I’m just back from a visit to the North Uist in the Outer Hebrides where I was lucky enough to see and photograph short eared owls. Here they are a common sight as they hunt in broad daylight over rough moorland and machair. This was one of the reasons for visiting this island.
They have beautiful plumage in shades of caramel, milk chocolate and dark chocolate. However their most striking feature is their piercing bright yellow eyes.
We had not been on the island long when we spotted one as we drove along a road. It was swooping low over rough grassland next to a sheep field. It would fly up and down the field and now and again hover low over a target. It mainly eats small mammals, indeed 80% of their diet consists of field voles.
Once down on the ground it would be almost lost amongst the grasses as it was so well camouflaged. I’m not sure whether it caught anything while I was watching it. It could have eaten its prey whole on the spot or carried it off to feed owlets. But short eared owls have nests on the ground and they would be very hard to spot.
The owls would fly around and hunt for a bit then stop for a rest on the ground or perched on a post. Sometimes it would take off from a roadside post as we drove past and we had one fly right in front of the van windscreen. As well as small mammals owls occasionally take small birds. We watched some owls being mobbed by gulls, lapwings and other ground nesting birds such as this snipe below.
We went back several times to the place where we first spotted the owl and usually saw it there. We saw other owls elsewhere. This one had less shades of brown on it. Often an owl was close to buildings or the road which would have nearby fence posts to perch on.
What an impressive bird of prey! Look at that wingspan and these focussed eyes. I would never tire of watching them, and they are a lot easier to watch than our other nocturnal owls!
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 