Reglular readers of my blog will know that, having found the remains of what I believe to be the male Little Owl at my LO Site No. 02, I was concerned for the wellbeing of the female. The worry was that, if she was on eggs, she would not move from them to feed herself (or any chicks that hatched). Late on Monday evening I returned to the area (having been 'laid up' for a couple of days with a throat and chest bug) and, to my delight, at dusk, a Little Owl showed beside the barn (as shown below). I'm not certain which one this was (both owls looked very similar at this site), but I am assuming, for the time being, that this is the female - partly due to circumstances and partly due to the bird looking fairly long at the tail end.
Little Owl at my Site No. 02
Well done, lucky you Richard.We had a site not to far from use.
ReplyDeleteBut have not seen them for a couple of years,still looking.
John.
Thank you, John. The trouble with having 'resident' birds of character on your patch is that you tend to get attached to them. I'm an old 'softie' and I nearly cried for joy when I saw the bird last night!
ReplyDeleteThat is good news. Does that mean that she has no eggs or young at the moment? While I am typing this, a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker has appeared in my garden being fed on peanuts by the male, from my nutfeeder:-)
ReplyDeleteHi Linda. I'm not sure what the likelihood is, but I believe that, if there are any eggs, they will not be viable as she is spending too long off the nest. The hope is that she might already have chicks, and is out and busy hunting in order to feed them. I suspect, however, that neither is the case and she is out looking for her old mate, or another!
ReplyDeleteDid you manage any photos of the Woodpeckers? Great that you've got them in your garden. Not seen one in mine for a couple of years now.