Time To Get The Shorties On "

Denhall Quay - 5.1.22

Winter is the time to catch up with the "shorties" down on the marsh along the river Dee the and the hot spot at the moment being Denhall Quay a couple of miles further south of the more traditional location for me, the Old Baths at Parkgate.

Not being that familiar with Denhall I always like to check out the location first on the internet maps and as suspected parking is at a premium, so the plan is to arrive mid-morning and enjoy the sites and sounds of the estuary. 

Pink feet Geese, Curlew, Teal, Widgeon and Redshank can easily be heard amongst the cacophony of sound, with the bins Marsh and Hen Harrier can be seen at distance further out on the marsh, but the Short-eared Owls that are the stars of the action today.

Normally the action starts mid-afternoon and the reports are there are up to seven SEO's putting on a show at this location alone, on the marsh as a whole there must be more, twenty, maybe thirty over wintering, who knows !

Most people present appear to be photographers, some at locations along the road some out on the marsh itself, there's quite a bit of debate about photographers being on the marsh but the "togs" are easily matched by the many dog walkers or just walkers looking for somewhere different to walk.

Two o'clock a SEO is on the hunt and it's not long before up to five owls are in the air some meeting and interacting and even calling, you always need a keen eye even watching other "togs" which way thier pointing cameras ensuring you don't miss any of the action. 

Managing a last few images just as the sun is setting over the hills of north Wales it's been another memorable day and good to meet up with some familiar faces. Stay safe.

Short-eared Owl

High Tide Time

Parkgate - 22.3.19

With the great showing of Short-eared and Barns Owls a few days back and the forecast of a ten meter tide for today it's a return to Parkgate for event I've yet to see. It's 9.30am with a high tide due around 12.0 midday and the carpark is already almost full managing to get the last of the spaces in the overflow parking area, grabbing a coffee I make my way over the main viewing area to see who's about.

Work in progress...

Short-eared Owl

Pink Footed Goose

These winter visitors in numbers of around two hundred still present on the outer marsh, very vocal and constantly on the move as the marsh is transformed into a huge expanse of water, generally keeping their distance but occasionally a group would come within range of the camera.

Weasel

I suspect the Weasel is doing what all the other predators are doing, taking advantage of the abundance of Shrews and Voles forced into the open by the rising tide.

Water Vole

Normally you wouldn't see Water Voles at this location but the ten metre tide has reached the carpark wall totally flooding the marsh the only option for the Voles is move between the highest clumps of grass. Although there were many Shrews swimming around they are incredibly small never managing to get a clear shot

Last Of The Seasons Dee Owls

Parkgate - 20.3.19

Now nearing the end of March I'm surprised Short-eared Owls are still appearing almost daily down on the Dee Estuary at Parkgate with three "shorties" being seen only yesterday, a quick check on the weather and I've decided a trip over might be a good idea as they are sure to soon depart for their breeding areas.

Work in progress

Click image to view

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owls can be seen at any time through out the day at Parkgate but mid to late afternoon there's also a good chance of seeing Barn Owl and today was no exception.

Its now around 4.0pm and the light is still pretty good as the sun has arced around in the direction of  West Kirby with now a golden glow over the light brown salt marsh then a Barn Owl makes an appearance, I was told earlier there where two last night but I'm more than happy to see one.

I've been struggling a little photographing the "shorties" as the cameras autofocus isn't quite picking out SEO against the similar coloured background which I guess is down to the camera setting, I'm not have the same issue with the Barn Owl being lighter coloured but I just wish it would come a little closer.

Barn Owl

Day Owl Revisited

Greater Manchester - 6.11.18

Having taken many hundreds of images of the owl these are just a few more that I thought worth posting. Flight shots on the other hand were more difficult to shoot as the light in the afternoon required shooting at a very high iso, the owl also kept well away when it was in flight never allowing any decent close shots

Short-eared Owl

Always keeping its distance when in flight you can sometimes be tempted to over crop the image. The next two images both taken at iso 6400 would normally produce a poor quality image with this camera but I think it's ok in this instance due to the busy diffused grass background

Below is a image of a pellet the owl has cough up placed on a post to photograph using the iPhone

I've opened up the pellet showing fur and various bones of some kind of mammal, the skull is on the right and the large bone in the middle is the jaw bone 

Some research on the Barn Owl Trust web site I came across the interesting "contents of owl pellets" page on which it shows the skull of a Field Vole amongst other parts, compared the skull in the above image its identical.

Local Day Owls

Greater Manchester - 6.11.18

It's at this time of year that you start thinking about trying to get images of one of those iconic birds, the Short Eared Owl. In the North West there are some traditional locations where SEO frequent but this morning I'm on the lookout for a "shortie" thats turned up locally a few days back.

Short Eared Owls being partly diurnal there's every chance they can be seen at any time of the day, and when I read this morning that the bird had been seen an hour earlier despite the drizzly grey day I thought I have a go to get some images.

Now at the location where the owl was seen earlier this morning I settle down taking it the sites and sounds of this urban countryside with underlying hum of road traffic noise. I'm wearing my new Paramo rain jacket just as well really as it's started raining not the conditions you really want for flying owls. A couple of Ravens croak as they fly passed and a lone Kestrel hunting is being mobbed by a Magpie taking exception to its presence.

I'm probably a little optimistic expecting to see the shortie in the middle of the day, never the less I'm happy to be out and about. Looking around I decide to head to a fence a couple of hundred meters further on before I calling it a day and heading back, several cows are looking at me so I guess I've failed the field craft skills test again.

Standing for maybe ten minuets optimistically scanning the small marsh area its all looks very quite, then to my left I see a light brown coloured object low down in the grass...its the Short Eared Owl sat on a log ....don't panic Mr Mainwaring !

I grab a couple of shots just in case the owl decides to take off and depart...

Short Eared Owl

Slowly with a great deal of creeping about I get as close as I think I can without disturbing the bird, I'm sat down in the wet grass motionless and manage some images in the low light gloom.

The Short Eared Owl has now moved to a post and in the next two images show the owl rejecting a food pellet - wide open !

After umpteen attempts submitting images to BirdGuides weekly photo competition I've finally managed to get not a "notable" but....."Picture Of The Week" for the above image of a Short-eared Owl. 

What's special about this images is that it was taken locally within ten miles of the house. Special thanks to RA the original finder and the morning update that enabled me to get some terrific shots. 

And out comes the rejected pellet....right place at the right time !

The owl is constantly looking around and skyward and of course always keeping an eye on what I'm up to, the stare says "I see you"

The next couple of shots show the owl shaking off the rain droplets, the light conditions aren't that great so to keep the iso to reasonable levels I'm shooting at 400/sec, ok for static shots but a little blurry for any movement but I think this adds to the image.

The shortie now starts quartering the tall marsh grass occasionally taking to a post