Hi and welcome to my Blog, my name is Paul Riddle and I live in south Leicestershire, UK. Back in August 2007 my quest began to locate as many local Little Owl territories as possible. The driving force was a reported decline in the uk numbers so I thought I would do my bit and conduct a study in my area. After 7 years and countless hours out in the field I have detected over 200 different sites. With a thirst for a greater understanding of the owls a more comprehensive monitoring and nest box programme then commenced. This also now includes monitoring the local and very sparse population of Barn Owls, please pop back occasionally and catch up with the life and times of my owls and any other wildlife that I come across. I hope you enjoy your visit!!!

Monday 24 September 2012

Late post!

Considering it is now officially Autumn the weather on Saturday almost defied belief, glorious sunshine almost all day and no wind, very spring like! However, things weren't quite so appealing first thing?

Surprisingly before I could set off I had to clear the car windscreen of the thin layer of ice that had formed overnight, it had been a chilly one! Once cleared I set off in search of some owls, but where? Whilst trying to fathom out a plan for the day I popped into the local petrol station at Whetstone for some fuel and provisions, in doing this I found myself just down the road from my Little Owl site No 31, beings as I was so close it would have been rude not to stop by.

As I made my way down the lane the sun poked its head out above the horizon, the ground was starting to warm up and burn off the overnight frost, I have tried to give you an understanding of the scene in these next two images, not easy though with a 300mm lens, too big!



The owls at my site 31 are best viewed early morning, especially if it is sunny and true to form, there on the low fence railings was my first owl of the day sun bathing! He just sat and watched me watching him, I did get an image but I accidental deleted it.......what an idiot! 
 
For the rest of the morning the owl viewing was brilliant, I have definitely found a frosty morning with the sun rising to be an excellent time for the owls to be out. Several different birds were seen across four different sites, here are a few images that I was lucky enough to capture. 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

30 comments:

  1. You can't beat a walking Little Owl mate.

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    Replies
    1. Yes Christian it is one of my favourite poses too.

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  2. Fantastic pics. I work in Whetstone so am wondering where you mean but I guess you keep that to yourself :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment Andy, yes I am affraid I need to keep their locations low profile....sorry!

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  3. Great images Paul,it was a bir nippy Saturday. I hate it when an image gets deleted by accident.

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    Replies
    1. Oh I have made that mistake more than once Doug. will I ever learn?

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  4. Wonderful! If I had to pick favourites, the walking owl and the spade images are just a tad above the other superb shots.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your comment mate, the walking/marching owl is my favourite too. Still haven't quite nailed the image I'm after though.

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  5. Fantastic images Paul, I agree with Richard re favs.

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    Replies
    1. Cheers Mike, it seems the walking owl gets most people's vote. I'll strive for a better one soon.

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  6. Fantastic images and can't disagree that the walking shot is a stunner :-)

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