Blog 6: Aerial Disputes

Most images of Short-eared Owls are taken on the wing while the birds fly slow and low over rough grass fields looking for prey so it is nice when other behaviour activities are displayed.

Yesterday I managed to get quite close to two birds perched in the same field and I was also delighted when one of them lifted off and and went straight in to attack the other perched bird so now I had the chance of two birds ducking and weaving in aerial dispute behaviour as well.

Aerial disputes over territory have proved to be a regular occurrence between these birds but it rarely seems to develop into anything serious.

The skill of these birds flight patterns are a joy to watch and usually end up with both birds heading in opposite directions preferring to put their energy into hunting rather than fighting off the competition

In the shot above however one bird had already made a kill and both birds tumbled to the ground in a more serious dispute and it was the aggressor that won the day as it stole away with the other birds kill.

So if you want to appreciate a wildlife spectacle such as this, head for the high ground around dawn and dusk preferable on a day with light winds and a bright sky just like today !!