Tawny owl

swifts need our help!

Amazingly a Tawny owl has turned up in the grounds of Castle Ward in County Down http://nibirds.blogspot.co.uk/

Birdnuts

It would be nice to see these birds estaiblish themselves over here like the Woodpeckers have done:)

cuddlycavies

The absence of voles here might be an impediment

OpenYourEyes

They'd be a lovely bird to be able to add to our avian fauna alright, but given the lack of voles here and the extreme rarity of wild birds being recorded on this side of the Irish Sea I can't see it happening naturally.

And I wouldn't want it to happen because of captive birds being released either.

...I'd rather see those 2 Snowy Owls we've had for the past couple of years meet up and decide to breed instead! :P

Desmo

It is indeed a fantastic record. I saw a cracking photo by Craig Nash. The silence at night is one of the most striking things about moving back to Ireland, after being abroad (lived in Germany and England; holidays all over). Apart from the odd grasshopper warbler or natterjack toad, Ireland is nearly silent at night. Most other countries have owls going hooooooo hoooooooooooooooooooooooo somewhere or cicadas or frogs or something loud at night. If Tawny Owls did establish, hey would be heard easily; that was how this one was found, I think. You can hear it from a long way off.

Birdnuts

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

They'd be a lovely bird to be able to add to our avian fauna alright, but given the lack of voles here
! :P

I believe the bank vole has now established itself over most of Munster and large parts of Leinster. It has become quiet an important element of the diet of the likes of barn owls and buzzards in these areas according to ongoing research by various Irish raptor experts.

Birdnuts

Desmo wrote: »

It is indeed a fantastic record. I saw a cracking photo by Craig Nash. The silence at night is one of the most striking things about moving back to Ireland, after being abroad (lived in Germany and England; holidays all over). Apart from the odd grasshopper warbler or natterjack toad, Ireland is nearly silent at night. Most other countries have owls going hooooooo hoooooooooooooooooooooooo somewhere or cicadas or frogs or something loud at night. If Tawny Owls did establish, hey would be heard easily; that was how this one was found, I think. You can hear it from a long way off.

How very true - I'm sure it was not always like this though. Prior to the intensification of agriculture in the 60's, summer nights would have been filled with the sounds of Corncrakes, nightjars, crickets etc.

OpenYourEyes

Birdnuts wrote: »

I believe the bank vole has now established itself over most of Munster and large parts of Leinster. It has become quiet an important element of the diet of the likes of barn owls and buzzards in these areas according to ongoing research by various Irish raptor experts.

True! And Kestrels and Long-Eared Owls too I think! Just looking at the distribution map for Bank Voles and they're more widely distributed than I had thought (roughly a third of the country). I also thought they might prefer field and/or common voles to bank voles, but they seemingly can do ok with whatever one is available!

That being said, I still think the extreme shortage of vagrants, and the need for a good bit of luck even if there was a steady supply of vagrants, will mean that we won't be seeing them establish any time soon unless they are 'helped', which they shouldnt be.

A quick check on Irish Birding and there's way more Snowy Owls. Black Kites, Hobbys, Red-Footed Falcon, Marsh Harrier, Rough-legged Buzzard, Montagu's Harrier, Gyrfalcon, Ospreys etc. that turn up in Ireland during spring/summer than there are Tawnys, and none of them (bar maybe one) have ever bred here. So I think this Tawny Owl is at best a novel vagrant (though still possibly an escapee) rather than the start of anything 'more'.

Desmo

Birdnuts wrote: »

How very true - I'm sure it was not always like this though. Prior to the intensification of agriculture in the 60's, summer nights would have been filled with the sounds of Corncrakes, nightjars, crickets etc.

Good point; corncrakes certainly make a racket at night. Crickets would make a noise inddors (domestic ones) but the outdoor Irish ones are pretty quiet.

snowstreams

cuddlycavies wrote: »

The absence of voles here might be an impediment

Could they not live off hunting rats and mice instead over here?