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Post by kentyeti on May 18, 2015 11:33:47 GMT
Did seem to be quite a popular thread in "the other place", so I'll start it going again.
Latest from Kent is that a Shortie was spotted near Reculver on the North Kent coast on Saturday. No real surprise. Kent had a good number during the winter, (circa 12 on Sheppey), and I felt then that one nor more may stay the summer. Almost certainly without breeding. Have to see if this one does stay.
I'm back home at present after two exhausting trips to Southern Scotland for fieldwork on breeding Shorties in recent weeks. Breeding started well but dreadful weather from late April was certainly slowing things down a lot. Have to see what's left when I go back. I did get to the nest of one early breeder. The male has benefited from what seemed a rapid slow down in breeding nearby as he then had the run of all adjacent territories to hunt in without challenge. From a lot of observations from my car and from egg shell debris etc on the nest I reckon circa 6 eggs were laid and 4 hatched. Two failed eggs and one young Owlet left on the nest to be ringed when I went to it. In the company of licensed ringers and Schedule I Licence I holders I hasten to add. Right to Roam and Short-eared Owls not being a Schedule 1 bird, ( I think they should be), is fine, but there is no way I am going out on a moorland without the local raptor experts and licence holders taking me when they make a scheduled visit. Too many birds ground nesting including Merlin and Hen Harrier, both Schedule 1 birds. And Shorties are vulnerable to disturbance and nest visits need to be minimised.
Any other news of British Short-eared Owls always welcome.
Cheers,
Bryan |
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Post by kentyeti on May 20, 2015 8:30:39 GMT
A photo from my recent trip to Scotland doing field work on my Short-eared Owl book.
I am reluctant to try and sex any Shortie outside of the breeding season. Yes, darker Owls like the one below can often be females, but not always! i.e Some juveniles seem to stay dark a lot longer than others do making it very hard to decide what sex they are.
But in the breeding season all becomes a lot clearer by their behaviour. This female only had one thing on her mind while I watched her on and off for some days. And that was to be mated by her male! On one occasion she had shouted and shouted at him to bring her food and to mate her. After his second frantic effort to get food etc, he went off. I drove up the road and found him slouched on a fence post looking totally worn out! LOL!
Nothing slouched about this lovely female.
Cheers,
Bryan  001-Female-Short-eared-Owl-Scottish-Borders... by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr |
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Post by rowanberry on May 20, 2015 9:05:12 GMT
Beautiful photo, Bryan! are you still working on the book about short-eared owls?
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Post by kentyeti on May 20, 2015 19:18:34 GMT
Beautiful photo, Bryan! are you still working on the book about short-eared owls? Most certainly I am, it’s just about all I do these days. Not much writing since February last year thought as I’ve been enjoying an amazing spell of almost non stop field work. Inevitably that will slow down, maybe soon, and leave me with time to do some solid writing again.
The book is nearly fully structured in something like the form I want it to be and a lot written, but a reasonable amount still to do. Over 4 years field work done, maybe another 3 or 4 years to go. I am learning vast amounts about these wonderful creatures and some of it is not what is generally believed as normal for them! One reason I want to do more field work to check all my findings.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2015 18:26:27 GMT
I'll certainly be adding that one to my bookshelf, Bryan!
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Post by kentyeti on May 22, 2015 13:18:05 GMT
I'll certainly be adding that one to my bookshelf, Bryan!
 Deb.
And another one seen in the South. West Sussex, this morning.
Any other sightings always welcome.
Cheers,
Bryan
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Post by jonathan on May 27, 2015 16:21:36 GMT
There was a SE Owl at RSPB Titchwell in Norfolk last Friday, it was hunting the grazing marsh west of the reserve in the evening. I had another sighting on Sunday afternoon after a heavy shower of rain, a bird flying high west over the phragmites beds. It was presumed this was the same owl but I'm not so sure, birds are often grounded by rain, this may have been a different bird passing through.
Cheers
Jonathan
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Post by kentyeti on May 27, 2015 18:20:44 GMT
They are still being seen in locations where it isn't that usual towards the end of May Jonathan, ie towards the South of Britain. Dungeness, Reculver and Shellness in Kent over the last two weeks or so. One in Sussex very recently too. We had around 12 on Sheppey all winter and I had said that I wouldn't be surprised if at least one stayed all summer. It has happened before when we have had good numbers in the winter. Maybe late brood first winter Owls where the urge to go North/North East and breed hasn't kicked in. Or maybe one or two are breeding in the South. It happens but not often these days, and they can be very secretive about breeding in the right location if they choose too. It isn't all about those wonderful male courtship displays in daylight which can be seen from a reasonable distance. Or maybe they have got so fed up with the weather oop North that some have packed their bags and come back South again! LOL. Of course some are breeding up North. Here's one I watched on the way to his female prior to mating her, taking the obligatory prey item with him. Seen earlier by some on Deb's WAB Castaways FB group.  003-Male-Short-eared-Owl-flying-with-prey-f... by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr |
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Post by NellyDee on May 28, 2015 14:25:55 GMT
Keep up the good work Bryan and thanks for keeping us in the loop via Castaways.
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Post by kentyeti on Jun 13, 2015 17:09:11 GMT
Just back from another exhausting but very rewarding trip to the North for the Short-eared Owl breeding season. All 9 breeeding territories I found in early April on Langholm Moor seemed to have failed, including the one where circa 4 young hatched but don't look like they surivived. Dreadful Spring weather and a collapse in vole numbers the reasons. But thanks to Carrie, (not sure if she is on the new WAB yeti), I spent a lot of time in Northern England, (only 30 miles or so away as the Owl flies from Langholm), where the spring had been milder and there are a lot of voles. And lots of breeding Shorties too! I need some time to recover and sort things through but I'll post photos here as soon as I can.
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Post by kentyeti on Jun 14, 2015 8:04:04 GMT
A standard perching shot. Very docile Owl, it let cars drive past it. I had to drive just past, turn round and park next to it to get the sun sort of in the right place. I did ask it to look towards the sun so I could get the face fully bright, but it told me not to push my luck!
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Post by rowanberry on Jun 14, 2015 9:18:06 GMT
Absolutely stunning photo, Bryan. It's a shame the breeding territories on the moors in Scotland failed- good news about the ones in the North of England, though. Looking forward to more photos! |
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Post by aeshna5 on Jun 14, 2015 11:12:43 GMT
Agree stunning photo of a wonderful bird.
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Post by kentyeti on Jun 14, 2015 12:23:54 GMT
Thanks guys. I was mainly after shots of the adults carrying food to the young and of the young being fed. Which I got but no where near as close as that one as the young tend to stay down in the grass and heather when being fed. And a lot of that activity was later in the day when the light was not as good. But every so often one of the young came out almost into the open and got fed so I got useable shots for the book as they are not a commonly seen sight.
I actually got moved on twice in one evening! First when I was looking at a wandering juvenile just over the stone wall by the road. It's female adult came and shouted at me very loud indeed from close by, so I left very quickly as she wanted to feed it. Then the one in the photo had a gentle shout at me. He didn't mind me being close when the young were down in the heather, even when quite close. But as night fell and they got up to have their fly around session together they flew quite close to me. And he came up to me and let out a series of gentle barks. And as I was a bit slow packing stuff away he then sat on a post nearby and carried on barking whilst looking directly at me, "go on, I've let you get some photos when the light was good, but now it's night I want my kids to come out and play without you staring at them. So be on your way please". Only I don't think he said "please"! LOL!
I do love those close up interactions with the Owls, but I do leave quite quickly when I am clearly getting in the way.
PS. The photo above comes out a bit soft on my screen until I click the little + button in the bottom corner when it sharpens up nicely. I think because I have posted it here just a little bit too big. At least for my screen. |
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Post by kentyeti on Jul 11, 2015 20:54:51 GMT
Another week up North for the Shorties. My 16th trip to Scotland for breeding season etc work since April last year.
I thought all had failed on my own observation stretch on Langholm Moor after the dreadful weather and collapse in vole numbers. But one evening I found 4 flying together. An adult and at least one Juvenile, maybe 3 young. Aging them, checking my field notes etc for others I had seen trying to breed here identified them as likely those from the nest I went to early in May. They have moved a short distance to the only location I was seeing voles by the road at night.
Daily visits to Northumberland found the Owls there likely having started to disperse a bit over the Fells and now going nocturnal.
A standard flight shot of one I did get in full daylight.
Then a couple of shots out of a large number I took as I watched one for an hour from 04.30 onwards. A Juvenile I caught as it loafed around before heading off to roost for the day. Caught it at the right time in it's development too. Just at the really curious stage when it will stand and examine something like a Yeti close by! Might be the first person it had set eyes on, I think it came from way out on the Fells where it went back to. Within a few days it will start getting an aversion to anything like a car or a person, like they do. Vital for their survival of course. Watched that speedy process a lot on Langholm last year.
After 40 minutes close by I was able to get out of the car and walk to within 10 feet of this one as the sun came up. Ten feet was fine three times. But six feet was too close as it gently flew a couple of posts away. I was talking to it when out of the car close up. Telling it to use both it's excellent eyesight and hearing to hunt with. And I asked it if knew it's left ear was higher than it's right ear. LOL! It didn't reply to me, but I think the short lesson was a well received. Oh dear I'll get locked up one day. A Yeti, been out on the Fells all night, was found a few feet from a young Owl trying to give it a lesson in hunting skills as the sun came up. In the end I just sat in the car and watched, before it finished preening etc and went to find itself a roosting spot.
It's truly exhausting work doing so much field work with these Owls., But my oh my, spells of time like that morning are a huge incentive to keep slogging way when knackered. I do love them so much. Silly old Yeti that I am.
Cheers,
Bryan
 001-Short-eared-Owl-Northumberland-July-2015 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr  002-Juvenile-Short-eared-Owl-Northumberland... by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr  003-Juvenile-Short-eared-Owl-Northumberland... by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr |
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