Help me complete my British owl list! (1 Viewer)

Hello everyone,
Over the past year I have been trying extensively to complete the British owl list in photographs. The eagle owl is currently beyond my reach, of course, and then in Spain I know of a very reliable site for them that would save me a trip to the Lancaster Moors.
I have seen and photographed:
The Short-eared owl
The Tawny owl, which was told to me is the hardest to photograph
The Barn owl.
So I just need to get the long-eared owl and little owl to complete the list!
I know how sensitive people are about long-eared owls, but I think I deserve to know some sites because I have been specifically trying to prove I am not an egg-collector or disturber and can be trusted for 2 years now with my images. If anyone has a site they would like to share near Cambridge, p.m. me, as I know there could be egg-collectors viewing my posts. Not to mention I know one already.
My main question is little owls. Are there any reliable spots in Cambridge to see them in? I know the Burwell log pile is good, but I visited twice and I failed both times. Besides that is a bit far away. Can I see these ones in Cambridge?
Thank you for any info. I do visit Bristol at times, too, so if there is one there?
Thanks!
Gleb. Not an egg-collector, disturber, and can be trusted. If that tawny owlet image doesn't prove anything, I don't know what will.

Gleb Berloff said:

Hello everyone,
Over the past year I have been trying extensively to complete the British owl list in photographs. The eagle owl is currently beyond my reach, of course, and then in Spain I know of a very reliable site for them that would save me a trip to the Lancaster Moors.
I have seen and photographed:
The Short-eared owl
The Tawny owl, which was told to me is the hardest to photograph
The Barn owl.
So I just need to get the long-eared owl and little owl to complete the list!
I know how sensitive people are about long-eared owls, but I think I deserve to know some sites because I have been specifically trying to prove I am not an egg-collector or disturber and can be trusted for 2 years now with my images. If anyone has a site they would like to share near Cambridge, p.m. me, as I know there could be egg-collectors viewing my posts. Not to mention I know one already.
My main question is little owls. Are there any reliable spots in Cambridge to see them in? I know the Burwell log pile is good, but I visited twice and I failed both times. Besides that is a bit far away. Can I see these ones in Cambridge?
Thank you for any info. I do visit Bristol at times, too, so if there is one there?
Thanks!
Gleb. Not an egg-collector, disturber, and can be trusted. If that tawny owlet image doesn't prove anything, I don't know what will.

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This statement alone would make most people suspicious of you, I don't know a single 'egger' despite my years.

andyadcock said:

This statement alone would make most people suspicious of you, I don't know a single 'egger' despite my years.

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He means that he knows one site, Andy, not that he knows one egger. His post is silent on that point.

Helenelizabeth2 said:

He means that he knows one site, Andy, not that he knows one egger. His post is silent on that point.

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I wasn’t sure what he meant to be honest, I can read it both ways and was possibly erring the way Andy read it. But rightly or wrongly (hopefully wrongly!) the mention of not being an egger more than once got my suspicion levels on alert I am afraid.

The ‘Burwell Log Pile’ is less than 30 minutes from Cambridge city centre, just keep trying.

No one is going to reveal breeding sites for LEO’s on here. The breeding season is over now anyway, and they will be difficult to find at this time of year. Wait until winter and go to one of the occasionally publicised ‘safe’ roost sites, usually on an island.

You can’t really prove a negative, I’m not an egger either, but how can anyone be sure on anonymous social media sites.

Oh my god, I seriously can't believe what I read there.
If I was an egg-collector, would I leave so much eggs during my repeated visits to the chalk pits and Jesus college that there are 3 peregrinelets in the pits and 4 owlets in the College?
Its not like I asked to reveal LEO breeding sites here, I asked to perhaps if you know some in or near Cambridge PM me. Not reveal them here, I would never do that. Would you truly believe I am an egg collector looking at my photos?
So if anyone knows of a Cambridge LEO site, I would really appreciate it if it was Pm'ed, and would be pissed off if it was posted here.
For a start, if anyone visits my profile and finds sparrowhawk pictures, these were taken right near the nest. That is located in woodland. Would I seriously not have looted that nest if I was an egg-collector? Think about that.
What I meant was I know one Cambridge LEO site, but it might be defunct now. It is at W****** C******. The reason I am not satisfied is because it is closed now, with no access permitted to me!
Seriously, I try to say I am not an egger, and that raises suspicion levels to alert? Look at my photos- could I be less of an egg-collector? Nor do I disturb any wildlife at all.
So yes, if anyone has any sites closer to Cambridge, do PM me.
If you say 'no, this guy's too suspicious despite having tawny owlet images and who knows the exact location of a sparrowhawk nest despite it being hugely succesfful this year', at least help me out here.
I know this is not relevant to this forum, but can anyone who lives in Cambridge please let me know where I can find common frogs for an EPQ project? I have been chasing them for a month now and all I found was one dried up skeleton.
If you have any info, PM me. If you seriously don't trust me, I will be extremely surprised and upset at this level of mistrust in the face of my pictures, but I would love frog images! So I would actually rather get Pmed a good frog site than a good LEO site.
Oh, I was bluffing, actually. I know of two LEO sites, now. One of them is at an arboretum.

I don’t suppose you are an egger. However LEO’s are very susceptible to disturbance and it’s not the sort of thing that gets shared. I’m sure they are near me but I don’t ask. (Plus I’m too lazy to go out looking in the woods at night, so don’t tend to find them very often, though I have bumped into them on occasion)

Do I look like someone who disturbs birds?
Trust me, if any bird is susceptible to disturbance, it is a golden oriole. These fly away at least at 50 meters from you. I got within 25 once and it didn't mind me.
Its not like I desire to know the nest site- I have a tendency to find these myself. I just asked maybe there was a roost location nearby. Which is not H****** D****.
I mean, I have seen them in Russia, I have seen them near the nest, they were rather relaxed. I suppose I have traffic to thank for that, but they weren't even disturbed.
Anyway, I was asking about roost or even favourite hunting locations. I mean, I know the exact nest location of peregrines, sparrowhawks and the tawny owls. And not once did I ever disturb them. An owlet was sitting something like 4 meters above me, gazing to the sides, then appeared to be falling asleep.

Gleb Berloff said:

Do I look like someone who disturbs birds?

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a) I don’t know what you look like.

b) I don’t know what a Bird disturber looks like.

c) I do know what an internet troll writes like, so I’m afraid that’s me done with this thread.

Happy Owling.

Gleb Berloff said:

Do I look like someone who disturbs birds?
Trust me, if any bird is susceptible to disturbance, it is a golden oriole. These fly away at least at 50 meters from you. I got within 25 once and it didn't mind me.
Its not like I desire to know the nest site- I have a tendency to find these myself. I just asked maybe there was a roost location nearby. Which is not H****** D****.
I mean, I have seen them in Russia, I have seen them near the nest, they were rather relaxed. I suppose I have traffic to thank for that, but they weren't even disturbed.
Anyway, I was asking about roost or even favourite hunting locations. I mean, I know the exact nest location of peregrines, sparrowhawks and the tawny owls. And not once did I ever disturb them. An owlet was sitting something like 4 meters above me, gazing to the sides, then appeared to be falling asleep.

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Hmm, I'd stop there if I were you.....

andyadcock said:

Hmm, I'd stop there if I were you.....

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So now I am forbidden to go search for nests? All I said was that I do have a tendency to find nests, like last week when I found a sparrowhawk nest. I know of 2 peregrine nests, 1 sparrowhawk nests, 1 tawny owl nest, 1 white-tailed eagle nest, 1 white stork nest, 1 long-eared owl nest, I know of a GIGANTIC badger sett, is this again 'unlawful' and 'unethical'?
I can see birds at the nest the best, and I keep such a low profile at the nests they don't mind me! With the peregrines, one of them is situated in a city beneath which cars drive. The other I keep 80m away from. The sparrowawk nest is visible through a break in the trees quite the distance away. The tawny owl nest is right next to both a tail and a bench and lots of people walk there, and the owls raised 4 chicks this year.
The LEO nest is right next to a road, the white stork nest is next to an INCREDIBLY busy road on a farm, the white-tailed eagles sit in a tree which is surrounded by swamp and can only be viewed from water.
Yes I do explore and yes I do find nests, is that bad?
What I meant there is that I for some reason NEVER find roost spots but find nests more frequently.
Anyway I shouldn't be justifying myself to you. It should be obvious to anyone what I meant.
Andy, I know you are not an egger, so I PM'd you something, and would appreciate it if you never posted any of that publically. THAT is how I requested LEO ROOST locations!!

Is Long-eared Owl so scarce in the UK that people keep them secret? In the Czech Republic, it's literally the easiest owl to see, just drive around the agricultural landscape at night for a few hours and you are bound to find one. Or do the (mostly fruitless) monitoring of Little Owls with playback, Long-eared Owls like to check it out whether the source of the sound could be a snacking opportunity. In general, they often live close to people and don't seem particularly bothered by them, there are even many winter roosts right in the centers of big cities. We have it the other way around, as Barn owls are the biggest secret. I have also met multiple Long-eared Owls randomly in Poland, but for some reason, they don't seem as ubiquitous here, but still probably pretty common. So if you don't succeed in the UK, central Europe is the place to go

LEOs are pretty common in Jersey, and presumably equally so in many parts of the UK. Without wishing to be dragged into conversations about egging, isn't this far too late in the year for owls to be on eggs? All the juvs here should be fully fledged by now. In late Spring dependent juvs are very easy to locate at night from their non-stop squeaking. On a still night, this call can be heard at considerable distance and is easy to track down.

DMW said:

LEOs are pretty common in Jersey, and presumably equally so in many parts of the UK. Without wishing to be dragged into conversations about egging, isn't this far too late in the year for owls to be on eggs? All the juvs here should be fully fledged by now. In late Spring dependent juvs are very easy to locate at night from their non-stop squeaking. On a still night, this call can be heard at considerable distance and is easy to track down.

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Not so easy to photograph even if you can find them in the dark though! Anyway, without being too hot on the egging side, how does it help to tell someone a site out of season? Presumably its still a site next season?

Winter roosts, or spending some Autumn time on the East coast hoping for an in-off would be my advice.

John

Thanks for the advice!
I have seen a LEO in Russia in the breeding season near the nest- they were totally fine with me being there. In fact, they nest in someone's garden right next to a road.
I would love to know about a winter roost. I have never seen these, and don't know about any except one, which is so far away it is impractical, and impossible to reach without a car. When I first made this thread, that is actually what I desired to know- of a winter roost.
I once took photos of a LEO in the dark, check them out on my gallery. It was incredibly easy. One of them perched literally ten meters away from me, did not stretch out, in fact was sitting and calmly observing what was going on around it. It was driven off there not by me, but by another LEO.
So yes, if anyone can PM me a winter roost, I would be extremely grateful. Or the general area near Cambridge where they were heard. I like searching- I tried searching for tawny owls in one place, failed, and found a sparrowhawk nest instead!
I am racking up knowledge about breeding sites like wildfire anyway. But the closest to me might be defunct, and the next ones are all in Thetford Forest.
I would really be grateful if someone could tell me where I can find a winter roost!!! That is actually what I wanted to know in the first place.

If you like searching for things, try to walk in winter around areas with big coniferous trees and check the ground for pellets, that's probably the most efficient way to find owl roosts.

People on here need to calm down

They did....about a year ago 😉😂

opisska said:

Is Long-eared Owl so scarce in the UK that people keep them secret?

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Yes

I think the original Poster got banned, in at least two different identities?

Anyway, just for you Gleb, anyone see more than eighteen?