Owls in my garden.

ODubhain82

Hi. I have noticed odd calls in my rural garden over the last few nights.

Tonight I went out with a torch to find
out what was making them and spotted
an owl sitting on a branch.

It was in a call and response set up with
another owl which I didnt see.

This was an amazing surprise for me. I'm
In a daze as I 've never seen one before let alone in my own garden.

My garden is about 3 acres, and maybe half hasn't had the grass cut. There arn't many trees to perch in but maybe the owls are after mice in the grass. Mixed blessing for me there!

Anyway, I had the presence of mind to video the event. Very dark, so you cant see the bird, but you can hear the calls clearly.

My question is, should I inform birdwatch ireland and if so how?

emo72

post up the video. sounds great.

BorneTobyWilde

Yea the video sounds like it would be a hoot to watch.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Regarding reporting it - it spends on what species of Owl.

ODubhain82

Cant post a utube link. Anyone help me?

ODubhain82

Cant post a utube link. Anyone help me?

ODubhain82

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ODubhain82

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ODubhain82

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ODubhain82

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dodderangler

What species was it? If your unsure of species then a description would help

ODubhain82

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ODubhain82

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eMqahG7x8s&feature=youtube_gdata_player

ODubhain82

dodderangler wrote: »

What species was it? If your unsure of species then a description would help

Couldn't really make out any identifying
features. Looked mostly white. Hopefully the call will tell us.

swifts need our help!

Long-eared owl owlet calling for food

V_Moth

Long-eared Owl allright (our commonest owl species). Rather than reporting it to BirdWatch, I would suggest logging it on birdtrack.org, which is used by BirdWatch, BTO and RSPB to monitor bird populations.

Also, good to see the LEO's are having a much better breeding season this year in comparison to the washout last year.

the_syco

ODubhain82 wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eMqahG7x8s

What make/model is the camera? There's a "low light" option on some cameras that may benefit you.

ODubhain82

the_syco wrote: »

What make/model is the camera? There's a "low light" option on some cameras that may benefit you.

It was just my phone. I might try to find their roost and photograph them during the day.

the_syco

ODubhain82 wrote: »

It was just my phone.

Android or iPhone?

ODubhain82

the_syco wrote: »

Android or iPhone?

Samsung s3 mini so the camera isnt great. I have a nikon d90 too so if I locate them again I'll be prepared.

Bonedigger

This is an image of a Long-eared Owlet I uploaded to the "Some pictures I took recently" Thread several weeks ago:



I'm sure your fella looked like this?

ODubhain82

I don't think it had the dark patches around the eyes or look as "wooly".
To be honest it looked like a barn owl to me.

dodderangler

Going by your description of it being white I'd say barn owl.
What size could you tell

ODubhain82

Just had a look at a screen shot from the video. Looks like it does have the dark eye patches.

Bonedigger

My question was meant to be rhetorical.:)
Swifts need our help! was right,it sounds just like a Long-eared Owlet.I hear them call like that all the time out here where I live.

ODubhain82

Here are a couple of photos I managed to get tonight. Will leave the owls alone from this point as I 'm sure they can't like torches or camera flashes too much!

the_syco

ODubhain82 wrote: »

Samsung s3 mini so the camera isnt great. I have a nikon d90 too so if I locate them again I'll be prepared.

Set the ISO to as high as you can (which I think is seen as "1.0 EV" in the D90), and take a photo without flash. Keep the camera steady (place on a tble if you don't have a tripod), and set the shutter speed to about 1 second, and the aperture to 7.1 or so. You can set the aperture lower to get a brighter image, but I find 7.1 allows different shades of black.

Look at page 10 of the D90 manual (which you can download from the Nikon site here) for where to look, and what settings to select.

With a bit of messing around, you can get great shots. For example, in this shot, I could barely see the white shed, and the grass and path was black. And best of all, you won't upset the owls. Oh, and as owls tend to stay still, you can experiment with very long shutter speed shots to get brighter shots

ODubhain82

I'll try your sugestions tomorrow night as I'm working tonight. Hopefully it will be a bit brighter as last night was cloudy with no moon.

ODubhain82

I'll try your sugestions tomorrow night as I'm working tonight. Hopefully it will be a bit brighter as last night was cloudy with no moon.