Scruffy and the Harriers, Part two
02nd June 2010
SCRUFFY AND THE HARRIERS CONTINUED.
So, there were two young Golden eagles.
One was pretty unusual, but two together, and here of all places?
I watched the two birds ‘playing’ together on the strong April breeze,
The new bird would slowly glide in a continuous level arc; but Scruffy would occasionally gain great height above, then tumble earthwards in a rapid twisting dive, narrowly missing the other below.
They continued in this vain, until they finally seemed to grow bored, and slowly drifted over the southern moors and out of sight; their passage heralded by the frightened cackling of a distant Red Grouse.
As I said both birds were Immature, probably about a year old, and the new Eagle was marked similarly to Scruffy, but its plumage was far neater than his.
It had a very distinct white tail band, and sported crescent moon shaped flashes of white on both chocolate brown wings.
A beautiful, textbook example of a first year Golden eagle.
But the question remained: why were they here, and why were they together?
They were far too young to mate, that was at least three years off, and anyway I wasn’t even sure if the second bird was a female.
If I’m honest, at this point I wasn’t even sure if Scruffy was a male!
But in a few weeks I would happen across one of the birds at very close quarters, and then all the pieces of the jigsaw would come together.
Meanwhile I settled myself inside the ruined walls and had a spot of lunch.
The dog dozed peacefully under the Sycamore beside me, stirring only occasionally at the harsh bleat of a sheep, or the loud two toned call of a nearby Cuckoo.
A week or two before this, a friend and I had been bored at work.
He is an absolute genius at Tawny owl impressions, you know the one: you cup both your hands together, and blow through the small gap left between your fingers to make the right ‘noise’.
Anyway, at work that day he had shown me how to do this with moderate success.
But accidentally, I had found that I was far better at using the same technique for making a Cuckoo like sound.
My friend had assured me that he could attract Tawny owls with his impression, so I now wondered if territorial Cuckoos would be susceptible to mine.
I could now hear a bird calling nearby, so I thought I would attempt to put my theory into practice.
I moistened my fingers and gave it a go…….
The first attempt was horrendous, and any Cuckoo nearby would probably have flown a mile to avoid catching whatever horrible respiratory disease ailed the strange creature wheezing in the bushes.
However, the second attempt was a little better, and by the third I was cooking with gas.
Nothing happened.
Then, suddenly, I heard the strangest sound: ‘’woo hoo woo hoo ah ha ha-ha ha !’’ and a big grey shape landed on the fence post ten feet from me.
I couldn’t believe it, it had worked!
Just as I slowly reached for my camera, Kosi bolted from her prone position beside me and leapt at the strange looking bird.
Luckily he was quicker than she, and the Cuckoo fled the scene, leaving just me and a rather apologetic looking dog.
A rare lapse from her, and she knew by my harsh words and stern glance that she had done wrong, and this was chastisement enough.
But I was ecstatic, I could ‘talk’ to the Cuckoos… Well, in a manner of speaking.
With a few choice words to the dog as a reminder to behave, I tried again.
Almost instantly, another, or the same bird flew in - and uttering the strange outlandish, laughing call it had before.
It careered around my head two or three times, decided that I definitely wasn’t a Cuckoo, and departed onto the topmost branches of a nearby Rowan.
This was great!
I had managed two or three good flight shots of this normally unapproachable bird, and a couple of average ones of it perched in the Rowan tree.
The first of many Cuckoo images I would come to take that Summer, and this.
I tried again, alas with no success, this particular bird has sussed me it seemed, but if it had worked on him - then it should certainly work on others, and so it has proved.
Just the other day (April 23, 2010) I had a similar experience.
Same place, same time of year, and quite possibly the same bird.
Again I had heard him calling in the near distance, and tried the old trick.
Instantly he was there, on a post around twenty feet from me.
This time I was at an advantage as there was a low wall between the bird and I.
So, slowly getting my camera and my head over the top of the wall and into position; I watched, and photographed him for at least twenty minutes.
As I observed, he dropped into the nearby rank grasses, and emerged with a Northern Eggar Moth caterpillar.
He shook it a few times, dislodging the head, and what appeared to be the guts, then swallowed the tricky morsel in one.
As he did so, he made strange clucking noises, rather like a farmyard hen, they really are fascinating birds.
He got closer and closer along the fence as he fed, until finally he was probably only ten feet from the lens.
I was amazed by the way he caught the caterpillars.
He would be sitting motionless on his post, seemingly looking the other way, then suddenly he was diving down in the opposite direction, and back up to the post, with a wriggling prize in his bill.
They, like Pigeons, must have almost 360 degrees vision.
Finally he departed, and I was left with some of the best, and certainly most satisfying images I have ever taken.
They can be viewed in the ‘NEW CUCKOO IMAGES’ folder on this website.
Back to last year……
The dog and I lazed happily under the ruined dwellings Sycamore, and I half heartedly watched the surrounding hills for Raptors.
The wind had died, and it had turned into a beautiful still Spring evening.
The change in the Weather had brought out the Skylarks, and Willow warblers, and in the near distance a Grasshopper warbler reeled away atmospherically.
Bliss indeed, and not for the first time, I reminded myself how lucky I was to live near such a place.
Beside me a Wren vigorously started alarming, and the dogs attention was grabbed by something moving along the nearby hillside.
I slowly turned around just in time to see a female Hen harrier disappear around the hill.
I looked at the vegetation on the hillside, and realised that this would certainly be a top notch Harrier hunting area.
Then, it occurred to me that perhaps I could turn the one standing wall of the ruined building facing the hill to my advantage, and make some sort of photography hide.
Basically the wall was whole, but in the middle there was a partially collapsed area - a ‘doorway’ to the hillside, if you like.
If I could build this up - leaving a gap for a camera lens, and also to observe out of, I might just get some decent shots.
Especially if the Harrier I had just seen was a regular visitor.
For now though, I positioned myself behind the wall, and occasionally peeked out and scanned the low hill in front of me.
Soon I saw the bird returning.
I watched as she quartered the ground fastidiously, occasionally plummeting to earth when she spotted something interesting.
I also noted that as soon as the Hen harrier became visible, the Wren would start scolding at top volume.
Buzzards, Golden eagles, and Kestrels would have little or no effect on the tiny bird as I would find out.
But, when the Ringtail appeared it seemed to be panic stations.
She slowly approached my position, and I brought up the camera to head height.
Closer and closer she approached, unbelievably she was hunting around 30 feet from me, and seemed totally none he wiser to my presence.
Hen Harriers - especially the females, are not easily distracted when hunting, and before she finally clocked me standing in the gap of the ruined wall, I had taken my best hunting Hen harrier shots to date.
CONTINUED SOON…
So, there were two young Golden eagles.
One was pretty unusual, but two together, and here of all places?
I watched the two birds ‘playing’ together on the strong April breeze,
The new bird would slowly glide in a continuous level arc; but Scruffy would occasionally gain great height above, then tumble earthwards in a rapid twisting dive, narrowly missing the other below.
They continued in this vain, until they finally seemed to grow bored, and slowly drifted over the southern moors and out of sight; their passage heralded by the frightened cackling of a distant Red Grouse.
As I said both birds were Immature, probably about a year old, and the new Eagle was marked similarly to Scruffy, but its plumage was far neater than his.
It had a very distinct white tail band, and sported crescent moon shaped flashes of white on both chocolate brown wings.
A beautiful, textbook example of a first year Golden eagle.
But the question remained: why were they here, and why were they together?
They were far too young to mate, that was at least three years off, and anyway I wasn’t even sure if the second bird was a female.
If I’m honest, at this point I wasn’t even sure if Scruffy was a male!
But in a few weeks I would happen across one of the birds at very close quarters, and then all the pieces of the jigsaw would come together.
Meanwhile I settled myself inside the ruined walls and had a spot of lunch.
The dog dozed peacefully under the Sycamore beside me, stirring only occasionally at the harsh bleat of a sheep, or the loud two toned call of a nearby Cuckoo.
A week or two before this, a friend and I had been bored at work.
He is an absolute genius at Tawny owl impressions, you know the one: you cup both your hands together, and blow through the small gap left between your fingers to make the right ‘noise’.
Anyway, at work that day he had shown me how to do this with moderate success.
But accidentally, I had found that I was far better at using the same technique for making a Cuckoo like sound.
My friend had assured me that he could attract Tawny owls with his impression, so I now wondered if territorial Cuckoos would be susceptible to mine.
I could now hear a bird calling nearby, so I thought I would attempt to put my theory into practice.
I moistened my fingers and gave it a go…….
The first attempt was horrendous, and any Cuckoo nearby would probably have flown a mile to avoid catching whatever horrible respiratory disease ailed the strange creature wheezing in the bushes.
However, the second attempt was a little better, and by the third I was cooking with gas.
Nothing happened.
Then, suddenly, I heard the strangest sound: ‘’woo hoo woo hoo ah ha ha-ha ha !’’ and a big grey shape landed on the fence post ten feet from me.
I couldn’t believe it, it had worked!
Just as I slowly reached for my camera, Kosi bolted from her prone position beside me and leapt at the strange looking bird.
Luckily he was quicker than she, and the Cuckoo fled the scene, leaving just me and a rather apologetic looking dog.
A rare lapse from her, and she knew by my harsh words and stern glance that she had done wrong, and this was chastisement enough.
But I was ecstatic, I could ‘talk’ to the Cuckoos… Well, in a manner of speaking.
With a few choice words to the dog as a reminder to behave, I tried again.
Almost instantly, another, or the same bird flew in - and uttering the strange outlandish, laughing call it had before.
It careered around my head two or three times, decided that I definitely wasn’t a Cuckoo, and departed onto the topmost branches of a nearby Rowan.
This was great!
I had managed two or three good flight shots of this normally unapproachable bird, and a couple of average ones of it perched in the Rowan tree.
The first of many Cuckoo images I would come to take that Summer, and this.
I tried again, alas with no success, this particular bird has sussed me it seemed, but if it had worked on him - then it should certainly work on others, and so it has proved.
Just the other day (April 23, 2010) I had a similar experience.
Same place, same time of year, and quite possibly the same bird.
Again I had heard him calling in the near distance, and tried the old trick.
Instantly he was there, on a post around twenty feet from me.
This time I was at an advantage as there was a low wall between the bird and I.
So, slowly getting my camera and my head over the top of the wall and into position; I watched, and photographed him for at least twenty minutes.
As I observed, he dropped into the nearby rank grasses, and emerged with a Northern Eggar Moth caterpillar.
He shook it a few times, dislodging the head, and what appeared to be the guts, then swallowed the tricky morsel in one.
As he did so, he made strange clucking noises, rather like a farmyard hen, they really are fascinating birds.
He got closer and closer along the fence as he fed, until finally he was probably only ten feet from the lens.
I was amazed by the way he caught the caterpillars.
He would be sitting motionless on his post, seemingly looking the other way, then suddenly he was diving down in the opposite direction, and back up to the post, with a wriggling prize in his bill.
They, like Pigeons, must have almost 360 degrees vision.
Finally he departed, and I was left with some of the best, and certainly most satisfying images I have ever taken.
They can be viewed in the ‘NEW CUCKOO IMAGES’ folder on this website.
Back to last year……
The dog and I lazed happily under the ruined dwellings Sycamore, and I half heartedly watched the surrounding hills for Raptors.
The wind had died, and it had turned into a beautiful still Spring evening.
The change in the Weather had brought out the Skylarks, and Willow warblers, and in the near distance a Grasshopper warbler reeled away atmospherically.
Bliss indeed, and not for the first time, I reminded myself how lucky I was to live near such a place.
Beside me a Wren vigorously started alarming, and the dogs attention was grabbed by something moving along the nearby hillside.
I slowly turned around just in time to see a female Hen harrier disappear around the hill.
I looked at the vegetation on the hillside, and realised that this would certainly be a top notch Harrier hunting area.
Then, it occurred to me that perhaps I could turn the one standing wall of the ruined building facing the hill to my advantage, and make some sort of photography hide.
Basically the wall was whole, but in the middle there was a partially collapsed area - a ‘doorway’ to the hillside, if you like.
If I could build this up - leaving a gap for a camera lens, and also to observe out of, I might just get some decent shots.
Especially if the Harrier I had just seen was a regular visitor.
For now though, I positioned myself behind the wall, and occasionally peeked out and scanned the low hill in front of me.
Soon I saw the bird returning.
I watched as she quartered the ground fastidiously, occasionally plummeting to earth when she spotted something interesting.
I also noted that as soon as the Hen harrier became visible, the Wren would start scolding at top volume.
Buzzards, Golden eagles, and Kestrels would have little or no effect on the tiny bird as I would find out.
But, when the Ringtail appeared it seemed to be panic stations.
She slowly approached my position, and I brought up the camera to head height.
Closer and closer she approached, unbelievably she was hunting around 30 feet from me, and seemed totally none he wiser to my presence.
Hen Harriers - especially the females, are not easily distracted when hunting, and before she finally clocked me standing in the gap of the ruined wall, I had taken my best hunting Hen harrier shots to date.
CONTINUED SOON…
