Author Archives: sarahthurlbeck

In the “Where’s Wally?” books you have to scan very carefully to find Wally hidden on the page. When I go to Owl Wood now I have to search just as hard amongst the trees to find the tawny owl. It is so expertly camouflaged that I can be staring right at it and stillContinue reading “Where’s Owly?”

What a chattering and chirping on today’s walk around a loch. Scores of starlings flying around from trees to fence to ground and vice versa. We soon realised it was young starling fledglings clamouring for food from their busy parents. The youngsters seemed to be shouting, “FEED ME!” And when some youngsters had been fedContinue reading “Feeding the Weans”

I hope no one caught sight of me in a local meadow chasing the Orange Tip butterfly. It was leading me a merry dance fluttering backwards and forwards all over the place. Then it was very hard to photograph as it refused to stay still. When it did settle on a flower two other whiteContinue reading “All of a Flutter”

The eggs in the nest in the feature picture are little grebe ( commonly known as dab chick) eggs. It’s that time of year when birds are busy either gathering nest materials or sitting incubating eggs on the nest. Some nests are very obvious and in plain site, others are extremely well hidden. Our localContinue reading “Nesting Time”

Sometimes you don’t even have to leave your house to see some wonderful wildlife. This morning I had a surprise rare visit from Mr and Mrs Bullfinch. They were first attracted to the apple tree blossom but were probably disappointed to find that as yet there are no emerging apples to nibble off. So theyContinue reading “Surprise Visitors”

Mallards have one to two broods of ducklings a year, and can lay up to 13 eggs. At this time of year it’s a treat to watch fluffy ducklings on ponds, lakes, rivers and canals. You may notice that if you go back to where you’ve seen ducklings before there may be less of them.Continue reading “Disappearing Ducklings”

Deer are a common sight where I live. They are herbivores and forage for food in the moorland, woods and also people’s gardens! A friend told me they were a bit too fond of the tulips in her garden. They will run away if they catch your scent so it’s best to watch them downwindContinue reading “Oh Deer!”

Hares are nocturnal creatures and can only usually be seen at dawn or dusk. Often they hide in  long grassy hollows during the day, keeping as low down as possible and with their long ears pinned back. Many’s the time I’ve zoomed in on a boulder or a pile of dung thinking it might beContinue reading “Hares the thing…”

I’ve been back to “Owl Wood” the last few days to observe the owls. The day after seeing the two owlets there was only one in the same bush and the parent was perched on a different tree.  The next day I returned again and this time I spotted the owlet on a different bushContinue reading “Owl Update”

The other day I went out for a walk in the woods without my heavy camera as my back was hurting. Of course that would be the day I catch my first sighting of a tawny owl in over two years. I glimpsed a largish brown shape swooping into a nearby tree and I wonderedContinue reading “Magical Owls”