Which owls live in the uk

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Arne Heathland home to more than species. Get out, get busy and get wild! Fun factoids for all the family Find out more about the nature and wildlife outside your window. Owls are specialised birds with round heads and rather flat or dished faces, with forward-facing eyes and a short, hooked bill.

Females typically weigh around g, which is roughly the same as a wood pigeon. These nocturnal hunters silently swoop down on their unsuspecting prey, plucking them from the forest floor. Sensitive sight and hearing allows owls to locate rodents, while their wing feathers have a soft furry edge that allows for soundless flight.

They will take other prey on occasion, including birds, amphibians, young rabbits and even insects and worms when food is scarce. Owls are famed for their eyesight, but their super-sensitive hearing is just as important for finding prey. Tawny owls normally mate for life and a pair will defend their shared territory from other owls all year round. After mating, the female lays her eggs in a cavity within a large tree. Old crows' nests and squirrel dreys may also be used.

Typically, two to three eggs are laid in spring, hatching after around a month. The parents will continue to care for the young for a few weeks after fledging, with the owlets fully independent by the end of autumn.

For example, while some Native American tribes were fearful of owls, others viewed them as spiritual guides or even their ancestors reincarnated. Within Britain, the dichotomy between positive and negative associations can be seen in folklore as diverse as owls foretelling a pregnancy Wales or causing a cow to produce bloody milk Shetland.

Other folklore links them with unusual weather. Whatever the beliefs of our ancestors, we now tend to view owls with affection. Thanks to the Harry Potter books, even the associations with magic are no longer to be feared. Our knowledge and understanding of owls has improved, with nature documentaries and shows such as BBC Autumnwatch making these nocturnal creatures more accessible.

So, while the screech of a male barn owl may still be blood-curdling — and believe me it is, when heard unexpectedly in the dead of night — we now know that the creature making such a call is nothing otherworldly; it is not a spirit or a curse. If anything, the territorial calls of a tawny owl have become reassuring, a sign that all is right with the world.

Five species of owl breed regularly in Britain and Ireland, four of which barn, tawny, long-eared and short-eared owl are native and one of which little owl was introduced during the late s. The snowy owl is a rare visitor from further north that has bred here on occasion and the small numbers of eagle owls breeding here are thought to derive from aviary escapes and deliberate releases.

Found across most of Britain and Ireland in grassland and farmland, but absent from upland areas. Sedentary in habits, it feeds mainly on voles but also takes mice and shrews. It has a wider hunting range and is more diurnal than the larger tawny owl and may be seen late afternoon, at dawn or dusk. Numbers have declined over the past century. Population: around 6, pairs. Often active during the day, the short-eared owl is restricted as a breeding species to upland moorland and, occasionally, coastal grazing marsh.

This latter habitat is often used in winter, when it may hunt alongside barn owls. Definitely the wisest looking owl, thanks to its upright stance, ear tufts and authoritative, staring orange eyes, this nocturnal and most secretive of owls often roosts communally in dense cover. Adults give their presence away with. There are about 3, pairs; numbers are boosted in winter by migrants from Europe.

The mottled brown appearance of the short-eared or bog owl is vital camouflage for adults and their young, which, unusually, nest on the ground. Easily distinguished thanks to their prominent ear tufts and bright-yellow eyes highlighted by a black ring, these are birds of the open space and can be seen hunting during the day.

Their nomadic nature takes them from lowland estuaries and coastal plains to their summer breeding haunts of the uplands, where wing clapping forms part of their mating display. Fluctuating small mammal populations have a direct effect on breeding numbers. Because of this, the number of pairs varies from to 2,; over winter, numbers can swell to between 5, and 50, individuals.