For some time I have wanted to photograph long eared owls. Several failed attempts in this country led me to look abroad. The obvious choice was Serbia where there are huge numbers of these very difficult shy birds roost in the town centre of Kikinda. I went my my guide Dragan Simic who is a great birder to find these birds. We started in the small village of Centa then moved on to Kikinda. Th e owls were amazing, though still difficult to photograph as they hid in the tops of tall pine trees. I did manage some nice shots though

The central square had about 200 owls in it!!!! Extraordinary.

There was plenty of time to look around during the afternoons for my other target, the beautiful hen harrier. We found two males hunting on an old disused air force firing range!

As you can you, it was a huge open space, and the two male harriers hunt by gliding across the grass covering huge areas. Without being hidden in a hide, it was very challenging but I managed some great views and reasonable shots.

Its a gorgeous bird and not easy to find in the UK as they have been poisoned for years by game keepers!

It was a great weekend, thanks Dragan.