Todays location was totally unplanned but I intended on getting somewhere really early... It ended up being Rumney for the Shorties but what I wasn't intending to get was a Barn AND Short-eared Owl in one shot!.. Now, some would call this shot a 'failed' shot and others 'arty'.. personally though, I don't care, it has a Barn Owl and Short-eared Owl in it! haha. In my defence, this was 6:00am and the Sun hadn't even come out yet..
After the morning session I decided to travel to Lydney to re-find a nature reserve called Nagshead. That trip was an epic fail however as the post code was wrong and I got lost... So I ended up coming straight back for an evening session on the Owls again.
When I arrived back at the same site, it seemed that everyone was making the most of good weather as 7 photographers were spread out in the fields. Luckily my little spot was free so I tucked myself up, got the camo on and hunkered down for another few hours. Every single photographer in the area gave up after what seemed like a complete no show from the Owls.. that was until, everyone else had gone! Because literally as soon as they all left, I counted 11 Shorties hunting the very spots they were setup by. This goes to show that you must always have patience! Me included as I did move from my original spot and it meant missing a perched opportunity. I still had a great time with the Owls and with better light today, I was able to get slightly sharper flight shots even as the light faded.
Sparrowhawk