Short-eared owl

A short-eared owl was at St David's airfield last night, seen during a woodcock ringing session. It had just predated a snipe. A woodcock was roosting only 5 or 6 metres away, seemingly completely unperturbed by the presence of the owl. The owl flew off with the snipe, passing just over the woodcock which still sat tight. The woodcock was subsequently caught and ringed, and it turned out to be the heaviest recorded so far (422g) during the ongoing study in Pembrokeshire, out of over 1000 individuals weighed. Most of the other individuals ringed last night were also well above the average weight of 320g and they are presumably  preparing for their imminent migration eastwards. At most sites inland, numbers have already dropped to 70% of mid winter totals, suggesting that some movement has already taken place, but the 23 seen at St David's airfield was the highest count recorded there, with 15 to 18 being a typical winter count.