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We went for a quiet drive round the lanes on Boxing Day night in the hope of seeing some Tawnies.  In the two hours we were out we only heard one Tawny, but did see two excellent Barn Owls instead.  Check out the finely feathers tarsi - if you see any Barn Owl pics without these hair-like feathers, the photos are probably of a captive bird.

Off out owling again tonight with Sam.  Hope we find some Tawnies this time!

Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawk a photo by steve_blain on Flickr.

Spent a few minutes watch this Sparrowhawk rip apart a Feral Pigeon at Derek's this afternoon. I'm really quite pleased with the digiscoped shots I got too.

Murmuration

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

I bumped in to this on Vimeo and though it was well worth sharing.  Starling roosts are one of the most amazing bird spectacles we have in the UK.  Make sure you make the effort and go and see one this winter.

Azorean type Gull video

Azorean type Yellow-legged Gull from Steve Blain on Vimeo.

Some video of the second Azorean type Yellow-legged Gull at Stewartby Tip, October 2011

Another hooded Yellow-leg

So, I'm not quite sure what to make of this gull.  It's got yellow legs, a dark blue-grey mantle, not a lot of white in the wing tips, and a dark hood.  I guess its an extreme michahellis?  Or is it another atlantis type?

It was certainly striking when I picked it out of the melee on Stewartby tip this afternoon.  On an open wing shot I have it has a band on P5, and appears to have quite a bit of black still in the coverts making it a third-winter type.  My current best guess is a michahellis with an above average dark hood.  Any other suggestions?

EDIT - some more images of this bird can be found on my Flickr here.  These were taken Sunday morning in slightly better light.