Bigger and better Hooters!

As I said in my last post I had some owl action last week 😊

A trip to Owl Rd with Jr after I had been informed of a new site to try for GG paid off big time. It was once again a “perfect” night with no clouds and no wind although this time there was no moon either. At a barmy -2C it was also warm…

On the drive down Owl Rd we heard nothing of the GG. We (or more accurately me as Jr doesn’t get out of the car to just hear owls)  did hear a single Tengmalm’s and then of much more interest a hooting male Ural Owl. Although it was at looong range it was a special bird for me as it represents a self found tick, an Akershus county tick and the first time I heard song (my previous records have either been nesting or winter birds).

The forests here are a southerly extension of the deep forests of Hedmark where Norway's ca.25 pairs of Ural Owls breed and there are a couple of previous records of singing birds on the Akershus side of the county line. It has therefore always been a species I have hoped to hear on my visits to the area so was very satisfying when it finally happened.

On the way back the desired Great Grey sang and was right by the road meaning Jr also got out of the car to enjoy him. It was in  the same area as the bird I filmed last year so could well be the same individual. There was nothing to suggest a pair but I will follow up.

 

As if that wasn’t enough, I then had the pleasure of reacquainting myself with Hawkie in Maridalen who is now hunting from low perches in open woodland which would explain why it has not been seen for a while. I was lucky enough to see it catch a mouse/vole and then eat it.

As it that wasn’t enough a bit later an alarm calling Crossbill alerted me to a Tawny Owl at is daytime roost high in a spruce. It was close to a Goldeneye nestbox and I will have to follow up to see if there are Tawnies nesting here although the hole looked a tad small.

Great Grey Owl (lappugle)

this video sht by Jr has me taking pictures of the owl. You can hear how slow the shutter speed - I was using 1/15 second and a tripod

Hawk Owl (haukugle)

he then flew down and caught a rodent as seen in this video:

before dismembering and eating it:

here he has just landed on the other side of the road with his prey

by the time I had got a bit closer the head had been removed and swallowed

then the inners get eaten

before the rest is just swallowed

ever get the feeling you are being watched? Tawny Owl (kattugle)

A trip yesterday in very similar conditions revealed just one distant hooting Tengmalm's so it clearly isn't a great owl year any more. I have read that if the snow melts too quckly then this can cause a collapse in rodent populations that had been thriving under the snow and the snow did definitely melt quickly here  at the end of February. Even if owls don't always play ball though there can be plenty of other things to see on a cloudless night in the forest. I have seen meteors burning through the sky and last night Jr and I saw this very strange sight which was apparently a string of US Starshield satellites launched by Space X from Californian the day before (Friday) and which are moving themselves into orbit. They moved through the sky in a straightline and were a definite a UFO until we heard about them on the radio a bit later (clearly lots of people had contacted the press about them).

we also had a good show of Northern Lights

and a couple of still white Hares running along the road