Short-eared Owl, a Silent Visit at Dawn

Clear skies

After a short night, during which my body barely had time to recover from the demanding days, my alarm went off at 4:30 every morning. I would pull back the curtain, open the window, stick my head outside and look up at the sky… and see the stars again. In fact, I secretly hoped that at least one morning would bring a storm and rain, so I could catch up on some sleep without feeling guilty about wasting photographic opportunities.

I no longer even considered whether to go out. It had become my usual little nudge: ten minutes to get dressed, grab the camera backpack and tripod I had prepared the night before, take some water and head out into the darkness to catch the final hour before sunrise with the animals.

Leopard Beach was almost four kilometres away, but both along the ocean beach and in the nearby colonies, there could be plenty of photographic opportunities around dawn.

Brave Owl

By the time I had just one kilometre left to walk to the colonies, the sun was still below the horizon, but because the sky was almost completely clear, the light reflecting from it filled the landscape with beautiful colours. After several long days of strong winds, the air had finally gone still, and walking through the open landscape, along little paths and tracks through the grass, was downright idyllic. Not a soul for kilometres around – my friends were still tucked up in bed. The peace of solitude, just me and the animals.

Just as I was thinking that all the complicated planning involved in organising the Falklands trip had really been worth it, an owl came gliding towards me. It flew straight at me from a distance, landed on a fence post less than two metres away and started looking at me.

I stopped. We stared at each other in amazement, because my camera was still in my backpack in the dim light of dawn.

Only after several long seconds did I slowly start backing away so I could take off my backpack and get the camera and lens ready. All the while, I kept the owl in the corner of my eye. It remained completely undisturbed, watching me and occasionally making a small rocking movement while twisting its head.

I looked through the viewfinder – it was dark as a tunnel. Even so, I managed to handhold 1/10 sec at ISO 5000. I deliberately underexposed a little more – the photographs were darker, but sharper.

The owl took off, flew silently, as a proper owl should, and landed in the grass even closer to me. So close that I could barely fit it into the frame.

After a few more photographs and almost a minute during which its presence moved me almost to tears, it took off and disappeared into the distance.

Absolutely magical. Even if this had been the only thing I experienced, it would have made the early wake-up and ten-kilometre walk before breakfast completely worthwhile.

Patient Endemic Owl

I noticed that, compared with our European Short-eared Owl, the Falkland subspecies has several behavioural differences that significantly increase the chances of getting good photographs.

Because it has no natural predators and faces very little pressure to remain cautious, the owl is remarkably unafraid. When disturbed, it does not immediately flee, and if it does move, it usually flies only a very short distance. More often, it simply stays where it is and monitors the situation around it. It is remarkably tolerant of people and does not seem particularly bothered even when hunting.

In addition, because there is less competition for food, its hunting activity is spread throughout the day. This means there is a much better chance of encountering one in daylight – unlike the continental population, which mainly hunts at dusk and at night.

The Falkland subspecies feeds not only on rodents, but also on birds and insects that are active during the day.

I have supplemented the photographs from Carcass Island, taken in February 2026, with images of Short-eared Owls from Sea Lion Island in January 2009, when I first encountered this endemic subspecies. I have simply given the older RAW files a fresh edit.

Related links

• Articles from the Falkland Islands

• Wildlife photography articles

• Owl photographs in the gallery

• Photography workshops

• Photography trips