Short eared owl

ByDawn

A wonderful first for me today. I’ve always wanted to see and photograph Short-eared owls, but I’ve never quite managed it, for some reason they have always eluded me. So today, on the advice of the wonderful and talented John Richardson (CLICK to have a look at his blog) I headed over to a beautiful stretch of Suffolk coastline. Soon after arriving, the astonishing sight of a brown patterned owl gliding nonchalantly across open water. Upon reaching the rough grass alongside the path, he began to hunt, buoyant in flight just like a Barn owl, but larger, more powerful. On long wings he quartered across the field, pouncing into the grass, and showing off his attractive brown and cream checker pattern markings. Hovering lightly in the breeze, allowing me a photo despite the terrible light, then gliding down the bank. With an attitude as fierce as his stunning yellow eyes, he silently slides past no more than ten paces away on rounded wings, ignoring his various watching admirers. An incredible experience that I won’t forget any time soon. I hope I’ll be able to get back there in better light, but for now, here’s something a bit artistic…

Short-eared owl, Asio flammeus, hunting, Suffolk. March

(Click images to view larger…)

If you like what you see, please consider sharing![social_share/]
UK & Eire Natural History Bloggers

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DawnMonroseNaturePhotography

Current favourite books, click for more info:

Similar Posts

  • Here and there

    ByDawn

    Over on the Fen first thing this morning, the Sedge Warblers were quiet again, but the Reed Warblers were singing away. Their song is softer than the harsh, scratchy tune of the Sedge Warblers, more bouncing, more musical. They were busy collecting nesting material, hopping up the reeds to choose a few strands of fluffy…

  • Autumn

    ByDawn

    The golden season. Hedgerows heavy with fruits lead me to the earthy scented forest. Fungi, like this Fly Agaric push through the dark, damp soil. A Jay flies overhead with a beak full of acorns, and a Squirrel scampers up a tree to watch me walk by. Away from the forest into the open parkland…

  • Japan – Part 2

    ByDawn

    The next wildlife stop on our tour of Japan was Nara, which is near Osaka, nearly 300 miles south east of Tokyo. Nara is famous for it’s very special sacred deer. They are Sika deer (Cervus nippon), and they roam freely in the town of Nara, and it’s wonderful park. As we walked up the…

  • Hello Deer

    ByDawn

    I’ve had a few new visitors to my blog recently, so I just wanted give you a warm welcome to my website, and also to introduce my local patch, where I do a lot of my photography – Redgrave and Lopham Fen. Redgrave and Lopham Fen is the largest remaining valley fen in England, and…

  • Rodney

    ByDawn

    Affectionately known as ‘Rodney’ to locals, (thanks to Mike Webb’s brilliant cartoon ‘Mere Quacks’ in our local newspaper, the Diss Express), this special arachnid can be found down at Redgrave and Lopham Fen, managed by Suffolk Wildlife Trust. The Fen Raft Spider (Dolomedes plantarius) is one of our largest and rarest spiders. Thanks to extensive and…

3 Comments

  1. Wow, what a lovely sight that must have been. I like the black and white photo, I think it shows the way he’s concentrating on searching for his prey in sharp detail. Well done.

Leave a Reply