Thread: OT Little Owls
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Old 31-08-2004, 02:19 PM
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"Sacha" wrote in message
k...
I've asked this question on the birdwatching group with no success, so I
hope someone here might be able to answer my query:
We've had Little Owls the garden for years and are accustomed to
hearing them calling at various times of the day and then going off for

part
of the summer.
However, although they were with us this spring, they seem not to have
returned and we can't imagine why, barring accidents, of course. The ones
we've had before have raised young successfully and there is plenty of

food
for them because we are in the middle of farming land and much of it is
organic. We don't use pesticides on the Nursery, either.
Can anyone shed any light on this or do we have to accept that we've lost
them? Do they go away for longer periods than we're accustomed to and

then
return either still later in the year, or perhaps the following spring?


I am not an expert on little owls, but (and forgive me if this is self
evident) if their population has declined in your area recently, it is
probably in response to a change in conditions in the area, which do not
suit the birds.

Pesticide poisoning does not seem likely in the circumstances you describe.

You say there is plenty of food, but is it the preferred variety, available
at the critical times? Has someone 'tidied up' the farmland, perhaps
eliminating suitable nesting sites (Little Owls commonly nest in rabbit
burrows, hollow trees, derelict buildings, etc.)? Little Owls are small
birds, and their ground nesting habit makes them vulnerable to predators
like cats and mink, have these been on the increase? They are also
vulnerable to RTAs, have you had a new road through near their nesting
areas?

Little Owls are an introduced species (first released in the UK in the late
19th Century) which prey in part on native songbirds which are also in
decline, so I suppose it is not entirely impossible that a landowner wishing
to promote songbird population levels might manage his lands in a manner
designed to discourage little owls, e.g. by reducing availability of known
nesting sites. As the birds have a diurnal habit, it is quite easy to spot
them. Not that I have heard of such deliberate persecution, of course, but
you never know.

As to whether you'll get them back, only time will tell. I hope you do, but,
like many species, Little Owls have not been having the best of times since
their peak in the 1930s.