owls about that then!

Drip Drying

2012-01-24T23:14:00.000Z

It was windy, raining and getting dark as I approached one of my SEO sites, I nearly didn't bother as all "the rules" were telling me it was a waste of time and nothing would be showing. But I couldn't ignore the niggling inclination I had that it might just be worth the effort this time?

I pulled up and quickly surveyed the area for flying birds, initially nothing was seen. As I scanned the area through my binoculars I picked up one in the distance field perched on a very spindly branch, then another on the hedgerow.

Owl No 1

Owl No 2

A couple of quick shots of the two distant birds were bagged, I then moved a little further along the track and a third was was picked up, again on a distant perch in the middle of the field.

Owl No 3

Then as I made my way further down the track and a fourth bird was sighted in a tree, I slowly made my way to it and got the closest image so far!

Owl No 4

I continued along and through a gap in the hedgerow, what met me the other side stopped me dead in my tracks, an owl sat there staring me out no more than 20 feet away! I'm not sure which of us was more startled, but neither of us budged. I dare not move for a few seconds but then my paparazzi instinct kicked in and a few shots were rattled off. The owl then took flight and landed further along the hedgerow.

Owl No 5, my best SEO image to date, I think?

After that fantastic encounter I made my way back to the car, I was just about to pull off when a sixth owl was noticed just along the track. The camera setting were adjusted to the low light and I chanced my luck by creeping very slowly to a more advantageous position, luckily the owl stayed put long enough for me to get that dammed perched image I've been after for months!

Owl No 6, a perched owl.

All the time I was there (around 40 minutes) it was very strange that I never saw an owl flying about or hunting? The only explanation I have is that the birds must have been "drying out" after sitting in the middle of the field all day in the pouring rain, I guess I will never know the answer but one thing is for sure, I will never forget my closest ever encounter with a SEO and at last I bagged that "perched" image that I have so desperately sought for what seems an age.

Headers

2012-01-23T23:18:00.001Z

Just recently I have been having a "play around" with my blog layout, I thought it was getting a bit too messy (and maybe a bit stale) so I tried to tidy it up a bit and make it more appealing to the eye for any readers. I have also been occasionally changing the header image, and to be fair I have had some positive feedback, which is nice!

It was suggested by one Leicester birder (who will remain anonymous) that I should change it on a daily basis..........WHAT????

Now I'm all for a bit of variety but to do it that regularly would mean I've got hundreds of suitable images and loads of spare time........of which I haven't, of either!

However, I have taken on board his request (no pressure then!!) so from now on I will attempt to keep things fresh and change it maybe a couple of times a week......images allowing?

So, this latest header (large above and smaller cropped below) was one of a series taken in May of last year and the owls were located perched up sitting in the sun on the side of an old chapel.

Hope you like it?

Where's owly?

2012-01-22T17:02:00.001Z

Goodness the wind this morning was bad, strong enough in fact to blow your skin off! Anyway I still got out there and braved the elements for a couple of hours, my main quarry was Little Owls, 12 sites visited and not a single sighting!

Surprisingly though, a quick drop into one of my SEO sites produced a quick glimpse of an amazing 5 owls, all together!!! They weren't up long and the viewing was brief, I think something must have spooked them as it is strange to see them up so early in the day especially in the strong winds.

5 shorties all in one shot, can you seen them all?

When the owls were up they were being blown all over the place, one could sense they were uncomfortable with the gusty conditions and just wanted to get back down to the ground for some much needed cover. One by one they all landed in close proximity to each other, trouble is as soon as they are in the grass they just blend in and disappear!

I took this image (below) seconds after the fifth bird had landed, all of them are definitely covered in this shot, but I can only see the one bird! So now we are going to have a bit of fun, (simple things please simple minds and all that!) I've gridded the image to make cross reference easier but I'm not revealing which square the only bird is that I can find. I would like to invite you to study the image and tell me where they are?

Go on give it a go!

UPDATE!

Thank you to those of you who made an effort and attempted the "find the owl" game, you all did very well and located the owl in grid 1C, I have studied each grid time and time again and I'm sorry to say that all the other suggestions were off the mark, but worry not all it means is that you are all as bad as me (or John S, private joke!) at detecting owls, or in other words............utter useless!

Don't feel bad about it though, these owls are cunning devils and hide and seek champions!

Barn Owl?

2012-01-21T14:41:00.001Z

You may well of thought that by the title of this post I was going to share some recent Barn Owl images, well sorry to disappoint!

There is a barn and there is an owl, but it's a Little Owl in and around a barn!

Due to the fact that the weather has yet again scuppered and chances of getting out I thought I'd get on with doing some more organising of my files and images. Whilst doing this I came across a selection from my site No 172, the majority of which have never posted before, so just to keep things ticking over I'd like to share them with you, enjoy............

Here's hoping the local conditions have a change for the better and I can get out otherwise I'm afraid to say that I will have to delve deep into my archives again to share some more old stuff!

Fascinating!

2012-01-19T10:44:00.002Z

On my previous blog post I announced that I was going to try and resist the temptation to upload any more images of "boring" subjects (like SEO's in flight) unless they were in some way different. Well that promise didn't last long did it because here are some more!

But in my defence the reasoning behind these latest images is because they are from a new (but undisclosed) site in Leicestershire. I have known that birds were here (3 of them) for a good few weeks now and although the light was terrible they are my first images, so I thought I'd share.

Now getting back to my promise of more "interesting" images, these next two are definitely in that category, well for me they are anyway! For those of you that don't know SEO's (short eared owls) spend an awful lot of time on the ground, for the best part of the day they roost on the ground and in the breeding season they actually make a nest on the ground too.

I was recently watching a private area of rough pasture which is frequented by SEO's, I'd been there for around an hour waiting for them to rise from the long tussocky grass and start hunting . Then all of a sudden there was an explosion as two owls rose from the grass right in front of me! Up they came and off hunting they went, unbelievable how could they have been so close and yet I didn't see them?

Once the birds had flown off I took the opportunity to take a closer look in the grass from where they came, all was then revealed as to why I didn't detect they were there. As can be seen in the images they had both made little tunnels where they could cower down and keep out of the wind and of course stay undetected.

I was fascinated, it was obvious that these "roosting tunnels" were used on a regular basis because they were both full of poo and had piles of regurgitated pellets at the entrance..............cool hey?

Strange antics!

2012-01-17T07:54:00.003Z

On my previous post I upload an image of a pair of Little Owls that were acting rather strange? Something I'd never witnessed before and I can only assume it was some kind of pre-breeding behaviour. Anyhow, I did manage to grab a short movie clip of the antics, take a look by clicking the arrow button, and turn up your volume because they make some strange nosies too!

Maybe someone out there can shed some light on what they think they were doing???

A Change of attack!

2012-01-16T01:19:00.001Z

Following on from an in depth conversation I had recently with Richard Pegler regarding "boring" owl images and his subsequent excellent blog post I am now taking up his (our) challenge to make a concertive effort to come up with something a bit different. To understand my reference to Richard's comments you can catch up with his blog by clicking HERE.

I think I owe it to my blog readers to offer a bit more variety with my images rather than concentrating all the time on intimate close ups. Although its not easy to continuously offer variance along with an acceptable quality I'll give it a go. A bit more environmental and or unusual behaviour should be the norm from now on, but of course there will always be some "boring" images but hopefully not as frequent!

So let us start with some non flight SEO images, as regular readers of this blog know I am trying desperately to achieve a "perched" shot, it wasn't attained over the weekend but what I can show you is a roosting bird on the ground. The grassy rough pasture that can be seen is typical of where SEO are to be located, their camouflage is perfectly suited.

Another ground roosting bird, a bit closer and in better light, just brilliant how the sun enhances those intense yellow eyes!

In line with what I have promised, an image that is a bit different. Here a distant SEO can be seen just after catching a vole, it was just about to tuck into its meal when it had some unwanted attention from a Carrion Crow. Judging by the owls stare I don't think it is in any mood to share!

As I mentioned previously, to offer different types of images sometimes quality and close up detail has to be sacrificed, this next image of a pair or midair owls fighting is typical of that but I think one can get a feel for what was occuring?

Next on the weekend agenda was Little Owls, recently I have tended to keep on going back to the same reliable sites, which obviously makes my life easier but results in the images being very similar? So in order to offer some variety I chose to work on some a new sites, I wasn't confident that I would see any owls let alone achieve any images!

I needn't have worried though as the two chosen locations near to the village of Kirkby Mallory produce the goods with a fine display from both of the resident pairs.

At my site No 142 the pair put in a brief appearance, not that different an image but a good start to the day.

At the second site, No 47 a stake out of the nest entrance finally paid dividends when the hen owl popped her head out to take a look at me.

Whilst I was watching and trying to perfect an image of the hen owl the male flew in and landed on a nearby branch. She was out in a flash and joined him, my first image of the pair together in glorious light, shame about the obstructing twig and slightly messy background!

I was having some superb views of the birds when suddenly they were spooked by the farmers dog that was sniffing around at the base of the tree. They weren't going to hang around and watch whilst it dumped its load, so off they flew to a nearby tree.

Once the coast was clear the owls returned, but this time to a different perch that was in full sunlight and without any clutter in the background.

I think with hindsight the dog actually did me a favour as the owls had obviously forgot about me hiding in my car, they now seemed totally relaxed. Now I have spent hundreds, no thousands of hours watching Little Owls and what I witnessed next was a first!

They faced each other, dropped their heads and starting rubbing them together! I haven't a clue what it was all about but I did capture an image of them doing it.

After the "strange antics" had lapsed both birds seemed to be very excited, lots of fluttering from tree to tree and squawking, I can only assume it was some kind of pre-breeding season bonding? If you have a theory as to what they were up to I'd be please to hear from you.

The final image from this session was of one of the owls that dropped down to the ground right in front of me, makes a change from a perched bird I suppose!

So hopefully this most recent post offered something a little different, not sure how long I can keep it up though!!!!

Something different....

2012-01-14T12:49:00.000Z

Blogs, websites, on line photo albums, social networks etc etc.......Cyber space has been completely saturated with images of SEO's recently...........and rightly so!

This winter has seen an influx of continental birds gracing our shores and the budding paparazzi among us have been filling our boots! Trouble is the majority of the images are a very similar, either a flying bird over grassy pasture or perched up on some fence or twig. Now when it comes to flight images I have hundreds, so I am well entrenched in that society but there really isn't anthing different. I'm still waiting to attain the perched up image, hopefully that will be soon so I can join that club too.

So I wanted to get something a bit different, but what? There really isn't much of an option there! The only thing I could work on was a different background, so my plan of attack was to set myself up in an area where a flying bird would offer just that and now finally I have achieved it, with the help of a dark hedgerow. The light was just magical' the bird a little more distant than I would have liked, hence some harsh cropping, but it is different.

What do you think, does it work?

Not fast enough!

2012-01-13T10:13:00.000Z

Another brief drop in to see the seo's, plenty of activity in the fading light, nothing special or different captured apart from maybe this distant action shot of a couple of the owls in a midair pursuit. The leading bird (on the left) had just captured a vole that can just about be seen in its talons. The trailing bird did all it could to steal the free meal, a magical spectacle to witness as they twisted and turned at high speed just feet above the ground, but it all proved fruitless for the chaser, it was too slow!!

Mad Owl and me!

2012-01-08T05:04:00.001Z

My first post of the year has been somewhat later than I expected, free time has been a premium since getting back to work after the festive season, then there has been the crappy weather and to compound it all I've had a very dodgy left shoulder that needed an operation, hence no driving!!!

Anyway, prior to the op and before my return to work after the xmas break I did manage to get out for the first time in 2012 for a few hours, the quarry.......yes you've guessed it owls!
It had been a while since I visited one of my SEO sites, so that's where I went, the aim of the day was to get an image of a "perched SEO". Surprisingly upon arrival I was the only observer there? I sat in the car surveying the area for 30 minutes and nothing! So against my better judgement I decided to have a walk around the whole complex, at a leisurely pace it should take around an hour or so. This I believed was my best chance to encounter an owl in the more sheltered areas? I'd only been walking for 10 minutes when the wimp in me gave up, it was ridiculous how strong the winds were, any owl that was up in this weather would be nuts!

Getting back to the sanctuary of the car was pure heaven, on went the engine and then the heaters at full blast. I was sitting there enjoying the warmth when an owl was sighted! It was way off in the distance and it was perched!! Not wanting to miss the opportunity I rattled off a few shots, it was too far away for the "perched shot" I was after so instead I grabbed a short piece of video.

Just click on the arrow to view.

The owl then duly obliged by taking off and flying in my direction, it made one fly past where I managed this sequence of images. Not good quality, but my first SEO of 2012.

With hindsight it shouldn't have been a surprise that I was the only one there viewing, it was dull, wet, cold and very very windy, just perfect for owl watching.....NOT!!!!

Last Post!

2011-12-30T17:32:00.001Z

Same old story, off work and can't get out due to the bloody horrid weather.........AGAIN!!

So rather than letting the situation wind me up I thought I'd make most of my idling time and attack the massive task of vetting my Little Owls images from 2011, they are now into some thing of an organised manner, I think!

Here are a few that I haven't published before, various birds on various perches......

It is highly unlikely that I will be doing another post before the end of the year, so let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy new year!

Paul.

2011 Review.

2011-12-27T06:33:00.002Z

Phew what a year it has been, plenty of memorable highs and a few inevitable lows thrown in to sober things up a bit, but all in all a very enjoyable year! This is going to be a long post (could have been even longer!) but beings as so much as happened it is not easy to condense it all into a review without waffling on a bit.....sorry!

My blog has now been running for nearly two years and it seems to be going from strength to strength, 2011 saw the unique visitors count rise up to nearly 18,000, and the total page views to over 44,000 from an astonishing 82 different countries, didn't realise there was that many?

JANUARY.

The year started off with terrible weather which hampered getting out owling so Col and I made the most of a bad thing and got on with making more Barn Owl boxes, 40 more were made and erected through out year.

Col and a few more boxes.

FEBRUARY

Nearly every weekend was spent making more boxes or erecting them if the weather was favourable, loads of return visits were made to existing and new boxes to see if any occupancy had taken place. During this period I had an opportunity to grab my first ever image of a Little Owl emerging out of one of my boxes!

Later in the month I was checking out another box for any Barn Owl activity when to my utter surprise I chanced upon a LEO (Long Eared Owl). Only my second ever sighting of this species and my first in Leicestershire. It was so dark my camera couldn't focus on it, but with a bit of help from the car headlights I was able to attain a record shot in manual mode.

A re-visit the next day in better light, it took an age but finally the LEO was re-located day roosting deep in a Hawthorn bush.

MARCH

The weather was starting to settle down and warm evenings were becoming more frequent, the owls were showing signs that we weren't far from the breeding season. Males could be heard most evenings calling out loud establishing their territories. In between all the goings on during the month I managed another first, a reasonably close up image in good light too of Little Owls mating!

In 2011 I made a consertive effort to locate as many Barn Owl sites as possible in my survey area, in total three sites were located and I'd monitored them on a regular basis. Due to the fact that one of these sites was very near the land owners house it was decided that we would try some "assisted feeding". This compromised offering a couple of day old chickens on a purposed built feeding platform and if the owls decided to breed maybe it would help in the rearing of the owlets?

The chicks started to disappear, so a couple of evening vigils followed and low and behold the culprit was soon detected......A Barn Owl! Fingers crossed this would bode well for the future?

APRIL

My search area for new Little Owls sites expanded over to the eastern part of Leicestershire. In one long slog of a day I was able to locate an incredible seven new sites. One site in particular had an incredibly approachable bird, some superb views and photo opportunities were had from within the confines of my landrover.

On this particular day the light was just superb, the owl was very accommodating too as it landed on some interesting perches.

Also in April I was awarded with Bird Guides Photo of the week, this is a website that I visit on a daily basis and regally upload some of my images to share with like minded folk. They can have up to 2,000 images per week to judge from so as you can guess I was well chuffed to be awarded with this accolade.

BG's Photo of the week.

Earlier in the year I was contacted by Amateur Photographic Magazine, a national publication who regally run features on different aspects of photography. They had heard about my work with the owls and during their April edition a four page spread was published with a selection of my images.

MAY

By now the owling world is a hive of activity, breeding was well underway and it was a race against time to get around as many different sites as possible to monitor the progress. The first evidence of the year was in the form of five Little Owl chicks in one of my boxes at my site No 21.

Two of the five chicks being held by yours truly.

In my introduction I mentioned that during the year there had also been some lows, well two of these came during the month of May. Although slightly humorous (on my part anyway) but at the time both were quite sobering incidents. The first came when Daz and I were checking out yet more owl boxes for breeding evidence, going up and down the ladders is part and parcel of "the job", well it is for my helpers anyway! On this particular occasion up went the ladders and then up went Daz. Then crashing down came the ladders followed closely by Daz from a height of around 20 feet! Daz was very lucky indeed as the ladder broke his fall which I am sure made the injuries none fatal!

Daz's leg injury, he's still getting free pints of beer out of me now......7 months later!

A ruined ladder that gives an indication of the impact, could have been worse though as Daz's leg could have ended up being this shape?

The second incident during the month came when Col filled in for the injured Daz. Again it was when we were erecting boxes, not really sure what happened but Col came down the ladder with his head streaming blood, apparently he had hit himself with a hammer!!! Like the wanna be press photographer I am "getting the image" was of prime importance. Once the image was in the bag and I'd stopped laughing it was time to administer first aid, what I wasn't aware of at the time was Col has a condition where his blood is very thin (maybe it's all the alcohol he drinks?) and if he cuts himself it gushes like a good un.

Bloody Col, he still had time to smile for the camera!

JUNE

The breeding season was now in full flow, I'd been monitoring loads of sites in readiness for the visit of the Charnwood Ringers. Little Owl sites were again on the agenda, but this year we had Barn Owls too!

Daz with a brace of juveniles Little Owls from my site No 136.

Little Owl, just ringed and not far from fledgling the nest.

Barn Owls, a first for me and successful breeding was recorded at three different sites. This first image was taken on 5th of the month, although difficult to see there are actually five chicks huddled together.

On the 27th of the month we returned to ring them, oh my how they grow!

These juvenile Little Owls were located at my site No 77, very cute to look at but dam hard to get at. There was four at this site but the entrance hole was just too tight to get them out to ring.

Yet another site where breeding was prooven, this image was taken at my site No 180 and amazingly the nest hole was only 18 inches above the ground!

To finish June off in style I also managed to tick off another item on my Little Owl wish list, a decent image of a pellet expulsion.

BLIMEY YOU ARE ONLY HALF WAY THROUGH, BETTER GO AND GET A CUP OF TEA!!

JULY

After all the hard work of making, erecting and monitoring the boxes/nest sites it was now time to reap the rewards with juveniles showing at most sites.

My Little Owl site No 115, four juveniles fledged from this nest site which was located in an old barn.

Little Owl site No 154, two juveniles fledged from this site.

At my Little Owl site No 120 there was a record breaking six juveniles that fledged, I never did managed to get an image with them together but I'm not complaining as getting three of them in one shot was a right result!

Late in the month I had a call from a local landowner telling me that he had found a juvenile Little Owl and had taken it in. He'd been caring for it for a couple of weeks and its diet of dog food and fresh rabbit was doing wonders! It was finally placed outside in an upturned washing basket and eventually its parents located it and after being released all was fine.

This was one of the adult owls that came to investigate why its youngster was in prison!

Here the parent bird can be seen taking a closer look.

I spent quite a few evenings camped out at one of the breeding Barn Owl locations. After many fruitless visits and countless hours I finally captured an image of two of the developing chicks emerging on the 24th of the month, my calculations tell me these particular birds were around 2 months old.

At one of the closest Little Owl sites to where I live more breeding success was confirmed, I chanced upon a slightly nervous and agitated adult owl. It was constantly calling and kept flying towards me and landing on a combine harvester.

It soon became quite clear what all the commotion was all about when one of its youngsters appeared from within the depths of the farm vehicle, I never did locate the nest site, I wonder if it was in the harvester?

My last visit out in July was again rewarded with more Little Owls, at my site No 91 there were three juveniles located messing about on a tarmac driveway that leads up to a farm, I was intrigued, this needed further investigation. I drove as near as I dare and pulled up, the owlets got nearer and nearer to me, they were so pre-occupied with what ever it was they were doing I didn't bother them! Then to my utter amazement one of them flew up and landed on the bonnet of my car! Then another and then the third!! They sat there huddled together gripped onto my windscreen wipers. Then the penny dropped, they were gorging themselves on a hatch of flying ants, they were all over the place, including my bonnet!

I couldn't managed a shot as they sat there, they were far too close! Luckily one of them flew from the car and relocated to the side of me on a fence post, slowly I opened the window and grabbed a couple of images.

AUGUST

This was a really quiet month in owling terms, mainly because I was out of the country on my annual holiday. After arriving home late in the month I did manage to get out and located two more breeding sites that had success with breeding Little Owls.

This image was taken at my site No 77 where 3 juveniles fledged.

Although I didn't know it at the time I was going to get very familiar with the four juveniles that I located at my site No 87. It took numerous visits for the birds to get use to my landrover but once their confidence was gained I could drive within 6 feet of them!

SEPTEMBER

Nearly every time I managed to get out owling during September I found myself heading towards my site No 87. The owls were so receptive to my presence I just couldn't stay away. The biggest obstacle though was the light, not a lack of it but it coming from the wrong direction!

Another pellet expulsion....

On a couple of occasions during the month I did managed to resist the temptation of visiting site No 87 and went to see what else was about. My mate John gave me a tip off that there was a very approachable Kestrel showing at a nearby nature reserve, I was lucky enough to locate him and he flew close by on a couple of occasions.

At the end of the month more Little Owl breeding was proven with this fine pair of youngsters at my site No 136.

OCTOBER

After a very hectic previous month October was relative quiet in comparison, a major change in focus was on the horizon........SEO's (Short Eared Owls). But not before I had my final visit to my now favourite and possibly over visited site No 87.

Unbeknown to me this was the last time I was to see the juveniles at this site, ironically I achieved a nice group shot of three of the juveniles and an incredible close up that was taken from around four feet, so close in fact that the reflection of my landrover can be seen in the owls eyes!

Then mid month my next obsession began, I knew the SEO's would soon be arriving in the UK but didn't know where or when? I hadn't got any decent images of these majestic birds so I needed a plan, and my plan was to find some suitable habit and keep a very close and watchful vigil on it.

I knew of just an area and after a dozen evening visits they finally arrived, there was nine in total and I was the only person there watching them! I had to wait though for some decent weekend weather before I finally nailed a couple of images.

NOVEMBER

All my free time in November was dedicated to the SEO's, I now knew of owls at two different sites totalling around 20 birds, and at times they would come incredibly close. The word had got out and both the sites were becoming more popular by the day with fellow photographers. This had a detrimental effect as the birds more often than not kept their distance, so a change of tactics was needed.

I decided to take my hide and set it up away from the crowds, on numerous visits the tactic change didn't pay off as the birds we even further away than before! But on the odd occasion the gamble was a good one as the odd bird did stray close to where I was.

DECEMBER

As good as the SEO's are I realised I'd been neglecting my Little Owls, so the first weekend of December was spent re-acquaintancing myself with them. I opted to pay a visit to a very reliable site in South Wigston, and true to form they obliged.

Wasn't long before I started getting itchy feet, my next outing was back with the SEO's,

And to end the year my final outing was only be for one thing........Little Owls. So my final two images are of Little Owls from my sites 77 & 168.

Well that's is folks, an enormous amount of activity crammed into a "brief" (ha ha) review of 2011, I could have made it last twice as long you know!!!! Anyway you did very well getting this far without either falling asleep or dieing of boredom!

Lastly thank you for taking out the time to follow my blog and here's wishing you a very happy new year and may 2012 be a hoot!!!

Paul.

Bully for me!

2011-12-24T08:37:00.001Z

In the garden to the front of my house I am very fortunate to have a Rowan tree and at this time of the year it is laden with berries, thousands of them. The berries act as a magnet to the local bird population and at almost anytime during the day one species or another can be seen gorging on the fruit.

Starlings, Blackbirds and winter Thrushes are the most common visitors but they have to keep a watchful eye out for the resident Mistle Thrush. He thinks he is the king and owner of the tree and doesn't take kindly to any other bird taking his berries. He has a constant battle guarding and chasing off the other birds and recently whilst I was watching him do his macho thing I noticed a new visitor to the tree........a pair of Bullfinches!

Although Bullfinches are not rare they are still a cracking bird and very welcome visitor to my garden. They only seem to make a couple of visits per year so I wasted no time and rushed into the house to grab the camera. I went upstairs and viewed out of the front window, luckily the Mistle Thrush was so pre-occupied chasing off the Starlings it left the Bullfinches alone to feed and pose nicely for me.

What a result, my best ever Bullfinch images!

merry xmas

2011-12-22T07:09:00.002Z

Snow good!

2011-12-18T18:18:00.000Z

This morning when I opened the curtains I was met with a light ground covering of snow, oh goodie! I'd been hoping for this for a while and it ment I could go and get some wintery images of some of the local owls.

I opted to visit my very reliable Little Owl site No 105 near to South Wigston, as usual a brief wait and the male owl emerged from its cozy nest hole, trouble was by the time I eventually arrived on site the snow had all but melted, dooohhh!

The light was pretty good most of the time which enabled me to get some nice images, but they are not what I was after.........not a snow flake in sight!

600 seconds!

2011-12-12T22:58:00.001Z

I knew it was a risk, the weather forecast was appalling, I chanced my luck and my wait was rewarded with a nearby owl in changing light for a whopping ten minutes, the wind then got up and the heavens opened...........so I went home!

Pretty Pleased

2011-12-09T18:18:00.001Z

A quick stop off to see if any owls were showing, I wasn't expecting much activity as these strong winds we are having of late tends to keep them down. To my surprise they were up, the light wasn't very good for photography so I opted to just watch them for ten minutes or so.

Then the horrid grey clouds broke and the sun shone through, to coincide with this a solitary owl was quartering nearby and getting nearer. In a mad rush the camera was soon out and then the owl approached near enough to rattled off a few frames.

I couldn't believe my luck, normally when I visit this site there has been loads of preparation and hours of waiting, but today I guess it was a case of right place at the right time!

I'm chuffed to bits with the outcome, just goes to show how some nice light can really enhance an image.

Getting Repetitive.

2011-12-07T18:08:00.001Z

I'm still going through the couple of hundred SEO images from last weekend, during the shoot the sun was very low in the sky and offered a brilliant "golden glow" to my images. But at the same time it also caused some very harsh shadows, which to be fair has made vetting the images a little easier as they have all been trashed! This has still left me with well over a hundred "usable" images but the problem is they are all very similar and uploading something a bit different is not easy.

I know the cropping/composition isn't the best but I'm limited to portrait style images only in the larger format on this blog.

So apologies if this latest batch seem to be a bit repetitive, I'll try harder for something a bit different next time......

Tempted Back!

2011-12-06T18:46:00.001Z

Recently I said that I was going to get back to concentrating on my Little Owls after spending far too much time with the Short Eared Owls..........well I lied!!!!! I Just couldn't resist another visit and finally I was blessed with great views and glorious golden light.

In total I managed 225 images, I'm still working my way through processing them all but below are a few that I've done so far, oh and the new header. I think they have come out pretty well and I'm really pleased with the outcome.

Hope you agree?

All that is needed now to get some really pin sharpe images is a new Canon 500mm F4 lens to replace my old Sigma, so if anyone out there would like to donate one........I'm ya man!!!!!!!

Not much to offer!

2011-12-04T19:30:00.001Z

This weekend didn't produce much for me in terms of publishable images, it wasn't for lack of trying though. I was short of time for loads of owling but when I did get out "on site" they didn't play ball. The SEO's were always distant and when they finally came close enough to photograph it was too dam dark!

Distant SEO in the failing light.

I also spent time at some of my Little Owl sites, this owl (below) was the only one prepared to offer some nice views, still struggled with the poor light though!

Brighter times!

2011-11-29T16:27:00.001Z

Today I took my last day off work for this year, it was booked a week or so ago and it was a bit of a gamble on what the weather would be like? I lost the gamble badly as it has been bloody atrocious here in Leicestershire........all day!

High winds and driving rain made it a total no no for going out, so I have made the most of a bad thing and spent some time organising my owl images from yesterday, these didn't make the first cut as I thought they were sub standard but seeing as I don't have any other new images to post they will have to do.

So in keeping with the theme "Little Owls" here are a few more images that were taken only 24 hours ago, when the weather was far more forgiving!

The grass is not greener.

2011-11-28T23:12:00.001Z

As anyone who is a regular reader of this blog will know, just recently I have been playing away! I have been indulging myself with my guilty pleasure........Short Eared Owls. There is no hiding the fact that my head had been turned and my life long birding love, the Little Owl had definitely taken a back seat.

Well today it was a case of "better the devil you know" my long standing affair with the "little one" was rekindled, I was taking a day off work and what better way to spend it than catching up with my old mates.....that is if I could locate some?

I spent the morning over at a couple of known sites near to South Wigston, luckily enough some birds were located with the added bonus that the light was just fantastic, so no excuses there!

I've been trying to convince myself of late that the Short Eared Owl were a much more handsome and photogenic subject than the Little Owl............I think I may have got it wrong?

It was good to be back with the little "uns".

Back with the 'little un's" soon!

2011-11-21T18:17:00.001Z

Firstly I must apologise for all the SEO images that have completely taken over my blog recently, I promise that once I've had "my fix" I'll get back to the local Little & Barn owls. Anyhow, during my most recent visit to see the SEO's the views were excellent but the light was atrocious.

Normally when presented with conditions like this I very rarely have any "keepers" but beings as I am starting to perfect shooting in manual mode (well sort of) I have now started to surprise myself just what is possible!

Due to the constraints of the blog layout this first image of a SEO calling in flight is as large as I can make it because it is in a landscape format, just double click on it for a larger version.

Although this next image lends itself better to be again cropped in a landscape mode it did have enough space to crop it in portrait.

All fingers and thumbs!

2011-11-20T11:02:00.001Z

Its addictive this SEO watching, I was compelled to make yet another visit on Saturday. The weather was indifferent though, one minute it was dull and drab the next the clouds broke and the sun shone through.

I was lucky enough to yet again get some superb views of these majestic birds, at times they came close, too close sometimes as I couldn't fit them into the frame and ended up cropping off their wings!!

The light levels were forever changing and this proved to be challenging at times. Trying to get the correct exposure was tough, especially when the birds were moving from high up in the sky to low down over the grass in a matter of seconds. So in order to try and over come this I had a go at shooting in manual mode (thanks for that Pete!) this involves continually adjusting the exposure, ISO, depth of field and taking the shot all at the same time, oh and I forgot to mention whilst doing all that you also have to track the bird in flight as well!

Using this new technique resulted in loads of crappy images, I was all fingers and thumbs because I just wasn't able to change the settings quick enough, there was loads of good opportunities wasted! However, as the day progressed I was starting to get the hang of it which resulted in a few keepers. Yes it is as difficult as it sounds but I think in time I will slowly perfect the technique, all I'll need then is a Canon lens!!!

I took loads and loads of images and below is a selection of them.....

This final image (almost full frame) is of the closest encounter I had all day, it was flying straight at me and I just couldn't "lock on" to it, then just as it went overhead (about 10ft away) I locked on and unbelievably caught the action, well sort of.........!

Best batch todate?

2011-11-12T22:33:00.001Z

My patience and continued studying of the SEO's finally paid dividends today, the word has obviously got around now about the SEO's at this site and each time I visit the watching crowd continues to swell. This makes it more of a challenge to get any decent images as the owls are being pushed further away from where they were comfortable when they first arrived.

So rather than stand in a group at the hedgerow with everyone else I employed slightly different tactics and they paid off. Along with some better light and accommodating owls I think this latest batch is probably my best to date?

Double click any "landscape" image for larger and much improve quality.

Dinner is served in the form of a vole.

Not wanting to forget my other friends, the Little Owls. Here is my latest and long over due image from my site No 101. My first sighting at this location for over 6 months!

A talon of turf!

2011-11-10T07:14:00.001Z

A late drop in to see the SEO's threw up a couple of salvageable images. Although taken just before dusk the light was still better than it had been last weekend, and that was in the middle of the day!

Four birds were showing well but sadly they kept their distance most of the time, mainly due I think to the other observers who'd gathering to watch the hunting and Ariel displays.

I settled down in an area where the birds don't often frequent, it was well away from the other folk and a bit of a gamble really but in order to get any close up views it was a gamble that had to be taken.

After 20 minutes nothing came close and I was resigned to a gamble that hadn't paid off, then a solitary owl was spotted coming towards me along the hedgerow. It coincided with a split in the clouds and a slither of late sun shone through, this was my chance. It got nearer and nearer and at about 20 meters away it spotted me and turned, the precise moment the shutter rattled off.

Still not the full frame image I am after but a pretty good result never the less.

I had one more semi near fly by, this was due to a successful capture of a vole by an owl and then a second owl pursued it whilst trying to steel its bounty. They were so involved in the ariel "dog fight" dispute they moved away from the relative security of their hunting area and towards me!

This action occurred after dusk and the light was terrible, thankfully though I was able to capture the action with a high ISO setting. The lead bird (on the left) can be seen trying to evade its pursuer, although the vole can't really be seen the clump of grass that got tangled around it can.

Although I only had a couple of near views my gamble of moving away from "the crowd" definitely paid off as I don't think an owl went anywhere near them!

Bloody Horrid!

2011-11-09T13:27:00.001Z

Drab, gloomy, grey, drizzly, dank, damp, dark, dingy, grim, dismal, depressing, or just good old fashioned dam miserable, what ever descriptive is used they all individually or collectively describe it! Yes I am talking about the weather of late, not good for viewing SEO's let alone managing an image!

I did however give it a go, sadly these are the best I could manage...........

I thought the sun was suppose to shine on the righteous, well I'm righteous all right.....so where is it?

Even more!

2011-11-05T11:17:00.003Z

I've just been sifting through and organising my images from earlier in the week and I was surprised to find a few more "keepers" that I missed first time round!

Sorry but they are all of more SEO's, I just can't get enough of these brilliant birds at the moment.

The Eagle has landed.

2011-11-04T21:39:00.000Z

Well not so much an Eagle, but it was feathered, mottled brown, a big beak, huge talon's and a bird of prey, OK it wasn't an Eagle but an owl....but it had landed!!

More SEO's

2011-11-03T22:01:00.000Z

Another late visit to the SEO site, I got there late and the light was fading fast, the birds were mostly distant but they did come reasonably close on a couple of occasions. With the recent advice I'd received about my camera setting (thanks guys) I was now able to "lock on" to the birds for just that little bit longer which resulted in a few more "keepers".

God dam are these stunning birds......hope you agree?

Owl Fest!!!

2011-10-31T08:42:00.000Z

Another trip was made late Sunday afternoon to see the SEO's, only three where showing this time. The light was pretty good and I was hoping for some closer views than on previous visits so as to make myself less conspicuous I settled low down in the hedgerow.

My tactics seemed to work as they did come very close on a couple of occasions as they grappled with each other midair, but not for long! I was covered in a camo blanket and I'm confident the owls didn't see me? But when I starting rattling off a few shots the noise of the shutter definitely caught the birds attention!

Most of my "up close and personal" images were blurred, out of focus or of no bird at all!!! They move so quick and tracking them in flight was almost impossible!! Looking back at my results the best and most "usable" images was when the birds were at mid range, about 20-30 metres away, and in the sky.

Tracking the birds low down (just over the grass) resulted in 90% of my images being out of focus, my camera/lens set up struggled to "lock on" to the moving bird, or maybe its not the equipment but just a poor operator!!!

Three other owl species were also seen on the day, a single flyby Barn Owl, a day roosting Tawny Owl, sadly no images of either and two Little Owls.......a new site too!

New Little Owl site No 201, I spied a single bird sitting on top of a distant barn.

After further investigations a second bird was located in what I suspected to be the nest tree, as you can see in the image (below) it appears to be blind in one eye!

It was a cracking day for viewing owls, although frustrating when it came to "birds in flight" images. I can't complain though as it was the best views of SEO's I've ever had and a new Little Owl site, can't wait to go again!

Better Light.

2011-10-29T09:08:00.000+01:00

More shorties, better light but the birds, all nine of them were distant most of the time. A few mid air territorial squabbles occurred, talons were flashing a plenty all pretty trivial though, they were just putting a show on for me!!!. It is such a privilege to be able to watch these fantastic birds go about their dusk time hunting, many thanks must go to the local land owner and gamekeeper who have been very co operative.

The late setting sun offered a nice golden glow, the odd bird did come a little closer although the images are still heavily cropped.

I was so pre occupide watching another bird I nearly missed this one as it flew straight over me, it went and settled in a distant tree with four other owls.

This was possible the closest flyby I had, shame I clipped the wing tip!!!

I will now be keeping a close vigil on this site in an attempt to get some real close up and intimate images. It is inevitable that my presence makes the owls a little nervous and pushes them further away, therefore more work is required, maybe I'll build a hide there this weekend???

Roll up roll up!

2011-10-28T00:09:00.001+01:00

Yes it is that time again folks, oh OK its a bit earlier than last year but I needed to get myself organised as last year I left it rather late to produce and some folk didn't receive theirs until late January!

What am I ranting on about I hear you ask???

My 2012 Little Owl calendar that's what!!!

So if you would like to support my Little & Barn Owl box scheme you will not only have that "feel good factor" knowing you are supporting a good cause but also by return post you will receive one of my limited edition calendars........WOW!!!

There is a different picture for each month plus the front cover, all the images used were taken by myself during 2011.

Front Cover (of the first batch).

A typical example of the inside layout.

I am totally aware that we all all feeling the pinch in these particularly tough economic times so this time I have ordered them in larger quantities to help keep the price down as low as possible. 100% of the profit from the sale of each calendar (£3.50) goes towards the cost of making and erecting more new boxes.

They are priced at only £10.00 each, (plus P & P @ £1.00 for UK deliveries).

So if you would like one (or two or even three!) please send me an email (it's at the bottom of the page) stating how many you would like and don't forget to let me have your postal address, I'll then do the rest!

Many thanks for reading my blog and hopefully your support too.

All the best........Paul.

p.riddle@fluid-solutions.co.uk)

Found em!

2011-10-26T23:28:00.000+01:00

The distinct lack of posts recently is not because I've haven't been getting out, quite the opposite in fact. It's just that I haven't had anything to post, image wise that is! I have been out most evenings searching high and low for those elusive SEO's (Short Eared Owls).

Sadly the SEO don't actually breed here in the Leicestershire area but during the autumn they move down from their northern breeding grounds and over winter where ever they can find suitable habitats that are rich in voles and shrews. I would love to get some images of these very majestic birds and have visited many areas recently where other folk have sighted them.........but up until tonight I have seen zero birds!!!

So a change of tactics was required, rather than chase up other people's sightings I opted to get out there and find my own birds. The area I was at tonight is absolutely perfect for SEO's, trouble was after several visits I'd seen nothing, until tonight that is and boy o boy did they show.....at least SEVEN of them!

It wasn't good for images though as the light had all but gone, although distant and an ISO of 6000 the results are OK I suppose considering the conditions? Putting all the excuses aside the viewing was superb, a real owl fest!

I will be making regular evening visits over the next few weeks to hopefully get them in good light, and then maybe I will be happy with the results?

Nearby SEO....

2011-10-23T13:57:00.000+01:00

A phone call Saturday morning from my mate John was the perfect tonic needed to kick start my fight against yet another hangover, god dam Friday nights!!! I was just moping around the house feeling sorry for myself (yet again!) when John informed me of a reported SEO (Short Eared Owl) from Friday. As it was only a few miles down the road near to the village of Froelsworth I nipped out for a couple of hours before going to watch the mighty Leicester City against bottom of the table Milwall (what a pitiful performance, again.......lost 0-3!) anyway I had no luck in locating the SEO but the search had me stumble across a cracking "owly" area that I'd never been to before, but shall be returning again very very soon.....

As I didn't manage any SEO images here is a recent pic of a pair of Little Owls that were located on a barn roof, a bit distant but good to see never the less.

My plan this morning (Sunday) was to get up early and go SEO hunting at first light, Saturday's drowning of my sorrows with loads of Guinness put paid to that!! So now that my head has cleared (2.00pm) I am off out in search again for the SEO, fingers crossed I locate it and some cracking images to follow...........???

Minds Eye.

2011-10-22T10:23:00.001+01:00

I've not been very productive over the last few days owl wise, too busy with work & family commitments to get out, but to be honest though when its as windy as it is a present its a waste of time anyway!

So as I haven't got any new owl photo's to upload or news of a new site to share, therefore I thought I'd upload this sketch of myself (below). It was done by my brother and took him only a couple of minutes to do. He is really gifted when it comes to just picking up a pencil and doodling, he just doesn't realise what a talent he has........what a waste!

Now he ain't no birder and wouldn't know the difference between a Wren's wing and an Eagle's arse, but he has a conception in his minds eye of what us birders are like, or so he thinks?

Although not very flattering on my behalf I still think it is brilliant and it really made me laugh!!!!!

Oh I almost forgot, I did see just the one owl in the week, a snoozing bird sheltering out of the wind at my site No 149 near to the village of Walton.

Bring on the owls!

2011-10-17T23:17:00.004+01:00

After two weeks without a computer I was very pleased to take delivery of a brand new unit today, trouble is it has a different operating system to what I'm use (XP to windows 7) and I've about pulled out all my hair out trying to figure out how the dam thing works, where's my 10 year old son when you need him!

"Plug and play" the computer bloke said........yeah but not for an old duffer like me it ain't! I've managed to install some of my processing softwear but there are conflicts all over the place. Oh how close I have come to smashing it to smithereens with a sizable lump hammer! And for Blogger & my Google account, well they just don't want to co-operate, looks like I've gotta delve deep into all my previous setting before I will be able to read other folks blogs and comment properly. Anyway, with a bit of help (yes you guessed right, from my 10 year old son) I have been able to create a post, of sorts....

Recently the weather has been bad for seeing owls, so rather than sitting around watching the TV I've been busy making another four Barn Owl boxes. Now they are completed all that is required is a good home, so I've also been out searching high and low for some suitable sites in the south of the county. And after much groundwork & networking with the local landowners four suitable and very private sites were finally detected, and all four of them were isolated and disused barns.........just perfect!

So last Saturday Big Col and I set about getting the boxes up, our first location looked very owly indeed.

I've never seen any owls here but judging by the amount of poo we saw inside it is obviously used by them.

Col doing a grand job of securing the box, he's a right grafter you know!

On entering the barn at the second site we were shocked to find a Barn Owl roosting up in the rafters, we knew it was the perfect location and all that was missing was a box, so we soon fixed that!

At the third site we couldn't get access to the barn because of the close attention of a massive and very angry Bull, neither of us were prepared to risk life and limb so we opted to erect the box in this adjacent lean to, still pretty good though! Oh and for good measures a Little Owl was seen here too.

The fourth and final location, yet again another good site that just oozes Barn Owl, well it ought to now we have put up a box!

So after a fine mornings work (thanks Col) the running tally of Barn Owl boxes we have made and erected has now risen to 37, adding these to the Little Owl boxes already in situ making a whopping total of 79 boxes! Surely if there is any justice in this world next year will be very productive indeed...........COME ON OWLS!!!!!!

Does it work?

2011-10-13T09:22:00.000+01:00

I have just started following a super blog "Hiding in cars" it's author Christian is from from Lancashire and he has plenty of quality images and re-enactment's with his local owls. Recently he posted under the theme of "so bad it's almost good" it was of a picture of a Barn Owl in flight that wasn't quite what he was after, however after much deliberation he decided he actually liked it, and I do too!

So under the same theme I offer my contribution to this new trend, my image (below) was taken in very low light just as the sun was disappearing over the horizon. I had a pair of Little Owls perched up and posing nicely and at the precise moment of taking the image they both took flight.

The shutter speeds were low, 1/15th of a second which resulted in the "artistic" blurr, what do you think, does it work for you???

Reflections

2011-10-11T09:28:00.001+01:00

Nothing much to report on the owling front from the last few days, at the weekend the evenings were spent mostly on the beer and the mornings were for recovering!

So the free time I had (in between the headaches) was spent tidying up my new hard drive now it has returned from the conman, no sorry the repairman!! Although expensive at £300 he did a grand job and salvage 99.99% of the data on it.......phew!!!!! Whilst organising and backing up my hard drive I came across a few images that as yet I hadn't had time to process, so in this period of inactivity I thought I'd share them with you!

This is my only image from the brilliant site No 87 where I managed to capture 3 of the 4 juveniles together, all say aaaarrgghh!

This owl allowed me to get so close to it that you can actually see the reflection of my Landrover in its eyes!

And finally a bit of owl loving, all say aaaarrgghh again!

That's all for now folks, hopefully some more up to date action will be coming this way very soon!

Goodbye Mr Mole!

2011-10-07T23:46:00.003+01:00

This evening whilst on my way home from work I chanced upon this gruesome yet bazaar occurrence, it was sightly morbid but somewhat fascinating. Just remind me never to get too near a Heron as it seems as though they will consume almost anything when hungry.

The mole struggled and wiggled for its life, thankfully the end was quick as it disappeared in a single gulp!

Disaster!

2011-10-06T19:05:00.000+01:00

Ever since my owl study began (over 3 years ago) I have amassed an amazing amount of data, so much in fact that I have filled my 160GB external hard drive with it! There is my very impressive bespoke database which holds all the specific info on each individual owl site so far located, along with this there is a record of every individual sighting I have ever made (thousands of them). There is also all my breeding locations, contacts, meeting notes, maps etc etc....... Oh and not to forget all of my images, over 17,000 of them!!!

Last weekend my hard drive died, taking all my info with it!!!!!

I have since taken it in to a couple of local computer outlets to see if the data is retrievable but the story was the same, "sorry there is nothing we can do, the hard drive has failed, I should have backed it all up".

I have now sent it off to an expert who specialises in this type of data recovery, they can't guarantee they can help, the data could all be lost forever! If they can help I know it's going to cost me an arm and a leg, the initial quote was at least £300.00................WHAT!!!

I now have my fingers crossed they can help, I hope you have too!

Good bad & the ugly!

2011-10-02T23:45:00.000+01:00

OK, as the title to this post suggests it has been a bit of a mixed bag over the weekend.

GOOD.........Well actually there were two weekend occurrences that fit nicely into this category, the first was a non owly thing but never the less it made my weekend.......watching the mighty Leicester City FC "Ramming" 4 goals past Derby County, that was brilliant in itself but it was made all the better with a celebrating drink that lasted well into the late hours!! The second positive note was another new Little Owl site, taking my overall tally to a very giddy 200!! I chanced upon a really nice old looking barn late on Friday night near the village of Walton. Saturday morning I was compelled to investigate it further but not before I found out who owned it? After a bit of networking the landowner was sought out and permission was granted for me to take a closer look.

The barn in question did come up with the goods, a solitary Little Owl was located inside, a terrible image but it was rather dark in there! I suppose this image should of been under the "bad" category too!

BAD...........I took the time out over the weekend to make several visits to see if the four juvenile little Owls were still hanging around at my site No 87. It is almost certainly bad news now as I just can't relocate them anywhere. I did however locate and photograph the female adult owl sheltering at the entrance to a cavity nearby (below).

UGLY.........I am due to be re-decorating my home office very shortly and thought it would be nice to hang a few of my owl images on the walls. Therefore whilst doing a bit of printing this afternoon I started playing around with my editing software, this was the result.......

Yes it's a bit arty and slightly dramatic, oh yes dam ugly too.......but I like it so it's going to take pride of place!

Flighty Falcon

2011-09-30T23:39:00.002+01:00

Something a little different this evening..........Kestrels!

A couple of very enjoyable hours were spent at a local beauty spot with this very handsome raptor. The sun was low in the sky which complemented the birds plumage and feather detail but also sadly created some very strong shadows at times. Without doubt the best in-flight & hovering images I have ever managed of this species, a lot easier (and less frustrating) than trying to capture an owl in flight! I had at least 150 images to choose from and it was a difficult task to know which ones to upload as they were all of equal quality.

So rather than swamp this post with loads of in-flight images (which were the best on the day by the way) I have selected various postures & poses to share.......

Double click any image for a larger and far more detailed version.

Hovering overhead..

Dinner time, a grub of some kind?

More hovering.

A distant landing.......& rest time!

Perched up high.

This "in flight" & not hovering image is my favourite of the day!

I must admit I really enjoyed working with a different subject for a change, it offered different challenges to that of the owls. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this very confiding individual hangs around as my appetite has been whetted now and I want some more!

A Fond Farewell!

2011-09-28T19:39:00.000+01:00

Oooohh the light was just perfect, at last the sun was still out when I got there & to make matters even better a few owls put an appearance in too!

This evenings session could be the last at this particular site. Each time I visit the four juveniles are harder & harder to locate as they move further away from the natal site. Normally if you locate 1 bird you locate them all, but this evening they were scattered all ovet the place. I was really pleased to eventually track them all down and attain an image in the superb setting sun.

Out of town owling?

2011-09-26T19:25:00.000+01:00

Getting back to work today prove to be a bit of a chore, Monday's are bad enough to endure after a weekend but after a weeks holiday they are even worse!!! I was over in Ely, Cambridgeshire making some customer calls and whilst driving between two of them guess what I saw????

Did you guess? Oh you know me too well!

Yep that's right, a new Little Owl location, get in there site No 199!

I was casually giving all the roadside barns and shacks the once over as I drove past.......just in case! And then to brighten up my day there one sat on top of a rusty old barn. As ever the camera equipment was in the boot, so after a quick pit stop the kit was out and a record shot was in the can, below.

My clumsy antics flushed the bird, (what an oaf!) but not too far away thankfully, only to the roof of another barn. The car was maneuvered to a more advantageous position where the sun caught the owl perfectly.

I sat there quietly rattling off the shots when hello hello what's this then? A second owl popped its head over the apex.

Next thing they were having a right old squabble

A brief restbite with the arguing, they remembered I was there!

After some good but not too close views one bird flew off across the road, the second owl seemed curious of me and came closer for a better look.

I know these were not Leicestershire owls but I not that fussy, they are still going down on my list. I will try and catch up with them when ever I am working in the area.

Minds Eye.

2011-09-25T23:56:00.005+01:00

I have been really busy the last few days and consequently have fallen behind with my blog postings, but not too busy to get owl 'n' about......obviously!

Following is a brief resume of the last few days.......

The four juveniles at my site No 87 are still hanging around the natal site, but I did have a scare on Saturday morning when for the first time ever no owls could be located? The wind had shifted from the west to the south and this I think moved them from their regular day time roost. However a re-visit this morning (Sunday) and all four were relocated, albeit away from their regular haunt!

Several like minded souls who hold a common fondness for Little Owls have accompanied me to this site and one particular image was attained by John Hauge that I absolutely adore! I have tried to attain this particular image on previous visits but the owls just wouldn't co-operate and land on the right post! So lucky old John made the most of it when they duly obliged, and in good light too! Take a look at his website, The Drunkbirder, the image I refer to is the last but one with the brown background. I was so impressed with the outcome of John's image I was even more determined to attain a similar one for myself. Trouble is during the last 2 or 3 visits the sun has either been in totally the wrong direction or not out at all.....dooough!

Anyhow, here are a couple that I did manage.......

Late in the evening and after a very long wait a bonus pair perched on just the right stump, problem was the setting sun was coming from the rear left. I don't know there is no pleasing some people!

This next image was attained this morning (Sunday), problem this time was there was just no sun at all, although still not the desired result I'd like I am still really pleased with it ;-)

Also this morning I had one of the juveniles right along side and even underneath my Landrover at times! I can only think it was offering a certain amount of cover from the wind whilst it fed? I had to zoom out to 150mm to attain this image!

On Saturday after the "no show" with the owls at site 87 I opted to re-visit a couple of other local owl sites, at my site No 11 near to Claybrook a very obliging owl was located sheltering out of the wind in this barn window.

On Saturday I also located another owl sheltering out of the wind at my site No 195, it was in a roadside tree and by far the best image from here to date!

Just up the road near to the village of Ashby Parva this owl was captured exiting its nest cavity at site No 141. The nest site is located in a mature Pear Tree, just look at the detail in the bark, nice hey?

So it is now fingers crossed for the juveniles to hang around just long enough for me to capture that elusive image that I have in my minds eye, oh and for a bit of sun in the up and coming days, that'll help!

A beautiful noise!

2011-09-20T20:44:00.003+01:00

The weather was crappy today, so I didn't get out and consequently there is nothing to post about today's adventures......boooooooo! But worry not, I would like to share a couple of quick movie clips I captured recently of Little Owls calling.

From my experience the Little Owl has quite a repertoire of different calls, I regular hear around 10 different variants. I bet most of you have heard the calls on this clips (or something very similar) at sometime or another and you were possibly wondering what it may have been? Well now you know!

Don't forget to turn up your volume and then press play to view (the triangle button).

Did you recognise either them?????????

On a mission!

2011-09-19T21:09:00.000+01:00

I have a week off work starting today, (lucky me!) and a few birding/owling trips are planned, so before all the activity commences I thought I'd ease myself in gradually this morning and visit a local owl site......no surprise there then!!

Rather than attempt the normal run of the mill portrait images today I was on a mission, I wanted some action/flight shots, this could prove difficult as owls are notorious for sitting for hours without moving, however I was going to give it a go! Normally for the portrait images the tactics I employ is to try and get as close as possible to the owls (without disturbing them of course) and then try to position myself so as to have an interesting perch or pose with a background as uncluttered as possible. I then edge my bets and try for a flight shot should the situation present itself. I have found this just doesn't work, well not for me anyway!

What I was going to do today was have the camera set up for high shutter speeds and to keep my distance, this will hopefully allow me to track the owl in flight.......that is if I am quick enough?

During my stake out I did have a few flight opportunities, totally messed most of them up but I did manage to capture a couple of near keepers.They are of reasonable quality but still not what I am after. The light wasn't as good as I'd like and due to me being a little too far away the cropping reduces the quality some what!

Whilst there I also mangaed a few portrait shots (below), I just couldn't resists.......yes I know, I am weak!

Weekend birds.

2011-09-18T21:11:00.000+01:00

I managed a few hours at a local owl site on Saturday morning, wasn't there for long as I was off down the footie to watch the mighty Leicester City thrash Brighton, the early table toppers 1-0........get in there!!

The time with the owls was quite productive, some super close up views were had of the four still hanging around juveniles. This image (below) shows a couple of them sitting together and luckily I managed to capture the furthest owl just as it regurgitates a pellet, uurrrggghhh!

Pellet expulsion.

This morning (Sunday) I had a call from a local birder (cheers John) he informed me of a very confiding juvenile Kestrel that was showing well at a local site. Off I went in search and eventually I caught up with it, this was by far the best close up views I have ever had of this species and a few images were captured before the weather turned.

Kestrel (juvenile)

Humble Pie & 4 more!

2011-09-18T06:52:00.000+01:00

Three weeks ago my daughter (Louise) gave me a tip off on the where abouts of a new Little Owl site, she was making her way home on the school bus and whilst going through the village of Ashby Parva she saw one sitting on top of a road sign! She explained to me roughly where the sighting took place and I then crossed referenced this with my maps, if she was correct with her location it was definitely a potential new site for me! Without further ado (and against her will) she accompanied me back to show me the exact location.

Since then I have made several visits to the area and seen nothing at all! I was beginning to doubt the credibility of her sighting, even though I must admit the area does look perfectly suitable for owls. Anyway in the week, I again stopped off at the location and BINGO, there sat a Little Owl on a distant post! I was elated to find another new site (No 195) but on the other hand I was deflated in the fact that I ever doubted Louise! Yes it was a difficult thing to have to admit to your teenage daughter that Dad was wrong and all along she was right, oh you should have seen the smug grin on her face!!!

This was the only image I managed (below) a good 300 yards away and a sure contender for one of the "best blobs in the distance" images you will ever encounter (see the Hooded Birders Blog for more info on this black art) .

Little Owl site No 195.

After notching up the new Little Owl site I decided to investigate the area a bit more, on the opposite side of the road was a bridleway so off I went for a bit of a nose around! A couple of fields in I noticed a suspicious looking blob in the distance, no it couldn't be.......could it? I approached it in a zig zag fashion and eventually got close enough to confirm yet another Little Owl!!! It was a good 7-800 yards from the first owl so after much deliberation (with myself) I decided that this will be new site No 196!

I was very satisfied with my image from around the 100 yard mark but not wanting to eclipse the Hooded Birder I worked myself nearer and nearer until finally the resultant image was attained (below).

Little Owl site No 196

The owl started to get a bit twitchy so I backed off and left it to play " I'm a statue" all on it's own! As I was making my way back to the car I flushed yet another owl out of a tree, it was confirmation that there was a pair here and I was well justified giving it the honour of being a new site.

Later on in the evening my good lady (Gaynor) and myself were driving near to Saddington resevoir and we chanced upon TWO more Little Owl sites, No's 197 and 198! On both counts the birds were seen on roadside telegraph poles. Sadly it was far too dark for any images but bet your bottom dollar I will be returning very soon to put that right!

NOT OWLS!!!

2011-09-15T20:18:00.001+01:00

Now the horrid gales have abated and the sun has started to put an appearance in I was hoping that some of my owls would be coming out of hiding? Therefore this evening I opted to visit some owl sites over near the village of Arnesby, an area that has been very "scrooge like" just recently!

En-route I couldn't help but notice a mass of bird activity in a roadside field (no not owls!), the sheer numbers got me interested.......just what were they? I pulled up in a gateway and locked the binoculars onto them, Yellow Wagtails & Meadow Pipits, I suspect they were having a feeding pit stop before continuing on their southerly migration? It was difficult to establish the numbers as they were constantly being flushed by a pair of Sparrowhawks!! A rough estimate was at least 75 Yellow Wags (wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't double that!) and at least a couple of hundred Meadow Pipits.........nice hey!

From the gate I managed to attain an image of both species, (below). However I failed miserably with the hunting shot of the hawk, far too fast for me!

Yellow Wagtail

Meadow Pipit

Anyway, after that excitement I continued on my way, and yes I did eventually see some owls and surprise surprise here are some of the images!

On the eastern side.

2011-09-14T21:51:00.000+01:00

Considering the poor weather conditions in the last week or so it hasn't been too bad for owl watching. Most sites I visited yielded nothing, and that wasn't really a surprise with the persistent westerly gales of late. However the odd site was productive and in every case it was a matter of locating the birds on the sheltered/eastern side of a hedgerow.

Due to the high winds the birds were reluctant to move which resulted in getting nearer than normal. In all cases the images were attained from the mobile hide (the Landrover), which was good as it offered some nice photo opportunities (images below).

Another expulsion!

2011-09-13T22:16:00.000+01:00

During last nights venture out one of the owls allowed me some really close up views, during this period I took the opportunity to experiment with a few different camera settings. I was attempting to achieve a shallow depth of field where the owls eyes are in focus and the rest of its body and the background is nicely diffused (out of focus).

This owl was a perfect subject, it just perched there doing.......well nothing! Whilst I was trying out a few different things it started twitching in an unusual manner, it seemed to be gasping for a breath and kept opening it's beak, it was at this stage I realised it was regurgitating a pellet!

I just kept my finger on the shutter and rattled off a sequence of around 25 images, in this image (below) the tip of the pellet can just be seen!

Here it comes.....

A quick shake of the head.......

And pop.........out it came!

Gales!

2011-09-13T09:31:00.002+01:00

Geeez, now that's what I call a windy day, normally conditions like this are absolutely useless for seeing owls, I nearly didn't bother going out last night, but there are always exceptions to the rules!

My site No 87 was where I finally saw an owl, it was located huddled low down in the bottom of a hedgerow keeping out of the gales. I couldn't managed a clear shot because of the wire fence in the foreground!

In time a total of five owls showed themselves, they were very confiding too. At least four of them were juveniles from this years brood. They seemed to be more focused on keeping out of the wind than they were of my presence! They spent most of their time sitting on the fence posts that were on the sheltered side of the hedgerow.

Below is an image of each one of the five owls (I think!).

Just before I left the wind got up to howling proportions, it was at this stage that three of the owls dropped down to the bottom of the hedgerow to gain more protection, shame about the wire in the way as it would have made a rather nice image!

Out owling....

2011-09-08T23:19:00.004+01:00

The last few days here in Leicestershire has been foul weather wise, consequently no blog updates! I have still been getting out most evenings but nothing has been seen, well no owls that is! But tonight things improve somewhat, the conditions still weren't idea but the nasty wind had abated which surely meant I'd see some owls?

The chosen location was a strip of private land near to the village of South Wigston, here I monitor three different well established Little Owl sites that are in close proximity to each other. I regularly make a sighting or two of an owl but tonight there was nothing showing, at any of them! I decided to try searching further a field and just as I had about given up seeing anything an owl was sighted, and it was in an area I'd never seen one before!

It was sitting on the side of an electricity pylon, I couldn't get a clear image of it because it was partially obscured by the barbed wire that stops any would be idiot climbing up it!

I quickly surveyed the area and to the right of the pylon was a thick hedgerow with a couple of exposed fence posts in front of it. I opted to manoeuvred the Landrover parallel to the posts and waited. Luckily it wasn't spooked and eventually my gamble paid off as it dropped down onto the furthest of the posts, a clear and unobstructed image was then attained.......thank you Mr owl!

It then flew past me and landed in a pollarded Willow Tree about 50 yards behind me, I waited a while for it to return but it seemed quite settled where it was, the light was starting to fade so it was time to run the risk of spooking it and move again.

I slowly reversed up and repositioned at the edge of the tree, during the backing up I lost sight of the owl, I wasn't sure if it had flown off? I needn't have worried though as I soon relocated it again, on the other side of the tree! I wasn't prepared to run the risk spooking it again so I stayed put. My patience paid off when it moved nearer to me, it was still obscured by a vertical limb but then it peered around it and the below image was achieved.

It then seemed to forget about me being there and hopped to a different branch in full view, it was totally relaxed and only gave me the occasional glance. I am particularly pleased with the outcome of the resultant image, the setting sun can be seen reflecting in its eyes.

Things then got even better, it was joined by a second owl!

Soon after this they both flew back up to the pylon, that was my signal to vacate. It was great to be back out there seeing owls again, especially when it was a brand new site, No 194...........get in there!!!!!

Owlers' Blog Network

2011-09-05T08:25:00.000+01:00

For anyone out there, who like me have an affinity for anything to do with owls then this new blog could be for you! My good friend Richard Pegler has set it up and he is trying to unite all like minded souls and get them to share their own experiences and blogs/websites that are in a similar vein.

Why not take a look by clicking on the image above or on the link, below. It is obviously in it's infancy at the moment but in time it should prove to be a quality and informative site.

Owl Blog Network

Still there!

2011-09-01T09:40:00.000+01:00

Following last Monday's poor "owling day" I needed a more reliable site to visit, so last night I pinned all my hopes on site No 154, with a bit of luck the two juveniles will still be hanging around?

The light was poor, it was overcast and grey but no wind, just about perfect for seeing owls but not that good for photography? The juveniles here can be regularly seen in and around a huge pile of old timber (a yet to be lit bonfire), and tonight they duly obliged........again!

As I pulled up they were accidentally flushed from the pile, but I needn't have worried as they were soon back! I stayed well concealed in the car and consequently some wonderful close up views were had as they clambered around, at times they came within 10 feet of me! I made the most of the opportunity and completely filled a 8GB card, some 260 images!

I haven't had time yet to go through all the images, but below is a selection of some that I have so far processed.....

The moral of the story, wait for a nice still evening and the owls will do the rest!

Bank holiday blues!

2011-08-30T17:55:00.001+01:00

Up and out by 5.50am on Monday morning, the weatherman had predicted a glorious day and I'd been granted a pass out until early afternoon, superb nearly a whole days owling and for what???

I may of well spent the Bank Holiday with the rest of the population pulling my hair out and moaning whilst sitting in lengthy traffic queues whilst attempting to visit a local attraction of some kind. But no, I opted to sit in my Landrover for a whopping 8 hours for two very brief owl sightings! The weather was crappy, intermittent showers complemented with a constant breeze made the conditions for seeing the owls very poor indeed. It is always a bit slow seeing owls post breeding season but this was so bad I was wishing at times that I too was having a glorious time in some motorway grid lock.

Anyway, that's my rant over.......am I getting a bit cantankerous? The two birds that did show were both sheltering out of the wind, they just sat there looking rather cosy. Neither of them ventured out, they were obviously not as stupid as me.

First owl of the day, site No 105 near to South Wigston, it only took it four hours to put in an appearance, and all it did then was poke its head out!

Yeah you just stay in there.....Mr warm owl!

The second owl of the day, site No 16 near to Kilby was a fleeting glimpse too, but at least it had the decency to show a bit more of itself. A good sighting though, as I thought the owls here had gone, no sightings since February! My mate Nigel said he saw an owl here a couple of weeks ago so after investigating it proved he was quite correct, I bet he didn't wait for over 3 hours though!

Quite a tatty looking individual?

Early Morning.

2011-08-28T20:26:00.000+01:00

I managed to sneak out for a couple of hours this morning, I do have to make the most of any window of opportunity I get and today it meant getting up early and out (and back!) before the rest of the clan had even got out of bed!

I went over to see what has been going on at my site No 105 near to South Wigston, due to the remoteness of this location is its an absolute must that I go in the Landrover, something I haven't for a good few weeks now because I couldn't be bothered to tax it!

During the two hours on location only a single bird was seen, a very showy but all to distant juvenile. The light levels were just perfect and along with the defused backdrop it made for a couple of images I'm rather pleased with.

There is obviously something in this early morning lark, not that I am prepared, or even capable of doing it on a regular basis though.......the beer the night before soon puts paid to thatt!!!

A walk down the lane....

2011-08-25T11:00:00.001+01:00

After indulging myself somewhat over the top on my recent trip to the USA, the waistline has now grown to near obese proportions! It didn't matter how much I tried to suck the massive overhang in, the full length mirror didn't lie, the message was loud and clear, diet and exercise!!!!

So as to turn over a new leaf I needed a life style change........no beer and plenty of walking! Therefore, I decided to have a gentle walk this evening, I know that doesn't seem too arduous but for someone who just drives everywhere it was a "BIG DEAL"! Now not wanting to waste an opportunity, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone, I'll take my camera with me and do some owling.

I ended up down a very quiet back lane near to Willoughby, it felt kind of surreal parking the car up and walking away from it! Anyway, as I "power-walked" my way down the lane I came to my Little Owl site No 103, I was beginning to tire (must have walked a good half a mile) so it was time to take a breather.

I lent on a field gate and surveyed the area, there was a flutter in a nearby tree, it was one of the resident Little Owls, my first sighting here since October 2010! It didn't hang around long, I think the massive blob leaning on the gate scared it off, but not before I managed an image!

Little Owl site No 103.

Nothing much more was seen whilst I puffed and panted my way along the lane, nothing that is until I heard a Little Owl alarm call, and it was in an area that I hadn't seen one before! By now I was completely knackered so I sat down on the grass verge and had a rest. I wasn't sure exactly where the call came from so I sat quietly an waited for it to call again. Then I saw it, it was up high in a nearby tree watching me! I managed a quick shot (below) before it moved out of sight.

At the time it was too early to say if this was a new site or not, it could well of been a juvenile moving away from its natal site? After later studying the image I am now quite confident that the owl in question is an adult and not a juvenile.....get in there new site 193!

Little Owl at new site No 193.

So I suppose this new regime does have it's good points, a new Little Owl site and after one good walk I'm at least 10 pounds lighter, not sure how the "no beer" will go though!!

Finish at the Start!

2011-08-23T23:48:00.001+01:00

Today, weather wise it was an abysmal day here in Leicestershire, however the early evening skies started to clear somewhat and the sun poked through......occasionally. That was the excuse I was looking for, the kit was loaded and I was out! I'd planned to visit several Little Owl sites in the eastern part of Leicestershire, but due to how the evening unfolded I soon discarded watching the owls in favour of searching for another species of bird?

I was near the Langton's (a scattering of small villages north of Market Harborough), I settled down at the chosen owl site near to a huge pile of timber (a yet to be lit bonfire). I knew the resident owls liked to sit in amongst the pile when the sun was out, and this evening they duly obliged!

A 30 minute wait and they appeared.

After a while the sun disappeared behinded yet another blanket of clouds, doohhh!! But that was when the action started, the owls gave up on their sunbathing and started to move in and around the bonfire. The light wasn't so good but it was a small price to pay as they were offering some interesting photo opportunities, which is unusual for Little Owls as normally they are very static and very boring!

Whilst they stayed down low in the bonfire getting the correct exposure wasn't too much of a problem, but when they opted to go up higher the horrid grey backdrop made things extremely difficult, where's the blue sky when you need it?

The high level of activity soon slowed down though, the owls had made their way back up to the top of the pile and just sat there! I was just thinking about moving on when, hang on what the hell was that just behind the owls??

Strange bird in the background.

I refocused on the mystery bird.......Bloody hell it was a Common Redstart!!!!

I have only ever seen a Common Redstart in Leicestershire on a handful of previous occasions, let alone ever photographed one!!! Wow this was so unexpected, I deserted the owls and spent the next hour or so trying to relocate it..........to no avail!

So I will have to do with this very poor image, (below) a heavily cropped portion from the image above.

I would say this bird is a juvenile male, and contray to the name, (Common Redstart) they are definitely not that common here in Leicestershire! They are a summer visitor to the UK and are normally seen when they make a "feeding pit stop" whilst en route to their breeding grounds in the spring, or on their return journey to Africa where they over winter.

So all in all a pretty eventful evening, and I bet there isn't many people in the world that can boast a Little Owl and a Redstart in the same image...........

Bird On A Wire!

2011-08-21T20:51:00.001+01:00

This afternoon I visited a local Little Owl site near to Willoughby, my intention was to hopefully see some juveniles and photograph them before they start to disperse.

I'd been parked up around and an hour and no images were possible, the owls were there all right because I could see them through the hedgerow, there was at least three of them and they were sheltering out of the breeze on some fence posts!!

My patience finally ran out and I went to see the landowner of the field where the owls were. Pemission was soon granted for access (thank you!), I adopted a very slow approach as I didn't want to spook the owls! My cagey tactics finally paid off as I'd got into a position where I wasn't too far from where the owls were. It was now a waiting game and over the next four hours they came pretty close at times.

Juvenile No 1

Juvenile No 2 & Dad

Juvenile No 3

Juvenile No 4

A balancing act and on one foot.....what a show off!

Just goes to show that the grass can be greener on the other side of the fence, well this time it was anyway!

No owls?

2011-08-20T07:42:00.003+01:00

A quick run out before going to the pub last night, no owls were showing at the site I visited? It wasn't surprising though as this menacing chap was surveying the area!

Common Buzzard

Experimenting

2011-08-18T15:40:00.000+01:00

Since the purchase of my new Canon 7D camera body I've had a few evening opportunities to get out and have a play. I'm finding the operations a bit fiddly and loads of mistakes are still being made! But in time I hope to show an overall quality improvement, especially with my low light owl images as the 7D has a much higher ISO range than I have previously been use to.

This Little Owl image (from my site No 87) was from the first session I had with the new camera, although the golden colours are totally natural (due to low level setting sun) I felt they were too intense, therefore have toned them down somewhat to make it more appeasing to the eye.

Terrible back light nearly rendered this owl image from my site No 154 to the trash bin, that is until I processed it in a monochrome style, I think I did the right thing in salvaging it?

Same bird as above but better light this time!

Male Little Owl at my site No 176, due to the distance and low light this image would never have been possible with my old camera. But more pixels and higher ISO with the 7D gave me a "keeper"!

Whilst at my site No 176 I noticed a heron hunting in a distant pond. A quick manoeuvre of the car gave me a good vantage point to watch as it stalked its prey. I was far enough away as not to disturb it and I got a couple of images at the moment it striked.

On both occasions it emerged with a tiny fish.

Although I was captivated by the hunting Heron I couldn't help but be distracted by a group of Mistle Thrushes further along the lane. They were making a right commotion as if they were mocking a bird of prey? Hmmmmm maybe a Tawny Owl, this needed further investigation.

I slowly drove up to what all the fuss was about and low and behold........a Little Owl!!! The Thrushes were giving it a right hard time, they were continually mobbing it. Eventually it flew to the sanctuary of a nearby oak tree, that was my chance to attain a "record shot". Although this was my only sighting another 2 owls could be heard calling, I suspect a family party?

New Little Owl site No 192.

Chomping at the bit!

2011-08-14T23:03:00.000+01:00

Got out tonight for a couple of hours and how I enjoyed it! Over the last two weeks I'd missed my owls and as this evenings late setting sun offered a glorious glow what better excuse could I ask for than to get out and see some owls, and of course try out my new camera!

This is my very first published image with the new Canon 7D, it just had to be of a Little Owl didn't it? The controls and settings are so different to that of my old 40D camera it is going to take me a while to master it, but I don't think my first effort is too bad? I have cropped this image far more than I would ever dare do with the old 40D, one of the beauties of having nearly twice a many pixels to play with.

The owl was located at my site No 87 near to Willoughby Waterleys, it was perched up on top of an old manure pile. The back drop of the sun shining on a tree trunk gave an unusual golden and warm feeling to the image.

Another feature that the 7D has is the ability to record movie footage, (click on the arrow to play) this is my first attempt and yes it is shaky, slightly out of focus and out of synchronisation, but hey give me a chance!!

Here is the same owl as above calling back to his mate.

Not sure I will do a lot of movie footage, but it's a nice to have should the situation arise.

Upgrade!

2011-08-14T07:46:00.003+01:00

Back in the UK now after a superb family break in the US, we had a smashing time and whilst there we were very well looked after by Bren and Jay....thanks guys! During the holiday the birding/photo opportunities in their back garden were just brilliant, that is until my Canon 40D decided to stop working!! It was very frustrating with loads of good bird images missed! However I must be thankful that it did work for the first week and some stunning birds were captured.

So yesterday I made a visit to the local camera shop (Jacobs in Leicester) a good bunch of guys who are very helpful, unfortunately they didn't know what was wrong with my camera and it needs to be sent away.

It just so happens that I have been looking at upgrading my camera for a while now but never had the conviction to actually "splash the cash" and go for it! Well guess what, I am now the proud owner of a brand new Canon EOS 7D!!! All in all a better model than the 40D with the facility of also being able to recording live footage, move over Spielberg!

As soon as I familiarise myself with the operations (and get over the jet lag) I'll be getting back into the groove and catching up with my locals owls, hopefully some better quality images and movie footage to come?

In Flight.......at last!!

2011-08-05T16:46:00.002+01:00

A picture speaks a thousand words.................

My Favourite!

2011-07-26T23:10:00.002+01:00

I made a return visit to see the Little Owls over at Kilby again tonight, only this time I planned the positioning of the car with a bit more thought and got the full frame image I was after.....just!! No owls on the bonnet tonight, but the three juveniles where up to their normal mischievous antics!!!

Of all the thousands of Little Owl images I have, this particular one ranks right up there with my favourites!

Close Encounters!!!!

2011-07-26T00:28:00.004+01:00

Got out later than planned this evening, I'd missed what good light we'd had for decent images so I had to be content with just doing a bit of owl watching, but where? As I hadn't visited the local Barn Owls for a while that's where I headed.

It wasn't much of a wait either, only about 20 minutes! Two of the four juveniles duly obliged and put in an appearance at the barn window. It was good to see that they are obviously doing well, in fact they are now very handsome birds. Although the conditions were poor I still had a go at getting some images, high ISO and low shutter speeds resulted in a load of trash, but there was a couple of salvageable ones......just?

My time with the Barn Owls was all too brief, it was soon bitch black and time to head off. On the way back I stopped off at my Little Owl site No 91 near to Kilby. I pulled up and parked not far from the nest tree.

I kid you not, what happen next was unbelievable but true!!!!

I sat in my car peering into the darkness whilst straining my ears for any evidence of owl activity when out of nowhere a juvenile Little Owl landed on a fence post right next to the car. It was so close I could of put my arm out of the window and tickled its belly, I dare not move, it obviously hadn't seen me?

It then dropped down onto the tarmac road beside the car and starting hopping around in a frenzy. I soon realised that it was feeding on flying ants, there had been an explosive hatch of them this evening and there must of been millions of them, especially on the road! Soon after it was joined by another two juveniles, they were all so preoccupied with gorging on the ants they didn't even bother about me.

I sat watching in amazement, but then I was amazed even further, one by one they fluttered up and landed on the bonnet of my car! They sat there all cuddled up together, the nearest one was perched on my windscreen wiper! They seemed very content, they'd had a good feed and the warmth of the bonnet from when the engine was running must have been to their liking. At one point all three were staring straight at me, I was transfixed!

After a few minutes they were back down on the ants again, I took this chance to reach across and get my camera. I engaged the flash and then manually focused on the fence post next to my car, it took a while but during another rest bite two of the owls did land on it and I got these images of them (below) they were so close I couldn't even fit their whole body into the frame!

Over the last few years I had some really close encounters with owls, but nothing as ridiculous as tonight, and before you ask yourself if I'd been drinking and dreaming, no I haven't, it's totally true...........HONEST!!!

Relaxed Owls

2011-07-23T23:09:00.004+01:00

I managed to get out owling for the whole afternoon today, I visited three different Little Owl sites and in total saw 14 different birds, 3 adults and 11 juveniles. I spent 2-4 hours at each site sitting and observing from my car. Due to the fact I had a cammo net up at the window the owls couldn't see me and at times they came very close.

The light was pretty good and the owls were relaxed, which lead to some pleasing results.

Fellow Hunter

2011-07-23T12:14:00.000+01:00

Out of the blue an email from an another, unknown and local "Little Owl Hunter" landed in my inbox during the week, they were letting me know of a few sightings of the critters they had made around the south Leicestershire area. Most of the sites were already known to me but one was a bit of a surprise! It was near to the village of Tur Langton, an area I'd searched on many occasions without any success.

So one evening last week I headed over there, I started my search looking in the roadside trees where they had reportedly been seen, after 30 minutes no luck! I then started looking around the general area slowly moving further and further away. After two hours of searching and around a hundred yards from the initial start position I eventually tracked them down, a couple of alarm calls indicated where they were! I only managed a sighting of one them and due to the fact I was on foot and in clear view I couldn't get too close, so I had to make do with a distant image, below.

Thanks must go to my fellow owl hunter for helping me secure my Little Owl site No 191.

What A Sterling Box

2011-07-19T21:11:00.001+01:00

During the last year I have manufactured and erected (with the help of Col & a few other victims) over 40 bespoke Little Owl boxes. Thus far the uptake of these boxes by the owls has been a bit disappointing, only six! Now there could be many factors or reasons why they haven't taken to them more readily, the obvious ones are, poor location, too low, too high, facing the wrong direction, etc etc, or maybe a poor box design?????

I know the old box design has worked well in other parts of the country, but that is mainly in areas where I believe there is a distinct lack of trees and natural cavities, so the owls don't really have a lot of choice.

So with these thoughts in mind I went about designing a new box, but what should it be like?

Having seen hundreds of natural nest locations I needed to work out what the common denominators are, and then I needed to start thinking like an owl and then how do I implement my thoughts and findings into the design.

Firstly, a lot of natural nest sites have a landing platform, usually created when a limb tears off the main trunk, so I need one of these. Little Owls love natural sites where there is a long tunnel that leads to the nest chamber, I think it gives them a sense of security and deters predators from entering, OK I need that too. It needs to be dry, dark and draught proof, yet roomy enough to cater for the hen owl and say three or four fully grown juveniles. I would also like to give the male owl some where away from the main chamber to roost and the design must not make it too easy for the juveniles to wonder out and be predated when too young........easy hey!

Well after loads of thought I finally came upon what will hopefully be the perfect design? So 4 weeks ago I quickly made my first version out of some scrap timber and erected it near a know breeding site, within 24 hours of putting it up it was being used by the resident owls!

Now this particular box was made without drawings, it was all in my head. So before mass production could commence I wanted Colin see it and gain his approval. So we went over to see it last weekend, Col's first comment was on the shabbiness of the construction but he thought the design was just perfect, especially when he looked inside and it had four roosting owls in it!

So last night Col came over and we set about making a "professional" version, it took us a few hours as we needed to make a few slight alterations to the original design.

So with all the criteria met, here it is, obviously with the roof removed.

Col looking very pleased with his evenings work!

It was a pure coincidence that the timber manufacturers logo ended up being in just the right place, but Col and I were both in agreement that this box will be aptly known as the "Sterling" but we couldn't agree on what the "OSB" should stand for, maybe "Owl Survey Box? If you can think of a better name using the "OSB" please leave me a comment or send me an email.........there could be royalties in it for you!

Only 10 More!

2011-07-18T10:08:00.002+01:00

An email received just lately gave me a bit of a wake up call?? I'd unknowingly slumped into a lethargic period as far as my owling was concerned, and getting out there had taken a back seat! The last two months had been so intense with excursions out almost every evening that sooner or later I needed a break from it all. Don't get me wrong, I just love what I do but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing?

Anyway the kick up my backside that finally woke me up from this mini break was a potential new Little Owl site, my mate Tony, from Barwell had sent me an email letting me know he'd seen Little Owls whilst he was out walking near the village of Cotesbach, as I'd got no sites in that area it needed further investigation!

I made my way to roughly the area Tony told me about and started searching, there one obvious tree that just "looked right", so I headed straight for it. I was about 30 yards away when all of a sudden there was an explosion of owls, they seemed to be everywhere as they flew off in all directions. This instantly stopped me in my tracks, I surveyed the tree from where I stood and luckily two birds hung around long enough for me to get an image (below).

Superb a new site (No 190) but in all the confusion I wasn't sure how many of them there where, obviously it was a family party and it contained juveniles but just how many???

An inquisitive juvenile.

An adult owl "hiding".

I made a hasty retreat to around a hundred yards and waited. After another 30 minutes of observations I finally made out that there was two adults and at least 3 juveniles! They were all difficult to see as they were low down in a hedgerow taking shelter from the prevailing wind.

A very distant image of the three juveniles.

So after the successful "tip off" from Tony (cheers mate) I now have another site to add to the "proven" breeding list for 2011, that list now stands at 89 juveniles (at least) across 36 different territories! My overall different Little Owl sites is now on 190, only 10 more required to reach the magical milestone of 200, I would have never guessed I'd get anywhere near this total 3 years ago, my original target was 20!!!!

Lap of the gods!

2011-07-14T10:00:00.001+01:00

I re-visited my site 47 last night, this is where the recovering juvenile was set free after 2 weeks of nursing (see previous post). It appears that on it's first night of freedom it took flight into the darkness only to be rediscovered the next morning sitting on the floor near the farmhouse!

It was collected up and re-positioned in the upturned washing basket and left all day to watch the world go by. It fed well, two bowls of mashed up dog food and fresh rabbit (along with the fir) where soon consumed. Around 10.00pm the basket was again lifted at one end so it could venture out, by morning it had gone and hasn't been seen since! Another bowl of food has been left out at the release site just in case it returns again, its now in the lap of the gods to how it fairs, if I get any more news of it I will let you know.

Whilst there last night the male owl was again tracked down, I managed a couple of images of him (below) near to his nest site before he got bored of me and flew off!

Owl rescue

2011-07-11T23:46:00.000+01:00

Over the weekend I received a call from the landowner where my Little Owl site No 47 is located. Its not far from the village of Peckleton and I haven't seen an owl here since 2009! So when the call came in telling me that a juvenile Little Owl had been rescued I was very interested.

The juvenile was found at the foot of a tree 2 weeks ago, at the time it appeared lifeless and had a severely damaged right eye. It was taken in and kept in an outhouse, an upturned plastic washing basket was used to retain it and keep it safe. During its time in captivity it has been fed fresh rabbit and dog food, this combination seems to have worked wonders! It now looks a picture of health and its eye is heeling well. On the odd occasion it has even been let out for a fly around the shed!

Juvenile Little Owl, on the mend.

We discussed the situation at length and it seemed we had three options, release it, keep it or hand it in? It was a bit of a dilemma but after all the pros and cons were considered we were in agreement that a reintroduction back to its natural surroundings would be best. Our major concern with this option was it had become "humanised" and totally reliant on being fed.

Due to the fact that its parents were still about (I'd seen them on arrival) we hoped they would accept it back and teach it the skills required to survive. We took the washing basket outside and positioned it near to the nest tree, image below. We then placed a couple of bricks on the top to try and deter the local cats, we then retreated to a safe distance and observed.

After around 30 minutes there was a visitor.......one of the parents!

They both seemed confused at first, but in time the adult got nearer and nearer until they were almost making contact through the holes.

The plan was working perfectly.....so far! The next and final stage of the plan was around 9.00pm the washing basket will be lifted at one end allowing either the juvenile out or the parent owl in, at the time of writing I am waiting to hear how things went, to be continued................

Whilst waiting for the adult birds to find the juvenile there was a few photo opportunities, below.

Juvless!

2011-07-08T09:46:00.001+01:00

Last nights trip out didn't produce any evidence of more new juveniles sites. I think they are now getting to the age where they don't hiss as much, making them a lot harder to locate.

I did however locate a new Little Owl territory, site No 189! I was looking around the village of Bitteswell and came across a very owly looking area, whilst I was scanning the trees for juveniles I picked up this adult bird giving me the stare!

Poor light and distance resulted in just a "record" image, not too bad though considering it was 10.00pm!

Food for thought

2011-07-06T09:21:00.001+01:00

One of my Little Owl sites (No 130) is located in someones back garden and the nest entrance is in a really obscure position high up in an ash tree. Consequently getting some decent images would be really tricky, however the local resident came to the rescue as she fitted a motion detecting inferred camera near the nest entrance and yesterday she sent me some clips.

I have chosen one of the clips which shows the parent owl making a couple of visits with a juicy worm, just click on the link below to view.

Juveniles being fed at my Little Owl site No 163

I know the quality isn't brilliant but you can clearly make out what is going on, having seen these clips it has given me food for thought! I think it is well overdue that I too should stat to do some movie footage of my owls.........now wheres that video camera?

More Juveniles!

2011-07-05T20:34:00.000+01:00

Two more Little Owl sites with juveniles were located tonight, with these added to the ones already found it now takes this years tally (so far) to 32 different proven breeding sites. Across all these sites there is at least 77 juveniles, making it an average of 2.41 per site, not bad hey?

A pair of fluff balls at my site No 168.

Hopefully many more still to come.............

Close to home!

2011-07-05T01:07:00.000+01:00

Didn't get out as early as I'd wanted to this evening, consequently I ended up searching more local to home than I usually do. My site No 10 in the next door village of Cosby was the target destination. I wasn't hopeful at all, I have only ever seen a single owl here on a few occasions and the last time was over 2 years ago!!

It ended up being a superb visit, just seeing an owl would have been a bonus but it got better than that, much better in fact. In total five different owls were seen, two adults and three fledged juveniles........what a result!

Juvenile No 1 had taken up residence in the rafters of a barn.

The second juvenile was located in the old pig pen.

And believe it or not the third juvenile was located (through its "hissing") hiding underneath a stack of old slabs!

Juvenile No 3 clambering about on the combine harvester.

Due to how the juveniles were scattered about I now understand why both of the parent owls were perched up high on the steel girders of an old barn, the high elevation enabled them to keep a watchful eye on all that was going on.

The hen owl on the girder.

The male owl taking his turn to watch out.

When the hen owl muscled out the male from the girder perch, he would re-positioned himself on the wing mirror of the combine harvester.

Just goes to show that even if an owl has not been seen for an absolute age one must not give up looking for them, especially when it is a close to home as these birds are!

Oh I nearly forgot, another new Little Owl territory was also located tonight in the village of Leire, site No 188! It was very late and I was having a slow drive around the country lanes following a tip off from one of the local residents (thanks Kate) when this pair were located on some field posts. It was far too dark for images but I'll be back, very soon!!!