During the breeding season we routinely see them out & about, active in good light, even so far as hunting in the midday sunshine, following a wet night.
Whilst in awe of these marvellous birds, familiarity does creep in & perhaps we are somewhat lazy knowing we have a full quarter of a year to see them floating about in daylight
( as a rule mid May to mid/late August ).
However the rest of the year is a different matter....
We may be lucky enough to see a migrant come in off the North Sea at Dawdon or Hartlepool or a male arcing about in a Springtime display flight, other than that chances to observe flying birds are few & far between.
Winter Daylight hunting Long-eareds are at a premium here - personally i can recall no more than a dozen occasions where ive seen such activity in over 2 decades.
Below is a series of phenomenal images taken recently in North East England by Mr D.Johnson .
( D.Johnson website - www.djohnson.org as if you needed a reminder !)
These are of a very accommodating winter hunting Asio otus.
A just reward for many hours dedication, patience & fieldcraft.
Enjoy !
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| this ones my favourite ! |
and just a few more ;-) :-
and we thought we'd all done well with our Shortie pics !
( hopefully Mr Johnson will be resting on his laurels for a while & be giving us mere mortals a look in ;-) )
