Somewhere to hide

We had a trip to our local Wildfowl & Wetlands Centre just down the road at Washington ( not the USA version, but the original one, the birthplace of George & his family ).

A pleasant walk round & whilst we didnt see any owls, we did see evidence of them in one of the main hides:-

 The Diego hide at Washington

 bench whitewashed & a large fresh pellet

Info notice - i dont go to many bird hides but i have seen some a lot messier than this one !

Rooster II

A couple of images showing how well these birds can conceal themselves
( in this case seeking a bit of peace on a local nature reserve )

This was as good as it got - the only view possible despite looking from numerous angles & heights


Its mate was even less co-operative - the only view being of part of its back....

Not always easy..... Oh, for the roosts of south eastern Europe !

But it is turning out to be a good winter for Long-eareds in the North East

If you are out looking for these Long-fellas this winter..... - remember, dont go where the Birders go.... they'll be deep in cover there !

Rooster

.A series of images illustrating how a slight change of position, can result in a half decent view of an obscured owl.
These Long-eared Owl images taken with an i-Phone through Nikon fieldscope ( x30 mag )

Final image cropped - and taken from a lower (kneeling) position to try to avoid branches & twigs.
It shows the bird as well aware of the observer, although its body language tells us its not unduly concerned,  & happy to remain in its roost.

Rockin around the Christmas trees

A revisit to a Long-eared Owl roost in a plantation on the NW Durham Plateau near Lanchester produced 10 or 11 birds swaying around !

Heres a brief clip with 3 visible :-

An image showing 3 close by:-

A few images from inside the plantation - a different habo type to that which we have in the lowlands at home - its only a few miles away as the owl flies though.

There are several different compartments within the plantations here: 

Scots Pine, Mixed Woodland, natural re-generating Birch scrub, with blocks of Norway & Sitka Spruce with evidence of birds having been in Spruce sections but none located...

The Xmas / New Year period often sees roosts broken up with due to outdoor activities during the holidays 

Heres a few more images from this roost:-

Bit of a chore driving across there & very dodgy parking, but well worth it, even if photo opportunities are vimited.
Bonus birds including several each of Crossbill & Woodcock through the shelterbelts

Shortest days

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bumped into this one nr Hurbuck Cottages, between Lanchester & Consett, Co.Durham.

Bakers Dozen Hedgerow Leo roost

A good afternoon with a loose Hedgerow roost containing at least 13 Long

A couple roosting openly for a change 

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This scowling bird below is obviously uneasy.

Not so much because of my presence - initially it was asleep, although a guy shouting for his dog at the top of his voice attracted its attention & it saw me straight off.

and the dogs name which bellowed out ........ "Leo !"

Long roost up The Cheap Mans Well

Ventured up onto the Plain.....

Six months Winter & Six months bad weather in theses here parts...

Used to come up here regularly when i lived closer, round Lanchester, Sacriston, Langley
On the wilder days the numerous shelter-belts & plantations provided plenty of cover, & were more often than not a top coat warmer.

Back then the woods were still chock-a-block with Red Squirrel, the opencasts were still on the go & my travelling companions had 4 legs - A right odd couple. The Boxer was expert at sniffing out Woodcock, but in summer would often lie down & refuse to walk any further - resulting in a trek to the pay-phone to ring for a lift !  The cruelty-case lurcher was gentle as a lamb at home, but had a penchant for feather over fur.
It never did manage to catch a Jack Snipe, but feathers flew on one occasion.

So off up memory plain - it was clearly colder & far more windswept than my rose-coloured specs had allowed for.... off into the wood, out the way of the wind a bit

It certainly paid off - not only was i warmer but i was lucky to locate at least 8 roosting together - this one above wasnt too bad a picture considering the gloom & breeze

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heres some various bodyparts:-

Not quite the heady days of the twenty odds we used to see roosting, but a very productive visit & nice to see them up a height rather than stuck in the thorn bushes closer to home.

Note to self :- 

Return Visit - wear more clothes, wait till the suns out, take a real camera & a maybe a dog or two.

Short interactions

Several noisy Shorty vs Shorty & Shorty vs Crow airborne battles

 These 2 were very close - as this phone picture shows, the assailant coming in low over my head.

Elsewhere, Shorty chasing Shorty, chasing it following every twist & turn -  after seeing it off the 'victor' completed 2 bursts of underwing clapping in quick succession.
This bird was easily identifiable, regularly patrolling this area & aggressive to 2 other individuals.

Most surprising was when we broke off to shadow a Roe Doe as she belted over the open ground !

Finally another field held a quartering bird which hovered with talons dangling - it circled & did the same again - through the scope a feisty little Weasel up on its hind legs.... the owl left empty handed !

Daylight hunting Long-eared

Our County Long-eared population is well known, and in several parts well studied for decades.

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 !

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 ;-)  )