Yorkshire Shorties
A gallery of my favourite shots of the Short-Eared Owls that visited the Yorkshire coastline over the winter. One of my favourite birds that I just had to make the most of in this influx year of migration! I just can’t get enough!
The winter has now passed and it may have been a wet and cold one but in one respect it was excellent! There was a huge number of winter migrant Short-Eared Owls that came into the country from the likes of Northern Russia and Scandinavia. The previous year was not so fruitful but with such an influx of these, some of my favourite birds I had to make the most of it!
Many of these day hunting Owls arrived into Yorkshire along the east coast, with a handful seeming to base themselves around the RSPB Bempton Cliffs reserve. I made a visit in September when they arrived and then returned twice in January and again in March. The vole numbers coincide with the influxes of Owls, if there are plenty of prey to hunt then the Owls will stick around and take advantage, So they must have had plenty to catch this year!
The fact that Bempton cliffs is also home to resident Barn Owls and Kestrels all hunting the same prey in the same fields means that this is a truly wonderful reserve to visit and has indeed proved extremely popular for people wishing to see and photograph these stunning birds. I’m certainly hoping the Owls come back again next winter!
