Night life

Been doing a bit of owling these past couple nights without much success. The first night I heard a distant Tawny Owl calling - I tried to get closer to be able to better hear it but as I was crossing a field I started noticing deer running around - very close by. At this time of year the males can get quite dangerous while they compete with one another and try to protect their females.

So I turned back and made my way home. As I was crossing another field I heard and saw gunshots from the direction I was headed to. Again I decided that that wasn't the best way to go and chose another route. I eventually made it home safe and sound.

The next night I threw caution into the wind and returned for some more owling! I didn't hear any owls this evening but as the sun was setting I heard a very distinctive call - the closest match I can find is Black Woodpecker, but I'm thinking that I'm also biased because I really want to find one of them! I'll have to go back and hope I hear it again so that I can record the sound and get it identified.

No gunshots today...

Whales in Denmark

If all is as planned I am in England now and the robots are posting this without my consent...

The other day I visited the Whale bone museum in downtown Copenhagen.

I absolutely had to go because of many reasons... 

The most important of those is because I have a list of 'things to do before I die' (I know...cliché) and #4 on that list is "build a whale skeleton" - not so cliché afterall eh?!

Now, this is not an entirely crazy and unachievable aspiration - in fact I have already completed one quarter of it!

Back in the fall of 2009 I was out on one of many hikes with my good friend Erik when we came across the bones of a whale! That's when my obsession with whales really flared up.

Over the next several weeks Erik and I returned many times to collect the treasures much to the appreciation of my new dog:

Eventually after more than one life-threatening snorkeling trip (including one where we swam in 3 meter swells) we brought home about 25% of the whale:

So, now that you understand where my desire comes from you can now appreciate why I had to visit the whale bone exhibit in Copenhagen.

It was a good opportunity to study and gather ideas for how to prepare my own ;)

It was amazing. And even if you don't have a strong desire to make your own whale skeleton I would definitely recommend the exhibit if you happen to be in the area.

Whales are awesome :)

Birding

After a quick bike ride to check on my neighbours, the two Tawny Owls, I made a leisurely walk amongst the ancient oak trees in search for Short-toed Creeper and migrants. No such luck today.

The owls were sitting in the same spot as last week. Perhaps another day I'll wait for the owls to emerge from their hole and watch them hunt over the meadows.

Tomorrow I'm off to England to visit relatives.