Owls
HUGS Owl Project
This project is about making our area more owl-friendly, increasing biodiversity and monitoring our local owls. We’re doing this because our owls, along with most of our UK wildlife, are under threat.
Owls are an indicator species - telling us the state of our nature locally. If owls are thriving in good numbers, then our local natural systems are healthy. However, if owls are missing, the news is not so rosy. We know anecdotally that we did have Barn Owls around the 3 villages not that many years ago, but it appears that they are now missing in East Hagbourne and Upton. That’s one reason why this project is so important. We know we have Tawny Owls and Little Owls in and around the villages still and we’d like to support them to stay here and increase in numbers. We’d also love to be able to welcome back Barn Owls with improved and increased habitat around our area.
Working together
Our project aims to fund and install nest boxes for our owls. Owl boxes are a successful intervention for supporting owl populations where natural habitat is lacking (e.g. not enough large trees to nest in). We’ll also install webcams in one or two nest boxes and be able to watch these beautiful creatures hopefully successfully rearing young.
We want to work together in the communities of our 3 villages to increase awareness of our local owls and to make our gardens, open spaces, farms and fields more owl-friendly.
This involves:
avoiding or reducing our use of chemicals (such as pesticides in the garden and tank mixes of pesticides on crops, and rat poison in our gardens and farms).
increasing and enhancing habitat in gardens and fields (e.g. growing more native trees and shrubs and leaving our grass to grow long (creating habitat for voles and other small mammals)).
UK Owls
In total, we have 5 native owl species in the UK. Here are some images and sounds for them as well as PDFs giving more information about each species.
Tawny Owl
Tawny Owl (by Ron Blackburn)
Tawny Owl - ready for flight. (Source: Creative Commons Licence)
We have Tawny Owls around the 3 villages. They are nocturnal, so you might well hear their calls at night and in the dark during the winter months. You would only see one in day light if you disturb where they’re roosting. They eat small mammals - e.g. mice and also may take smaller birds as well as insects and worms. Sadly, they’re on the Amber list of UK Conservation Status so they need our help to maintain their habitat and that of their food supplies (enough wild areas with long grass for mice, shrews, voles and bird life to thrive in). The dispersing young each year can struggle to find sufficient habitat to survive in.
Listen to a Tawny owl male or a Tawny owl female.
Little Owl
Little Owl (by David Bird)
Little Owl in flight (by David Bird)
We also have Little Owls that are heard calling in the villages. They are more likely to be spotted in the daytime. They hunt at dusk and dawn. They like open fields which are chemical free and rich with beetles and worms. Fields with livestock or horses are perfect as long as no worming products are used on the animals. Little Owls also eat small mammals and small birds. Quiet areas such as cemeteries and old and overgrown orchards are good habitat for Little Owls too. Little Owls will also hunt and make a home in our gardens if they provide good habitat. Although, not on the UK Conservation List yet, they are known to be reducing in numbers.
Listen to a little owl alarm call or a female contact.
Barn Owl
Barn Owl (by David Bird)
Barn Owl in flight (by David Bird)
We used to have Barn Owls around our 3 villages, but for now, they do seem to have gone. We know they are around further to the south of us (Blewbury and up into the downs). Barn Owls are nocturnal and in the past around here you might have been lucky enough to spot them in flight or perched on a fence post in the late afternoon or in the dark. There’s evidence that changes in farming practices with increasing use of chemicals on the land and reduced hedgerow and meadow have reduced the numbers of these birds. Farmers around the country face the same legacy of intensive agriculture that they have inherited for several generations now. What we need for these birds is more restorative farming practices that leave more space for field margins, longer grass and a longer term view of soil and ecosystem health.
Listen to a Barn owl flight call or a Barn owl snore!
Long Eared Owl
Long Eared Owl (source: Lu’s Owls)
Long Eared Owl in flight (source: Lu’s Owls)
Not known in our local area, Long-eared Owls are nocturnal and tend to be hard to spot. There are resident Long-Eared Owls in the South of England that live here year round. Further Long-Eareds also arrive from Europe to over winter here. They also eat small mammals and in winter will take small birds too.
Listen to a Long eared female calling or a male hoot.
Short Eared Owl
Short Eared Owl (by Ron Blackburn)
Short Eared Owl in flight (by Ron Blackburn)
Short Eared Owls are also, not seen in our area. Where they are spotted, it’s most likely that they are seen out hunting in the day. They eat small mammals and they particularly like voles - for which habitats of long grass are needed. They are another migrant bird, coming in from colder areas of Europe to over winter in the UK, particularly in the wilder, wetter areas such as coastal wetlands and marshes.
Listen to a Short eared male calling or a female calling.
For more information about each of these beautiful owl species please click on the links. Tawny Owls, Little Owls, Barn Owls, Long-Eared Owls, Short-Eared Owls.
Do fill in the form below if you’d like to help us with this project and / or tell us about your owl sightings in the area.