11th May - He Always Beat Me at Subbuteo

We decided on a late evening excursion today, the day had been relatively dry, and the afternoon was sunny but with a fresh wind.  Earlier in the week we had a report of a Barn Owl, so we were very keen to see if we could find it.  The first stop was the track up to Newton Farm.  The Beech trees in the plantation were now in full leaf, and with the evening sunshine they looked a lovely lime green.  The footpath at the top of the track being transformed into lime green corridor.

We checked the barns around the farm, but there was nothing, in fact it was very quiet.  We walked back down the track, and the calls of a crow alerted me to a Buzzard that it was mobbing.  I watched the Buzzard, but Helen saw something above it, and when she managed to point it out to me I thought immediately Swift, but is was much too big, and then I realised it was a Hobby, it flew off towards the north, and all I could manage was a record shot, but you can see it is Hobby.

I have seen Hobby for the last two years, but they are always rapid fly overs, so it was always a concern that we might miss one this year, so this was very nice.  I now have time to get better views.

We left the footpath, and headed off to where the owl had been seen.  The tactic would be to sit and wait, but I am not very patient, so we walked up the path.  In the field we saw a pair of Hare, and a little further up another was sitting amongst the bales.  The most striking feature of the Hare was the length of it's ears, they are huge, and and with the black tips they stood out very distinctively.

Walking back to the car, we saw more Hare in the field, and in total there were 3 pairs in this area. 

We sat in the car, but the owl did not appear.  We did manage to see a Muntjac Deer that was feeding from the seed feeder at the edge of the field, out attempt to get closer was foiled as the deer disappeared.  This is the first one I have seen in the area, and it was very secretive and shy.

We stopped by the main footpath to the Rotherfield estate, but I must admit I really wouldn't want to use this path at the moment as the sign indicates.

He has been there for over a week, and is a magnificent beast. 

In the field next to the path were another two Hare, at the beginning of the year I was very pleased to find Hare here, but it would appear that they do very well around here, which is very nice to know.

We set off home, this time going around the main road, and then back down Lyeway.  The sun was now setting and produced a spectacular scene as it slowly sank beyond the horizon.