Bowland Beauties

Met up with Paul Foster again and we trekked across the Bowland moors to an area we had previously visited to hopefully have more sightings of short eared owls which had delighted us on our previous visit. We found ourselves in position mid afternoon to await the action. It wasn't long in coming as we had brief sightings of a female and then later a male hen harrier quartering the rough moorland. Sadly the birds didn't return and all I managed were a few not very good shots of the departing birds
We had more luck later as the short eared owls appeared and hunted over their moorland territories. Most of the time the birds were distant but occasionally came within camera range. It was exciting to see them hunting the rough grasses and sedges although they never appeared to catch prey. At times birds came together for a brief sparring match but I am not sure if these were birds courting or rival birds disputing territorial boundaries. It would seem that maybe there are two pairs of shorties in this area and hopefully they are going to stay around. I do hope so and therefore we will return soon to observe these Bowland beauties. I have posted a few images showing a male hen harrier and the shorties hunting over their moorland home.