The search for Short Eared Owls at Elmley, Stodmarsh and Sandwich Bay Nature Reserves

At last, after five weeks of watching and waiting........a daytime shot of a Short Eared Owl

Having lived in inland France for almost 20 years, I have always missed the shorebirds and marshland waders of my earlier life, spent on the North Kent coast in the UK. Whilst I try to get back to Kent at least once a year, to catch up with family and old friends, my first 'port of call' is usually the beach of Minnis Bay (where I lived) and the coastal walk to Reculver. Here, I am always sure to see a wide variety of shore birds and waders. In winter time, the bird numbers are increased by thousands of migrating birds such as Brent Geese, Lapwing and Oystercatchers, which use the area to feed up and rest prior to their return to the arctic circle. 

Another of my favourite locations, is Stodmarsh Nature Reserve near Canterbury, which is a unique area of wetland with marshes, reed beds, lakes and woodland that is home to a rich variety of wildlife, especially water birds. In fact, the reserve has the largest reed bed in the south east of England and boasts no less, than 3 excellent hides. I have always had a real passion for Raptors and Stodmarsh is currently home to 5 breeding pairs of Marsh Harrier, which are always a real treat to watch, especially whilst hunting over the reed beds.

This year, my specific target species was the endangered Short Eared Owl, which arrives from Scandinavia, Russia and Iceland at the beginning of December and are gone again by the end of February. With only around 1500 breeding pairs in the whole of the UK, they are hard to find and even harder to photograph!  Fortunately, there are a number of locations on the North Kent coast, where these birds have been sighted and during my visit, there were reports of birds arriving nearby at 'Sandwich Bay' and at 'Elmley' on the Isle of Sheppey. Although these Owls can occasionally be seen during daylight, they don't usually rise from the ground roosts until late afternoon, which at this time of year is normally after sunset. In fact, it was dark by 16.00 hrs and on more than one occasion and despite having spent all day searching, my only sightings were after dark and seen through 'night vision' binoculars!

This year, although I was back in the UK for 5 weeks, the weather also conspired against me and most days were either overcast, or raining, which made life very difficult to get decent images in such poor light. However, every day was an opportunity and standing in the  rain for hours on end was all made worthwhile with the images that I managed to capture. The following images start with Shore Birds, followed by the inhabitants of the inland Marshes and Reed Beds, before ending with, of course, my raison d'être for this trip........the Short Eared Owl

Shore Birds

Juvenile Gull

Black Backed Gull

Little Egret

Dark Bellied Brent Goose

Bar Tailed Godwit - Female

Bar Tailed Godwit - Male

Curlew

Common Redshank

Oystercatcher

Heron

Mediterranean Gull

Inhabitants of the Marshes and Reed Beds

Crested Grebe

Lapwing

Incoming Teal

Juvenile Swans

Egret

Flying low over the Reed Bed

Common Coot taking off

Marsh Harrier in hunting mode

Just sometimes, they come within range!

This Kestrel posed nicely with its lunch for me

The elusive, but stunningly beautiful Short Eared Owls

In the end, despite many weeks of waiting, it all came down to just one afternoon, when the Owls were 'lifted' from their roost by a passing Harrier that spooked them. Less than 15 minutes later, they had gone to ground again!

 

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