Long-Eared Owls - Undisclosed Site, North-West England

With a busy week of work including a two-day (and slightly overwhelming) FISC botany training course and a few surveys, I was glad to be able to go out with my camera towards the end of the week. Our location was a new one for me, and I didn't really know what to expect.

Arriving just after 6am with Austin driving, we couldn't fail to miss the Long-Eared Owls at the site. With birds calling from various perches in broadleaved and coniferous trees, we didn't really know where to look! We think there might have been between 6 and 10 birds present, but it was difficult to tell.

My lens isn't famed for its zoom, so this gives an idea of how close they were!

This individual was particularly smart

When awake, the owls would constantly emit their distinctive begging calls

The majority of birds appeared to be immature birds, though the remnants of juvenile plumage were more difficult to spot in some individuals. They were remarkably tame, often perched asleep within metres of the path in the open, oblivious to us or other birds!

It was awesome to watch the juveniles practise hunting

I doubt I'll ever get this close to an owl again!

When I managed to take my eyes off of the owls, a few other interesting birds I spotted included lots of Siskins and Lesser Redpolls, in addition to a close Brown Hare and several Roe Deer.

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