Weather: overcast, damp & mild. From 4pm.
After reading great reports of exciting & nearby birds on "birding tring reservoirs" blog I decided to check out the lay-by on the A41, adjacent to some rough grassland, at dusk in the hope of seeing the short-eared owls, a species I haven't seen in many years & which Kim had not seen before.
Sure enough after arriving & joining the half dozen or so other birders it wasn't long before the first Short-Eared Owl was seen perched in the far distance. No sooner did I have that one through the 'scope than another was spotted to the right & as I tracked it with the binoculars another couple appeared in the background with it, these then proceeded to quarter the grassland to the right on the far side of the Quainton road. I have only ever seen two before so to see more together in such an accessible area was fantastic. One then continued to quarter the grassland from right to left coming ever closer before it finally pounced down a few hundred yards away & unfortunately it didn't re-appear.
The light faded quite quickly after that & apart from a Kestrel which zipped over, the show was over. Unfortunately we arrived too late to see the hen harrier seen by the other birders & also dipped on tawny owl, but now I know the site I hope to return earlier in the day.
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