Sprawks and Owls - tips to find

DorsetDude

DorsetDude

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Hello all.
Ive been birdwatching in a lazy way for nigh on 7 years I reckon (life list uk now 221) and in that time Ive seen I think one sparrowhawk and still yet to see a tawny owl. Seen a barn owl twice, short eared 2 or 3 times, and a long-eared once. And occasionally I will see a little owl although it must be 4 years since last one.
Basically any tips on how to find one and then go and see sparrowhawk or tawny/barn would be appreciated. Not bothered about photographing it, just to see would be good! Thanks all.
I am based in Bournemouth which is near the new forest if that helps!
 
Feed the birds in your garden and sooner or later a sparrowhawk will arrive! :eek:
 
Tigger.ufo said:
Feed the birds in your garden and sooner or later a sparrowhawk will arrive! :eek:
Click to expand...
Thanks heather, but you must have missed the "lazy" bit in my post! I dont feed the birds because I know I am too lazy to clean the feeders out once a week!

Although when we had thick snow last winter I did feel sorry for the blackbirds and put some mealworms out on the fence which they soon found.
 
In Pembrokeshire there is a bird blog maintained by a few keen folk. I use that to keep up with the latest sightings. Perhaps you have something similar. Must be bird groups/societies around there.
 
There are 2 blogs I follow round here but because these 2 are regarded as common they dont seem to appear on the blogs often.
 
Cheers Brian, already a member on Birdforum and the Dorset forum is pretty quiet.
 
Tawny owls are far more common than you might think.I see you have LEO on your list,which for many is a good one to get. OK, firstly there is a real lazy way to get tawny owls,they are nocturnal and you are going to have to get out at night. Find yourself a sub-urban wood,drive past it slowly (esp Nov,Dec,Jan,Feb) with the window open and listen. Once you have located one you can keep an eye on the area over a period of time.Hope it works for you.
 
Thanks Nigel. Yes the LEO was a very lucky one. Went down to Farlington Marsh few years ago looking for my first SEO and as got out of the car "there's a LEO been spotted" etc. and sure enough it was roosting in a tree. Oh and saw SEO's as well so a good day that was.
 
It's all a matter of finding the right place. Sitting here at my PC looking out the window I see a Sprawk at least twice a week and a Barn Owl most evenings. Unless it's one of the winters when the Short-Eared Owls decide the local fields are a nice place - they tend to keep the Barn Owl away.
 
I have several Tawny's in a local park and they become quite vocal around dusk and with luck can be seen before the sun sets, so a little walk around a local wood (the new forest if it's not that far away) say between 2pm and 5pm (take a torch for when it gets dark) and you should hear them calling, it's then just a case of locating them. Alternatively work the woodland during the day and you might catch one roosting. Easiest way to do that is listen for blackbird's or Jay's alarm calling, quite often this will be due to the presence of a Tawny Owl, watch where the birds mob and if your lucky you might get anything form a top notch view, I've had one land several meters away in broad daylight after being mobbed by some blackbirds, or a poor view where your straining your neck as you look up at the top of this tree where you can just make out the head behind loads of leaves.......not a problem at the moment mind.
 
Thanks Mark.

I do keep my ears open for the mobbing calls. A wander with a torch sounds a good plan.
 
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