17th November 2017

Today we were treated to the rare sight of a migrant Short-eared Owl at a visible day roost (DKC), a safe enough distance from public footpaths to ensure it was left in peace. Several birders came along during the day to enjoy this fantastic bird which was very alert for the morning before eventually settling to sleep in the afternoon. It became more active and began to preen and stretch as dusk swept in before it took flight at around 16:45, circling the field and vanishing into the ether. The owl somewhat overshadowed a fly-over adult Great Black-backed Gull (DKC), our first in a while. A male Reed Bunting in Game Field (GB) added extra quality and other odds/sods at the farm included a Grey Heron, a Rook, 35 Skylarks, 34 Fieldfares, seven Redwings, 300 Starlings moving west, three Little Owls, a Tawny Owl, a Mistle Thrush, two Meadow Pipits, 19 Linnets and two Buzzards.

Short-eared Owl

Geoff Barter, David Campbell (photo), Darragh Culley, Steve Gale, Paul Goodman, Ian Jones, Ian Magness, Jamie McKenzie, Linda Mount, Robert Russell, Phil Wallace et al