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“I think this site is very interesting and is a great thing to do I am sure Don  would be proud” - email from Natalie Bunyan

We have included Don’s notes exactly as he wrote them as reminders for when he was giving slideshows to various bodies. We know that he expanded on these, but we wish to remain true to the original documentation.

Owls and Raptors ...

Young short-eared owl:

1. The nestlings are fed by the female on food brought by the male
2. Leave the nest after about 15 days, and fly about 11 days later.
3. Sometimes there are two broods.
4. Lives almost entirely on voles, mice and rats.
5. Hunts regularly by daylight.
6. It is estimated that a single bird will eat as many as 2,000 voles in four months
7. The “ears” which give the bird its name are merely small tufts of feathers, with no function as hearing organs.

Kestrel:

1. Sometimes referred to as “Windhover”.
2. Probably the most abundant of our native hawks.
3. Often hangs motionless in the sky, hovering with its head to the wind.
4. To hover the kestrel flies forward as fast as the wind blows it back.
5. One shot in Winteringham Churchyard.
6. Common shrews form main food.
7. When seen nodding its head it is measuring distance. A bird cannot move its eyeballs so it moves its head.
8. Nests in a cliff ledge, a tall building, a tree hole or abandoned nests of other birds.
9. Eggs are white with heavy brown markings.
10. It is fully protected by law - the Protection of Birds Act 1954.

Barn owl:

1. The owl that screeches.
2. Experiments have shown that the barn owl can sense its victims in pitch darkness by its sense of hearing.
3. It uses no nesting material but lays its eggs on disgorged pellets.
4. 4-6 eggs in April to May.  Two broods.

Little owl:

1. Introduced from the Continent by Lord Ilford at the end of the 19th century.
2. Often persecuted due to misrepresentation that it lives entirely on pheasant and partridge chicks during their breeding season.  Research has certainly proved this to be entirely unfounded.
3. Its call is a plaintive “kiew-kiew.”
4. Lays 3-5 eggs, April to early May. Incubation is 28 days, and the young fly at about 5 weeks.