The owl shaped gap...

 

 

I realized just the other day just how little I knew about the little owl and its habits so thought I’d do what I usually do in these situations…a mass google session. It’s all amalgamated here into blog form from several different sights so do let me know if anything here is glaringly wrong.

The facts and figures state that the little owl, of which there are about 5700 UK pairs, are not native to Britain and were brought here in the 19^th century. They normally have one brood a year containing three or four eggs. A second brood can occur in years of great food abundance. They eat small mammals, birds and large invertebrates. I read somewhere that a little owl will sometimes leave a small mammal like a mole to rot near its nest site in order to feed off the carrion loving insects that arrive...pretty clever. Of the juveniles that fledge 30% will survive their first year and will find nest sites within around 20 km of the site they were born in. These youngsters disperse at around three months of age and if they survive their first year will normally live to around three years of age. However the oldest little owl recorded by the BTO was 10 years, 11 months and 26 days, a record set back in 2009. The little owl is most active at dusk but is also partly active in the daytime and at night.

 

(In fact as I write this I can hear one ‘meowing’ outside my Ramsey Island window. I’m convinced that a little owls cry sounds not to dissimilar to a cat!)

 

Their Latin name is Athene noctua and these owls were once believed to be the companion of Athene, Goddess of wisdom…hence why owls are often believed to be wise. Athene’s previous companion had been a crow but this mischievous corvid proved to be too much of a prankster for the wise and sensible Greek Goddess. As Athene’s companion the little owls were used as mascots to protect the Greek armies as they went to war. Having a little owl fly over soldiers before battle foretold victory.

An owls night vision was once believed to come from a mysterious inner light and eating their eggs raw was once thought to cure alcoholism. Eating the raw eggs as a child was thought to stop the onset of alcoholism throughout their lifetime. Partaking in a meal of salted little owl was also once seen as a cure for gout, madness or epilepsy. Don’t quite fancy it myself!

 

Anyway thanks to…www.planetofbirds.com, www.owlpages.com, www.pauldfrost.co.uk, www.bto.org and finally www.rspb.org.uk for the information and filling the little owl shaped gap in my knowledge!