With the Jims still looking to year tick Short-eared Owl I invited them to join me on Friday for an afternoon at Wallasea Island. It had rained Wednesday and Thursday so my thinking was with Friday being dry and with very little wind it would be a good day to see Owls and we weren't to be disappointed.
Arriving about 1pm we walked out towards the hide and spotted our first Owl around 1.30pm, then a young Hen Harrier flew over followed by another Owl then another. The Owl action continued without break until we left at about 3.30pm as the sun had dropped by then. We'd seen at least eight Short-eared Owls in the air at one time so I'd guess there's probably double that wintering on the Island. The Ring-tail Harrier did a few loops of the whole marsh showing itself several times. Marsh Harrier, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk added to the raptor count and the waders were kept active by the constant fly overs but the reward for the visit was without doubt the volume of Owls on show. A male Hen Harrier was reported but sadly wasn't seen by us.
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| Hen Harrier |
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| Hen Harrier |
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| Short-eared Owl |
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