Amphibious Amplexus

Love, or should I say 'mating instinct' was in the air at Bollihope Quarry last weekend. There were masses of Common Toads in and around the quarry pools and, unfortunately, masses of people around the vicinity as well.
There were morons chucking stones into the water, teenagers picking up Toads and one idiot even start plodging through the water.
The lack of respect some people have for nature is infuriating!
Now for those unaware the amplexus, in the title, refers to the mating hold which the male Toad uses to clasp the female during the mating process. Its derived from the latin, meaning embrace.

David
Nature North East / The Northern Owl Project

Notonecta glauca, I believe.

Lastly, here's a shot of one of only a small number of 'Alive' Toads I've seen on my local patch this spring. It seems the local Corvid's have been taking the opportunity of easy pickings.

Eyes In The Trees

This afternoon myself and a work colleague set out to look for Long Eared Owls on a reliable County Durham roosting site. The white snow covered ground provided a nice juxtaposition to the bright blue sky and the warmth of the afternoon sun was noticeable by its presence.
As were walking along the snow covered track my gaze was drawn to movement 50 yards up ahead, it was a Fox, it quickly seen us and carried on its way. It pains me to know that these beautiful predators are still being persecuted and hunted.
Minutes later and a Male Sparrowhawk flew overhead, his orange barred chest patterns and colouration lit up in the low winter light. Sparrowhawks are really quite common but I never tire of seeing them, I've never been lucky enough to see one at close quarters for any length of time but I'm working on it.

So after a short walk we reached the LEO hotspot and began scanning. We scanned again and again yet nothing showed. Last time I was on this site I had a Long Eared perched almost out in the open, this time was very different. Was it the weather? Had the cold and snowy conditions driven the Owls deeper into the scrub. My assumption was yes. So I began scanning inch by inch, up and down, left and right looking into the deeper areas of hawthorn and assorted scrub.
My attention was then drawn to a brown shape in a gorse high up on the bank, I changed position to get a more clear view and yeah, you guessed it, a Long Eared Owl.
We then slowly found more and more individuals roosting in the deeper recesses of scrub, one I hadn't seen was unfortunately flushed, luckily none of the other birds took flight and they seemed very much at ease.
The trick with Owl watching is to not unsettle them and cause them to take flight, this uses precious energy that they may need to survive, especially during the winter months. When flushed during the day they are also susceptible to attack by corvids as well as birds of prey.
To put it simply;
Keep your distance - Observe - Move on.

In total we found 6 birds at roost and I have to admit that these were the hardest Long Ears I've managed to find. They are so amazingly camouflaged that they become almost unnoticeable in the thick scrub, but in a way its the challenge of finding them that appeals to me. You're never certain your definitely going to see one and its that allure that draws me back every time for another fix.

The picture below has two Long Eared Owls in it believe it or not, both barely visible.

The LEO in the photograph below was tucked deep into the scrub on the embankment, if you look at the centre of the image you will see the owls face with its ear tufts visible. Unfortunately ever present branches meant the birds face was slightly obscured. 

I've included a couple of photographs of the individual that took flight, a quick response meant I managed to get a few snaps.  The colour on it is really beautiful, I love how rich and almost bronze its feathers are. 

Well so far this year I've seen every british Owl but a Barn Owl, I have a few leads to follow up in regards to Barn Owl sightings and as part of The Northern Owl Project I have quite a few locations to visit and check for Owl activity in general. This includes the ever elusive Druridge Lane Little Owl! 

I will find you little one!

The mileage is ever increasing, good job the petrol prices are so reasonable at the minute. Can't complain. :) 

Until next time.

David

Nature North East/ The Northern Owl Project

A Tale of Two Shorties

I had a few hours to spare on Thursday, it was a bright but windy day, so I took a visit to one of my regular owl haunts. 

This undisclosed location, in my opinion, is one of the most reliable spots in the North East for views of owls. You do of course have to know what your looking for and where, you could wander around aimlessly expecting to see one and not see a thing, then again  you could strike lucky.

From the moment I arrived, the locale was teeming with passerine activity; Blue Tits and Great Tits singing and flitting through the scrub and trees.

Redwing, Fieldfare and Blackbird foraged around the horse paddocks, always keeping their distance, whilst Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting hung around the pathways and small hedgerows.

Unfortunately the Little Owl pair eluded me yet again. That's the fourth time that's happened, perhaps I'm not looking hard enough. Though I have been informed by a fellow birder that at least one of them was spotted on New Years day at dusk. There's hope yet.......fifth time lucky? 

I continued on and walked towards the regular Asio owl roosts, due to time constraints I bypassed the regular Long Eared/ Asio Otus roosts as they take more to find in the dense hawthorn thicket.

Whilst walking past the plantations and hawthorn scrub, I watched a Jay foraging, always a treat.

I started walking across the fields, observing a covey of 16 Red Legged Partridges take off and land further across the field. I kept scanning fence posts and hedge lines as I marched on, I slowly approached a regular roost site and in the distance I could see a pale brown mass. 

Using my binoculars after a few slow steps forward I could confirm this was a large Pale Short Eared Owl/ Asio Flammeus on a very popular perch. This is a sizeable individual and the most notable feature are the stunning bright yellow eyes which seem to be constantly scanning you.

After another slow wander closer I noticed another darker shape, higher up and to the right of the first Shortie. I recognised this individual, its a much smaller and darker bird than the first owl, and I've seen it before on this site just a few weeks back. Both birds seemed rather comfortable in my company and even the presence of a cocky Stoat running about in the field below them, with its prey, didn't deter them from their roost.

As you can see on the above photo, the second shortie is clearly a lot darker and was a much more wary bird, never taking its bright yellow eyes off me and always keeping its small tufts erected.
The larger bird was much more relaxed, snoozing every now and again and looking around at the noisy blackbirds in the area, always keeping its tufts up just in case.
What a privilege it was to see two Short Eared Owls at roost.

Have you seen a Short Eared Owl in the North East?
If so, get in touch with The Northern Owl Project and I will log your sighting into the database. Email me directly at david.dinsley@live.co.uk or inbox my facebook page.

David

The Northern Owl Project/ Nature North East

The Northern Owl Project update #1

First of all, I would like to thank everyone that has been in touch and sent me their Owl sightings its fantastic. It's so exciting to me on a personal level to see more and more people come forward and get involved with the project.
Remember to check out my Facebook page and if you have any North East Owl sightings inbox the page or e-mail me directly at david.dinsley@live.co.uk

The database is swiftly forming a picture of North East hot spots, with key areas being the Northumberland coast and County Durham, which is an amazing county for all five Owl species. The limestone landscapes and old quarry's almost lend themselves to Owls.

Today I attended a meeting with Ian Kyle, head groundsman at Arcot Hall & Golf Course for thirty two years, I bumped into Ian a few weeks back whilst scouting for Little Owl nest box locations. A chance meeting led to him asking me to put up boxes around the site of the golf course, an area that he has personally had many encounters with Owls.

We discussed current species on site and he took me around different locations where Owls were regularly seen by himself, staff and golfers alike.
Amazingly I have been given permission to do what I want on site, and I can't wait to get started. **Remember that if you are putting up an owl box that you get permission of the land owner.
The Course is riddled with small plantations of scrub and tree, areas of woodland and sections where the greenkeepers have left the grass to naturally grow, creating a perfect space for owls to hunt.

Next Thursday if possible I want to go back across and give the site a full inspection, looking for roost sites, possible old nest locations, signs of any owl activity and of course any owls that are active or roosting on that day.
What an amazing opportunity to be given, made even better because my local wildlife patch borders the land.
The question is, should I consider this an extension of my patch? ;)

Stay tuned for my next update :)

David
The Northern Owl Project

Coming soon

A Tale of Two Shorties.......

Asio Otus, the Long Eared Ghost

Early this morning (30/12/2014) I took a trip to the site of a reported Long-Eared Owl ( Asio Otus) roost in County Durham. I was up at half five and still shattered from climbing the Cheviot yesterday (blog coming soon) but I was excited to check out this tip off so I made haste.
Once on site and after about ten minutes of walking about the locale I noticed a Long-Ear roosting in relatively open scrub, they're such beautiful birds and seeing a Long-Eared Owl during daylight is an uncommon sight, generally you really HAVE to search for them, especially at this time of year. Though there was apparently more Long-Ears and apparently Short-Ears in the vicinity this would turn out to be the only Owl I would see here.
I had a look around the site for any more birds roosting (Just incase) and then tried a local Little Owl haunt, though none were showing and if they were I couldn't see them.
The second site did contain Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Woodcock, Yellowhammer and flocks of very flighty Redwing.

The Northern Owl Project

Aims; To promote the population of native Owl species breeding in the North East of England, through surveying and Owl box installations.

As regular readers to this blog and people who know me personally will know, I have an affinity for Owls. I'm a wildlife enthusiast through and through but there's something so intriguing and enchanting about these large eyed, silent hunters. Unfortunately species such as the Barn Owl are in rapid decline, this is due to both natural and man made reasons, habitat loss and bad winters have reduced numbers significantly. Though 2014 numbers are better than the past few previous years.

My main target for this project is to build and install multiple boxes(Tawny, Barn and Little Owl ) and Baskets(Long Eared Owls) and place these throughout the region, in particular around my local area and patches. Due to Short Eared Owls nesting on the ground, creating a nesting area for these won't really be possible.
I have already constructed the first Tawny Owl box (Left) and the first Little Owl box (below).
















I'm hoping to get in touch with land owners and schools, as well  as local ringers and try to work out a system where they can help with ringing if nest boxes become established and used for breeding.

YOU can get involved too!! This is where I need your help, if you have spotted any Owls across the North East (Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne & Wear) or know of any areas of breeding owls, just inbox the Nature North East Facebook page  and I can collate the data and create a map of the areas.

This way I can identify the whereabouts of species and see which are doing better then others, and pin point the locations that are lacking Owl activity........and from there, work out why?

Little Owl Box Creation

If you have an old Owl box you want to donate to the cause then feel free, I will be building all of the other boxes from scratch myself. If anybody does want to donate to the cost of materials then by all means do so. I can provide receipts to anyone who would like them.

If you can't afford to donate then by all means just sit back and watch the 'Northern Owl Project' unfold through my blog and Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/naturenortheast 

David.
Nature North East