![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmIhd3t4dIvWQwPsq0d3vKc_hi60OJyPCVQ0_M-Flt2mMoYyiQnCTiy4yNGR6BVZwwySkzX2hLAQiGzbJw-wD3LGY4nz5i_bFf95DASSdeOHHCg2bxlh-JjNsXgSc-wYbGViAjTo5pk0/s400/eIMG_7413.jpg)
A dreaded sunny day, so I met them at the cemetery gates. Them being a small group of Hackneyites involved in a local environmental project, and well deserving of an introduction to Abney's birdlife. Warm sunshine, blossom and butterflies everywhere (predominantly Orange-tips and Speckled Woods), and plenty of birds to entertain, most of which in the throes of breeding activity; Blackcaps and Stock Doves being particularly numerous, with the leucistic individual of the latter species attending a nest hole.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg526_YyGBgcVwoKtuhibuEhKTqrSkI0fTVUZ9cQDHBDsYz703dT5TdHoPUb8DS74i_VY3sW_inBa73FIyDVqnZWSEHIRrFxskAocgoCmzxFMjQlzTOBQcnTgK27IlmZcViPMt7l8tSy9E/s400/eIMG_7405.jpg)
This year I've had less opportunity to check, but there's been some concern that the resident pair of Tawny Owls may have had problems this year, and no all-singin', all-dancin' fledgling show (expected at some point between mid-March and mid-April) was forthcoming.
Having checked the more likely roosting spots, not overly surprised at a no-show, and having just uttered the phrase "it seems the owls have eluded us", amazingly a familiar hooting in the late-morning sun echoed through the trees just as we were about to leave.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYEtLGZSaBqxzcATGxkDNXahIdlS13LaaiHpi79G64_Zdr35LG2Fas_cetxr6mE8kL4eoj-qKt4BL1dfNV2uwIBLX5NBTL1HXiUti0uKeJm4yXSGSWqJVBLDoSV1tamrRJZ5vUauSJK0/s400/eIMG_7421.jpg)
Scanning the area the calls came from soon produced a single owlet in the top of a tree, guarded by an adult a few metres below it. What is likely to be my last walk in the cemetery until 2012 ending beautifully, thanks to such co-operative and thoughtful local celebrities.