Well met

The last time I saw a Short-eared Owl was on the 6th of March 2020, though that day I chose to post a Hairy-footed Flower Bee. If I'd known at the time that it would be three years and eight months till I next had a chance to show off a shortie, I'd definitely have gone with an owl photo. That summer the field vole population collapsed up on the Cotswold scarp, and the following winter the owls went elsewhere. Although I listened out for owl reports in '21 and '22, I didn't hear anything, and it didn't seem worth trekking up into the high Cotswolds just on the off-chance of a sighting.

Then yesterday a birding friend told me that the shorties were back on the scarp. R and I had a lunch date today with some of his extended family at a pub quite close to the owl field, and afterwards I swung round there, just to take a look. I didn't have high expectations of this visit, especially when I saw how few cars were parked on the lane, but as soon as I got out of mine I realised from the other photographers' postures that something must be going on. 

One owl up, I was told - over there, look - and another on the middle owl post. Before long a third bird appeared, which surprised us all, and for a few minutes there were two hunting and one perching, distantly, on the wall. One of the hunters then got into a screaming battle with a kestrel and disappeared for a while, and by the time it returned and landed the other two were both on the wall. I have a photo that - just - includes the complete set.

The light was pretty dire even when I arrived at half past three, and by half past four it was virtually dark. Obviously this is my excuse for the deficiencies in this image (which was my last keeper of the day), but it does happen to be true: even the R5 can't work miracles at an ISO of 12,800. There's a lot of lore around the photographing of owls, ranging from the scientific to the superstitious - over the years I've amassed so many owling mantras I could get them all printed on a tea towel - and one oft-repeated bit of wisdom is "No-one has ever taken a good photo of a Short-eared Owl before New Year". This is rubbish, obviously - I was talking to a chap this afternoon who took two excellent photos yesterday - but there is a kernel of truth in it. Through November and December the days get progressively shorter and darker, you're always likely to be fighting the exposure triangle, and the owls are inclined to hunker down in their roosts and not venture out until they're hungry. Through January and February the days are lengthening again, and the owls are feeding up before migrating back to their breeding territories, so they spend more time on the wing in improving light, and the photo opportunities are better.

All of which is to say that I hope I'll get better Short-eared Owl photos than this over the next three or four months. For today though, it's more than enough that I got to spend an hour at my happy place, watching my favourite bird in action, and just occasionally having it watch me right back.