Long-eared Owl at Jones' Beach - 10th December

Last weekend a Long-eared Owl was reported from Jones' Beach. It wasn't seen during the week so I assumed it was gone, but decided to try anyway as I hadn't anything better to do. I bumped into a couple of other birders at the Coast Guard station, and we joined up to scour the median. The place was absolutely jumping with Red-breasted Nuthatches. While I was waiting for a flock to approach me so I could get a decent photograph I noticed that their call notes change. Suddenly there were a lot of alarm calls, and I guessed they might have found the owl for me. I moved forward, and sure enough, low down in one of the conifers was a magnificent adult Long-eared Owl.

The views were unobstructed, and absolutely fantastic. It was very alert at first, as I didn't spot it until I was fairly close, but after moving back a bit it settled down.

Sibley suggests that the male has some rufous markings on the belly which I don't see here, so my assumption would be that this is a female. I can find no reference to this in any of several other sources I checked so I'm a bit unsure about that. It is very strongly marked underneath, much more so than those I've seen elsewhere (UK, Dubai).

Red-breasted Nuthatch. Thanks for the heads-up!

Horned Lark in the car park at West End 2.