Eagle Owls in Yorkshire?? (5 Viewers)

[rokermartin]

The programme about the Eagle Owls in Yorkshire was on BBC2 few months ago and the Eagle Owls were on the National news few days before the programme was shown.And someone did say from the RSPB that they did want Eagle Owls breeding in the country and it would be a bad thing if they did

 

[Jos Stratford]

The programme about the Eagle Owls in Yorkshire was on BBC2 few months ago and the Eagle Owls were on the National news few days before the programme was shown

And what?

 

[rokermartin]

I really hope Eagle Owls do get established as breeding birds in the UK i know Roy Dennis is all for Eagle Owl breeding in the UK.

 

[Collster]

There was one hanging about down this way for a while, personal views are they are welcome, especially if they start reducing goshawk numbers

 

[dubs1967]

There was one hanging about down this way for a while, personal views are they are welcome, especially if they start reducing goshawk numbers

Good morning valley boy.I get the impression that gos is common in wales from your comment?Is this so.

 

[rokermartin]

Eagle Owls will be a great asset around our towns and cities for hunting rats ,stray cats and dogs they would certainly take quite a lot of the gulls which cause a great mess in our towns and cities.Thats one good point about breeding Eagle Owls in the UK.We had one in the centre of Sunderland not so long ago and it feed on gulls, cats and dogs

 

[Andy Bright]

Have now split the thread. Goshawk Diet can be found here http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=67535

 

[Farnboro John]

There has been an escaped Eagle Owl in the Pocklington area of Yorkshire for at leat 4 months now and maybe over a year. At best all I can say is that it is doing a good job keeping the local rat population down, but on a more worrying note there is a pair of Barn Owls in the vicinity which could be threatened.
As far as I am aware there have been no reports from anywhere in the country of Eagle Owls being seen coming in off the sea at any of our major seawatching points or observatories, so most if not all of the birds in the wild must originate from captive stock. Impressive as they are, this in itself is no reason to welcome them into our avifauna. It only takes one Eagle Owl in an area of myxymatosis, and consequently hungry, to take a few lambs, for the farming commumity to say - enough is enough, it's open season on all birds of prey. Let's not have this happen through misguided enthusiasm for a wonderful but alien species.

I understand that a record has been submitted of an EO in off at Landguard and it is sub judice at present. Another instance of committees being a bit selective about information? - there was no mention of it in the programme.

Maybe someone knows who recorded the bird?

John

 

[Farnboro John]

Have 'nt mentioned any breeding sites, the male Eagle Owl was mentioned on Birdline and Bird Guides for Gouthwaite Yorkshire when it was there.The Catterick pair no longer breed because someone shoot the female.IT was shot soon after the programme was on the television about them someone who was watching that programme must have decided to get rid of them.Also the RSPB do not want Eagle Owls breeding in the UK because they think they have'nt bred in this country before.But looking back at the old records Eagle Owls have been seen in the UK hundreds of years ago.

As you mention, the female of the Catterick pair was shot. There is however a reservoir of other birds around and we might hope that another might find the male remaining in the territory. Do please take a wider view than you have to date and don't publish site information.

John

 

[rokermartin]

As you mention, the female of the Catterick pair was shot. There is however a reservoir of other birds around and we might hope that another might find the male remaining in the territory. Do please take a wider view than you have to date and don't publish site information.

John

Everyone knows about the ones that used to breed at Catterick they where on the NATIONAL NEWS and a PROGRAMME was show on BBC2 also the BIRDWATCHING MAGAZINE had a piece in about them and that male must be still in the area so i dont know why you said dont give site information on this forum its certainly no big secret.

 

[rokermartin]

My friend used to keep a female Eagle Owl in this back garden and some mornings he said he often found half eaten cat or a hedgehog beside the Owl.It must have got rid of a few cats and hedgehogs in his street when he had it.

 

[shark attack]

My friend used to keep a female Eagle Owl in this back garden and some mornings he said he often found half eaten cat or a hedgehog beside the Owl.It must have got rid of a few cats and hedgehogs in his street when he had it.

Were they all " black cats"

when was this Eagle owl killing all the cats in sunderland ????????????

 

[rokermartin]

Were they all " black cats"

when was this Eagle owl killing all the cats in sunderland ????????????

Think it was sometime last year there was a photo of it sitting on a house roof in the Sunderland Echo

 

[Stand on Zanzibar]

to which you added 'because they think they don't breed in this country anymore' - a statement that contains two (IMV) erroneous presumptions:

1. The RSPB only want birds here that breed here! (historically is actually irrelevant as there are now wild breeding EOs here). 'Historical' arguments might support 're-introduction' programmes of wild birds, but not applicable in this context I don't think.

2. The EOs that are breeding here, have their origins in wild Continental breeding populations rather than, more realistically,from captive bred birds that have escaped or been deliberately released

What date is the 'programme' and the 'news item' that you quote from? Is before the RSPB provided a fuller explaination of their concerns re: EOs and before all the lengthy and repetive discussions months ago on this thread?

I know this is slightly off thread (not relating to Yorkshire) but....

In re 2, I was at the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore in August and the 'guide' inicated that a 'wild' EO ringed in France had recently been recovered (he wasn't specific as to how or where) in England.

I offer no opinion on the validity of this information or on the guide's birding expertise, but I thought it was worth a mention.

If this has already been mentioned on this forum, then I apologise, but, even being laid up with an torn calf muscle, I fear that to go through every post on this (and any other relevant thread) is too daunting an undertaking. If it has previously been raised, feel free to ignore this post or at least (politely!) direct me to where the information was discussed/dismissed before.

Thanks

Tim

 

[dbradnum]

News to me at least... and interesting news, as well.

 

[Farnboro John]

News to me at least... and interesting news, as well.

Very - if true it would effectively leave the BOU with nowhere to go but Category A.

John

 

[Steven Astley]

In my opinion as an owl 'lover', I stress opinion, Eagle Owls should not be allowed to colonise Britain.

One thing is for sure the decision should lie with the rational unbiased experts and not Roy Dennis and his medieval poetry. As much as I admire is effort in protecting raptors.

 

[Amarillo]

In my opinion as an owl 'lover', I stress opinion, Eagle Owls should not be allowed to colonise Britain.

even if the colonisation happened naturally?

 

[Capercaillie71]

In my opinion as an owl 'lover', I stress opinion, Eagle Owls should not be allowed to colonise Britain.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion and you are right to say that such decisions should be unbiased (although there would presumably have to be some guiding principles). However, it would be interesting to know your reasons.

 

[Isurus]

Very - if true it would effectively leave the BOU with nowhere to go but Category A.

John

Quite. How would one go about confirming or denying such a report?