Short-eared Owl
This is an adult Short-eared Owl trying to distract us from finding her youngsters which were dispersed and hiding in the deep heather. Ringing birds tells us about their movements, such as the fact that most of our Short-eared Owls move from the hills to the lowlands during winter, but a few move further afield to Ireland and France for example. We also know from ringing that the oldest recorded Short-eared Owl is 6 years, 7 months and 28 days (set in 1963). This is by far the shortest life expectancy of any British owl and probably reflects the fact that it usually nests on grouse moors. By comparison, the current oldest recorded age of the other British Owls are: Little Owl 10 years 11 months, Long-eared Owl 12 years 10 months, Barn Owl 15 years 3 months, Tawny Owl 21 years 10 months.
By contrast, the oldest Short-eared Owl recorded from the USA is 12 years, nearly twice as long. Many thanks to Adrian Dancy for this snippet of information www.flickr.com/photos/24940353@N03
Short-eared Owl
This is an adult Short-eared Owl trying to distract us from finding her youngsters which were dispersed and hiding in the deep heather. Ringing birds tells us about their movements, such as the fact that most of our Short-eared Owls move from the hills to the lowlands during winter, but a few move further afield to Ireland and France for example. We also know from ringing that the oldest recorded Short-eared Owl is 6 years, 7 months and 28 days (set in 1963). This is by far the shortest life expectancy of any British owl and probably reflects the fact that it usually nests on grouse moors. By comparison, the current oldest recorded age of the other British Owls are: Little Owl 10 years 11 months, Long-eared Owl 12 years 10 months, Barn Owl 15 years 3 months, Tawny Owl 21 years 10 months.
By contrast, the oldest Short-eared Owl recorded from the USA is 12 years, nearly twice as long. Many thanks to Adrian Dancy for this snippet of information www.flickr.com/photos/24940353@N03