WILDLIFE (FROM MID OCTOBER 2007)

[ranunculus]

The previous WILDLIFE thread has now reached a rather ungainly twenty-one pages so let's begin a new thread ready for all those splendid autumn and winter 2007 images.....I can hear the shutters being pressed already....

Please forgive me if this is a repeat posting on SRGC (I know I released them 'somewhere' on the web at the time of taking), but I was quite pleased with the results and thought you might like a quick look at these birds of prey captured at Alnwick Castle in Northumberland a few years ago....domesticated WILDLIFE I admit, but still VERY pretty.

[ranunculus]

....A couple more and a bewildered crane captured on a sunny island in the same year.....

[mark smyth]

Eagle Owls are now breeding in the Lake District and other places in the UK. One pair is in an army training area

[Rob]

Mark do you think the Eagle Owls breeding in the wild in the UK should be culled?

They must have an adverse effect on other species

[Stephenb]

Were Eagle Owls introduced in the UK or did they arrive without assistance?

Our local pair didn't breed for the first time for many years after the local landowner clearfelled a large area of forest around the nesting site -  this lead to a lot of complaints as the Eagle Owl (called Hubro here, after its call) is a protected species. The landownwer has been reported to the police...

[mark smyth]

as far as I know ours only eat rabbits

[David Nicholson]

as far as I know ours only eat rabbits

Maybe a solution to your cat problem there Mark?

[Maggi Young]

I have tried for years to negotiate short term loans of their wonderful eagle owl,  she goes by the name of Gandalf, from a local Falconry place......no success yet, but I keep hoping for this natural answer to the local cat problem. Gandalf is a real star, comes to a central Aberdeen shopping mall every year to raise money for the raptor centre......she's about the size of a telephone box and I wouldn't mess with her! Well, maybe not a telephone box, but she is pretty big, loooking even larger indoors! I am besotted with her and pleased that she seems to have a good life doing her fundraising work and flying for demonstrations as I do mostly worry about captive birds like these, though of course there are sometimes good reasons why they are in captivity. A vulture is causing problems further North in Scotland at the moment as it keeps escaping and is reluctant to be caught..... spends a lot of time sitting about in a tree, to the frustration of the keepers!

[Rob]

I thought eagle owls preyed on Tawny Owls so I googled and found the following:

'The Eurasian Eagle Owl was once resident in the UK, but was hunted to extinction during the late 19<sup>th century (NOTE - the RSPB does question this view & says that the evidence is very slim.). This was done mainly by gamekeepers & farmers, concerned on them preying on their livestock. Unlike many other birds of prey, their was some justification to their fears, the owls can take large prey, but it is unlikely that they could do enough to warrant hunting them to extinction. It has also been suggested that other reasons for hunting them were for stuffing as ornaments & for the fashion trade, the long feathers being in particular demand to adorn hats. There are reports of some Eagle Owls living in the wild in the UK, it is most likely that these birds are escaped or (illegally) released captive birds, rather than migrants. In particular, a pair have been nesting & breeding since 1997 years on MOD property on the North Yorkshire moors, they are thought to have successfully reared over 20 young. (I have also seen one reference to a small reintroduction programme in the UK, possibly Scotland, but haven't been able to find any details).

The Eurasian Eagle Owl hunts predominantly at dusk & into the early night. They have occassionally been found sharing territories with Golden Eagles, with the eagles hunting during the day & the owls at night. They are not prepared to live peacefully with all birds of prey though, in particular goshawks. They have also been found to drive away Peregrines from near to their nesting sites. They have been reported as regularly preying on buzzards, goshawks, gyrfalcons, Tawny Owls, Long-Eared Owls & other small birds of prey, including their young. While other birds, such as ducks, pheasants, pigeons & crows, may be taken (often in flight), their main prey is mammals. They are able to catch prey spreading a large range of sizes, from mice & voles, through rabbits & hares, up to foxes, young sheep & roe deer.'

[Anthony Darby]

Jings, must remember to bring the kids in at night! Could use this to bring them in earlier from playing outside.

[Maggi Young]

Hi, Anthony, you're back then?!! Have the Darbys enjoyed their various tattie holiday excursions to Centre Parcs and Trinidad?

[Anthony Darby]

Yep and yep. After a week of 33^oC (dropping to 24^oC at night ), 12^oC is a shock to the system! Saw plenty of wildlife, but not really that much of Trinidad due to the nature of the trip (collecting leaf cutting ants). Lime time was good too.

[ranunculus]

Just a couple of images from a quick visit yesterday to Hebden Bridge and Widdup Moor (West Yorkshire).....a bit arty for some tastes, but then so are many of the entries for the Turner Prize (the poor man would be 'turnering' in his grave)!

[ranunculus]

For anyone who might be interested the Goose image above was taken from this original photograph captured on the canal wharf at Hebden Bridge.

[Armin]

Cliff,
very interesting. What software have you used to make the goose picture?