Is it likely or improbable or somewhere in between I saw a short eared owl at Attenborough nature reserve in Nottinghamshire today? (1 Viewer)

[She’ll not av feathers on]

Because I’m as confident as someone who’s never saw one before with novice experience of birding can be!

When I was in the tower hide overlooking a field which leads onto a large reed bed and open water the water birds became very startled, noisy and took to the skies. I looked upwards to try and see if there was a bird of prey close by and a few moments later an owl of some form flew across me and gave me just enough time to get a full view of it.

It had a very slow, pronounced and what I would describe as complete (fully open and closed wings) flight. It was quite a large owl certainly the biggest I’ve seen. I have seen a Tawny owl before and it was definitely bigger than a Tawny. I had my British birds book with me and the markings on it are definitely pointing toward a short eared owl. I asked a chap at the visitor centre who was equipped with a scope/binos if he had a good degree of knowledge and he said it was pretty good and after telling him what I’d saw (he asked if it was over the reed beds which it was) he said it was perfectly plausible given what I’d said. But that it was unlikely given as far as he’s aware none have been spotted there before!??

I’m as sure as I can be it was though! I’d love to hear what others on here think!! My heart is still racing now!!

Thanks.

 

[THE_FERN]

Entirely possible. Shorties are quite diurnal, can come quite close. On a good view difficult to confuse with anything else (poor view or at distance can look like long-eared). Great birds!

 

[Georgebirds]

If you got a good enough look to notice markings on the underside of the wings, you can eliminate barn owl entirely, and if you're familiar with tawnies they're out too, so that only leaves short-eared or long-eared.
For a handy way to find tips on telling apart similar species (I'm also a relatively new birder, still learning to recognise more and more off by heart!), I usually google the two names together, and somewhere fairly high in the results will be images or webpages explaining exactly what to look for. Putting 'short eared vs long eared owl' got this, for example, and the annotated flying illustrations might be enough for you to pick which of the two you were looking at?

I know this might go against common advice for keeping things simple and not confusing matters, but also find it helpful to check more than one bird book - I've got three with illustrations, one with photos, and for the trickiest IDs (when I don't have a photo to just ask birdforum for help!), I'll sit there and compare them all! Sometimes it'll be one particular drawing or annotation which clinches it, other times it's the photo where I recognise the bird more easily.

 

[Allen]

after telling him what I’d saw (he asked if it was over the reed beds which it was)

Just throwing it out there but if it was over the reedbeds are you sure it wasn't a Bittern (esp if no Shorties have been reported there). Could be seen as similar plumage and flight pattern is as you described if you're not familiar with short eared owl.

 

[She’ll not av feathers on]

If you got a good enough look to notice markings on the underside of the wings, you can eliminate barn owl entirely, and if you're familiar with tawnies they're out too, so that only leaves short-eared or long-eared.
For a handy way to find tips on telling apart similar species (I'm also a relatively new birder, still learning to recognise more and more off by heart!), I usually google the two names together, and somewhere fairly high in the results will be images or webpages explaining exactly what to look for. Putting 'short eared vs long eared owl' got this, for example, and the annotated flying illustrations might be enough for you to pick which of the two you were looking at?

I know this might go against common advice for keeping things simple and not confusing matters, but also find it helpful to check more than one bird book - I've got three with illustrations, one with photos, and for the trickiest IDs (when I don't have a photo to just ask birdforum for help!), I'll sit there and compare them all! Sometimes it'll be one particular drawing or annotation which clinches it, other times it's the photo where I recognise the bird more easily.

I have had a good look on the internet and compared various photos, read several sources of info and watched videos on YouTube to try and affirm what I think I saw. A short eared owl is the closest match to what I saw. It could well be though that I’m just seeing what I want to see because I’m desperate for that it to be true.

I appreciate it’s improbable given they aren’t usually seen there. But I do also want to trust what my eyes and everything I’ve read and viewed since tells me.

 

[She’ll not av feathers on]

Just throwing it out there but if it was over the reedbeds are you sure it wasn't a Bittern (esp if no Shorties have been reported there). Could be seen as similar plumage and flight pattern is as you described if you're not familiar with short eared owl.

Hmmmm. Right. Now this could be a spanner in the works. I will have a look at my ID book to see what features a Bittern has. And I know they’re seen at Attenborough.

But would a bittern cause such a panic amongst other water birds?

 

[delia todd]

I have had a good look on the internet and compared various photos, read several sources of info and watched videos on YouTube to try and affirm what I think I saw. A short eared owl is the closest match to what I saw. It could well be though that I’m just seeing what I want to see because I’m desperate for that it to be true.

I appreciate it’s improbable given they aren’t usually seen there. But I do also want to trust what my eyes and everything I’ve read and viewed since tells me.

You may have missed our Opus section? This is a direct link to the Short-eared Owl page: Short-eared Owl - BirdForum Opus

On it you will find a good description of it and comparison with Long-eared.

Also at the bottom a link enabling you to search the Gallery for a load more images than appear on the article. To see larger versions of each, click on the title.

Think you may be correct, as your first instinct was owl, and short-eared is the most likely during the day.

 

[THE_FERN]

Hmmmm. Right. Now this could be a spanner in the works. I will have a look at my ID book to see what features a Bittern has. And I know they’re seen at Attenborough.

But would a bittern cause such a panic amongst other water birds?

Sometimes they can. Personally I wouldn't mistake the one for the other but perhaps others would

 

[Allen]

Sometimes they can. Personally I wouldn't mistake the one for the other but perhaps others would

Yes agree and not sure how good views were/if through bins from OP post so certainly not dismissing the original thinking.

 

[She’ll not av feathers on]

Yes agree and not sure how good views were/if through bins from OP post so certainly not dismissing the original thinking.

Having never seen a bittern I’m not dismissing it being one. But I did have a good, unobstructed and reasonably close (60 foot away perhaps) view of it.

It was side on so I didn’t get to see the distinctive yellow eyes, but its flight and shape makes me as sure as I can be given my inexperience that it was an owl. And what I saw of it was distinctive enough under the wings to lead me to a short eared owl!

If I’ve seen it, hopefully someone else with more knowledge than me will do! Do they hang around in one place for a while? Or is it more likely to have been passing through?

 

[Allen]

But I did have a good, unobstructed and reasonably close (60 foot away perhaps) view of it.

Fair enough then

 

[She’ll not av feathers on]

Well, I’m back here now. Staking the place out… I’ve got a flask of tea, cherries, Belgian bun and some cheese and apple. So I’m playing the long game😄

 

[VonMaunder]

I think you'd be hard pressed to mistake the pointy head profile of a Bittern in flight over the bluntness of an owl. Good luck out there!
And keep us posted!

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

I think you'd be hard pressed to mistake the pointy head profile of a Bittern in flight over the bluntness of an owl. Good luck out there!
And keep us posted!

I think in the situation described of a brief view with no experience of either species it's perfectly possible.

 

[VonMaunder]

I think in the situation described of a brief view with no experience of either species it's perfectly possible.

When the OP stated "across," "full view" and at about 60' I thought that's a big difference in profile to get wrong, but you're correct, most definitely possible.
This:
VS:

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

When the OP stated "across," "full view" and at about 60' I thought that's a big difference in profile get wrong, but you're correct, most definitely possible.
This:
VS:

I sense you're being sarcastic, but he also said 'just enough time to get a full view'.

If you think mistakes of this magnitude aren't made with fly by birds there's not a lot I can say other than they are.

 

[She’ll not av feathers on]

😅 ok I can confirm it was most definitely not a Bittern

 

[Stephen Dunstan]

😅 ok I can confirm it was most definitely not a Bittern

Fair enough. If you've made that judgement off VonMaunder's posting of an American Bittern image do let us all know when you when see one at Attenborough though as a lot of people would be keen to see it.

 

[She’ll not av feathers on]

Fair enough. If you've made that judgement off VonMaunder's posting of an American Bittern image do let us all know when you when see one at Attenborough though as a lot of people would be keen to see it.

There is a bittern at Attenborough just now actually! And most likely viewed from the tower hide which is where I do most my birding from. I’ll do my best to get a photo of it next time I’m there!

 

[VonMaunder]

I sense you're being sarcastic, but he also said 'just enough time to get a full view'.

If you think mistakes of this magnitude aren't made with fly by birds there's not a lot I can say other than they are.

Maybe just a good natured touch but I get it, I know egregious misidentification happens, probably done it myself. What I've always been impressed by with the flying owls I've seen is the blunt face and larger front end, they look so different in profile from any other bird I've encountered outside of the slimmer Northern Harrier, whose facial disk is a sonic dish, for hunting by sound-- like the owls.