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Post by kentyeti on Aug 31, 2015 9:03:14 GMT
An interesting late summer.
I have a standard system of trawling the Internet for Shortie reports. I am building up a database of sightings to help with my book.
7 reports in the whole of August last year.
35 reports so far in August this year.
Not outright proof of anything, but as I said up front, interesting. 7 last August, 51 so far this August.
Because of the random nature of how they are reported and because a number are different days at the same location it is impossible to draw any firm conclusions.
If numbers grow a lot in September and into October to give a mega winter for numbers it would have been a useful pointer for future years.
My main use of the data, (I have picked up over 2,100 reports in more than 3 years), is to find out when and where in Britain they are seen. Plus, for those with a time attached, when they are seen in daylight hours.
At most a couple of very small paragraphs in my book. But it's all part of gathering as much information as I can about Shorties over as long a period of time as possible.
Re the book. Taking a short break from field work after 17 trips to Scotland since April last year. I've over 5,500 photos on file out of the vast number I have taken. And I'm currently going through all those and pulling out those that may be suitable for the book into a different folder on my PC. That is in addition to those already in the various book folders. Doing that will find any I've missed and make it much easier to find others in the future. As well as helping with back ups. One big find is a photo that meets my exact specification for a cover photo. Forgotten all about that session with a Shortie!
Cheers,
Bryan
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Post by kentyeti on Sept 6, 2015 18:34:42 GMT
As more reports come in of sightings in the South I saw my first one this Autumn in the South. 04.30 this morning North East Sheppey. A good chance the one seen on the Shellness/Swale NNR a few days ago. No way of telling of course. And no way of telling if it was one just rung through to me by some of my very good friends who are also Friends of Elmley, of one on the West edge of the Reserve tonight. That one was just perching for some significant amount of time, not far from the observers. Possibly indicating it had just arrived from overseas/a fair way off. Or one already on the Island taking it's pre hunt preen etc on a post rather than in it's day time roost. Who knows!
Incidentally seeing one today now makes it 27 consecutive months during which I have seen a wild Short-eared Owl at least once. Obsessive, me? Good heavens no!
I really need to go North soon to do sufficient field work to at least get an idea if any I watched breed this year are still up there, the "holy grail", being to catch a view of the one that was ringed on the moor. At which I was present. But I also need a plan for my field work for this winter, which would be nice to include Sheppey as it is so close and I know a good number of people there who will give me reports of what they see: as per tonight.
But I need to get to Wales, the Midlands and the North East of England too. So any regular sightings there will be very welcome.
Cheers,
Bryan
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Post by jonathan on Sept 18, 2015 20:07:46 GMT
Several Shorties have already turned up on the Dee Estuary Bryan. Not sure how long they've been around as I haven't spent much time down there over the last month. Tonight there were at least three around the Denhall Quay area, along with two rt Hen harriers accompanied by a Merlin. I'll try to remember to keep you informed if numbers increase.
Cheers Jonathan
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Post by kentyeti on Sept 23, 2015 19:47:09 GMT
Many thanks Jonathan. Half thought about calling in there on my way back from Langholm today but diverted via the A66 to the A1!
Are there any big Spring Tides there over the coming weeks please? I checked the web sites a few week ago but couldn't find any mentioned.
Langholm has got very hard work! Only one pair bred on my observation stretch this year and my regular checks and welcome updates from the gamekeepers etc indicate no late broods.
But the male from the pair that bred is, I think, the one Shortie I found still on my stretch. Along with his female he was the first to get a nest and eggs laid and hatched 4 young I am fairly sure. I have a feeling he was there all last winter, a small number stayed on. Giving him first choice of the ladies when they arrived in the Spring this year and first go at the voles!
If he stays all winter it will be the longest I have followed one individual Shortie. He had a unique approach to his breeding so if he survives, stays and breeds I will recognise his style! I hope.
All good news. Except he is on part of the moor with no roadside posts so very hard to find: he is nocturnal now and has been for some time. When I last saw him in daylight a fair while ago he had a very large territory.
I did see him two nights running this trip. One night meant a 17 hour field work shift for a couple of minutes viewing. Mid afternoon to some way after dawn. So I reckoned I deserved some return for that. LOL! But it is going to be very hard work to keep tabs on him if he stays all winter. He is near where a number did gather in February this year in the worst of the winter weather: the lowest and most sheltered part of the moor.
I had a short use of one of the gamekeepers Pulsar thermal imaging device a few weeks ago and will likely get one: with good reason they rate them way above the night vision monoculars around. That should help me a lot. They have a very good range and can partly "see through" light vegetation.
One other Owl of interest was a juvenile Tawny I found out on the moor one night, perched on the roadside fence posts on and off for a while. The RSPB guys working on the Harrier project, (a couple of really decent people, like all the teams up there), looked at me a bit strange when I told them I had heard a male Tawny calling way out on the moor two nights running in early summer. And this trip I found one of their offspring. As I did in the same location last Autumn. So a pair of Tawnys have found a small copse out there somewhere. Not to be confused with the regular pair in the small part wooded valley on the moor nearer to Langholm. Unlikely I'll see the Juvenile again, that will have gone now looking for a territory off the moor no doubt.
Cheers,
Bryan
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Post by jonathan on Sept 24, 2015 20:25:02 GMT
High tides at Parkgate are: Monday 28 September: 11.52 am (9.9m) Tuesday 29 September: 12.36 pm (10.0m) Wednesday 30 September: 1.19 pm (10.0m)
These are big tides, but the weather looks too settled at the moment to really flood the marsh - even with 10m tides you generally need a decent NW-W wind to push the water right up. It's really difficult to predict however, the marsh flooded on a less than 10m tide with hardly any wind at all last year! Air pressure and flood water in the Dee can make a difference too.
Tawny owls will occasionally nest on the ground, I wonder if this applies to the birds you're seeing out on the moors at Langholme Bryan?
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Post by kentyeti on Sept 24, 2015 20:43:37 GMT
High tides at Parkgate are: Monday 28 September: 11.52 am (9.9m) Tuesday 29 September: 12.36 pm (10.0m) Wednesday 30 September: 1.19 pm (10.0m) These are big tides, but the weather looks too settled at the moment to really flood the marsh - even with 10m tides you generally need a decent NW-W wind to push the water right up. It's really difficult to predict however, the marsh flooded on a less than 10m tide with hardly any wind at all last year! Air pressure and flood water in the Dee can make a difference too. Tawny owls will occasionally nest on the ground, I wonder if this applies to the birds you're seeing out on the moors at Langholme Bryan? Thanks for the tide info. Too tired to go North again yet, so I'll check around Sheppey.
Didn't now that about Tawnys. Could be the answer. There is a lot of very hard work done in keeping ground predators under control on the moor so maybe that has helped them. It has certainly helped the Shorties, Merlins and Hen Harriers. And the grouse of course! Including the Black Grouse which lek up there.
I'll keep a good watch out for the Tawnys when I'm up there next. Always nice to see any Owls, not just Shorties. And all are very short on numbers this year: The Barn Owls did breed, but very small broods I am told. You need to be a very dedicated Owl watcher to see much up there at present, even with a lot of hard work it's more likely to spend a whole night and see none than it is to even catch a brief glimpse of one. I was starting to see voles and field mice etc again at night this last trip, so hopefully that will mean a population that at least has a chance of breeding for next Spring and the Owl main breeding season.
Cheers,
Bryan
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Post by kentyeti on Sept 26, 2015 20:27:25 GMT
When I woke this morning and checked the weather I thought it looked like a good day for Shorties to be coming over the North Sea.
So no surprise to see sightings from Lincolnshire down to Kent on the East side of England today.
Have to wait and see if we are going to get a deluge this year. When we had the last deluge, 2011, the peak days for sightings were mid October.
Cheers,
Bryan
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Post by kentyeti on Oct 1, 2015 20:11:57 GMT
On the same basis as I reported for August, ie a very broad brush approach with warts and all, my Internet etc trawl for SEO sightings shows 84 in September this year, compared with 32 last year.
I don't think we have had a big of an influx from Scandinavia yet, October usually sees that. Just have to wait and see how many that brings this year.
Still just one or two on Sheppey. Could be ones that stayed all summer but were nocturnal until recently. No way of telling of course. I have been watching over the last week for signs of any coming in off the North sea, but none seen by me or reported by others yet.
Cheers,
Bryan
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Post by kentyeti on Oct 3, 2015 16:08:31 GMT
The score yesterday at Capel Fleet where I am spending sometime in the afternoons re any incoming Shorties, was Marsh Harriers 3 Buzzards 1.
And just about nowt else of interest to me. Oh, except for a growing number of Starlings that is starting to look quite good at dusk.
Edited to say, no Shorties yet.
There is one, (possibly 2), on Sheppey at present that are being seen in daylight. Mostly on Elmley NNR.
As well as Capel Fleet I am also checking the locations on Sheppey where they regularly roost in winter.
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Post by kentyeti on Oct 7, 2015 21:02:18 GMT
Just a glimpse of a Shortie on the Isle of Sheppey tonight, after dark. My guess is that there is just one on the Island for sure at present. More are welcomed!
Did see 4 different Barn Owls tonight, one eating a kill.
Got home and parked my car as a male Tawny Owl was calling very close from the trees in front of my house. Not sufficient trees or the right habitat for a Tawny to live in, but I do hear them around here in the Autumn some years.
Cheers,
Bryan
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Post by NellyDee on Oct 8, 2015 12:32:21 GMT
Just in case you have not seen this on RSPB Love Nature I quote "Short-eared Owls have been frequenting RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands, Wirral earlier than previous years this Autumn which has been great to see. Here's a stunning individual I caught taking a break from hunting a couple of weeks ago!"
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Post by kentyeti on Oct 8, 2015 14:03:46 GMT
Thanks for that. I had seen some were around there. No surprise they are early, I suspect the Scottish adults that gave up on breeding in the appalling summer came South early this year. Out of nine pairs on my Langholm Observation stretch in April this year only a single adult remains as a far as I can determine at present: the others most likely left a long time ago, somewhat earlier than last year. And subject to some more long nights of field work I think most of the adults and Juveniles I watched on the north Pennines left earlier than they did at Langholm last year too. Some would have gone a lot further than Britain, by the way, they can get as far South as North Africa.
I may well call in to that incredible coastal marshand area in the Wirral on my next trip North. But if they remain largely nocturnal it is not a place to do much night watching: except at high tides! It is a very wide marsh at low tide. So any times of daylight sightings welcomed.
Incidentally I am trying to find any authoritative work on the first ten days of development, especially feeding, of Short-eared Owlets. On the nest of course!
I have data on 10 - 12 days old onwards, but not the first, critical days of life. I have discussed the possibility of installing a nest cam with a gamekeeper on a moor. But the experiences of others suggest that is a non runner. They are an Owl that is very vulnerable to disturbance when on eggs and also in the first days of the young after hatching too. My only nest visits have been when a few hadn't yet stated wandering and were about to be ringed.
I am about to read the relevant parts of my Poyser Monograph on Barn Owls to see if I can pick up any pointers, being wary of course that they are a different Owl and do develop slower than a Shortie.
But if anyone has found anything re Shorties on the nest for those first 10- 12 days I'd be grateful for the name or link. I have gone through GOOGLE Scholar but have so far not found anything above a good number of excellent papers on Shorties that I already have copies of
Cheers,
Bryan
PS. Re my local Tawny Owl from last night. My neighbours tell me it has been calling for a few evenings now. I suspect it is a Juvenile looking for a mate/territory. Sadly that means it will soon head away to somewhere more suitable, they always do from here.
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Post by kentyeti on Oct 8, 2015 16:59:59 GMT
Adding to the above. Poyser Barn Owls has done well! Some specific Short-eared Owl information from references to what I am guessing is the book "Birds of the Night" by Hoskings & Newberry, 1945. Which I have just ordered from Amazon for a few pounds plus postage. The wonders of the Internet. I hope! LOL.
Minimal mention in Google Scholar and from it's general title it is no wonder I hadn't picked it up from my frequent searches there for Short-eared Owl papers etc.
Just hoping I have guessed right, won't know until arrives.
Cheers,
Bryan
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Post by NellyDee on Oct 9, 2015 9:55:40 GMT
Have you tried asking on the Hawk and Owl Trust's website blog - maybe one of their researchers might have information on re Shorties on the nest for those first 10- 12 days - just a thought.
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Post by kentyeti on Oct 9, 2015 11:39:17 GMT
Thanks, I may try that, but I am doing rather well so far with the Poyser Barn Owl book. I'll wait and see what the Hoskins/Newberry book tells me.
With the exception of the BTO I don't often get replies from the obvious UK organisations/ individuals who have done a lot of Shortie work. I guess because I am unpublished name and only 5 years working on the subject.
From overseas the responses are usually very good indeed!
The UK responses are one reason, but not the main reason why I have changed the structure of the book significantly since starting it. More and more is based on my own field work and my own conclusions and suggestions from the work. So people can either agree or disagree with me, rather than with anything someone else has told me. It does of course also include a lot of citations: that is unavoidable, although some are to state that xxxx in 19xx found different behaviour to that I observed.
It also means I won't be going through a full peer review process. If there is something I can't make a full conclusion on I'll say so and leave it open. It also avoids involving others in my strong views on such as properly run grouse moors which from experience I have found can be very favourable indeed to Short-eared Owl breeding: I had 3 years of virtually no useable breeding field work until I cottoned on to that! It would be totally unfair for me to expect someone who has contrary views on that to try and help with such as a peer review. I would feel very unhappy about putting them in a difficult position.
I do know a lady who knows an awful lot about birds generally and if she can spare time from some excellent work she is doing she will help on making sure I haven't made too many errors on basic bird facts.
My approach with the book is the same as when I made a series of films about the final days of steam railway locomotive operations in South Africa. I am the first customer and the finished product is what I want, and hopefully if others like it too then I will do all I can to make sure they have the chance of getting a copy. Donating or selling at a very low price to the big organisations involved with UK birds is part of my plan, so they can sell and make some money. That is all dependent on my finances staying as they are as the cost of the whole project is mind blowing! If that changes I will have to decide whether to change my approach or just publish a very small number of copies leaving out something like a full professional edit and accepting a standard a little below what I really want.
But that is all several years away! I have to stay fit enough to keep doing the exhausting trips North where the bulk of my field work is now done.
Cheers,
Bryan
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