Long-Eared Owl
Asio otus
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Distribution Britain 445 (-24.6%) Ireland 230 (-33.9%)
Numbers breeding: Britain 2,350 Ireland 2,350 European status: 205,000 (2% in Britain and Ireland) British population trend: contracting and declining How likely are you to record it? 5 squares (0.1%) Ranked 162= [101=] |
The Long-eared Owl is very difficult to find and was not widely recorded until 150 years ago when there seems to have been a widespread increase and range extension in Britain. This may have been due to lack of competition from the bigger, and declining, Tawny Owl and the widespread planting of conifers (where it likes to nest). It is the commonest owl in Ireland, where there are no Tawnies, with 230 occupied squares in the latest Breeding Atlas compared with 185 for Barn Owl — much more conspicuous. There were many less records in the most recent Atlas because of changes in methodology, not necessarily fewer birds. However in Britain, except in the remoter areas where there are isolated conifers, they began to lose out as the Tawny Owl population increased. There are now large areas of England and Wales without recent breeding records — particularly south and west of a line from the Mersey through London. Still on the wane.
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead