Watching Short-eared Owls: Winter Wildlife on the Norfolk Coast

This week I have been out and about on the Norfolk coast watching and photographing one of my favourite birds – Owls

The UK is home to several different species of Owls, some resident and some visitors. One of these visitors is the beautiful Short-Eared Owl.

The Short-eared Owl, or ‘Shortie’ as it is affectionately known amongst bird watchers, is a special owl as it often hunts and can be seen in daylight hours, especially in the winter months.

Although there are a few Short-eared Owls resident in the Scottish highlands, Northern Ireland and Northern England, the majority arrive in the UK in the winter months, having moved south from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, often spreading across lowland marshes, farmland, and coastal areas.

Norfolk’s coastal marshes and rough grasslands are perfect for these nomadic birds as they are ground-nesting and feed mainly on small mammals such as voles and mice.

Despite their name, the short ear tufts that can sometimes be seen on the owls are not actually ears; they are just tufts of feathers. Owls’ real ears are hidden under the feathers on the sides of their heads. They’re asymmetrically placed to help them locate prey by sound. You wouldn’t see them—they’re just holes under the feathers.

Although I have been lucky to see a few of these wonderful creatures here in Norfolk, the total number of visiting Short-eared Owls this year is thought to be relatively low, 2025 was a particularly bad year for owls in general due to the very wet winter of 2024 and the extremely dry spring and summer of 2025 leading to poor grass growth which in turn suppressed the vole population. In previous years, I have managed to watch these silent hunters in a number of locations, but so far this winter, I have only regularly seen them in one area on the coast.

Fingers crossed, 2026 will prove a better year for owls in the UK.