With the forcast for yesterday evening looking good - clear and dry with little wind, I took the opportunity to do the first of my BTO Tawny Owl survey. Expectation was high as my local pair have been quite vocal over the last couple of weeks, with the female calling from across the road as early as 9:15 pm earlier this week.
The survey spot was at the edge of Treharris park, a site where i've recorded Tawny's before. I arrived a bit before 9pm so I sat by the bandstand till it got a bit darker. There were a couple of bats flying around. I initially assumed they would be Pips, but as they flew round I noted 3 different sizes. One or two were tiny and clearly Pips. One looked to be about half as large, and flew with a similar fast, eratic, flight of the Pips. The last species was larger still, I estimated it was about twice the size of the Pips. It's flight was also very different, shallower wing beats with a bit of gliding. Looking at the literature I suspect this may have been a Greater Horseshoe. Must get a decent bat detector!
Alas, despite doing three 10 minute counts, no Tawny Owls were recorded.
The survey spot was at the edge of Treharris park, a site where i've recorded Tawny's before. I arrived a bit before 9pm so I sat by the bandstand till it got a bit darker. There were a couple of bats flying around. I initially assumed they would be Pips, but as they flew round I noted 3 different sizes. One or two were tiny and clearly Pips. One looked to be about half as large, and flew with a similar fast, eratic, flight of the Pips. The last species was larger still, I estimated it was about twice the size of the Pips. It's flight was also very different, shallower wing beats with a bit of gliding. Looking at the literature I suspect this may have been a Greater Horseshoe. Must get a decent bat detector!
Alas, despite doing three 10 minute counts, no Tawny Owls were recorded.
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