We're Going on an Owl Hunt

Just lately, owls have been In. Long seen as a symbol of wisdom, they’re a bird that are familiar whilst being quite mysterious. Denizens of the night that make unearthly noises and fly soundlessly through the darkness, they are seldom encountered by most people which is a pity because they wonderful birds to watch.

Barn Owl quartering at Elmley NNR

Owls were originally associated with Athena in Greek myth, the goddess of wisdom, and that’s why they're supposed to be intelligent. Make no mistake, owls are among the stupidest of all the birds – natural selection has produced an animal that’s sole purpose is spotting small moving things, catching them and eating them. Most of their brains are taken up with the visual processing system leaving precious little room for anything else.

What makes owls such perfect hunters? Well the eyes are their most striking feature. Huge in relation to the rest of the face and facing entirely forward giving superb binocular vision, they are honed through years of evolution to be capable of spotting the tiny movements of rodents and small animals running through the grass in the dark. Owls, unusually for birds, have acute hearing. Their ears are huge, and slightly out of alignment giving them three-dimensional hearing as well as vision. And their final killer adaptation is that their wing feathers are muffled so that when they fly they are absolutely soundless, perfect if you don’t want to give yourself away to your prey.

Their main food source is small mammals – mice, voles and shrews make up the bulk of their diet but they are known to take bats and even small birds. Prey is swallowed whole and powerful stomach muscles and acids break down and digest most of the soft parts. Anything that is indigestible collects in the gizzard and is regurgitated as a pellet. Dissecting one of these is a fascinating insight into their diet because they’re full of fur and bones, although owls are not unique in producing pellets.

Finding Owls

To spot owls, you'd expect to go out at night. While this is true, some species can be observed in broad daylight, especially short-eared owls. Listening is an important part of finding them – their calls are loud enough to be heard easily. You can also search for them roosting, although they’ll keep themselves well hidden and some will roost inside tree holes. The other sign to search for is pellets. Generally speaking owls will often pellet in one particular place so this could be a good place to stake-out. There are couple of important DON’Ts though when searching for owls:

·       DON’T get too close to roosting owls. Not even for the perfect photo – it’s important not to disturb birds while roosting as they need to conserve their energy. For this reason it’s also important to be careful about revealing to people any roosts you have found. Always observe from a respectful distance.

·       DON’T use sound recordings or decoy them. A lot of people are able to make the tawny owl hooting noise using their hands. Attracting them in this way is highly controversial but you’re affecting the birds behaviour if you call them to you and you could potentially endanger them. Best to use your field craft rather than cheating that could be harmful to the animal.

Short-eared Owl at Elmley NNR

There are five species to find in the UK, although snowy and eagle owls are occasional visitors:

• Tawny Owl – the familiar owl of “Twit-twoo” fame. This is actually the sound of two owls, a male and a female, doing call and response. You might also hear the longer, more drawn out hooting. Tawnys tend to live in woodland, so are quite hard to find, but I’ve had best results walking through Bushy Park at dusk as they set out to hunt. Look out for them flitting between trees in parkland.
• Little Owl – our smallest owl and an introduced species in the UK. Little owls are tiny little things and are the other owl encountered in Bushy Park. They are often heard but look out for them at dusk perching on fence posts. They often have a diet high in insects, so their pellets are quite crumbly.
• Barn Owl – beautiful birds, almost like ghosts and are sometimes called Screech Owls because of their traumatizing call! They hunt in open grassland and they're most often encountered in car headlights. They will quarter in the late afternoon or even in the middle of the day when its overcast. Open farmland and meadows are a favourite for seeing them quartering – I’ve spotted barn owls at Elmley NNR, Welney and in the Arun Valley on several occasions.
• Short-eared Owl – a marshland specialist. They sporadically turn up in London but in coastal areas in winter they’re a regular visitor. Best looked for quartering across flat marshlands and fields this is one owl that you’re more likely to see in the day time. I’ve seen them most often in North Kent, at Elmley NNR on Sheppey and at Reculver, although I also had a close encounter in Orkney where they're common. They’re always a treat!
• Long-eared Owl – the most elusive of all, and usually confined to conifer forests. I saw my first one driving down a country lane at night when it flew out of the hedge and then in front of me. I was thrilled until I realised its backside was rapidly approaching the windscreen and I had to slam on the brakes to avoid driving into it. I’ve also heard their haunting hoot from the meadows that back on to my parent's house. The best views I’ve had are of roosting birds at Elmley NNR and this is likely the best way to see them. Local knowledge is invaluable for these birds but please don’t disturb them if you find a roost – enjoy from a distance!

  

  Roosting Long-Eared Owl at Elmley NNR