The Famous Five

Well I've finally photographed all five species of British Owl with my SLR, some it must be said better than others. Here are a handful of my shots from the past few days.

Tawny Owls At Roost

Two different locations and two very different individuals. The first being a much smaller more rufous coloured bird and the second 'urban' Owl being considerably larger and darker. Both were incredibly confiding and a joy to observe.

Long Eared Owl Pair

I practically walked into these two beauties. Amazing to see them so close and not smothered in scrub and a struggle to find.

Barn Owl Hunting On Patch
Definitely not my finest shot but in near darkness this could have been worse. Great to see Barn Owl activity on patch #2. I have my suspicions as to where it roosts and fingers crossed it has a successful breeding year in 2015. Here's hoping.
I'm thinking a barnie box would be great here, ready for 2016!

Little Owl
Although I did visit a new Little Owl site both today and yesterday, I didn't manage to photograph the birds. A pair of Jackdaw had made the Owls very weary and I only managed to get a fleeting glimpse both days. These two photographs are of the Druridge bird that I never uploaded.

Short Eared Owl

Unfortunately views today of a shortie were very brief, I did manage to get a few shots in. Not my finest by a country mile but just getting to see the bird was a thrill enough.

David

Nature North East/ The Northern Owl Project

Cheat Day

Yesterday, as the light faded and day turned to night I finally had my first Barn Owl of 2015. I was on one of my local patches and it appeared from a plantation to the west and flew at times within 30 feet. Unfortunately it didn't hang around for much more then five minutes and the lighting wasn't great for photography (understatement) but I did manage a few shots. 

Safe to say these are the best of a truly bad bunch;

So after the excitement of the Barn Owl sighting I wanted a quick fix today, a cheat day if you will. So I drove up the coast and visited a regular Little Owl haunt and as ever noticed the yellow eyed phantom glaring at me from his perch. After a few minutes in his company I headed back towards home and visited one my local Little Owl pairs. 

Only one bird was seen out of the two, buts thats the norm in all honesty at this location.

All in all a relatively straight forward morning and if anything a little bit of a cheat, I do spend a lot of my spare time looking for fresh Owl roosts and hotspots so a cheat day is okay every once in a while.

Tomorrow I'm hoping for the full five species in one day.........wish me luck!

David

Nature North East/ The Northern Owl Project

"Is he back again?!"

The Northern Owl Project update #2

'A wise old owl sat in an oak

The more he heard the less he spoke

The less he spoke the more he heard.

Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?'

Its been a few weeks since my the last update on the Northern Owl Project, and since then I've spent most of my free time following up leads and looking for Owls and Owl roosts, as well as working on a mission statement and document to clearly layout the agenda and aims of this project.

This statement will be available to anyone who would want it upon release and will also be sent directly to bird ringers in the North East, allowing for them to be aware of the project and hopefully get involved with it.
The next step beyond that point is to eventually apply for funding, which is in all honesty quite daunting but I believe with enough research and support its absolutely achievable.

A big thank you to everyone who has contributed their owl sightings over the fast few weeks, a clear picture is now starting form over distribution of each species across the North.
I urge anyone reading this to continue to contribute information to the project, its most definitely invaluable.

My recent work on a private site by request has yielded success with the discovery of a mass of Long Eared Owl Pellets in two spots on the site. Both sites contain large numbers of pellets and are overshadowed by a nest, coincidence? I doubt it. These are LEO breeding sites, I was aware of them breeding in the area but to finally find at least two of the breeding nests is an instant positive.
Will they breed in the same areas in 2015 I don't know but I'll be monitoring the area to find out. Ideally I would like to put up some baskets to encourage breeding should these nests be neglected.
Below are a few photographs of said locale.

 

David
Nature North East/ The Northern Owl Project

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.......

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

Ghost of Cramlington

So after a day primarily spent watching documentaries about space I decided I needed some outdoor time. I contained my outdoor cravings until mid evening, because tonight I was hunting!

Hunting for a bird that comes out pretty darn late in the day. I had heard of a local site getting frequent visits from a Barn Owl. The word Owl alone would have done it for me, but this was a Barnie. The last of the British species I've yet to see in 2014.

I had visited the site earlier in the week but too no avail, tonight I was hopeful......conditions were stunningly perfect.

There were plenty of butterflies and dragonflies about, the usual Kestrel was seen flying and hunting over the fields. The wetland didn't feature anything out of the ordinary, a few of the commoner species of gull and a couple Moorhen feeding on the reeds. They were actually using there feet to climb onto the reeds. Sedge & Grasshopper Warbler were heard calling briefly, Goldfinch flew about and the sky featured House Martins & Swallows feeding before going to roost.

One of the many female Common darters flying about tonight

Then I seen it......a white shape to my left, evidently not a gull! I got my binoculars on it, and behold 'twas a Barn Owl!! I quickly rang 'Liverbirder', who was about 1/4 mile away and informed him of the Owl.

The Barnie put on a brief show for us but soon vanished, and shortly after so did 'Liverbirder'. 

I hung around hoping for another performance, slowly retreating back abit more after each scope scan. 

Then suddenly it was back and this time it flew right past me, giving me a cheeky glimpse when it did so!

It perched on a fence post about 100ft away, I crept about 30ft away and enjoyed this amazing birds company before making a gentle retreat back to the car. I didn't want to push my luck and cause the bird any stress, and as I walked away it just stayed relaxed on the post. To be honest it seemed quite comfortable with my presence.