Single hen

[MedusA]

Last night I was wakened around 2am by a mysterious noise. It sounded like an owl hooting. Nothing weird in that, you may say, but we live in urban North East Birmingham!

 

It went on for quite a while. I'd have thought it was another one of my bizarre dreams if OH hadn't mentioned it this morning. He heard it too.

 

Owls in the city. Who'd have thought it?

[fluffyfeet]

There was one close to us last night and I also heard it for quite a while one night last week. Kept on doing the twit bit but no answering twoo - yet!

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

That's lovely! I LOVE owls!

[Egluntyne]

We have owls in the wooded area over the fence beyond the bottom of the garden. They often swoop by at dusk and can be heard hooting.

[The Dogmother]

I can hear them in the park at the bottom of the road. Central Banbury, so not exactly Brum, but not rural either. They have bird and owl boxes up down there.

[Cinnamon]

We have them too, but we are very rural here.

There is a big'un nesting in an oak in the bottom of the garden, & we watch him swoop away over the sky - its wonderful.

 

they do getvery loud though, & as we are surrounded by woodland, in the summer when the bedroom windows are open its enough to keep you awake all night

[stoice]

I remember reading an article (Or maybe a jokey tale? ) about a guy in his garden would hear an owl and call to it - the owl called back. He continued to do this for months. Right up until he was talking to a mate who said he was doing the same calling to an owl, then it called back. Turned out they were calling to each other every night!!! Do'h

[dancing cloud]

I get owls in my built-up bit of suburbia too. Mainly just small owls but there's also a very beautiful barn owl on a nearby marsh area

 

I've also seen at least two different species of bats - not sure on type (big one and small one) - and their aerobatic manoeuvres are amazing to watch

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

Love it Stoice!

[stoice]

there's also a very beautiful barn owl on a nearby marsh area

 

A few weeks ago, about 4.30, in Walton-on-the-Naze (Quite close to you I guess DC) we were flying a kite on the green by the tower. We noticed everyone stopped what they were doing and were pointing to the fields of rough grass near a barn behind us. Two beautiful barn owls were out hunting. It's then I realised I've only ever seen them on tv or in a bird sanctuary. They were so graceful. (And larger than you think!) Felt very spoilt that day. Was a joy to watch

[miffy]

We hear Owls regularly and have seen a few, no idea which ones though . Guess thats why our house is called "Owls Leat". We are expecting our bats back in the next couple of months, they have a maternity roost in our Aga Chimney. We will they start having bat evenings, counting them out in the evenings to see how many babies we have!!!

[bellekatz]

I live in urban Manchester and we have Owls too! We are lucky to have a large park opposite ( former home of John Ryland) and meadow land a few 100m away which is the flood plain for the Mersey. We have owls and Bats on the fringes of the park - one early morning I was up taking the dog for a walk and i had one of the cockerals in the park going full belt and an owl hooting gently on the other side of the road! It was fab! We also get woodpeckers and various other animals (including foxes) and we are a designated wildlife corridor!! I love this area!

[A chickychickychick-ENN!!]

Stoice that sounds beautiful!

 

I heard three hoots last night in my urbanish area. Yay! Hadn't heard one for many months. I know they live about three miles away. Beautiful noise!

[Old Speckled Hen]

Two beautiful barn owls were out hunting. It's then I realised I've only ever seen them on tv or in a bird sanctuary. They were so graceful. (And larger than you think!) Felt very spoilt that day. Was a joy to watch

 

That's wonderful. It's amazing how we take our wildlife for granted .. not intentionally perhaps. When I first moved up here we lived in a little cottage by a wood and I used to love listening to the Tawny Owls. Visiting my step daughter in Northwich a large boar badger ran out in front of the car as we left at night time. He was magnificent and just like you Stoice I realised that I hadn't ever seen a wild one before and here he was in the middle of a built-up town. I see wild Roe deer in the fields here (I'm used to seeing Red deer in the London Parks) and whenever I catch sight of them, on an early morning run perhaps, they take my breath away.

[Blackrocksrock]

We hear Owls regularly and have seen a few, no idea which ones though . Guess thats why our house is called "Owls Leat". We are expecting our bats back in the next couple of months, they have a maternity roost in our Aga Chimney. We will they start having bat evenings, counting them out in the evenings to see how many babies we have!!!

 

 

In the last house we lived in we had the largest bat counted population of pipestrelles in Scotland and over in the barns there were long eared bats - the funniest things you ever saw. Would be more wary now of rabies but they are lovely to watch and count.

To go back to owls we had 2 barn owls handed in 1 dead and one dying in the severe snow and frost we had the second one died and they died of hunger - all the mice were under the snow and there was nothing for them to eat. Very sad and one of them had a ring on and we wait to find out where it was rung and when and we will have more of an idea where it came from.

[miffy]

How sad to hear about the Owls !!! I'd never thought about them suffering in cold weather, only considered the garden birds. Do you often take in wild birds?

 

Our bats are pippestrelle, only an average sized roost according to the "bat man" . I cant remember how many we had last year though. They are so amazing to watch!!