DO THIS CONKERS: Remember the fun of collecting conkers? Why not reignite the joy of finding the biggest, best and shiniest specimen this autumn!


SPECIES SPOTLIGHT Short-eared owl


Short-eared owls breed in the uplands of northern England and Scotland, making Cumbria a perfect place to spot one.


A specialist predator ‘Shorties’, as they’re also known, are unusual owls as they like to hunt during the day, flying low, sometimes hovering, over wetland and coastal marshes searching for prey below. Field voles are a particular favourite, but they also take other small mammals and birds, which are pounced on from a few feet above.


What to look for Short-eared owls are medium-sized owls, about the same size as a barn owl but with longer wings. They are motled yellowy-brown above, paler underneath, and have a round grey face with dark circles around their yellow eyes. Short, barely visible ‘ear- tuſts’ inspired their common name. Unlike other owls they are rather quiet; both sexes give hoarse barks when disturbed.


Look for barred wing-tips in flight


Top tips 3 SPECIES TO SPOT


Goldfinch Look out for goldfinch feeding on seed heads.


HEAR THIS The evocative ‘cour-leee’ call of the curlew. In autumn they return to the coast after summer breeding in the uplands.


Red squirrel As the leaves fall you’re in with a better chance of seeing reds in the trees.


Ear-tufts difficult to see


Pale underneath


and downy feathers. In autumn and winter resident birds wintering around coasts are joined by migrants from Scandinavia, Russia and Iceland, so are seen more widely.


Life on the wing Oſten described as nomads, short-eared owls are a bird of open country that spend long periods soaring on their long wings wherever prey is abundant. As they cover a wide area, more than one bird may be seen hunting over the same ground, sometimes alongside other birds of prey. In summer they are a bird of the uplands, nesting on the ground in scraped-out hollows lined with grass


SEE THEM THIS AUTUMN † Drumburgh Moss Nature Reserve is near Drumburgh village in the north of the county. † South Walney Nature Reserve is located on the southern tip of Walney Island, Barrow-in-Furness.


Visit the species explorer page on our website to find out more.


Cumbrian Wildlife | September 2019 7


Pink-footed goose Not one, not two, but thousands of pink-footed geese begin to arrive from Iceland.


AMY LEWIS


DANNY GREEN/2020VISION


DAVID TIPLING/2020VISION


MIKE SNELLE


BOB COYLE


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44