Short Eared Owl # 30

Another miserable looking day with much rain and hail this morning and once again lots of wind. However, this afternoon looked like the rain and wind would subside a bit, so we went to Spike Island for a bit of a walk before heading over to Parkgate to see if there were any owls about. 
We saw very little at Spike Island, so were not there for more than 40 minutes and on our drive over to the Dee Estuary it started raining again so we wondered if we'd made a mistake - owls are not really known for their hunting in rain and wind...…
But we needn't have worried, as within 10 minutes we saw our first owl, and I jumped out of the car and started clicking away. I found it very difficult to focus on it, as I am not great with moving objects, but got a few shots that looked like they could be OK. 
The great thing about Parkgate is that you can park right up against the wall and scan the horizon whilst sitting in the car keeping out of the cold and windy weather. We took advantage of this as there was nearly an hour between the first two sightings, but in between we also saw a marsh harrier, kestrel and great white egret. When my husband spotted the second owl, I was out of the car quick smart and tried once again. Almost all of my shots were of the owl's back as it flew away from us most of the time, but eventually I got a few shots of it looking our way and flying towards us. This one is my favourite - I think it was saying "what are you looking at?" as he flew past :) 

Next weekend there is a very high tide on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so if the weather is kind, I might go again on Saturday as apparently it is a spectacular sight with lots of waders and raptors getting easy pickings as all the rodents are forced out of the marsh by the tide. Sounds right up my street. 

Since I was very lazy last night, I have also backblipped yesterday's Long Tailed Tit if you are interested.