I've come across a number of tid bits about the fact that european eagle owls are breeding in the UK.
I also see that there is a lot of controversy on the subject, with some claiming the animal is a alien species and others that its a reintroduced native species.
How do others think about this?
I my self, feel that the UK is suitable habitat for the animal and is close to its native range, so even if an alien then what’s to say that animals didn’t get here by their own wings and if they are breeding happily when why not let them?
An interesting subject Paul but personally I strongly believe the Eagle Owls present in the UK are feral birds not wild. Not one ounce of proof that they are a migratory bird, if they did it would be common knowledge throughout the birding world, this bird is to big & to heavy to fly long distances espeacially across a mass of water to land it does'nt know is there. Also its natural instinct is to fly very low with minimal wing beats.
To buy any Eagle Owl is easy if you knew where to look. For a member of the public to acquire one it will sadly cost about £100 or even free to good home & thats it. To release one if it cannot be reholmed is free yet illegal, the question I can't get answered is why the BTO were legally allowed to ring the offspring of feral birds, because of this, now under EU law the Eagle Owl is protected within the UK, if people choose to release their birds & they have no captive ID or wear on the feathered legs from wearing leather anklets, then to prove its origin is going to be more or less impossible. Because of this the Eagle Owl cannot be captured or brought into captivity because it will be defined as wild bird. The televised documentary as already triggered the releasing of more pet Eagle Owls.
I have prepared a list that for some will make interesting reading. This list is never viewed by the public because of the many concerns it will create, this upsets the falconry world because they have lost control of their sport. Nowadays it’s the rescue centres that end up picking up the pieces. The Eagle Owl programme as probably done more harm than good.
If the Eagle Owl is here to stay then can I ask what happens to the non-native captive bred birds listed below, do they stay here to or are we to be told by the likes of the BTO that they are here because they have migrated?
This list is constantly being updated every 3 months during each year. This is what happens when birds of prey can be bought from as little as £10.
The species that will always create a conservation concern are Eagle Owls in the UK, this was before the programme, Harris Hawks, this being an American raptor & now the most common bird of prey bred in captivity, breeding also is included in peoples back gardens in built up areas within our towns & cities, Ferruginous Hawks, again its American, Great Horned Eagle Owls, again its American. The above species will hunt our UK population of Barn Owls, Little Owls & Tawny Owls.
With the captive population of Owls, Hawks etc so high & so cheap & where anyone can own one, why should the Eagle Owl only migrate to mainland Britain, why not to any other Island off mainlan Europe? Surely the captive breeding & mess created together with the list below will help answers the questions why the Eagle Owls as become present in the UK.
This list consists of the ones that have been reported, this is a very small percentage to what is actually LOST, DEAD, STOLEN & REUNITED. Illegally released birds go unrecorded!
How many are aware of the scale of this problem & who should be concerned?
Fox Hunting with Birds of Prey: One of the Eagle Owls being used by the Fox Hunters in Yorkshire flew over the hounds, sadly one of the hounds grabbed the Owl as it flew low over their heads & killed it out right. This occured during 2005 & no media coverage was given because that would of been very embarrassing for the hunt.
For the record there are an estimated 11 breeding pairs of Eagle Owls wild throughout the UK, in addition to this there have also been during 2004 a reported pair of Harris Hawks at the nest with a brood of 4 young. These I have been told have been shot. Who is to blame for the non native species in this country, conservations or the Falconry world, it is a fact that the falconry world are not controlling their sport they still encourage more people to own a bird of prey, this is to soak up the numbers that are no longer wanted at the end of the breeding season. Allowing the breeding of birds of prey to get out of control like it as is beyond me. Its now to late to regulate bird of prey keeping/breeding.
To see the type of people breeding Owls in their back gardens follow this link. http://www.barnowl.co.uk/webcam/movies.asp
This is a documentary broken down into 8 clips outlining my history (damn TV presenter lol) & the problems we at our Centre encountered.
interesting topic, and what an astounding list of lost and founds. ok i sympathise that it is good to see out of the ordinary things on our days out with the camera, but it should also be remembered that introduced species over the years have accounted for more extinctions than many other types of human interference.......the damage introduced species from the european migration to australia is well documented......(on that note i also thought that the little owl is non native)
whist i see your point vince, and indeed a point that is worthy of much more exposure than will be recieved here, i´d hope that not all falconers be tarred with the same brush. i know one very good falconer, who practices to a very very high standard, but in the same breath i know one other extremely bad one.....who ironically runs a big bird of prey centre, and who probably has much more of an influence on the ¨¨i want one¨¨ brigade.
interesting topic, and thanks again for yout list vince.
Hi Mark, thanks for your views & comments to, much appreciated
Its the breeding of more captive birds of prey I cannot understand & I wish DEFRA would tackle the breeding aspect head on. To over breed the common species of Owls/Birds of Prey as no conservation benefit at all IMO. There are a huge amount of good keepers out their but if they breed from them I am against them.
With regards to the Little Owl, yes it was introduced but its diet will have no conservation concern as they mainly eat Earthworms, Beatles, rodents & the occasional small bird if its lucky.
Wow i never knew it was that big a problem, I know someone who kept falcons and he was very good at it, sadly he gave it up when he got married. I didn’t think it was such a large hobby or that people could buy birds so cheaply. With the number of idiots in this country now i don’t find it hard to believe though.
About the closest i knew was from what was my local falconry centre at newent, my father managed to catch a lanner which had escaped from display.
Though i know eagle owls will eat other predatory birds i thought it usual prey was mammals? i had thought the main opposition to the eagle owls was due to sheep farmers etc. I didn’t know it was such a veracious hunter of other owls.
It makes the beast of bodmin or such much more believable.
Read today on birdforum that the female yorkshire eagle owl has been found dead.
The autopsy revealed some shot but the bird was to badly decayed to tell if it had died from being shot or another means.
Here's the link http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=50430&highlight=yorkshire+eagle
Whilst the Eagle Owl obvioulsy had been shot at some stage of its life, my understanding is there was no conclusive evidence of when it was shot and if that shot was actually what killed it? I am interested in this so do you absolutely know any different?
From what I have been told it was possibly just carrying shot but died of another cause. I was told the autopsy was inconclusive as to the cause of death because of the state of decay of the bird. Is this right or wrong?
Through the grape vine, which is probably chinese whispers anyway all that was said that the Eagle Owl was fine one week then on a re- visit she was found dead. I think it was mentioned that there was a 2 week gap from being seen alive to being found dead.
Apart from the above thats all I know. Does anyone else know anymore?
If the Rabbits they seem to feeding on are harbouring any kind of lead shot it won't be long before the other one will sadly perish. If the male does perish we are back to the beginning & the arguement on whether the Eagle Owl migrates from Europe or is released from captivity.
Though undoubtedly, there are escapees and those purposely released, there is little stopping a bird this size getting here from Europe, i believe that there are eagle owls in Holland after all. So it may of just been chance they where blown here or such.
I think it would be sad if these birds had come here and where in a sense legitimate and have been shot.
Though I’m not anti blood sports, though i find some disagreeable, the thought of people shooting animals like this make me despair for the human race.
I had heard that they had reared young, so hope they manage to find mates.
Btw wouldn’t lead shot be passed through the body rapidly? or come up in the pellet?
Lets be clear, there is no condoning the shooting of any raptor by country sports organisations. BASC will not tolerated it in any manner and any member proven to have done so is dealt with as severly as possible within the powers of the organisation. It is an illegal act.
I know, my family has lived in the country for at least the last 5 generations; my father is a trained game keeper. But we know two things;
1, there are allot of idiots who don’t care
2, what happens in a field in the middle of nowhere is seldom reported.
As i said I’m not anti hunting, i have done my fair share in the past, but in my ramblings about Gloucestershire I have seen buzzards hanging from fence posts just like crows. But this was a time ago.
Hi,
Think it was last week on Radio 4 I heard that some huntsman are now using Eagle Owl's for hunting fox's . Could anyone follow up on this if it is true?
Mick
As an addition --There is a rumour round here that 2 Golden Eagles have recently been shot on an estate not far from here. (farmer talk ??) I live in rural Aberdeenshire and birdkeeping/breeding of ALL forms is rife.
Tom Dodson, are you sure you are not refering to the two that went missing in the Lakes last year? If not can you email me the links so that I can follow it up.
So you can understand where I come from on this issue. I am one of the 19 elected members of the national governing council of the BASC (www.basc.org.uk) and I take a very very dim view of those that kill raptors and also those that propagate unsubstantiated stories of the same - the former is illegal, the later could be potentially libel; both very unwelcome.
Mick, there is a loophole in the fox-hunting ban that means that a number of the packs are using raptors to continue - this has been well publicised by the media over the past year.
As this is is of interest to me, but deviating from nature photography, I will leave it here but please email me of any rumours you hear or if you have any questions on the subject.
Finally, I will repeat, that shooting raptors is illegal.
PS For the record I am not a fox hunter, nor game shot. I cull deer and go wildfowling - all I shoot goes into the food chain (usually me )
Posted by Vincent Jones on March 18, 2006 at 4:37 PM
Today was a very sad encounter (Saturday 18th March 2006)
I was called out to a freshly killed European Eagle Owl, the Owl was located at the base of the electricity pole in picture, this is where it had perished. An idea perch? but with devasting consiquences when it landed! The Eagle Owl can only be described as a captive escapee or an illegally released bird as it was wearing a pair of well worn, stiff leather anklets, no jesses, no leg ring & no microchip implant. Was the bird lost or chucked out as an unwanted bird?
For our reference images were taken & also video footage showing the location & the removal of the dead Eagle Owl from site.
The vicinity it was found was very close to a Barn Owl breeding site, not good for the Barn Owls as Eagle Owls will kill Barn Owls!
Discussion
15 repliesI also see that there is a lot of controversy on the subject, with some claiming the animal is a alien species and others that its a reintroduced native species.
How do others think about this?
I my self, feel that the UK is suitable habitat for the animal and is close to its native range, so even if an alien then what’s to say that animals didn’t get here by their own wings and if they are breeding happily when why not let them?
To buy any Eagle Owl is easy if you knew where to look. For a member of the public to acquire one it will sadly cost about £100 or even free to good home & thats it. To release one if it cannot be reholmed is free yet illegal, the question I can't get answered is why the BTO were legally allowed to ring the offspring of feral birds, because of this, now under EU law the Eagle Owl is protected within the UK, if people choose to release their birds & they have no captive ID or wear on the feathered legs from wearing leather anklets, then to prove its origin is going to be more or less impossible. Because of this the Eagle Owl cannot be captured or brought into captivity because it will be defined as wild bird. The televised documentary as already triggered the releasing of more pet Eagle Owls.
I have prepared a list that for some will make interesting reading. This list is never viewed by the public because of the many concerns it will create, this upsets the falconry world because they have lost control of their sport. Nowadays it’s the rescue centres that end up picking up the pieces. The Eagle Owl programme as probably done more harm than good.
If the Eagle Owl is here to stay then can I ask what happens to the non-native captive bred birds listed below, do they stay here to or are we to be told by the likes of the BTO that they are here because they have migrated?
This list is constantly being updated every 3 months during each year. This is what happens when birds of prey can be bought from as little as £10.
The species that will always create a conservation concern are Eagle Owls in the UK, this was before the programme, Harris Hawks, this being an American raptor & now the most common bird of prey bred in captivity, breeding also is included in peoples back gardens in built up areas within our towns & cities, Ferruginous Hawks, again its American, Great Horned Eagle Owls, again its American. The above species will hunt our UK population of Barn Owls, Little Owls & Tawny Owls.
With the captive population of Owls, Hawks etc so high & so cheap & where anyone can own one, why should the Eagle Owl only migrate to mainland Britain, why not to any other Island off mainlan Europe? Surely the captive breeding & mess created together with the list below will help answers the questions why the Eagle Owls as become present in the UK.
STATUS-SPECIES-LOCATION
LOST-AFRICAN GREY PARROT-Staffs
FOUND-AFRICAN GREY PARROT-Hampshire
FOUND-AFRICAN GREY PARROT-Isle of Wight
REUNITED-BARN OWL-Cheshire
REUNITED-BARN OWL-Staffs
REUNITED-BARN OWL-Staffs
LOST-BARN OWL-Cheshire
LOST-BARN OWL-Devon
LOST-BARN OWL-Staffordshire
LOST-BARN OWL-North Devon
LOST-BARN OWL- E. Yorkshire
LOST-BARN OWL-Suffolk
FOUND-BARN OWL-Lancashire
FOUND-BARN OWL- Lancashire
FOUND-BARN OWL-N. Yorkshire
DEAD-BARN OWL-Cheshire
DEAD-BARN OWL-North Devon
DEAD-BARN OWL-Co. Durham
DEAD-BARN OWL-Lincolnshire
DEAD-BARN OWL- Tyne and Wear
DEAD-BARN OWL-Hants
DEAD-BARN OWL-Hants
DEAD-BARN OWL-N. Yorkshire
DEAD-BARN OWL-Essex
DEAD-BARN OWL-Gloucestershire
FOUND-BENGAL EAGLE OWL-Bedfordshire
FOUND-BENGAL EAGLE OWL-Stafordshire
DEAD-BENGAL EAGLE OWL-Somerset
STOLEN-COMMON BUZZARD-Essex
STOLEN-COMMON BUZZARD-Bedfordshire
REUNITED-COMMON BUZZARD-Essex
REUNITED-COMMON BUZZARD-Newcastle
FOUND-COMMON BUZZARD-N. Humberside
REUNITED-EGYPTIAN VULTURE-South Yorks
REUNITED-EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL-E. Yorkshire
REUNITED-EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL-Essex
LOST-EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL-N. Yorkshire
LOST-EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL-Devon
LOST-EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL-Pembrokeshire
LOST-EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL-Kent
FOUND-EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL-Gloucestershire
FOUND-EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL-Lincolnshire
DEAD-EUROPEAN EAGLE OWL-Staffordhire
REUNITED-FERRUGINOUS HAWK- Kent
REUNITED-FERRUGINOUS HAWK-Ipswich
LOST-FERRUGINOUS HAWK-West Yorkshire
LOST-FERRUGINOUS HAWK-West Lothian
REUNITED-GOSHAWK-Staffordshire
LOST-GOSHAWK-Wilts
LOST-GOSHAWK-Gloucestershire
LOST-GOSHAWK-Herefordshire
LOST-GOSHAWK- Leicestershire
DEAD-GOSHAWK-N. Yorkshire
DEAD-GOSHAWK-Middx
STOLEN-GOSHAWK-Gloucestershire
LOST-GREAT HORNED OWL-Oxon
LOST-GREAT HORNED OWL-Leicestershire
LOST-GYR FALCON-West Midlands
STOLEN-GYR/PEREGRINE HYBRID-Kent
REUNITED-GYR/PEREGRINE HYBRID-North Lincs
LOST-GYR/PEREGRINE HYBRID-Oxon
REUNITED-GYR/PRAIRIE FALCON-Kent
REUNITED-GYR/SAKER FALCON-Gwent
REUNITED-GYR/SAKER FALCON-Middx
LOST-GYR/SAKER FALCON-Kent
LOST-GYR/SAKER FALCON-Devon
LOST-GYR/SAKER FALCON-Manchester
DEAD-GYR/SAKER FALCON-Liverpool
DEAD-GYR/SAKER FALCON-Cheshire
REUNITED-GYR/SAKER/PEREGRINE-Cambridgeshire
STOLEN-HARRIS HAWK-Perthshire
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Kent
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Devon
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Cheshire
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Hants
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Gwent
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Cheshire
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Devon
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Gloucestershire
REUNITED- HARRIS HAWK-West Lothian
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Cheshire
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Essex
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Gwent
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Co Durham
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Staffs
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-N Lincs
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Staffs
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-West Lothian
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-West Yorkshire
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Glasgow
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Herts
REUNITED-HARRIS HAWK-Lanarkshire
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Warks
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Cheshire
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Staffs
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Warwickshire
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Norfolk
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Norfolk
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Suffolk
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Cheshire
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-N Lincs
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Kent
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Norfolk
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Northants
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Norfolk
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Norfolk
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Isle of Wight
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Nottinghamshire
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Cornwall
LOST-HARRIS HAWK-Surrey
FOUND-HARRIS HAWK-West Yorkshire
FOUND-HARRIS HAWK-Northumberland
FOUND-HARRIS HAWK-Beds
FOUND-HARRIS HAWK-West Yorkshire
FOUND-HARRIS HAWK-Cornwall
FOUND-HARRIS HAWK- Lancs
DEAD-HARRIS HAWK-Essex
DEAD-HARRIS HAWK-Worcester
DEAD-HARRIS HAWK-Essex
DEAD-HARRIS HAWK-Northumberland
LOST-HOBBY-Worcestershire
REUNITED-KESTREL-Essex
REUNITED-KESTREL-Worcester
REUNITED-KESTREL-Suffolk
REUNITED-KESTREL-Norfolk
LOST-KESTREL-Worcester
LOST-KESTREL-Somerset
LOST-KESTREL-Mid Glamorgan
DEAD-KESTREL-Norfolk
DEAD-KESTREL-Leeds
DEAD-KESTREL-Liverpool
DEAD-KESTREL-Norfolk
REUNITED-LANNER FALCON-North Yorkshire
FOUND-LANNER FALCON-Mid Glamorgan
FOUND-LANNER FALCON-Somerset
FOUND-LANNER HYBRID-Staffs
DEAD-LANNER/SAKER FALCON-Northants
DEAD-LUGGER FALCON-Somerset
DEAD-LUGGER FALCON-Surrey
DEAD-LUGGER FALCON-Warwickshire
FOUND-PARAKEET-Surrey
REUNITED-PEREGRINE FALCON-Gloucestershire
REUNITED-PEREGRINE FALCON-Worcestershire
REUNITED-PEREGRINE FALCON-Brighton
REUNITED-PEREGRINE FALCON-Midlands
LOST-PEREGRINE FALCON-Perthshire
LOST-PEREGRINE FALCON-Lancs
LOST-PEREGRINE FALCON-Beds
LOST-PEREGRINE FALCON-Kent
LOST-PEREGRINE FALCON-Bedfordshire
LOST-PEREGRINE FALCON-Somerset
LOST-PEREGRINE FALCON-N. Lincs
DEAD-PEREGRINE FALCON-Lincs
DEAD-PEREGRINE FALCON-N.Yorkshire
LOST-PEREGRINE/BARBARY HYBRID-Kent
DEAD-PEREGRINE/GYR HYBRID-Glamorgan
LOST-PEREGRINE/LANNER HYBRID-Swansea
FOUND-PEREGRINE/LANNER HYBRID-Lancs
LOST-PEREGRINE/MERLIN-Shropshire
REUNITED-PEREGRINE/PRAIRIE HYBRID-Glasgow
REUNITED-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Essex
REUNITED-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Humberside
REUNITED-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Newport Wales
REUNITED-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Notts
REUNITED-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Lancashire
LOST-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Essex
LOST-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Kent
LOST-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Worcestershire
DEAD-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Gloucestershire
DEAD-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-Wilts
DEAD-PEREGRINE/SAKER HYBRID-West Lothian
LOST-PEREGRINE/MERLIN HYBRID-Lancs
REUNITED-RED-TAILED HAWK-West Midlands
REUNITED-RED-TAILED HAWK-Ayrshire
LOST-RED-TAILED HAWK-Glasgow
LOST-RED-TAILED HAWK-Lancs
DEAD-RED-TAILED HAWK-Gloucestershire
DEAD-RED-TAILED HAWK-Essex
REUNITED-SAKER FALCON-Warks
REUNITED-SAKER FALCON-Kent
REUNITED-SAKER FALCON-Lancs
LOST-SAKER FALCON-York
LOST-SAKER FALCON-Somerset
LOST-SAKER FALCON-Devon
LOST-SAKER FALCON-Worcestershire
LOST-SAKER FALCON-Kent
DEAD-SAKER FALCON-Cambs
DEAD-SAKER FALCON-Swansea
DEAD-SAKER FALCON-Manchester
LOST-SPARROWHAWK-Lancs
LOST-SPARROWHAWK-Glamorgan
LOST-SPARROWHAWK-Glasgow
FOUND-SPARROWHAWK-Staffs
DEAD-SPARROWHAWK-Cambs
DEAD-SPARROWHAWK-Perthshire
REUNITED-STEPPE EAGLE-Bucks
FOUND-TAWNY EAGLE-Lancs
LOST-TURKEY VULTURE-North Yorkshire
This list consists of the ones that have been reported, this is a very small percentage to what is actually LOST, DEAD, STOLEN & REUNITED. Illegally released birds go unrecorded!
How many are aware of the scale of this problem & who should be concerned?
Fox Hunting with Birds of Prey: One of the Eagle Owls being used by the Fox Hunters in Yorkshire flew over the hounds, sadly one of the hounds grabbed the Owl as it flew low over their heads & killed it out right. This occured during 2005 & no media coverage was given because that would of been very embarrassing for the hunt.
For the record there are an estimated 11 breeding pairs of Eagle Owls wild throughout the UK, in addition to this there have also been during 2004 a reported pair of Harris Hawks at the nest with a brood of 4 young. These I have been told have been shot. Who is to blame for the non native species in this country, conservations or the Falconry world, it is a fact that the falconry world are not controlling their sport they still encourage more people to own a bird of prey, this is to soak up the numbers that are no longer wanted at the end of the breeding season. Allowing the breeding of birds of prey to get out of control like it as is beyond me. Its now to late to regulate bird of prey keeping/breeding.
To see the type of people breeding Owls in their back gardens follow this link. http://www.barnowl.co.uk/webcam/movies.asp
This is a documentary broken down into 8 clips outlining my history (damn TV presenter lol) & the problems we at our Centre encountered.
interesting topic, and what an astounding list of lost and founds. ok i sympathise that it is good to see out of the ordinary things on our days out with the camera, but it should also be remembered that introduced species over the years have accounted for more extinctions than many other types of human interference.......the damage introduced species from the european migration to australia is well documented......(on that note i also thought that the little owl is non native)
whist i see your point vince, and indeed a point that is worthy of much more exposure than will be recieved here, i´d hope that not all falconers be tarred with the same brush. i know one very good falconer, who practices to a very very high standard, but in the same breath i know one other extremely bad one.....who ironically runs a big bird of prey centre, and who probably has much more of an influence on the ¨¨i want one¨¨ brigade.
interesting topic, and thanks again for yout list vince.
mark.
Its the breeding of more captive birds of prey I cannot understand & I wish DEFRA would tackle the breeding aspect head on. To over breed the common species of Owls/Birds of Prey as no conservation benefit at all IMO. There are a huge amount of good keepers out their but if they breed from them I am against them.
With regards to the Little Owl, yes it was introduced but its diet will have no conservation concern as they mainly eat Earthworms, Beatles, rodents & the occasional small bird if its lucky.
About the closest i knew was from what was my local falconry centre at newent, my father managed to catch a lanner which had escaped from display.
Though i know eagle owls will eat other predatory birds i thought it usual prey was mammals? i had thought the main opposition to the eagle owls was due to sheep farmers etc. I didn’t know it was such a veracious hunter of other owls.
It makes the beast of bodmin or such much more believable.
Read today on birdforum that the female yorkshire eagle owl has been found dead.
The autopsy revealed some shot but the bird was to badly decayed to tell if it had died from being shot or another means.
Here's the link http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=50430&highlight=yorkshire+eagle
Regards
Rob
Whilst the Eagle Owl obvioulsy had been shot at some stage of its life, my understanding is there was no conclusive evidence of when it was shot and if that shot was actually what killed it? I am interested in this so do you absolutely know any different?
From what I have been told it was possibly just carrying shot but died of another cause. I was told the autopsy was inconclusive as to the cause of death because of the state of decay of the bird. Is this right or wrong?
Apart from the above thats all I know. Does anyone else know anymore?
If the Rabbits they seem to feeding on are harbouring any kind of lead shot it won't be long before the other one will sadly perish. If the male does perish we are back to the beginning & the arguement on whether the Eagle Owl migrates from Europe or is released from captivity.
I think it would be sad if these birds had come here and where in a sense legitimate and have been shot.
Though I’m not anti blood sports, though i find some disagreeable, the thought of people shooting animals like this make me despair for the human race.
I had heard that they had reared young, so hope they manage to find mates.
Btw wouldn’t lead shot be passed through the body rapidly? or come up in the pellet?
Lets be clear, there is no condoning the shooting of any raptor by country sports organisations. BASC will not tolerated it in any manner and any member proven to have done so is dealt with as severly as possible within the powers of the organisation. It is an illegal act.
1, there are allot of idiots who don’t care
2, what happens in a field in the middle of nowhere is seldom reported.
As i said I’m not anti hunting, i have done my fair share in the past, but in my ramblings about Gloucestershire I have seen buzzards hanging from fence posts just like crows. But this was a time ago.
Think it was last week on Radio 4 I heard that some huntsman are now using Eagle Owl's for hunting fox's . Could anyone follow up on this if it is true?
Mick
So you can understand where I come from on this issue. I am one of the 19 elected members of the national governing council of the BASC (www.basc.org.uk) and I take a very very dim view of those that kill raptors and also those that propagate unsubstantiated stories of the same - the former is illegal, the later could be potentially libel; both very unwelcome.
Mick, there is a loophole in the fox-hunting ban that means that a number of the packs are using raptors to continue - this has been well publicised by the media over the past year.
As this is is of interest to me, but deviating from nature photography, I will leave it here but please email me of any rumours you hear or if you have any questions on the subject.
Finally, I will repeat, that shooting raptors is illegal.
PS For the record I am not a fox hunter, nor game shot. I cull deer and go wildfowling - all I shoot goes into the food chain (usually me
I was called out to a freshly killed European Eagle Owl, the Owl was located at the base of the electricity pole in picture, this is where it had perished. An idea perch? but with devasting consiquences when it landed! The Eagle Owl can only be described as a captive escapee or an illegally released bird as it was wearing a pair of well worn, stiff leather anklets, no jesses, no leg ring & no microchip implant. Was the bird lost or chucked out as an unwanted bird?
For our reference images were taken & also video footage showing the location & the removal of the dead Eagle Owl from site.
The vicinity it was found was very close to a Barn Owl breeding site, not good for the Barn Owls as Eagle Owls will kill Barn Owls!
An interesting yet sad recovery for the day.
Vincent Jones
Barn Owl Centre