Page 6 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #10

WILDMONTH

Seven essential wildlife events to enjoy this

month, compiled by Ben Hoare.

1 | SHORT-EARED OWL
Angels of the north

With long wings beating slowly, in Scotland and northern England,
these owls bring to mind large, pale though numbers fluctuate naturally
moths. Seemingly without any effort, according to the boom-and-bust cycle
they fly low over rough grassland of vole populations. In October many
or saltmarsh, patiently tacking back of our birds head to coasts for the
and forth as they search for voles. In winter, while the rest migrate south as
her recent book Owl Sense (Guardian far as the Mediterranean. Meanwhile,
Faber), Miriam Darlington coined the more of the owls are arriving from
term ‘earsight’ to describe the way in northern breeding grounds in
which owls such as these hunt using Scandinavia. It’s impressive to think
3D mental maps built entirely from that these beautiful birds, with their
sound. When a ‘shortie’ finally hears floaty flight style, are capable of
the faint rustle of tiny paws, it twists crossing the churning brown waters
suddenly, then drops like a stone to of the North Sea.
snatch its hidden prey. Its talons may FIND OUT MORE Watch a
Simon Litten grip fur before it even sees the meal. BTO video about owl identification:
Around 1,400 pairs of short-
eared owls nest in Britain, mostly
bto.org/about-birds/bird-id