Lancs Eagle Owls (1 Viewer)

[barontan2418]

Report of 2 adults and 3 juv's again.

Thanks for that excellent news Lawts.

 

[Rob Smallwood]

My b-i-l went today - great views he says but with the young flying he wondered how long they would stay around the nest site?

 

[RiverRatJimmy]

A friend of my girlfriends keeps an EO. They have no knowledge about birds never mind looking after an EO. They hardly ever fly the thing, it just sits in the bottom of their garden more like an orniment or garden gnome.
Its people like these that will let these birds go, when they have had enough of them and im sure their are plenty more "alfies" sat at the bottom of some idiots garden.

 

[Amarillo]

Whats the situation with licenses for keeping EO's? Can any idiot keep one in his back garden?

 

[Farnboro John]

According to the Yorkshire owl TV programme, yes, any idiot can, and many that do are indeed idiots. That's why they are always getting out and obscuring the vagrancy picture

John

 

[pe'rigin]

The big trouble with these Owls is that they do breed really well in captivity. Which probably orchestrates the reason why people do release them into the wild.

 

[Farnboro John]

The big trouble with these Owls is that they do breed really well in captivity. Which probably orchestrates the reason why people do release them into the wild.

Yes, although I believe Snowies are fairly hot stuff in captivity as well and we aren't over-run with them.

John

 

[PaulD]

For anyone who hasn't done yet it's worth having a look at the RSPBs website statement re Eagle Owls
http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/species/eagleowls.asp

I found it particularly interesting that there were over 2000 applications for licenses to keep Eagle Owls between 1998 and 2003. I remember reading on a falconry site that 25% of birds "escape" in the first year. If that same figure holds true for Eagle Owls then there would be about 80 escapes per year.

Those figures suggest to me that IF we are getting natural vagrants from the Continent they are massively outnumbered by escapes/releases.

 

[pe'rigin]

Yes, although I believe Snowies are fairly hot stuff in captivity as well and we aren't over-run with them.

John

John,

I think Snowy Owls are a little too valuable to let go.

 

[jurek]

If owls are bred and escape, why only Eagle Owls are around? Why escaped Snowy, Ural and other exotic owls are not reported from Britain so much?

 

[rozinante]

John,

I think Snowy Owls are a little too valuable to let go.

I would have thought so too John, but:-

For Sale: 2007 Snowy Owls (Bubo Nyctea scandiaca) hatched April 2007, creche/hand reared, ready now: £250 each.

More than I would want to loose let alone let go but I am sure that by the time these have been swapped and traded a few times their actual "street" value will be a fraction of that.

It seems a strange world to me that values such a creature on a par with an ipod!

 

[Isurus]

I would have thought so too John, but:-

For Sale: 2007 Snowy Owls (Bubo Nyctea scandiaca) hatched April 2007, creche/hand reared, ready now: £250 each.

More than I would want to loose let alone let go but I am sure that by the time these have been swapped and traded a few times their actual "street" value will be a fraction of that.

It seems a strange world to me that values such a creature on a par with an ipod!

I remember reading in a falconry book that EEO are notoriously "lazy" or "strong-minded" (from a falconry perspective). Can't comment on its veracity but it sounded like they would be one of the species most likely to fly off a novice falconer's glove and sit up a tree until the chap gave up or they decided to flap out of sight.

 

[Farnboro John]

I would have thought so too John, but:-

For Sale: 2007 Snowy Owls (Bubo Nyctea scandiaca) hatched April 2007, creche/hand reared, ready now: £250 each.

More than I would want to loose let alone let go but I am sure that by the time these have been swapped and traded a few times their actual "street" value will be a fraction of that.

It seems a strange world to me that values such a creature on a par with an ipod!

I think you have hit the nail on the head with the iPod comment, no-one thinks one of those is prohibitively expensive so I guess Snowy Owls at £250 still fall in the bracket of affordable to idiots wanting a live status symbol.

John

 

[RiverRatJimmy]

The popularity would have been increased by Harry Potter and his pet owl. I think he has a snowy owl but im sure any owl would do for "our Chesny and Chardonnay"

 

[Amarillo]

The RSPB article linked to a few posts back does actually say that you do need a license. Guess its not that hard to obtain though.

 

[jax9]

Eagle Owls

Back to the original thread: are the chicks still around? I went last Sunday and aim to go again this Sunday if weather holds out.

Jax9 o

 

[saluki]

The RSPB article linked to a few posts back does actually say that you do need a license. Guess its not that hard to obtain though.

Some information here Amarillo:

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/thefalconrysuppliers/docs.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/gwd/birdreg/02.htm

Jonathan

 

[Pugs]

You do not need a license to keep Owls (unless it has changed in the last couple of years)!

 

[wigwhammer]

Have just read this entire thread with great interest - although I must admit that some of the radical fundamentalists among the brethren do rather scare me.... (I suggest taking a good look at Coigach's sig - and that also applies to Coigach himself!).

And the ridiculous suggestion that EOs can take cows (!!!) actually disqualifies what is otherwise a hard case to answer. Will you be telling us next that cow ribs have been found in the bellies of EOs?

As a matter of interest and for what it's worth, the World Owl Trust does believe that genuinely wild EOs exist in the UK and even believes that it should now be up to "disbelievers" to prove that the birds are escapees rather that v.v. and also that the BOU should in fact add them to the list of British birds.

Their statement can be found here
http://www.owls.org/News/eagle_owl.htm

 

[Edward woodwood]

Have just read this entire thread with great interest - although I must admit that some of the radical fundamentalists among the brethren do rather scare me.... (I suggest taking a good look at Coigach's sig - and that also applies to Coigach himself!).

And the ridiculous suggestion that EOs can take cows (!!!) actually disqualifies what is otherwise a hard case to answer. Will you be telling us next that cow ribs have been found in the bellies of EOs?

As a matter of interest and for what it's worth, the World Owl Trust does believe that genuinely wild EOs exist in the UK and even believes that it should now be up to "disbelievers" to prove that the birds are escapees rather that v.v. and also that the BOU should in fact add them to the list of British birds.

Their statement can be found here
http://www.owls.org/News/eagle_owl.htm

Well, how scientific!

Read BWP for the gen on EO diet. It's all there.

As for proving they're escapes, you're having a laugh - it doesn't merit serious comment. I doubt the BOU will be asking for their advice :-O and i doubt they'll be taking the BOUs advice.