, so when visiting I hadContinue reading “New Life”

Yesterday evening we went to see how the coot chicks were doing and were treated to the sight of a couple of them snuggling in under their parent’s wings for warmth. The one in this photo was spotted on its own in the water heading back to the nest whilst being given toots of encouragementContinue reading “Tender Moments”

It’s May and chicks are beginning to appear. I’ve been keeping an eye out for not only nests but hungry sounding cheeps coming from bushes and undergrowth. Here are some sightings so far. These cute coot chicks look quite different from their parents. Here is the parent for comparison. I’ve seen my first Mallard ducklingsContinue reading “Chick this out”