The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Decided on a fen road exploration day today, went from home in Carlton-le-Moorland to Nocton Fen and then down almost every fen road down to Dunsby, 145 miles there and back! Unfortunately not much to report, Little Owl in the shed/barn at Nocton, then lots of Buzzards and Kestrels along the way and one hunting Sparrowhawk at Horbling. On the way back had another half hour at Dorrington but no SEOs to report, been four times now with no luck . Finally rewarded at Martin fen where i got good views, albeit in abysmal light, of a single SEO hunting the dykes and margins.

Cheers,
Oliver.

Oliver,
I went to Dorrington Fen today (Sat) 2.00 - 3.30pm, parking up by the Dorrington Dike. I had to wait quite a time for the SEOs to appear - one, in very good light, at 3.05 (and then it flew up and down most of the time until I left at 3.30), and a second bird showed at 3.15. In addition, there were 2 Buzzards around the Dike area and then a third (on the way home to BBH) towards Dorrington village.

It's just a suggestion but I think you need to change your tactics re connecting with SEOs. Your hit rate is very low and I firmly believe that instead of driving miles and miles (eg. 145 miles yesterday), you would have more success if you concentrated on just ONE site for a couple of hours or so. Along with a number of other LBC members, I've had success at 5 different sites in the last couple of months - Dorrington Fen, Grantham, Dunsby Fen, Wasps Nest and Nocton Fen. In every case it was just one site only visited, usually between 1 and 2 and a half hours spent there and usually in the c 2.15 - 4.30pm time bracket.

Of course, you can be at a particular site one day and up to 5 SEOs show well; another day, at the same site, you may just have 1 SEO for a couple of minutes, sometimes none at all.........but that's SEO-watching. However, driving from site to site is not recommended, especially as there is then always the temptation to owl watch from the moving car, driving solo, with fen potholes, the occasional Sugarbeet lump....and those roadside ditches and dykes are ever really close !

If, for example, on 14th January instead of driving through Dorrington Fen to Timberland and back (2.00 - 4.00pm) (Your LBC post of 14 Jan) you had parked up for those 2 hours at Dorrington Fen Dike you would have enjoyed up to 5 SEOs from 2.50 - 3.45pm, as seen by myself and others including local birder Derek Pell. The next day both David Morison and Trevor Gunby had further views of up to 3 SEOs in roughly the same time bracket.

Perhaps other members may wish to add some advice as I think it's a shame that you put in the hours and the miles from Norton Disney without any real success to date.

Freddy
PS. If you want to visit a real Lincs SEO hotspot, it's Worlaby Carrs, eg. based at the bridge area and nearby at MAP REF TA 002 132 (Ord Survey Sheet 112). Admittedly, it's a good hour's drive from Norton Disney but only yesterday (2.00 - 4.20pm) even in poor light/weather conditions) Terry Whalin had 6/7 SEOs.( see his LBC post dated Jan 27th).

Good Luck, Oliver. I hope my post has been of some help.....it's only a matter of time, I'm sure. I look forward to your (good) news.

Branston & Nocton Fen today 15:00 - 16:15

Barn Owl and at least 4 SEO's present, Bardney pits end.
At least one in view for most of the time.

_________________
http://birdmanbirds.blogspot.com/

Hi Freddy, thanks for the comments and advice greatly appreciated; the long journey the other day wasn't so much a SEO quest but an attempt to identify potential 'new', unreported SEO and Harrier territories. I just have this desire to watch birds in isolated/remote areas; i'm sure this stems from my Angling mentality which sees me constantly searching for new, unexplored areas of river to fish. Re. SEOs i've been reasonably successful in seeing them at Worlaby, Nocton fen, Wasps Nest, Martin fen and especially Dunsby fen. Indeed at Dunsby i've had the privilege of them flying within a few feet of me and at Wasps Nest before Christmas i witnessed 2 SEOs and 2 Barn Owls hunting in the sheep field at the same time. These sightings were after adopting the patient sit and wait approach that you advise. I know what you mean about solo fen driving as i've often remarked to my wife that it will only be a matter of time before i drive confidently into a 20 foot deep dyke whilst straining for a last look at a fast disappearing bird! So it's only really Dorrington where i've failed to catch up with any SEOs despite sometimes spending a couple of hours there. Just as a point of reference are the SEOs coming up the dyke from the east, the North Kyme road direction or from the Dorrington Village direction? Any info gratefully received.

Oliver.

Oliver,
Glad to read that, after all, you've had success with SEOs in Lincs , albeit away from Dorrington Fen.

The first SEOs of the afternoon have come along the Dorrington Fen Dike from the East...... and I'm sure that it is along the Dike towards the East that their roosting areas are.

The timings recorded so far for the first arrivals are :
2.50....14 Jan..(5 seen in all)
2.30....16 Jan..(3)
3.05....28 Jan..(2)
and all in bright weather with little if any wind.

Freddy