In 2013 a male Barn Owl, with two females and 17 nestlings that fledged, out of the 20 eggs that were laid in an abandoned waterhole on the Judean Plain. As far as we know, this is the first documented case in Israel and perhaps in the world. The breeding cycle and the photographs were […]
Tag: Barn Owl
How to Enjoy Owls in Winter (or Anytime)
Owls have been in the spotlight recently, from the DC snowy owl to the Colbert Report. They are incredible and elusive creatures. Here are some ways you can experience and learn about owls first-hand this winter. Go on an owl walk, or “owling.” Winter is actually a great time to search for owls (as long […]
2013 Was a Great Year for British Wildlife
Despite some severe concerns about the world’s different species, 2013 actually turned out to be a bumper year for British wildlife. Here’s why, and a look ahead at what 2014 might have in store. An unusually warm summer that ended a spate of six dismal ones helped wildlife up and down the stretch of Britain […]
Battle to save barn owl after freak weather kills thousands
Ornithologists say 2013 will be viewed as the worst year ever recorded for one of Britain’s favourite farmland birds. They fear that there are now fewer than 1,000 breeding pairs of barn owls in England, following four years of extreme weather that have resulted in the population of the protected bird declining by more than […]
Review: Bird Sense: What it’s Like to be a Bird, by Tim Birkhead
Who’d be a bird anyway? Chickens have bi-focal vision: one eye for the close-up work of pecking seed; one for the fox on the horizon or the hawk in the sky. Peregrine falcons don’t swoop directly on prey – as the crow flies, to coin a phrase – but in a wide arc, using the […]
Britain’s barn owls under threat due to extreme weather
The barn owl, an icon of the countryside and one of Britain’s most popular farmland birds, has suffered a catastrophic fall in numbers after a series of cold and wet springs and is now in “very serious trouble”, conservationists have warned. The Barn Owl Trust said a run of extreme weather events since 2009 had […]
Shearwaters show signs of recovery as Allen Cay IBA is declared mouse-free
Allen Cay in the Bahamas, an important breeding site for Audubon’s Shearwater and home of an eponymous endemic iguana, has been declared free of the invasive house mice which were threatening both species. “This announcement is a major milestone for the recovery of Allen Cay, and we plan to replicate this success on other islands […]
Let’s not martyr the white-throated needletail to the anti-wind cause
This week an extraordinary animal paid a visit to our shores. The elegant and lightning-fast white-throated needletail breeds mostly in China and migrates to Australia, so it was unusual sight dancing around the Isle of Harris in Scotland. The spectacle attracted birders from across the country and created a flurry of activity online as the […]