Eviction update and daylight Barn Owl !

Having lost their spot in a roost tree to a Tawny, the "evicted" Long-eareds have only moved @ 25metres

They dont seem too put off and have been calling n displaying as usual at dusk.

A rare treat for us Up in Weardale, when we happened upon a day-time hunting Barn Owl !
by far the most difficult species to catch sight of across much of the County.

It landed in a tree and i managed a digi-binned record-ish shot!

The next field across held an old barn and obvious signs of who's occupying it  :-

 1,000's of pellets here - including several big fresh black ones
This site is moorland edge , at over 400 m / als, with pockets of snow in the shady dyke-backs - its pleasing to know Barn oels are still present after 2 previous bad snowy winters.

Long-eared Owl roost - FEB_2011

images of 5 birds from a Co.Durham Long-eared Owl roost containing 8+ individuals
lowland site on private farmland.

( click to enlarge pics)

Bird 1
#A

#B

#C

#D

#E

Bird 2
#A

#B

Bird 3
#A

Bird 4
#A

Bird 5
#A

#B

#C

These images taken using a mobile phone, hand held through a telescope - with obvious limitations.

Hopefully they help illustrate how the birds can 'gradually appear' whilst the scanning observer changes viewpoint.

Luckily this location suffers no disturbance & therefore 4 of the birds are perched relatively openly, being observed relatively easily.

More often than not, starting by viewing the base of the roost trees can be a productive method to locate roosting otus.

Scoping, even from range, for tell tale signs of splash is a good system.

Working up the trunk, pellets may also be visible lodged in the branch network - as the season progresses, the branches imediately below the roosting bird can become very obviously white washed - this is often the best single indicator to aid locating obscured birds.

Why a species which relies on superb cryptic patterning to remain undetected, should leave such an obvious "calling card" beneath its daytime roost is a mystery......

perhaps those white marks help pinpint roosting branches when returning to the roost before first light ?

Countless hours of fieldwork in County Durham, primarily by a small but dedicated group of "owling specialists", has led to us confirming in excess of 100 breeding pairs of Long-eareds.

This week i obtained first account from a gamekeeper of a 'new' pair in a moorland edge location - there is certainly further scope to discover further breeding pairs..........