How to find owls ? (1 Viewer)

[albatross02]

Hello,

in the last 7 years I found only one owl by myself.

Another 2 I saw because other people recommended me the place where they live.

How is the best method to find owls by myself ?
e.g. night activ owls
or dawn activ owls like Pygmy Owl which should not so rare in the Alps

Which is the best time ( day, month ) and conditions to find owls ?

Best regards
Dieter

 

[den mather]

owls

Hello Dieter
I am no expert but I have found owls locally (Sumava/Bohmerwald Cz Rep) by playing a cd of their calls. I repeat the calls 3 times and listen for a few minutes and repeat if necessary. If an owl responds I dont play the cd again since I only want to see if they are in the area, not stress them. Ater a while you can imitate some owls eg Pygmy and Tengmalms (it helps me to bounce up and down doing Tengm hoots). Some owls stop responding here by early May so start looking as soon as you can get into the woods after spring starts and dont be surprised if you cant find any in June! I look for Pygmy at dusk then Tengm 1 hour later as it gets dark then others through the night. Here, Quarries are good for EagleO, semi clearings in firs for Pygmy and areas with Black Woodies eg beech for Tengm and Ural.
Xeno-Canto is a good source for calls too.
Hope you find lots next spring, best of luck.
den

 

[StarainBoy]

Ooh, I've just posted this over on Surfbirds but I think the technique should work just as well in Europe...

"...actually 'seeing' tawny owls during the day is to listen out for agitated mixed-species flocks. Usually you can't find the source of the excitement; sometimes it's a cat, squirrel or sparrowhawk and sometimes it's yourself. But sometimes it's a tawny."