Long-eared Owls (1 Viewer)

[LaplandBunting]

At Burwell Fen (Cambs) at the weekend, I finally caught up with a couple of Short-eared Owls there - A very reliable site for this species I gather and well worth a visit from my experience. This leaves me with just Long-eared Owl left to see in terms of British Owls (Accepting I'm not going to be seeing a Snowy Owl anytime soon!). :-O

Looking online I see there are up to 6,000 pairs breeding in the UK, and popular distribution maps show them spread across over two thirds of England. But, I have never read of a Long-eared Owl in my local area - Beds, Herts, Bucks, Northants or even Cambs. Is this because they're such a sensitive species or are they really not that common? I'm desperate to see one, but I wouldn't even know where to start to look - Are there any traditional/reliable sites or is it just a case of stumbling across one?

Thanks.

 

[Farnboro John]

They are quite sensitive. Apart from the eggers issue, there have been cases of yobs with crossbows and guns using them for target practice. In winter they also often use thick copses to roost in, and finding them there often results in disturbance as its easy to walk onto them without seeing them before they flush. So traditional roosts are now kept quiet.

Two possibilities that you can follow up, one now, one later: one place that they are publicised (because access is controlled) is the orchard by the reserve centre and car park at Elmley nature reserve on the Isle of Sheppey. Thee were two there earlier this autumn - they may still be, I don't know. Try the Kent area of this site or google Elmley.

The other thing is that they are regular migrants from Scandinavia and come in off the sea at places like Flamborough late autumn. Pick a good day for migrants coming in (or spend a week?) and you should have a reasonable chance of nailing them, along with perhaps a Pallas's or Dusky Warbler.

Alternatively somebody may PM you for an escorted visit to their personal site.

Good hunting!

John

 

[stevo]

In 30yrs of birding i've only ever seen 3 leo's.it's a subject i've brought up a number of times with new forest keepers and even the keepers that i know well either don't no of any in the forest or have been sworn to secrecy.

Cheers.

Steve.

 

[punkskaphil]

My favourite of all birds, but I've never seen one in the UK either. There seems to be one that is occasionally seen at Rainham Marshes (they mention it on their blog) in the small woodland, but it doesn't sound reliable.

I went to Serbia to see them. Saw around 20-30 in Spring 2012, and then an estimated 800 at exactly this time last year (one town, Kikinda, has at least 500 in the trees in the town square every winter).

 

[Farnboro John]

Biggest roost I've seen in UK was 17 (I had a five owl spp afternoon) but it was many years ago. Play safe is the rule now.

John

 

[Chris-Leeds]

I had a chance encounter with one back in June, I'd just nipped onto a public footpath through a wood when one flew over my head. I only expected it to be a sparrowhawk but when I checked it out through the bins it was an LEO. There have been birds breeding in the area for a while and were probably this species I saw with my dad approx 40 years ago.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Is Staffordshire too far away for you? If not, there certainly was a totally reliable site where I used to year tick them annually in winter without any problem. Pm me for further details.

 

[pppppvvvv]

In 30yrs of birding i've only ever seen 3 leo's.it's a subject i've brought up a number of times with new forest keepers and even the keepers that i know well either don't no of any in the forest or have been sworn to secrecy.

Cheers.

Steve.

My only success was two found roosting during the Winter Bird atlas surveys, in the Stockbridge area. I've tried quite extensively to find more in subsequent years, using a variety of different search tactics(!), but without success. I wouldn't expect any to be publicised round our area, and I would keep them to myself / leave them alone if I found any in the future.

They are a rare treat, especially self-found.

What I have found is that the New Forest, and North to Mottisfont is real Tawny Owl Country. There may be a better chance of success locally as the habitat opens up further North, and the Tawnies aren't quite so dominant.

Peter

 

[Xenospiza]

In the UK, I've actually only seen Long-eared Owl (and Shore Lark!) in Bedfordshire. A site was apparently advertised so all and sundry could visit. The way of finding them was described to me as follows: "The roosting tree is there-and-there. If you can't find them, just walk around through the bushes until they fly out."
I did not follow that routine, but did walk into a very annoyed Beds recorder the one time I visited. They had already been kicked out of their roosting site that day, but I still managed to see one well.

 

[LaplandBunting]

Thanks all for information, suggestions of sites and personal experiences - It is greatly appreciated. :t:

One day I am sure I will see one.

One day...

 

[Chris-Leeds]

What I haven't seen for a while is Barn or SEO. March 2013 is the last time I saw either in the Bempton and Flamborough areas.

 

[stevo]

2014 has been one of the best seasons for breeding Barn owls down here in the south.

Steve.

 

[Richard G]

What I haven't seen for a while is Barn or SEO. March 2013 is the last time I saw either in the Bempton and Flamborough areas.

I had a Barn Owl at Grimwith Reservoir near Pateley Bridge a couple of weeks ago.

 

[halftwo]

Like SEOs they seem to descend from higher elevations where they breed (lower than SEOs, but overlapping often; up here I'm fortunate to be able to see both within a mile) in the UK to lowlands such as marsh edges, extensive farmland with plenty of scrubby cover, etc.
Plus we get influxes from the continent, as already said.

They are a devil to find - even when you know where they are!

Good luck.

 

[mike davidson]

Serbia

Just been to Serbia with David Lindo and Kikinda is full of LEO's . We must have seen upto 500 there . amazing sight

Mike D

My favourite of all birds, but I've never seen one in the UK either. There seems to be one that is occasionally seen at Rainham Marshes (they mention it on their blog) in the small woodland, but it doesn't sound reliable.

I went to Serbia to see them. Saw around 20-30 in Spring 2012, and then an estimated 800 at exactly this time last year (one town, Kikinda, has at least 500 in the trees in the town square every winter).

 

[pianoman]

It was an embarassingly long time before I saw LEO in Ireland (Ireland's commonest owl). Finally broke through about 6 months ago, seeing one perched on a tall street lamp at night, on a road adjoining a forested area. Now that I am looking, since then have seen a couple more in the same way. Maybe something to look out for (Ahem...though drive carefully)

 

[punkskaphil]

Just been to Serbia with David Lindo and Kikinda is full of LEO's . We must have seen upto 500 there . amazing sight

Mike D

I've been twice with him now, and Travel the Unknown use my photos on their website. Having read his reports of this most recent tour I think it was probably a better year for LEOs than we had last year when I went (although we still got around 800 in total). It was a bit warmer than usual last December (still cold, but Milan said it should've been significantly colder), and as such we had very few passerines aside from Penduline and Bearded Tits (can't complain).

The Spring tour is better for all-round birding (but still plenty of LEOs around), whereas the winter 'Long-eared Weekender' is more geared towards the spectacular sights, in my opinion. Having done both tours, it's tough to decide which I enjoyed most!

I went on David's first spring tour back in April 2012 and it was great, although we had a couple of days of very bad weather. They've now moved it to May to avoid the bad rain, and it also means a few more interesting species will have arrived by then, so I'm considering going back to do the spring tour again.

 

[punkskaphil]

On a separate note, I've really struggled with Short-eared Owls this year too. I was on a trip in Finland in May where we saw several, mostly from distance - but as they weren't 'target' species of the tour and we had other birds to find we never spent any time watching the SEOs - so that was disappointing for somebody like me who's pretty much an owl obsessive...

I've been spending as much time as possible over the last couple of months trying to see SEOs here, but I've failed so far. I missed out on one at Pagham Harbour because a local birder (accidentally) directed me to completely the wrong part of the site, and we somehow missed out on them in Norfolk last month despite lots of sightings in the general area, and all other sightings at places I can get to easily seem to only happen during the week when I'm at work. I'm going to try Staines Moor this weekend, but my hopes aren't high despite recent sightings. I fear it'll be my last chance to find one this calendar year.

 

[stevo]

Try the isle of sheppey,ie the RSPB reserve.

Steve.

 

[punkskaphil]

Thanks Stevo, it's on my list of places to visit. My problem is that I don't drive, so I can only easily get to places reachable by public transport from London. I might see if I can convince my girlfriend's parents to drive us over though...