On 10/11/05 16:32, in article
, "Sue"
wrote:


"Malcolm" wrote
Sue writes
Ah just what I wanted to know! I sometimes hear the screeching owl-calls
at night around here, but this afternoon there were a couple of those
ghostly hoo-hooing calls and I was wondering what sort of owl might be
abroad at that time of day.

It's the Tawny Owl that hoo-hoos - and tu-whits. They start doing it in
August and carry on for months - pairing up and defining territories.

I do hope my garden will be in their territory then. The rough grass in the
'wild' end seems to have lots of little inhabitants that go squeak in the
night, so might attract them. Thanks for the info.

If you leave a goodish sized patch of rough grass you might attract larks,
too. I've had those in one garden and the long grass patch wasn't exactly
huge. That's another species that seems to be almost rare now - we
sometimes walk the dogs on Dartmoor up at the Commandment Stones and my
husband remembers hearing many larks at a time up there but I have yet to
hear one. He's been living here since 1981.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)