I write as a spell of typically April weather, sunshine with frequent showers, is sweeping the country. The only thing which is not typical are yet again the temperatures, which are way above the long-term average; by several degrees Celsius in fact. Spring flowers, the birds, the bees and other beasts are rapidly playing catch-up after the severe winter (rapidly becoming a distant memory), whilst a spell of feverish activity is under way in village gardens, and allotments, as the ground is prepared and planted for the growing season.
Musing about our less common birds led me to the fact that it seems a very long time since I saw or heard a little owl. Looking at my records reveals that several years since, whilst I was leading a guided walk along the Brampton Valley Way, not far from home at Brixworth, we heard the long haunting moan of one for several minutes as the darkness gathered. Its far-carrying cry came from some way off, from the village churchyard in fact. Apart from its small size, about the same length as a song thrush, this pint-sized predator is every bit as pugnacious as its larger brethren. It is a specialist eater of worms and beetles, and their remains are to be found in the pellets to be found at roosts and breeding sites.
Pellets are the undigested hard parts of their prey which are regularly, and quite normally, regurgitated by the bird. Brown, rounded, and maybe 15mm or so long, they almost always contain the shiny parts of beetles, while the brown colour is the earth swallowed by the worms they have eaten. Mice, frogs, and small birds are also regularly taken by them.
A nest which I found in a hollow about eight feet up in an old tree held well-grown young. These hissed loudly as I looked at them, and when I put my hand in to fetch one out to look at it, I felt a sharp pain. As I withdrew my hand one of the young had clamped its beak firmly around my little finger. It took some persuading to make it let go so I could return it to the nest-hollow. Serves me right, some would say.
Athene noctua is the scientific name for this species. Athene was the Greek goddess whose name was for ever associated with this bird, while noctua simply means a night bird. Short but very much to the point.
The Little Owl is not native to Britain, but was introduced on several occasions during the nineteenth century. Perhaps the most successful of these was here in Northamptonshire by the Lord Lilford near Oundle. He released about forty birds near his home in 1888, with further birds up to about 1893. By this time they were already well established in the district. From this and other introductions they have become widely distributed over England and Wales, although nowhere could they be described as common. In fact there is some evidence of a decline in their numbers recently, perhaps linked to changes in agriculture. It will be interesting to find out, when the forthcoming atlas of our birds is published in a few years time how their numbers have fared. I suspect that the recent bad weather will not have helped them.
By the end of the month the swallows and martins should be with us, while some of us will be eagerly looking out for the arrival of the swifts, screeching around their nest-sites in our roofs.
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