owl deaths (1 Viewer)

Why are so many owls killed by veichles,is it because they fly so low or are they attracted to the on coming head lights.i wonder how many are killed per year this way.(my family have a caravan in towyn(north wales)and just over a little bridge,there is a little field,and i go and watch the barn owls at dusk,hunting by the stream...

Gary..............

In my work I travel a lot daily in the West Country Wiltshire and Somerset. I have noticed a definite increase in the number of Tawnys dead by the roadside this year.
I have recorded 6 so far but found its important to stop if possible as it is all too easy when traveling at 60mph to `register' a pheasant as a Tawny when its just a bundle of feathers at the roadside.

I believe most are due to Tawnys crossing roads at low levels often in gaps between hedges and trees at their natural hunting height which is quite low.

Tawnys are great opportunists and very versatile in their eating habits ( part of their success ) I have wondered of late whether Tawnys will take fresh roadkill and are perhaps occasionally being mown down as they try to get out of the way of oncoming vehicles.

Also don't forget that despite the vast amount of council tax we all pay in this country the grass verges don't get mown as frequently as they might ( this is good for flowers and plants however ) and these provide good runs for small rodents to get from one place to another in semi rural and town areas so it's only natural for owls and kestrels and the like to hunt there , at low level they are probably dazzled by headlights and just can't avoid a car going at speed .

Ashley

I strongly suspect the death toll of owls on roads could be reduced substantially if cars were required to have small top corner lights, same as trucks have already.

Look at an on-coming car in the dark on an unlit country road, and an on-coming truck, and see which it is easier to see where the top of the vehicle is.

Michael

There's several other causes of death in owls.
Roadsides are just the most obvious locations to find/see dead ones.

I would imagine that a vehicle with 'full beam' lights on would pose more of a threat/problem to a hunting owl. I allways 'dip' my lights as soon as i see one.

Thats an interesting point about the 'small top corner lights' ......
You can imagine the owl wheeling away from the glare of the headlights only to get clattered by the rest of the cab/windscreen.

I'm glad my Transit is fully equipped with "owl-saver top corner lights"

Barn owls allways appear to have a death wish & shoot out low at right angles.

I'd dread to run an owl over, but have come close some nights.

On one occasion around new year time we were out driving slowly, 'owling' in Vauxaul Astra van when a Long eared left its perch in front of us, within a second there was a thud....
After sliding to a halt in 2" of fresh snow, we got out to pick up the casualty but there was nothing to be seen, not even a feather!
I still think it was trying to land on the ladder rack, but misjudged it !!

Anyway, thats the closest ive come to an owl accident.....hope it stays that way.
Stevie.

Could it be the same argument I have seen against wind turbines, that raptors are so fixed on their prey they are oblivious to their surroundings, they don't expect some huge great thing to come along and clout them?

Mick

One less...........

BirdGuides reports a Short eared owl along the Seal Sands approach road at 19:37 PM..........

Unfortunately, we picked up a freshly killed one on the same stretch of A-road at approx 21:30.
Large wagons & especially petro-chemical tankers thunder along this open road day & night.

The roads here have wide swaithes of un-mown long grass & offer excelent but obviously dangerous hunting. Adjacent fields also recently cut, providing an extra attraction.

(it appears to have been a juv bird, will have a look at it in the daylight tomorrow.)

SE.

Dead SEO a juvenile.
Would be a interesting record if it had been locally bred, ie Lowland site.
SE.

Sat 31st July '04
SEO hunting half a mile or so from dead seo juv, near the Haverton Hole area.
S