To those who showed an interest in the wild Eagle Owl

Here is an update on him plus how I am feeling after having him around the Barn Owl Centre for a few months. This was an experience I will not forget & very expensive in both time & lost funds!

He hasn't been seen around the Barn Owl Centre since the beginning of November 08, the build up to Firework Night I think, drove him deeper into the countryside away from the comet lite explosive skies. There have been reported sightings recently of an Eagle Owl about 3 miles away, maybe the same Eagle Owl or maybe another?

Personally I am pleased he's gone because we can at last start to get back to some kind of normality, especially financially.

We can now get on with the habitats we are creating on site to support our own nature reserve for British species. In addition to this & also of great importance, we can now step up the training & flying of our resident birds, this is important as it supports our visitors who join us to fly & photograph our birds in natural conditions, this sounds a bit ironic because we do fly Eagle Owls on site, difference is, we have a little more control on them than the wild Eagle Owl that was here.

Our activities by the way help to keep us a float, financially. The wild Eagle Owl didn’t & over time he was slowly destroying us at our new location. I know he is a very impressive species, I know this because I work with them every single day. The damage he was doing without him knowing was not good. He did take away our income stream because this simply took away the freedom of the 30 birds we work with & fly. Our birds are designed to fly too even though they are captive bred rescues.

When the Eagle Owl was here I had to be on both sides of the fence, for me personally I found his presence both good & bad, I just wished that I could of come up with a plan of action to make the both work, it was very hard work believe me. His departure did give me a huge sigh of relief, I even took 2 days off not long after & this is not like me.

Now he’s gone we now have the local wild Tawny Owls calling at night again in the surrounding trees plus a wild Barn Owl hunting regular over the farm, this for me is British Species in their natural environment. These two species disappeared completely when the Eagle Owl was present, some would say that they would prefer the Eagle owl than the native Owls, this I would personally disagree with.

The only people that benefited from his presence really were the local birders, they came, some saw him, the one’s who got to see him ticked him on their species list & then left, not to return again. Not a penny was given to help pay our bills. Could we of charged an entrance fee for people to see him, no because we never knew when he was going to show up. If the above was not a birder but a photographer then I think the above human behaviour would have been the same too.

An impressive Owl I know but as the saying goes, “not on your own doorstep” especially if you work closely with native wild Owls & captive bred rescues.

Would I have harmed him, no way on this planet!!!!!!!!!!! How would I have dealt with the situation if he stayed longer? I would have just kept trying to trap him, which I nearly did at one point; this is what I was attempting to do every time he showed up, both day & night. He won in the end & he is still free, a very clever & elusive Eagle Owl.

I bet he will return! If he does I will welcome him because I need to catch him & scan him for a microchip. This will give me the answer to whether he would be classed as a wild bird or a captive escapee.

For a European captive bred species, it is law that they must be fitted with either a closed leg ring or be fitted with a microchip implant. This Owl had no leg ring or leg wear from leather anklets.

I hope he's OK out there

Vince,

Rings can easily be cut off and I doubt if it'd have been chipped. Sadly, not all who're out there are good breeders or owners. He's probably getting along just nice - If he was having a bad time you'd be hearing the screams from the local yorkie owners ...

However, it's good to hear that you're getting back on track, and interesting to hear from you the suppressing effect the wild bird has had on the local species. If he ever does re-appear, then good luck in trapping him for your own birds sakes!

Hi Vince,

I think you have handled this very stressful situation very well and very professionally. Good to hear your recent visitor has "moved on" and you can get your business back on track.

All the best

Rob

Thanks for the update Vince.

I hadn't fully appreciated the disruption this fella had caused you.

Keep up the good work.

Rob

Hi Vince. Thanks for the reply & the information, I did not realise how much trouble he had caused you.

Best of luck to you. Hope he now keeps his distance.

Lee

TBH i agree with your point of view Vincent. Its a weird, its not a British "native" species, but is protected under european law. On one hand it could be destroyed, but on the other it could be an offence to do so.

I wont open the can of worms about wild or not, i just work on the principle that nothing is impossible...

Btw if you can get close enough to do a chip scan take a blood sample.

You could go on about the British native bit for ever, records show Eagle Owls have been in/ or visiting our country for years but I'd rather see a Barn Owl hunt a field than a hugh Eagle Owl catch a dog!!! second thoughts Glad your back on track Vince....

Tony

Thanks for the update Vince.

I knew he had caused a big inconvenience whilst there, and it's good to hear the outcome. Bet you miss him though, even though his middle name was 'Trouble'

Fran

Vince

I think your perspective is pragmatic and reasoned. Interesting though, some of the responses posted. I'm very interested in the 'I'd rather have X than Y' logic. If (and it is an 'if' at this stage) Eagle owls are eventually accepted as colonisers or recolonisers, then they will be afforded the same legal protection as all other 'native' raptors. At that point, the selective preferences that some folk express, will become more significant.
This in many ways is not too different from a keeper 'rather having grouse than harriers' or an angler 'rather having salmon than seals'. I suspect many on this forum might frown upon short self-interest agendas but we're all prone to value judgements to some degree. Interesting!

Pete

Thanks for the comments & the interesting comments from yourself Peter

With regards to acceptance Pete & so called self interest, I can see where you are coming from but this I would disagree with.

I would feel exactly the same if an Eagle Owl found its way to any of the wild Barn Owl sites we work on, so much time & effort as gone into native Owl & Bird of Prey Conservation but to have what I & many would class as an alien species turn up would undo all the work that has been done. Just because we keep birds here, it is not just about protecting the birds at our Centre. If the site was a conservation site I would feel exactly the same way.

On the farm we have an array of species from Badgers, Foxes, nesting Buzzards, nesting Kestrels, Sparrowhawks, nesting Little Owls, nesting Tawny Owls, a Barn Owl hunting over the site, Hobbies that visit each year, the occasional sighting of a Merlin, a pair of Ravens & much more in the way of hedgerow species. We have a great balance of wildlife for which we enjoy & so do our visitors. When the Eagle Owl showed up it changed the site completely. Until I am convinced about Eagle Owls coming in from Europe I am pleased that we have such an array of native species on site, this path’s the way to enhance on site habitat conditions to offer them more support.

When the Eagle Owl showed up, the site went deadly quiet & many species just went quiet with some moving out, even the Buzzards moved to the outer boundaries. When a predator such as the Eagle Owl showed up, the evidence of conflict was real.

Personally I would prefer what we have on site as this is what I would class as true native species living in harmony. I would have the same concerns if a Harris Hawk, Red-tailed Buzzard, Great Horned Eagle Owl or any other non-proved native species showed up.

Until I have seen some form of concrete evidence of the Eagle Owl entering the UK by flight or by migration I will stay a non believer, I think this applies to many others out there. Observers with scopes, binoculars, cameras etc would normally be in favour of the Eagle Owl living in the UK, those working on the ground would have reservations.

If there is any evidence out there that can point to the Eagle Owl leaving mainland to come to Britain, please point me to it.

I await to be converted!

Hi Vince

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of eagle owls any more or less than any other species. And, I can't prove whether they are colonising naturally or not. My point really was about our perceptions of what is 'favourable' or 'in balance' or 'living in harmony'. Those perceptions vary enormously from person to person but are normally born from self-interest - financial, cultural, political. In other words, we all like things or don't like things according to how they impact on us. Quite rare I feel for this to have anything to do with ecology.

As an aside, there is some evidence - albeit a combination of photographic and anecdotal - for sea-crossing eagle owls but not enough to convince BOU. I personally feel that the way conservation organisations adopt a policy for eagle owls in the next few years, will be very enlightening.

Thanks for the opportunity to discuss.

Pete

Observers with scopes, binoculars, cameras etc would normally be in favour of the Eagle Owl living in the UK, those working on the ground would have reservations.

I think the same could be said by those on the ground for most extinct or non-native species, e.g. mink, as any eco-system is normally a balance based around what species is present. The arrival of a transient, or worse sedintary, top-preditor changes most behaviour of most resident animals, humans included.

Hi Pete, I do understand what you mean & yes you are definitely correct in what you say, yes we all have our own perceptions on what is right & wrong. What I had stated above was my own personal views, which is not necessary someone else’s view.

I also acknowledge the point Tom made from the quoted sentence above. This quote from me was also based on my own perception regarding observers, mainly based on what experiences I have had over the years when trying to re-capture captive escapees. When mentioning ground workers I should have used the wording 'some'. I am aware that 'some' non observers can be just as destructive than the observer. I think this makes sense lol.

Overall though the Eagle Owl as stirred up a lot of interest & comments from both sides of the fence.

I to a wait for future reports to be published on UK Eagle Owls.

Thanks for the update, Vincent. I enjoyed reading it. Keep up the good work!