Sad demise of a Long-eared Owl

I started my Saturday bird watch in the dark this week, having dropped our son at the Central Station at 5 am.

A Barn Owl was hunting around Hemscott Hill.

I took a trip past Widdrington Lake in the hope of an owl, but did not expect the sad site that greeted me just before the turbine building. A Long-eared Owl, clearly hit by something and very battered. Sad end to a beautiful bird.