Former CBBC member Mike Smith sent in this information about his recent experiences watching birds in the UK. Mike says, “I went out with a friend last Saturday to an area about 20/25 miles from us and we had 6 Short eared Owls, Ring tailed Hen Harrier and several Red Kites. It was amazing to see all the Short eared Owls hunting and resting and some of them we saw quite close. A couple of days ago I went to my local patch where there is a stream and I watched a Water Rail for about 20 minutes which is quite remarkable as they usually disappear as soon as you spot them. We went out again the other day and had some good birds. Great Grey Shrike and Green winged Teal which is an American species. We also had Bittern and 3 Mealy Redpolls which are rarer than the Lesser Redpoll that we usually get in England.”