March and April Little Owls - 2017

Occasionally I find myself on the receiving end of a gentle prod, usually from my good friend David, encouraging me to feature an owl or two. I've not written much about the owls lately, so here goes!

March, 2017

The number of sightings of Little Owl for March (19) were slightly up on last year (17), but the number of sites these sightings ranged over was well down from 9 sites last year to just 5 this year. I won't go through all my sightings but just speak of a few days that resulted in some photos - of variable quality!

Saturday 4th March

The Little Owls were busy at my LO Site No.02 not long after I arrived just before dusk. First the male arrived on the remains of the roof of the barn.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

Eleven minutes later the female showed from inside the roof, and then also perched up on the roof timbers.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (female) - my Site No.02

As it was getting too dark for photography, I set off homeward, spotting a Barn Owl on my way home. I just about managed a record shot.

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)  - near Ashby de la Zouch

Friday 10th March

A trip out mid-morning until early evening resulted in the sighting of five owls, although it wasn't totally an owl-based excursion. It was very dull and rather misty, and I nearly didn't go out at all!

At my LO Site No.34, both birds were visible - just!

Little Owls (Athene noctua) (male + female) - my Site No.34

Having spent some time by Eyebrook Reservoir, I made a rash decision to visit a place around 60 miles (100 km) away that I'd been told was a sure fire place for some unusual Little Owl photos. I'll not go into any details, but I didn't get the photos I'd hoped for and this was the best that I could manage! 

Little Owls (Athene noctua)

My numbered Little Owl sites are all ones that are relatively local to me, or on routes that I regularly travel. That last one does not fit the bill so has not been included in the monthly tally that I mentioned. I expect, however, that I shall return there sometime, as it has potential.

Sunday 12th March

An evening visit to my LO Site No.02 had the male owl emerging at 17h53.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

It wasn't until 18h26 that the female joined him. They copulated almost immediately.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male + female) - my Site No.02

Thursday 16th March

This day I had an afternoon out with pal John. Pairs of Little Owls were seen at two sites, although we didn't realise that we'd seen two at Site No.37 until we looked at our images after getting home that evening! My excuse is that photographic conditions were difficult, trying to shoot through numerous intervening twigs that were constantly moving about in the wind, and so I was struggling to find the bird through the lens and achieve focus. Furthermore, we have only ever seen a lone bird here, so were not expecting there to be a second bird.  In fact, I'd commented to John as we left the site that it would be great if we had a pair here!!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male + female) - my Site No.37

Thursday 30th March

I'd had a break from the owls as I had been away in Devon, where I'd not seen any owls at all. This was a few days after my return when John and I were on Osprey duty at Rutland Water. The afternoon resulted in me seeing four Little Owls (one of which was at my Site No.02, on my way to John's place) and one Barn Owl. The most exciting find was an owl by my old Site No.21, where I last saw an owl in July 2013! Sadly, the only owl images I obtained that day were of a sleeping owl at LO Site No.02.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

April, 2017

April 2016 had been my worst month ever for Little Owl sightings, with only 3 sightings over 3 sites (i.e. single birds at each site). Happily, April 2017 was a distinct improvement on this, although not great, with 13 sightings over 5 sites. The events of 8th and 12th April have featured previously on this blog, so I will not cover them here.

I'll just give a few notes from a couple of dates which resulted  in some images.

Thursday 20th April

This was an afternoon and early evening out with John. It resulted in me seeing 5 LOs over 4 sites, with two of the owls being on my way home from John's house. The exciting event, although no photos resulted, was seeing an owl at LO Site No.47, where I'd last seen an owl in August 2016.

There was good news at my LO Site No.41, where the nest tree had come down earlier in the year. The owls are still around, and we suspect that they are living in a hollow part of the fallen trunk of the tree.  I managed some photos of one of the owls in the failing light.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.41

I only photographed one of the owls at Site No.02 on my way home from John's. The second owl was in a really dark corner and not findable through the camera lens.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) (male) - my Site No.02

Monday 24 April

A quick trip out in the afternoon on this day resulted in disappointment at my LO Site No.17, where the roof of the building that was home to the owls was found to have suffered serious damage, with no prospect of the owners trying to repair it. Enquiries resulted in me being told that the owls had not been seen for a while. I suspect that they have gone.

I did, however, see a Little Owl at my Site No.03, and another at No.02. Here's one from No.03.

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my Site No.03

I've had a few sightings of Barn Owl over the past couple of months, but mainly fleeting glimpses in the distance. I've not seen a Tawny Owl for ages, so must try to put that right. This last winter, I really missed having sessions with Short-eared Owls, and have made arrangements to ensure that this is rectified - albeit in the distant future. I've just arranged a week in a remote thatched blackhouse on the island of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

As usual, I'm not sure what my next post will be - possibly about my first encounters in 2017 with damselflies.

Thank you for dropping by.