From The Vault: ....Within The Hawthorn

Yes ladies & gents, another Little Owl photograph.
I couldn't resist a dip back into the Nature North East vaults to retrieve another Athene Noctua photograph, of which I have numerous I assure you.
This particular individual, who lurked within a Hawthorn tree, was actually the first Little Owl I photographed with my SLR. Previously any attempt was made using a telescope and my iPhone, which was adequate but now has been deemed obsolete.
This shot was also taken during the winter, which is one of the best times of year for shooting certain Owls and during the winter months a few hot pockets open up in the North East. This is due mostly to large roosts of Asio Owls we get here in the North East, Asio referring to the genus of two of our Owl species. These being both Short-Eared and Long-Eared Owls; Asio Flammeus and Asio Otus respectively.
These roosts are one of the many reasons I eagerly await the return of Jack Frost and his Winter cronies; don't get me wrong I have spent a lot of time with all of our Owl species this year so far, the highlight being a distant Eagle Owl in Lancashire - that was an amazing experience I had waited two months for, as brief as it was - but these large roosts are a sight indeed.

David
Nature North East

I've Got My Eye On You......

A Little Abnormality: The Curious Case Of A Local Little Owl

I was observing a pair of Little Owl today when I noticed something rather intriguing about one of the birds.
As you can see from the cropped image below, one of the owls has a deformity to the upper and lower parts of the beak, with both being unusually extended and curved.
As readers to this blog and those who know me personally will know, the petite bundle of feathers with an angry scowl that is the Little Owl is my favourite British bird. Which made the deformity even more of a surprise and a first for me.
I had heard about and seen photographs of other birds, such as Blue Tits and Parrots, with abnormal bill defects but never an Owl.
The deformity aside, this individual seemed to me to be in good health and this defect clearly isn't a life or death hindrance to the birds survival given how long it has clearly lasted with it.
It survived as a fledgling, successfully reached maturity and subsequently found a mate. This is one tough cookie and I have fingers and toes crossed that this pair will breed this year.

Watch this space....

David Dinsley

Nature North East / The Northern Owl Project

Coastal Shorties

This afternoon I took a drive up the Northumberland coast in search of Short-Eared Owls that had been reported hunting on coastal dunes. After a 40 minute chilled drive in the afternoon sun I arrived at my destination and on my first scan of the area with my bin's I spotted my first Owl!!
It was phenomenal getting to see diurnal hunting Short-Eared Owls on the Northumbrian coast, and not just one but three!! After a solid 25-30 minutes of activity, with the birds quatering the grassy slopes in search of prey, the birds began being mobbed by corvids. One of the Owls ended up flying at a great height to prevent mobbed attack and soon all three birds dropped into the dunes.
After 15 minutes or so the birds reappeared, not as confiding as earlier mind and seemingly further apart than before.
What a treat, spending a couple of hours relaxing under the afternoon sun watching Shorties hunting and having a bit crack with a few birders. Magic!

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?!"

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

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

A Shelter From The Wind

On Thursday I was requested to look for signs of Owls on a private Northumbrian site, prior to this I had time to have a quick pit stop on a local hotspot.
It was a fresh cool morning, the sun was shining down upon the North Tyneside landscape and the wind howled across the open spaces. I took the scenic route to the hotspot and enjoyed the drive, whilst listening to some good music, an essential to a good drive in the car in my opinion. I drove out of Whitley Bay and took the road west through the ominous Hartley Lane and past the Beehive Pub.
I ate there with my better half last week and I highly recommend it, great food, a cosy setting and goats, yes, they also have goats. Pretty strange to me, considering I always envisage goats as somewhat satanic. Anyway I digress...
It took me about 20 minutes to reach the location, I parked up the car and grabbed my necessities, my camera and Bins.
After a slow and steady approach I noticed the Male Little Owl perched upon its regular spot sheltering from the harsh winter wind. As always I was constantly watched, its safe to say this little chap doesn't like intrusion for long and after a short amount of time he hopped into his stone lodgings, out of the wind and out of sight. I know his routine and knew after about fifteen to twenty minutes it would reappear but I didn't want to pry for too long and cause the bird to feel cautious and unhappy in my presence. The female did not show, she roosts deep within a rocky hollow and I've only seen her once. She is however more confiding and not so weary.
I only spent a little while in the area before returning to the car, from this point I took the road North to start my days work on my conservation project; The Northern Owl Project.

In the words of Bilbo Baggins, the road goes ever on.....

-David

A (very small) Pair Of Little Beauties

Evening all, it's late so I'll keep this one short and sweet!
As regular readers to this blog and my Facebook page will know I have begin the process of creating an Owl Conservation project titled; The Northern Owl Project, which aims to conserve our 5 native species of Owl throughout the North East. A large part of this project is public involvement, as most of you will know I ask for any of my followers or anyone aware of the project to report any sightings to me directly; Species, location, number of birds and if they breed in the area.
On Saturday I was contacted regarding a sighting of a Little Owl pair, I visited the location on both Sunday and this afternoon.
On Sunday I only seen one Little Owl, today I noticed the first Owl in the same spot as yesterday and as daylight turned to dusk the second (larger) individual came out of its hidden roost.
Brilliant!!
This site already contains a tree mounted Little Owl box, hopefully I can get in touch with whomever put that box up, I assume the landowner, and perhaps work with local ringers to have the birds ringed. That is if they aren't currently being ringed anyway.
Due to the distance I kept, these were a weary pair of birds, and fading light, the photographs I took aren't fantastic but I have attached a couple below.  This will be a site I check at regular intervals now and I'm hoping to make time to go early on a morning and catch them soaking in the first of the Winter sun.

David
(Coming soon an update on the The Northern Owl Project.....Watch this space)

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.

...Twit Twheeeere??

 "And yesterday the bird of night did sit/ Even at noon-day upon the market-place/ Hooting and shrieking." - Shakespeare,  Julius Caesar (Act 1 Scene 3)

Last Monday night (22nd December 2014) I received a wee bit of information on the birding grapevine. I heard a Tawny Owl had been roosting in an urban area south of the Tyne and that it was literally yards away from the footpath, undeterred by pedestrians, cyclists, children, dogs and runners alike.


The following day I woke with a spring in my step, and after a half decent cup of mocha, headed south to my destination! My journey only lasted about half an hour but it felt a lot longer. I always get a sense of doubt when I go looking for an Owl, you never know if it will be there or not. The worst bit is that sometimes an Owl is their but you can't see it, a few tell tale signs can make the job a little easier however.

This time I spotted the Owl straight away, there it was! A Tawny Owl roosting on full public display about 15ft from the path...AMAZING!!!

I proceeded to take a few cheeky photographs, unfortunately the weather wasn't brilliant.........Infact it was terrible!! The rain just kept coming down, the camera kept steaming up and at one point I had to retreat to the car to let it dry enough to take half decent pictures.

It was a privilege to see a Tawny Owl at close quarters and I did manage to get a few photographs through the grim weather and poor lighting.

What an experience.
Remember to report your North East Owl sightings (Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne & Wear) to The North East Owl Project, either by sending a private message to the Nature North East Facebook page or e-mailing me directly at david.dinsley@live.co.uk.

Enjoy more pictures of the Tawny Owl below!
Thanks for reading. :)

David.

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