Pics of Short-eared Owls

One week ago, nice encounter with 3 Short-eared Owls. As I was checking the most suitable site for this species around Hanoi - some dozens of kilometers away from the city -, I flushed an individual at about 4pm, at very short distance (6-7 meters). Twenty meters more on the right or 20 meters more on the left, and I am pretty sure that the owl wouldn't have moved a single talon! Fifteen minutes later I flushed 2 other guys as I was chasing the first one, again at very close distance. Two hours before, I had already crossed this place but saw nothing... except Paddyfield Pipits!

Last year, exactly at the same place and the same month, I also flushed 3 (again!) owls together (are they migrate in small flocks or just meet by chance?). They saw me from very far but waited the very last moment to fly off.
Very easy to overlook a bird like this... especially for a mid-day birder like me ;)
I didn't see any of them hunting, but I presume they are active at dusk and dawn.

The site : large sandy area along the Red River (500m away on the horizon), seasonnally flooded, with sparse vegetation.

Sébastien Delonglée