Get Shorty - Asio Like It at Bempton Cliffs

 

Short-eared Owls arrive on the east coast from the continent every autumn, mostly from Northern Europe, and - while it may not seem like it if you've ever seen one struggling to make landfall in tricky conditions - navigating across the North Sea is a matter of routine for these hardy migrants, with a relatively light wing-loading allowing them to cruise for long periods without excessive energy loss. This year has seen exceptional numbers arriving up and down the coast, and coupled with the fact that the reserve and surrounding area (particularly Buckton) are traditionally attractive to the species, it's more than worth keeping an eye open for them if you pay us a visit over the next few weeks and months. When mass dispersal or eruption occurs, the most logical reason that springs to mind is a lack of prey and the subsequent need to find it elsewhere; this can indeed be the case with Short-eared Owls and various other species which rely wholly on a food source which is subject to cyclical boom and bust. Counter-intuitively, however, the opposite can also be true, and a surplus of prey (Lemmings, for example) can fuel a particularly good breeding season - resulting in an exceptional number of young birds at the mercy of the impending, advancing northern winter, which may be the case this year. As mentioned previously, however, the Bempton and Buckton area is particularly good for Short-eared Owls, and indeed other birds of prey with a similar ecology, and the reason is simple - there's plenty of the right kind of habitat around here. Rough grassland and messy field margins provide ideal conditions for the small mammals that the owls rely on, and being on the coast, in particularly tough conditions it's also more likely to stay frost and snow free out here. In previous years, multiple birds have wintered in the area, and although Short-eared Owls are necessarily fairly nomadic in response to food availability, there are few better places to look for them locally. Fortune favours the brave, after all - so why not wrap up warm and head out on their trail?