Short Eared Owl

I was woken up at about 5am this morning by the strangest sounding creature.  It was an eerie sound to hear in the dead of night, in the middle of the country (I was at home in Ireland) – I wasn’t sure if it was a fox or an owl, but I just had a look online now and I found out what it was:

The Short-Eared Owl…

I heard a male AND a female.  The female kinda sounded like a scratchy ol’ fox.

Click here to hear what the male sounded like…

And here is what the female sounds like.

I have been reading all about Owls today and fantasising about living in the country again….