After a couple of failed attempts to find them in another area, I spent three days in a spot where multiple short eared owls had been spotted. There was a group of at least 4 in one field who'd come out each evening around sunset to hunt. During the day they'd be sitting camouflaged in the high grass.

What I found interesting is that even though they were hanging around near each other at rest, when it came time to hunt, they would frequently rush at each other and squabble. Clearly they weren't among friends.

Another funny behaviour was how they would react to crows that also hung around the field, and vice versa. It's common for crows to harass birds of prey in a group, loudly crying out (it's one way to find out where there are owls even). But these crows acted a bit differently. Individual crows would from time to time come and annoy an owl just sitting around minding its business, but not as frantically as I'm used to seeing them. But what was even more incredible, the owls would do the same to the crows. It happened several times, but I've not seen something like that before.

I had a blast watching these guys and gals, it was a great way to cap off 2025. With that, I wish all superbowlers a great end of 2025 and/or start of 2026!

I got a tip for a LEO winter roost and sped over when I got the chance. There were no less than 10 owls in the tree! Apparently this specific spot has seen up to 50-60 owls in some years. What's incredible is that this willow tree is right next to a primary school in the outskirts of a small city. There are people coming and going all the time. People know the owls are there and come have a look but they stay unbothered (they do peek at you lazily though). I really wonder why they picked this specific spot, it's really unexpected given how busy and loud it gets.

Here is a shot of another two amigos in the group:

And one more where I felt like going a bit more artsy:

I stumbled upon a few long eared owls somewhere I wasn't expecting to find them. Couldn't get a better shot but was so happy to see them very clearly for the first time. They're not very big but their stare is intense.

A resident Tawny Owl sitting cosy in their nest. The photo was taken last week in Paris, this particular nest has been used by tawny owls for at least 10 years (likely the same owl?)

@anon6798@lemmy.world is singlehandedly keeping this place alive so I thought I'd also participate and share a photo I took last month. This is a burrowing owl I photographed on the grounds of a hotel in Brasilia. A couple of these guys made their burrow in a little ~~hole~~ hill at the bottom of the garden and were seemingly unbothered by hotel guests that were walking past. I have a couple of other shots but this is my favourite. Thanks for all your superb owl posts anon6789!