Short-eared Owl
Above and below: Short-eared Owl.
Short-eared owls have to be one of my favourite birds. They are beautiful birds that are a real pleasure to watch. So graceful and agile
in flight and so focused when hunting. They are resident in the UK but are more numerous in winter and
they are usually more accessible in winter too as they are often found around coastal marshes.
In summer they tend to spend
more time on higher open remote moors and fields.
They are fairly large birds, having much biscuit brown and dark brown/black barring on
the tail, back, upper wings and head. The barring
continues on the upper breast but with a cream/off white background rather than the
biscuit brown. In fact the whole breast, belly and under wings are cream or off white, heavily barred at the front of the neck and upper breast,
with much less barring as you approach the lower belly. The underside of
the wings are almost entirely off-white with just a small dark patch near the
front edge and all black wing tips. The upper wing in flight shows a yellowish patch at the
base of the primaries. The facial disk is paler than the body, with a prominent white edge making it stand out. Two 'panda' style dark patches
frame the wonderful deep yellow eyes. The two small 'ear' tufts are not usually visible unless the bird is alarmed.
Short eared-owls are not easy birds to find and even less easy to photograph. In winter, they turn up regularly at Conway RSPB, Burton Marsh,
Parkgate Marsh (especially at high tide), Norton Marsh, Kinmel Bay and a number of other similar places. You'll need to be lucky to find them but when you do
your patience may well be rewarded. You'll get the best opportunities if you remain out of sight. Burton marsh allows you to park up in your car overlooking
the marsh but you may not get the birds close enough for a really good shot unless you are very lucky.
Norton Marsh hide is good if you are lucky enough for one to turn up whilst you
are there. However, at the Mercury Industrial Estate
in Kinmel Bay, there are usually a number of wintering owls using the rough ground around the estate to hunt for small rodents. This is a great place to
get a decent picture although it took me seven visits after work in the winter of 2006/2007 to get any half decent pictures. You can use your car as a
hide here too. Make sure that you have your camera gear with you in the car to avoid having to get out of your car and then, if you can get a period free
of dog walkers and have a little patience, you can get these birds either flying or landing close by. Try not to disturb the birds here as they are
prone to go to ground if too much human activity is going on round about. The best time tends to be late afternoon towards dusk but I have seen them
flying around as early as noon.
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