LEO the Long-eared Owl

I've finally got a decent Long-eared Owl photo after many attempts at trying. They're such secretive birds burying themselves deep in prickly bushes (often Hawthorn) and only surfacing on rare occasions. This bird was about 40 yards away in the shade and I had to stand on tiptoe overlooking a bramble hedge to see it. So, all things considered, they're not bad shots really.

I had to do quite a lot of work on this one as there were several branches going across its face and eyes.

First Trip to Landside South in Leigh

A few from an impromptu quick trip to Landside South in Leigh this morning. Bramblings were the main target and there were a good few of them, with a supporting cast of Chaffinches, Linnets and Redwing as well as the odd Yellowhammer, Fieldfare, Greenfinch, Blackbird and Wren, not forgetting the ubiquitous Magpies and Woodpigeons. But a field with quite a few Moorhens in was perhaps my biggest surprise.