A day which started off exceptionally well, following up the location of a Long-eared Owl residing in a sleepy little town, in the Alentejo. According to the locals there, a single Long-eared Owl has been living in the heart of the town in a small number of trees for around a year now. The Owl is so unperturbed, it is possible to share its tree - sitting at a bench in the shade while it sleeps a few metres above. I was amazed to see it there, looking down occasionally and closing its eyes lazily. Finding shade wasn't the problem today after reaching Castro Verde in thick fog. The forecast was good and I was expecting the fog to burn away fairly quickly. On the N2, with visibility around 100 metres, a stop was made at a small stream where White Storks were nesting in eucalyptus trees. It was a case of holding on for a while and as I peered around, I had a 'Gorillas in the Mist' moment as I made out the shape of two Great Bustards in the field to my right. Inside a couple of minutes, 20 Great Bustards were just visible walking along the brow of the field. It is only by tweaking the 'tone adjustment' severely that I can show any record of this surprising encounter. Regrettably, the fog lingered all day and 'roadside' birds included 4 Common Buzzard, 2 Red Kite, 2 Carrion Crow, Calandra Lark, Meadow Pipits, 8 Eurasian Magpie, 6 Southern Grey Shrike and many Corn Buntings. Surprisingly 6 Swallows were found during the day.
Oh, and a Hoopoe! Comments are closed.
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