Shorty at Cliffe Pools

Some photos of the Short-eared Owl that's been at Cliffe Pools this week. A really stunning bird:

I was hoping to get a shot of it in silhouette. It really highlights the long, broad, rounded wings 



I was out checking water levels when the bird first appeared hunting on the causeways between the Black Barn pools. It felt like we were tracking each other, the bird appearing several times as I made my way across the site. But from the path near the Thames viewpoint I was able to pause and appreciate a spectacularly close encounter with it. No wind, perfect light, it caressed the grassland in an effortless flight for 20 minutes or more. Occasionally it would perform an amazing mid-air turn 'on a sixpence', like a feathery, winged Johan Cryuff in '74, and launch itself towards the ground and presumably a possible prey item. At times it passed so close I couldn't focus my camera properly. In these moments the meaning of it's taxonomic latin name became clear; Asio flammeus...I'm not sure about 'Asio' but 'flammeus' in my old latin school dictionary translates as 'flaming'. One look at its piercing yellow eyes shows why.