An evening trip down to Hillingdon yesterday was rewarding in wildlife sightings. On the way out a muntjac was poking its head out from the hedgerow by Latimer crossroads as if waiting for a gap in the traffic. Maybe natural selection is favouring the ones who don't run straight out. Comin back at around midnight Blackwell Hall Lane was very rewarding. First a barn owl was perched on a branch above the road. Its always striking how they show up in the headlights. Second there was a badger snuffling along on the verge. I had the camera in my bag on the passenger seat but he headed for the hedge as soon as I slowed down. Finally the strangest sight on a country lane, a police car! I have seen patrols in that area several times recently, normally seeing one is as surprising as seeing a badger. I assume that there have been some problems with machinery or stock thefts recently.
Once upon a time you could find me birding on the Thames marshes almost every weekend through the winter. For various reasons I am now seldom able to travel to good birding sites. I am lucky, however, to live in the beautiful Chiltern Hills and this blog is to document the birds that I see on my own patch.