A March Visit to Elmley Marshes Part 2 - Car Park and School House Track

16th March 2025

After a most successful morning at the entrance track and the hides, time for a walk down the track to the school house to try our luck with the owls. I used to photograph the Little Owl that lives in the old school house every visit, but over the last couple of years it has been more difficult as it frequently disappears into the cavity wall. However today I was lucky and it was on show for just 20 seconds before disappearing.

Now time to get into position for the Short-eared Owls as they leave their roost in the plantation, and what better way to be entertained by a Brown Hare feeding right in front of you

On my last visit on the 1st February there were 25 owls present and gave a reasonable flying display. Now they are down to 10-12 birds and tonight only six birds emerged, one flying straight down to the saltmarsh and the other five flying straight over the track and woodland and out on to the grazing land by the entrance track, never to be seen again.

Luckily I was in the right position and managed to get some shots as they came past.

But the star of the show today was the Long-eared Owl by the car park, the first I have managed to photograph for a few years now. It was about 10 yards away and well hidden behind a forest of twigs and branches, but I did manage to find a small tunnel through the clutter for a shot. That will do nicely.

Also nice to meet up with Roy Balne after four years.