Owls in Rough Grass

I saw just one Short-eared Owl on the high ground on Tuesday afternoon.   The winds were very light so to conserve energy the Owl was only making short low flights and hunting at every opportunity.

I saw it take and stash to voles in an hour without raising them above the grass line before it moved off across the moor to try its luck elsewhere.

Dodging the Hail storms

I spent a couple of hours on the West Cornwall high grounds early PM today.   The strong wind was creating an icy blow which was also turning frequent storms into hard hitting Hail so not a day for hanging around in exposed locations the likes of the above image for too long.

I had seen a Short Eared Owl go to ground on a high grass slope. It was actively looking around for signs of prey so I patiently waited with my back turned to a couple of icy storms and it finally took to the air rewarding me with the sequence of images posted below before returning once again to the same bank.

As I hurriedly worked my way off of the heath trying to avoid yet another hail storm I was also treated to a few images of a fast moving low flying juvenile Peregrine which is somewhat uncommon for this location

Blog 3: Perched Short-eared Owls

Most birds tend to be photographed on the ground and flight shots are a bit more of a challenge but with the Short eared Owl the opposite seems to be the case,

The birds will rarely hesitate to fly reasonably close to you when you are near their rough field hunting ground but will not land to take a rest or to consume prey without moving away to a more acceptable distance

Once landed their mottled plumage blends in well with their surroundings and you can easily pass by without seeing them at all.

Tracking a bird in flight is probably your best bet, Take note of its landing position and surrounding land marks before moving in with as long a lens as you have available to you so that your final distance to your subject is acceptable to them.