Back in January 2010 I was out on an organized trip to get images of birds of prey in the winter landscape. We had a lovely clear day and plenty of snow for our trouble although I ended up going on my own as my colleague had dropped out at the last minute for fear of injury interfering with a forthcoming holiday to Australia.

The Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl. The other grouping of owls are the barn owls, family Tytonidae. This nocturnal species is perhaps most easily seen perched in a tree in its daytime roost, sometimes in small groups during the winter months.