Shall I, or Not !

Lancashire - 24.07.2025

It's been a couple of years since I last visited this location to try for images of fledgling Long-eared Owls one of our most iconic and rarest owls. 

I thought about a visit several times but never managed the five mile drive, to many distractions, holidays, maintenance, fitness regime trying to be super fit, I might just do that half marathon I've been threatening.

It's my day off so on the spur of the moment I've decided to make the trip to see what’s on offer, normally I would schedule a visit late afternoon when the young start calling the adults to feed them, but it's late morning so that won't work so instead I’ve deciding just to take the "bins" and the thermal imager leaving the heavy camera gear at home (a mistake ?) and do just a rece, if I locate any fledglings I can aways make a return visit. 

It's late in the breeding season and calling may have stopped also the owls are more likely to be active early evening but I'm happy to visit as it’s quiet the weathers kind in some nice countryside. Following a route I’ve used previously scanning with the thermal...nothing, then my thermal imagers battery runs flat, so no calling, no thermal it's scanning only and start making my way back towards the car.

One location that I’ve not tried previously that might be worth a look and it's also close to the car so give it a go, I often find myself just standing taking in my surroundings just observing and out the corner of my eye just partially hidden sat on a dead branch is a young fledgling owl, I’m surprised by its size it seems much bigger than an adult, it's a beauty and it's out in the open !…doh....NO CAMERA !…big mistake, it’s just an opportunity not to miss....so the decision is made….return home and get the gear !

Now an hour later I'm back and the owl is still where I left it sat happy preening occasionally distracted by butterflies flitting pasted. Slowly working into favourable unobstructed position the camera's is in overdrive even in the UK climate the camera still has a tendency to over heat. Now some forty five minuets later I've managed to amass some 1,600 images on the card, then the owl flys to adjacent pine tree, a quick look with the bins the fledgling owl is obstructed sat well inside the tree and not really worth any further attention, time to call it a day and leave the owl to get on with it’s day.

Surprisingly it's been very productive morning visit albeit a little hectic in the end returning home getting the camera gear, next time I won't leave it so late in the season, and aways take your camera !

Below are a few of the many images taken on the day, no crops, no extender just the “big white” as I've well over 1K of images I may well add more shortly.

Until the next time.

Long-eared Owl

It's That Time Again - Owls !

Long-eared Owl - 3.08.2023

It's been some months since my last blog post in the interim I've still managed some activity with trips down to Horn Mill and the big one out to Castill La Mancha in Central Spain. Anyway a short post on the successful not so far away breeding Long-eared Owls.

Every year there are several locations when there is a short time period for a must visit, like the Malham for Peregrines, Dee for Short-eared Owls, even closer fledging Long-eared Owls. I must say it didn't cross my mind to make the LEO trip this year, that’s until all the images started to appear on social media.

The weather over the last few days has been grim, grey and loads of rain, hard to see when there's going to be a period when a trip is going to be worth while. The weather forecast today is rain and cloud, looking out the window...that can't be right as all I'm seeing white clouds and some blue sky...so I'm off on the short drive to see what I can get.

Having been on site for maybe an hour half walking up and down the usual locations with little success when a couple of joggers approach, "are you looking for the owls" ? they give me the heads up..."they've been seen further down the track, we see them regularly"...really !...so back down the track.

Later in the evening the fledgling Long-eared Owls start calling for the adults for food making it a lot easier to locate. Soon there are three owls calling all with a small location, one sat in the open a the base of a small beech tree, with some manoeuvring I’m managing some great photo ops.

Having now spent a couple hours photographing probably UK's most rare breeding owl I have all the images on offer that aren't going to be repeats, time to call time. 

With a really good local encounter under my belt I might try again in a few days hopefully for something different, you never know what might turn up !

Long-eared Owl

A Long-eared Owl Day

9th January 2019

Today I'm having a day out at one of my favourite birding locations from yesteryear, in fact my last visit was this month around twenty five years ago to visit another Long-eared Owl roost I viewed several times over the winter, today I'm back and interested to see how the location has changed.

The weather over the last few weeks has been pretty dire and I've not been motivated in adding to the collection of duff images, but today with a forecast of some good light and sunny intervals I'm hopefully going to reacquaint myself with probably the rarest of our resident owls of our region....the Long-eared Owl.

As I approach the roost site through a gap in the hedge I can easily see two owls sat in a copse enjoying the morning sunshine, it's not surprising these owls were picked up if you were nearby of what would normally be a rare owl. Already there's six other birders on site seven including me either watching or taking images and I'm keen to join in.

I've now been on site forty five minuets with maybe five hundred images on the camera card, unfortunately despite changing position several times most of the images are all the same ! I suppose you'd expect that as they aren't moving around a lot so I decide to enjoy the encounter and do some old fashion birding instead.

When your engrossed looking down the camera lens its surprising what detail you're likely missing, aside for the two main birds in shot I detect a further three owls sat in the copse, two well hidden and a third further round in the open but I never manage to get all three owls in a single shot.

It's been a great day and well worth revisiting one of my old favourites, it's changed somewhat, more over grown, a little more ragged round the edges but still a magnet for a wide variety of birds and well worth revisiting again in the future. 

Long-eared Owl