Little Owl has become a bogey bird for me over the years. Only once have I managed a siting where half-decent photos were possible. Even a trip to northern Spain, where Little Owls were supposed to be everywhere, produced nothing.

This story started on Wednesday evening when I ran into a friend of mine who suggested that I look at his website as he had been photographing - yes, of course - Little Owls. Couldn't tell me where as it was a private site. Fair enough.

Getting home and checking the local Cambirds bird information service, I saw a message from a farmer and birder in the north of the county saying that he was surprised how many Little Owls were nesting in his area. A quick e-mail to him asking for help produced a swift reply on Thursday morning and some directions.

Although it was cloudy, and with nothing else to do, I decided to carry out a recce to see where the sites were for light, parking etc. The first drive produced nothing but I noticed a half-dead tree close to where I could park and stopped for a coffee.

Not long afterwards, a Little Owl flew to the tree from a nearby tree. I sat for an hour or so, just watching - and was surprised to have a pair of Grey Partridges fly onto the track right next to me. Although they were wary, I managed some shots before they took off.

Then back to the real subject. I moved the car closer to get into position and it promptly flew back to the other tree but returned after half-an-hour or so giving me several opportunities for some decent shots.

It was now past 6.00pm and with a sunny evening, it started to feed but I had to leave to get home for the footie. Well that was a disappointment - I should have stayed with the Owl. Anyway, I will try again with another sunny evening next week and see if I can get some flight and feeding shots.

More images in the Recent Additions section.