Hi and welcome to my Blog, my name is Paul Riddle and I live in south Leicestershire, UK. Back in August 2007 my quest began to locate as many local Little Owl territories as possible. The driving force was a reported decline in the uk numbers so I thought I would do my bit and conduct a study in my area. After 7 years and countless hours out in the field I have detected over 200 different sites. With a thirst for a greater understanding of the owls a more comprehensive monitoring and nest box programme then commenced. This also now includes monitoring the local and very sparse population of Barn Owls, please pop back occasionally and catch up with the life and times of my owls and any other wildlife that I come across. I hope you enjoy your visit!!!

Friday, 21 January 2011

Know your calls

I have been asked on many occasions how I've manage to locate so many Little Owl sites, well going out in the evening and listening for them has proved to be a great method, second only to actually seeing the birds. As we are now approaching the time of year when the Little Owl will be thinking about establishing new territories and looking for mates prior to the breeding season they become extremely vocal, in particular around dusk. 


In order for you to locate your own Little Owls by call alone one must firstly get familiar with the variety of sounds they make. They are not the traditional "twit to woo" that many people associate with owls (Tawny) but a selection of screeches and short high pitched yelps. Here is an excellent link (below) to the "Owl Pages", where samples of Little Owl (and other owls) calls can be heardare.
 
The owl pages

But remember, before you are going to locate them it is absolutely critical that you are where they are to be found, open countryside, paddocks and orchards with a scattering of hedgerows, mature trees and farm buildings are all good, but not heavily wooded areas!

Good luck and let me know if it helped?

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