Whilst we wait for numbers of winter wildfowl and thrushes to increase on site and for the possibility of waxwings, Joe and Michael were treated to a winter delight last week on site, in the form of a short-eared owl hunting over the eastern end of the marshes. This is the first time in several years that short-eared owl has been recorded on site and is quite possibly a migrant bird from the Continent.
They are beautiful birds, with brown and buff mottled upperparts and light buff underparts with dark vertical streaking. They have a distinctive facial disc, with small ear tufts and striking bright yellow irises. The sexes are very similar, with the female being a little browner, more heavily streaked and slightly larger than the male. There are 11 subspecies found over a very large range including the majority of the Holarctic and non-tropical South America. In the UK, they breed in upland areas on moorland and bogs and the estimated population stands at around 1400 pairs. In winter, the UK receives an influx of birds moving in from Scandinavia, Russia and Iceland, boosting our population and making them easier to see at this time of year. Commonly hunting during the day, they can be seen in areas of rough grassland pretty much anywhere in lowland UK. Their scientific name, Asio flammeus comes from the Latin and means 'flame horned owl'.
They feed predominantly on small mammals, including voles, shrews, mice, moles and rabbits, hunting low over the ground, with a characteristic wing flapping action. Breeding starts from March onwards, with clutches consisting of 4-7 eggs and pairs usually only having one brood per year. Young birds first breed at one year old.
Also on site at Beckingham last week - a green woodpecker calling from the western end of the site, little egret on the wetter fields, the large flock of goldfinch and reed bunting still feeding on seed heads and I was particularly pleased to see a kingfisher on one of the eastern ditches on Thursday morning - a species I haven't seen on site for some time.
Short-eared owl. Mike Langman (rspb-images.com)