Pair of Owls(?) Brittany, France (3 Viewers)

[Maxed]

Hi everyone. Have lived in Brittany in France in the countryside for the past 10 years and regularly sit outside in the evenings(all year around), enjoying everything the day/night has to offer.
On each of the last 3 evenings, just before darkness falls, I have seen a pair of really white, medium sized birds, perched up in trees overlooking my small lake. I have never seen them before, and I assume they are barn owls. My question is could they be anything else?
We hear owls virtually every night, usually tawny owls, but these two are silent up to now. When I tried to get closer last night they flew off, bit returned to a different tree 10 minutes later. Any info appreciated.

 

[nartreb]

Yes, they could be egrets.

Barn owls usually perch low, e.g. on fenceposts.

Egrets usually roost fairly high, and near water. They're also all white (except the legs and bill), compared to barn owls which are brown on the back and the tops of the wings.

 

[Maxed]

Thanks for your reply Nartreb. Just looked up photos of Egrets and are definitely not them. We regularly get herons here, but our two white birds are more of a compact shape. Will try and get photos, but can't get close enough at the moment.

 

[Parryman1]

Little egrets can change there overall appearance of size and shape dramatically by posture alone. Roosting or resting egrets can appear owl sized and shaped particularly if light is poor and show no resemblance to the usual look of a small heron. I would not rule this out as an option

 

[Maxed]

Thanks Parryman. I'm too much of a novice to rule anything in or out. Its just the one occasion when I did see them fly they were very quick. My impression of heron type birds is that they are much slower in flight. I see herons quite often and they seem totally different.
Hopefully I can get some pictures soon and will, with the help of you guys, will get a definitive answer.
Since being here, I've seen many species for the first time and its fascinating to watch them and identify all we have.
This year was only the second time we have had redwings around the garden. Found out they only come here when it is too cold in their native Baltic countries, which explained the 5 year gap in their visits.

 

[nartreb]

How confident are you about their size? If a bird is flapping much faster than expected, it usually means it's smaller than you think. That opens up many possiblities, like an escaped pair of white (domestic) doves, for example. But I still think egrets are the best guess so far, based on the location near water.

 

[markspirito]

Not sure I have ever seen a Pair of Barn owls roosting together, but have seen plenty of Egrets together, and then I have also mis - identified an Egret in flight for a Barn Owl, so it can be confusing sometimes...nice little mystery for you to solve.

Mark

 

[Maxed]

They were back again tonight, but this time a third bird was with them. If you haven't seen two barn owls roosting together Mark, then three together must rule owls out lol.
As far as size, bigger than pigeons but much smaller than the previous herons I've seen
I managed to take some crap photos on my wife's iPad, but I was too far away to take decent ones. They might help you guys, but I still haven't a clue. It is a fun challenge though making me determined to get to the bottom of this.

 

[nartreb]

go ahead and post the photos.

Keep in mind that egrets have about the same wingspan as a barn owl, which makes them about half the size of the larger herons (such as grey heron).

 

[Maxed]

Sorry Nartreb I thought I had. Technophobia I'm afraid. Having trouble here. Can you advise pls?

 

[nartreb]

If you're using the Quick Reply box at the bottom of this thread, hit the "go advanced" button. Look for the paper-clip icon that appears at the top of the Quick Reply box. Click it and upload a file.

(Or, after hitting "go advanced", scroll down a little for "Additional Options", find "Attach Files", should be pretty obvious from there.)

(you may still have trouble if your photo is too large...)

(Also, if you already have the file posted online somewhere, you can just write the URL in a comment.)

 

[Corvus cornix]

Hi,

a couple of pictures to show how surprisingly small Little Egrets can make themselves and how different they can look when roosting

http://www.the-soc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/le43_1.jpg

http://www.chog.org.uk/Features/Features Photos/LE Look at my New Ring.jpg

Cheers

 

[Maxed]

Think that's it!!

 

[Maxed]

Just out of interest, 4 or 5 years ago, I heard a scratching noise in the bottom of my woodburner flue. I realised that it must be a bird of some sort, so I put my hand in and felt claws and feathers. After about 5 minutes of trying to hold the wings against its body so I could pull it through, this little fella popped out.
A very special moment having a baby raptor in my hand. I took him to the door and off he flew no problem.(still don't know what it was). What amazed me when thinking about it afterwards, he/she did not try and bite me once!

 

[nartreb]

Well, I'm pretty sure they're not barn owls. Egret still seems like a good possibility.

Maybe a kestrel for your last photo? Just a guess.

 

[Corvus cornix]

Looks like a young Kestrel (although somewhat sooty).

That sort of thing often seems to happen with young Jackdaws, Starlings etc that like to nest in holes in trees and will use chimneys as a substitute. I'm glad it got away OK, hopefully it's still around somewhere nearby.

Cheers

 

[stevethehydra]

I'm convinced they're Little Egrets - those photos show the exact sort of site that egrets like to roost in, and in the first one I think I can even just about see a typical egret stance with semi-erect neck. Can't imagine anything else all-white that the location and behaviour fits.

 

[Maxed]

Thanks for all your input guys. Assuming then they are egrets and as it is the first time I've seen them, can I expect them to stick around or move on? Why am I only seeing them in the evening?

 

[dantheman]

They're going to roost (sleep) - feeding elsewhere in the day.

Presumably Cattle or Little Egret (or a mix). Perhaps by ditches/water edges for Little, or fields (possibly with cattle) for Cattle or Little.

 

[Maxed]

That's interesting Dantheman, as they appear to be new to my plot and I'm surrounded by fields, ditches, woodland and a lake full of fish, the beggars will probably stick around!!!