Cotswolds :: 15 January 2020

I snuck out of the office after lunch, when the boss wasn't looking, and headed for the Cotswolds. One of the other boys had been to see some short-eared owls and I fancied a go; the afternoon weather forecast was as good as it was likely to be for the foreseeable future.

Near Naunton, I spotted red-legged partridge in a field and stopped for a look. Fortunately there was somewhere I could pull in safely.

I continued on and found the site. Must have been a dozen cars in view. I got out and talked with one of the guys and it appeared the owls were not really showing yet. After about 20 minutes, dark clouds arrived and the rain started to fall. It didn't last long but the sun was less evident afterwards. Kestrels and red kite could be seen over the fields and a solitary stonechat sat atop a dry-stone wall.

Behind us, someone spotted a couple of hares beginning to box. They charged around between bouts.

Eventually, after a wait of over an hour, we spotted a short-eared owl and eventually it showed close enough for a photo - not close or in good light but pleased to have had reasonable views. After this we could see that there were in fact two SE owls. Before we all packed up, two barn owls also joined in quartering the field, although by now the light had given up.