Wise owls

Our Short-eared Owls and Little Owls have never been easier to see and pretty much every single visitor to the island in the last week or so has had amazing views of either a shortie, a Little Owl, or both. Often multiple shorties can be seen at the same time, mostly hunting or heading back to young with a vole, on the ground or perched on a fence post, or sometimes circling high over the island. We reckon that eggs started hatching around the end of the first week of May and since then the activity of the adults has gone through the roof. At least four pairs of shorties are nesting this year, as well as the usual pair of Little Owls. They have become quite habituated to people, hunting and flying extremely close as they go about their business, offering fantastic photographic opportunities.

Little Owl on Micks Skomer Vole study plot markers

Can you spot the little owl?

How about now? - Little owl on one of the old walls.

Shorties providing great views for visitors, volunteers and Staff, photo by Trevor Greaves

Short Eared Owl hunting over the bluebells just in front of North Pond public hide.

People enjoying great views of owls and Skomer's other wildlife

The Short-eared Owl chicks are growing fast on a diet of Skomer Vole

It seems to be quite a good year for shorties, at least in Pembrokeshire, as Ramsey have two nesting pairs for the second year running and Skokholm have the first nesting pair in recorded history. So it's never been a better time to see these wonderful birds in the wild.