Long-eared Owl take off

I had a very narrow window of opportunity to grab a few shots of this Long-eared Owl as it took off from the branch I had been photographing it on. Luckily the focus remained on the bird!
 

Dancing Egret

Little Egrets are fantastic to watch when they are fishing — so alert, perfectly still one moment and charging about the next. I was patiently waiting at the edge of the Welland at Deeping Lakes when this bird landed nearby. It was mostly walking away from me, but suddenly caught sight of a fish and leapt up, doing a little dance in the water — which I was rather pleased to capture!

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.