Roosting juvenile Long-eared Owl

This juvenile Long-eared Owl roosted in the same willow for several weeks, sometimes alongside one of its siblings. On one of the best evenings, it was already sat out in the open when I arrived — quite a sight to come across. I am fairly used to finding Long-eared Owls roosting in willow trees, but rarely out in the open like this.

Barn Owl again

 

More Bank Vole

 Bank Voles are just too cute aren't they?

Little Egret

Whilst waiting one evening at water level on the River Welland, adjacent to Deeping Lakes LWT, I was lucky enough to have this Little Egret fly by and land not too far away. It fished in the shallows quite successfully and was in absolutely stunning condition. I'm so used to seeing egrets just loafing in the trees at the lake, or dozing on the islands of East Pit, that it was great to watch one so actively in action!

More Long-eared Owl

A few more of an adult Long-eared Owl from back in May.
 

More Flying Young Long-eared Owl

More shots of the young Long-eared Owls learning the ropes. Watching them develop their hunting skills over the course of just a few evenings was quite remarkable — from unsteady first flights between branches to hovering confidently over the grass below. You could almost see the instinct switching on in real time. More to follow, of course!

Juvenile Long-eared Owl Portraits From June

Having watched young Long-eared Owls for long enough to recognise them from adults, this bird seemed to change from looking really young to almost adult-like in just a week. At this point it was still squeaking — perhaps only to its siblings? Hard to know with such a nocturnal species. These photos were taken after sunset — in fact the last one was taken over 30 minutes after sunset, such was the lack of cloud and the strength of the moonlight! A truly magical evening that I won't forget in a hurry.

Flying Juvenile Long-eared Owl

Sometimes the stars align with birding and bird photography. This young Long-eared Owl and its siblings were wonderful to watch as they started to learn how to fly and practice hunt. These photos were taken quite early on in its flying career. Occasionally it would stop and hover, presumably after hearing a rodent below and instinct kicking in — a remarkable thing to witness. This brood offered a rare chance to watch and photograph young Long-eared Owls in flight at length. A true privilege.

Red Belted Clearwing

Our garden is relatively new, sitting on a housing estate that is only about 15 to 20 years old, with our house being one of the last built around ten years ago. Like all new housing estates, the gardens are small and essentially started as green concrete — but in the six years or so we have been here, I have worked hard on turning it into a little oasis. 

We now have a hedge at the bottom, two apple trees, a pear tree and a plum tree along the side, a wildflower area and loads of flowers for bees and butterflies. The hedgerow and fruit trees have matured nicely, and now when I put a lure out I can expect ten or more Red-belted Clearwing moths. A species that would have been completely unseen here just a few years ago — proper proof that if you build it, they will come. 

I took this back in June, during a family BBQ of course!

 

Blue Tit Bath

 

More Long-tailed Shrike Action

 

A few more shots of the Long-tailed Shrike from last week. It was quite active, hunting grasshoppers and the like whilst we were there. I love shrikes and this bird was tremendous value in the short time we were there.

Barn Owl with prey

 

The Barn Owl is of course one of the nation's most beloved birds, and around here we are incredibly lucky — in a normal year I can usually find one within a mile of my home. This is the same owl as in the previous photos, as you can tell from the damaged ringed leg. On this occasion it flew incredibly close past me as it headed back to the nest. What an absolute privilege!

More Long-eared Owl Portraits

On a windy May evening I was watching this Long-eared Owl hunt from a tree stump (see earlier posts) when it decided to fly off — which was fine, as I had a pretty full memory card with about a thousand shots of the owl looking in every possible direction. 

To my surprise it didn't go far, landing nearby on another exposed branch and again listening intently for rodents below as the wind made hunting difficult. We often think of owls struggling in periods of prolonged rainfall, but prolonged windy spells can be just as challenging.