Travelling north on the train, today ( just after 3.00pm), I spotted what looked like an eagle owl, sitting on a fence post, about 1.5 miles south of Pulborough station. With the overall size of the bird, and the proportions of head to body, I can't think what else it might have been.
Have there been any sightings at Pulborough Brooks, or in the surrounding area?
Peter T.
Hi PeterT,
The location you're describing corresponds with the SWT reserve of Waltham Brooks, which is alongside the railway line.
I've checked the SOS Sightings page, but can't see any mention of Eagle Owls - however, this is one of the locations in Sussex where there have been frequent sightings of Short-eared Owls lately, especially in the last couple of hours of daylight; there were 5 seen there yesterday. So perhaps the owl was not quite as big as it seemed. Nice to have seen one though - I missed out last week!
Hi Sue,
Thanks for the response. Well, anything is possible, and I only saw the owl for about 5/10 seconds. The minimum distance was about 25 yards. I am aware that owls can fluff out their feathers to appear larger, but it still appeared larger than I would have expected.
I guess that until someone proves to the contrary, I'll have to accept it as a short-eared owl sighting.
Regards,
Have now found this recent video of Short-Eared Owls at Waltham Brooks.