SHORT-EARED OWL at Black Hole Marsh

I've seen 3 Short-Eared Owls on patch in my life, and they've all been this year! The first was the Axe Cliffs bird in March. Next was a bird frequenting BHM and the fields towards Seaton Marshes, and now this one; hopefully it'll stay for a while like the other two did. It was getting dark when I heard about the SEO but there was just about enough light to get a few pics (although slightly noisy due to high ISO used). Great birds! Thanks for the Tweet Robin Morrison.

A Painful Patch Dip

Despite making a rapid exit from home, I didn't connect with the Hen Harrier that Steve Waite found this afternoon. It would have been nice to add this to the patch list after having a few Marsh Harriers and a Montagu's Harrier in recent years (see here and here for the Montagu's). I did get a couple of snaps of a passing Sparrowhawk though; it was taking a swipe at the Starling flock: