Author Archives: sarahthurlbeck

It has been an exciting few days. I’ve been walking daily in the wood trying to photograph the tawny owl parents. Sometimes they’ll see me first and fly off. The other day I heard this parent before I saw him, as he was making a very soft and low “hoo..oo” noise. I’d seen an owletContinue reading “Protective Parents”

Last week I was so fortunate to see three tawny owlets in their nest high up in a tree hollow. I was away for a few days and as soon as I was back I went to see what had become of the owlets. One was in the nest and one was sitting in aContinue reading “Owlet Outings”

Over the weekend I went walking along the river Tyne in Haddington looking for kingfishers. On my first evening looking I had no luck but was treated to lots of other interesting sights. First I saw a pair of colourful bullfinches feasting on dandelion seeds on the path in front of me. The male hasContinue reading “Riverside Ramble”

It’s been over two years since I’ve last seen a tawny owl, although I have often heard them twitting and too-ooing in the evenings. Yesterday I was thrilled to find a nest with three tawny owlets snuggled up inside. It was in a tree hollow that I’ve kept an eye on over the years. I’veContinue reading “Tawny Owlets !”

The ospreys are back! They’ve flown thousands of miles from Africa to breed here and are back to fishing the lochs again. Today we took a picnic to our local loch and were treated to views of not just one but two ospreys fishing. I couldn’t get close to see them catch their prey butContinue reading “Osprey Day”

News from the barn owl nest box! I needn’t have worried about the crows taking over the box. About a month ago I noticed the owls staying in the box during one day and seeing them off. They stretched out their wings to make themselves look bigger and scared the crows off. Two weeks agoContinue reading “Easter Eggs !”

Two years ago we made and put up a barn owl box in a barn belonging to friends. We know that some barn owl chicks were reared there, so this year we have put a security camera looking into the box so we can peek inside. It’s a great way to observe the barn owlsContinue reading “Love is in the …box”

The “golden hour” for nature watchers and photographers is the hour at the beginning or end of the day just after sunrise or just before sunset. Then the light is low and takes on a magical golden quality. Here are some photographs taken this winter at both ends of the day. Below is a brownContinue reading “Golden Hour Moments”

Waxwings are winter visitors from Russia or Scandinavia and are a rare treat for birdwatchers. I’ve only seen a flock of 9 of them once before, 6 years ago and during an “irruption” when hundreds came over to UK because their own stocks of berries back home were so low. This year their numbers areContinue reading “Wonderful Waxwings!!”

Here are a selection of photos from walks in the sunshine these past few days. The hares were enjoying a bit of late autumn warmth in the fields, hunkering down low as we walked by. I tried not to overly disturb them although they were on high alert at my presence. Here is one sittingContinue reading “Late November Wildlife”