What a hoot!

A treat is in store for Hampshire birders this week - a pair of short eared owls has arrived in town.

They have been spotted by keen twitchers who flocked to Test Lane to see them feeding.

The medium sized owls with mottled brown bodies, pale under-wings and yellow eyes are diurnal, so can be seen hunting during the day.

In winter the birds come to England, especially to the south coast and feed on voles and mice. The rough open grassland in the areas around Test Lane is perfect for them.

Paul Winter, a retired IT worker from Rownhams caught the stunning picture above. He said: “It’s the sort of bird you would travel a long way to see.”

“There isn’t anywhere else in Southampton for them to hunt."

He shot his image on a Canon 600D with a Tamron 150 – 600 lens.

“I’m more interested in dragonflies, really, this is just an interlude.”

Local wildlife expert and Reserves Officer for Hampshire and Isle of Wight said: “It’s actually my day off but I though I would come and have a look because they’re such nice birds.

“You don’t see them every winter but you tend to get eruptions if the vole populations collapse.

“There seems to be an influx this year – there are about 5 on Farlington Marshes and 7 on Portland.

“If the vole population is poor the owls will only have a couple of eggs, but in a good year they’ll have five or six.

Simon Layton, a nature lover from Romsey who has been recording Hampshire’s flora and fauna for over 30 years managed to snap the pair as they fed.

Simon caught them at around 2.30 in the afternoon.

He said: “They will have arrived from Scandinavia, Russia or Iceland a few days or weeks ago and will be used to hunting in the sunlight there.”

Gover Road resident Margaret Wright said: “It’s unusual to see them so close to houses.

I first saw them last Wednesday and just thought ‘That’s quite a big bird!’ We often get the odd bird-watcher or two but in the last few days there have been around 20.

“It's a shame though that this field which the owls love will soon be lost to the large Evander Distribution centre development in the field.”

Short eared owls are a SPEC – a species of European Conservation Concern.