Pop Goes The Weasel

Two of them in fact - seen running across the road near Shenstone yesterday. These are only the third and fourth weasels I have seen, and were the highlight of a morning spent with my friend Boyley, who has expressed an interest in becoming a birder.

I decided that the best way to spark his interest was to go to a few sites where we might see one or two elusive species. First up was Hopwood, where we had a look for a little owl. Sadly, the owl didn't put in an appearance so we headed to Upton Warren.

Here we had juvenile water rail, little ringed plover, dunlin, green sandpiper, common sandpiper and snipe - all decent spots for someone just starting their life list.

Just before we left, we were treated to good views of a peregrine that made a couple of passes over the Flashes.

Aside from the two weasels, Shenstone offered little of birding interest. Still, Boyley is on his way now with a burgeoning list comprising just under 40 species.

I'll leave you with a couple of shots taken in the garden on Saturday. The first is a rather tatty and forlorn-looking peacock. The second is the culprit that I rescued it from. Naughty boy!





Barney aka Faterpillar and the peacock