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!!!

Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Little Owls and a bit of sunshine.......

I have managed a few short trips out during the last few days, mainly to check boxes and on any breeding developments. I now have Little Owls in boxes that have only just started to lay their eggs, others that have chicks and a few in between! I can only assume this wider than normal gap between when these different pairs "got down to business" is a direct influence on the ever changing weather conditions?

As ever I took my trusted camera along with me as being an opportunistic type of chap one never knows what will present itself? I managed to grab a few images at three different sites along the way and to be honest I am quite pleased with some of the results, so I thought I'd share......

Little Owls do have a very cryptic feather pattern and it is amazing just how well they can blend in to all different types of backgrounds, but this guy below was easy enough to spot! 


The light direction at times was really not in my favour, but I have added this next shot because I like the post.


Although I couldn't be sure I suspect this pair must have chicks as they were both observed grubbing around on the floor for insects.


Really pleased with this next image, I just managed to get him in flight as he zipped past me.


This particular owl was located on top of an old barn getting a bit of sun. 


At one site the male bird was captured landing on one of his favourite perches, I am very pleased with this sequence of images.





I hope you enjoyed this little "gallery" update, hopefully Barn Owls will feature in my next post?

Thanks for stopping by.
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12 comments:

  1. Douglas Mcfarlane5 June 2013 at 20:30

    I keep saying this but each time I'm blown away by the flight shots Paul, the header image is my favourite, but I also like the wing shape of the owl taking off and the one almost landing on the post are equally fantastic...dead jealous:)

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    1. Paul Riddle11 June 2013 at 00:10

      Yes I too was pleased with the header image Doug, cheers for your comments but you need to tone them down a bit otherwise my large head will become massive!!!

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  2. Millhouse Photography6 June 2013 at 17:22

    All of the images are top-notch. However, the first flight one and the landing on perch are phenomenal. Well done mate.

    Have you seen this guy's photostream? I think you might like his work as it's right up your street:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/64047197@N02/

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    1. Paul Riddle11 June 2013 at 00:11

      Hi Christian, thanks for your comments and thanks for the link. Yes I have seen this guys work, some super stuff especially with the wide angle shots.

      Delete
  3. Rohrerbot6 June 2013 at 21:24

    Fantastic header!!! I love love owls. Those flight shots are stunning. I just found a new owl species to add to my lifelist yesterday. It was epic.
    These photos won't be released until July but I thought I'd share a link with you from the pics I did take. They are known as the Northern Pygmy Owl. What an incredible find! Love your stories and pics as always.
    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200578973931415&l=284dc7e0e5

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    1. Paul Riddle11 June 2013 at 00:14

      Hi Chris, cheers for your kind comments. Well done on the new species for the life list, as for your link I don't go on Facebook and wasn't able to follow the link, is there another way I could view?

      Delete
  4. colin6 June 2013 at 22:47

    The header image is a stunner mate.................see yer Sataurday.

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  5. Richard Pegler7 June 2013 at 16:51

    Briliant, Paul, but my favourite is the 'undercarriage down' shot just prior to landing.

    Sorry I've been quiet for a while. Been up in Scotland and am now trying to catch up with everything. I'm missing the owls a bit - only seen two since I returned!

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  6. Chris Johnstone7 June 2013 at 16:59

    Cracking landing series, Paul. the second one is the best for me!

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    1. Paul Riddle11 June 2013 at 00:16

      Thank you Chris, I am pleased you liked them.

      Delete

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