The bird was captured by amateur wildlife photographer Tony Wright after several trips to the heathland and hours of patiently waiting for it to appear.
Short-eared owls are not native birds but every winter they fly south to escape the extreme cold of Scandinavia, the Baltic region, Russia and northern Scotland – and Jersey is one of their favoured spots to spend the winter.
From late autumn to the onset of spring, they can be found in the west of the Island in the coastal grass and heather heathlands around Ouaisné and Portelet commons, in St Ouen’s Bay and Les Landes – unlike local owl species, they prefer to hunt in the day and make their roosts on the ground, in thick grass clumps and thickets.
