FIVE BIRDS TO FIND IN JANUARY

Happy New Year. A time of resolutions and restarts, and also a time when birdwatching is one of the best activities you can do (but when isn't it?). If you are a year lister (it is not compulsory), it is a time to bag a few great birds nice and early. How about these five crackers for the last days of Christmas, and beyond?

twitter.com/BirdWatchingMag facebook.com/BirdWatchingMag RARITY RATINGS Common, widely distributed Localised – always a treat Very scarce or rare SHORT-EARED OWL Short-eared Owls are fairly scarce breeding birds of upland areas, moors and young plantations etc in the UK. Most of us encounter them as wintering birds, when British breeders move down to lower rough grasslands, saltmarshes and so on, and numbers are boosted by continental birds crossing the North Sea. Long-winged and buoyant in flight, these lovely owls have the added bonus (for we observers) of often hunting while the sun is still up, when they patrol like the owl equivalent of harriers, seeking voles. They are similar in flight to Long-eared Owls (which are habitually more nocturnal), but have paler bellies and, if seen well, obviously yellow eyes. PURPLE SANDPIPER Even…

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Bird Watching (Digital) - 1 Issue, January 2025

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