An abundance of owls

If only all winter days were as crisp and bright as today! We got up reasonably early (well, for a Sunday) for a quick scoot round to a local sight on the Ridgeway, where there have been a couple of Short-eared Owls seen recently. The fields at the base of the hill are really sodden & waterlogged, so there were quite a lot of gulls paddling around. Lou kept getting excited every time she saw white wings from the corner of her eye, in case it might be an owl. We did have a possible distant sighting of what looked to be a owl going into a clump of trees to roost, but it was quite a brief glimpse, so couldn't be 100% sure. I'll pop back one afternoon later in the week for another look.

 Driving round the country lanes was very pleasant in the morning sunshine. There were quite a lot of small birds - particularly Corn Buntings, Gold Finches and several Yellowhammers. We also saw a couple of small groups of Fallow Deer browsing in the fields, and a number of Brown Hares.  We had a great view of a pair of Red Kites circling along the ridge, as well as several buzzards perched up.

Corn Bunting

This afternoon, we'd arranged to take my friend Piotr out to the Salisbury Plains in the hope of seeing a Short-eared Owl or two, since he'd never seen one before. Conditions were just about perfect today, with clear skies, sunshine and no wind. Driving out, we passed a large flock of Lapwings feeding in  a semi-flooded field. We arrived at the site just before 1pm, and immediately spotted our first Shortie, quartering over the long grass on the slopes. We spent quite a while watching her catch & eat a vole, before driving on down the valley.

Short-eared Owl

Louise somehow managed to spot our second owl hunkered down on the ground in a sheep field. It seemed to be keeping a close watch on the pair of Kestrels that were hunting up & down the field! We watched it for about 30 minutes, hoping it might take to the wing, however it worked it's way right down into the long grass, so that it was completely hidden.  We had a little while to wait before our next owl sighting, but there was plenty to see in the meantime; several Kestrels wheeling and hovering, Stonechats, Fieldfares and Buntings.

Short-eared Owl

As the afternoon wore on, the owls came thick and fast. We saw at least 7 individuals and possibly up to 12. The far end of the valley was particularly good today, with 4 owls hunting up and down a relatively small sheltered area - much to the consternation of a flock of Fieldfares. There were a further 3 or 4 hunting up the slopes at the top of the valley, and at least one individual in the mid-section.

Short-eared Owl with vole

Short-eared Owl

A really overexposed photo but shows the bushes

The afternoon light was beautiful, especially as the sun started to go down. We had some fantastic close views of some of the birds - one in particular was very obliging in it's choice of post to sit on! It doesn't matter how many Shorties I see; I can never get enough of them!

Last rays of sun

Rousing

I was absolutely kicking myself about a missed opportunity, though... I noticed a small falcon just above us, but with my main attention on the owls, I dismissed it as a Kestrel. Belatedly, I realised it was a Female Merlin, so I should've been shooting away at it when it was right overhead! Still, can't have everything! That's two at close quarters and still no photo....Merlin are definitely a bogey for me!! 

I'm full!!