Short-eared owl

I headed over to Swords last Saturday with the intention of spending an hour or two max on the estuary before heading home.  Well that was the intention, but as the saying goes "the best laid plans of men and......"  When I arrived Sean C was there, we hadn't met in quite a while so we had a bit of catching up to do.  It was obvious from the off that Sean had every intention of making a day of it and before you knew it an hour had passed on Swords and we were headed out to Loughshinny in search of the Red-kites.  They've been on show up here for the past couple of weeks. 

Loughshinny didn't give up any kites, it did however give us a kestrel chasing an LBJ into a bush not ten feet from us, LBJ escaped into said bush, kestrel perched up.  It sat there for so long that in the end we moved on and left the kestrel to ponder its next move. 
 
From Loughshinny we moved over to the outflow at Rush, I've had grey phalarope here twice in previous years, and more besides, however on this occasion nothing of note.  We hung around Rush for about an hour, more than it deserved, it really was very quite.

We decided we'd head to the north hide at Rogerstown as this was on the way home for both and after the day we were having that was about all we wanted to do.  Park up, wellies on, scope out and over the gate (don't know why I didn't use the turnstile) and down the lane.  Exit the lane out into the first open field and bingo.  "Hey Sean, over there, look......."  The next hour made the previous four worth while.  All the disappointment of a quite day washed away by the discovery of a short-eared owl, which like the kestrel earlier in the day, knew we were around but chose to ignore us and continue on its own business regardless.



short-eared owl, north hide Rogerstown

 What followed was an hour of close encounters of the short-eared kind.  The field was quartered continuously, the owl never out of sight for more than a few seconds.  Quarter, perch, quarter, perch and on and on.  We never moved for cover, we didn't have to, we stood out in the open field, the owl happy enough to pass really close, obviously safe in the knowledge that we didn't pose a threat.  We really could have stayed all evening, but it was a Saturday, late afternoon, light fading and the stomach beginning to rumble which brought us back up the lane and over the gates (why didn't I use the turnstile) and into the cars for home.

Now that was Saturday.  Fast forward to Sunday, 11.00am out on the bull, I'm on the track that runs along the golf course heading towards the point when from out on the marsh a short-eared owl comes flying almost directly at me, over the hedge and into the course.  This a much more fleeting view than the previous days.  Any weekend that gives up short-eared owl two days running is a good one, it doesn't happen that often.