Atkinson et al. 2006

Home > Research > Publications 2006 > Abstracts

Freeman, S.N., Balmer, D.E. & Crick, H.Q.P. 2006. On the censusing of Tawny owls Strix aluco . Bird Census News 19: 58-62

Abstract

As part of a major investigation into the distribution, abundance and ecology of Tawny Owls Strix aluco in Great Britain, in late 2005 we carried out a tape-playback programme at a number of sites known to host the species.

Numbers of most common terrestrial birds in the UK have been well-monitored since the 1960s via the Common Birds Census and, later, the Breeding Bird Survey, either individually or together. Their timing during the day is such, however, that these multi-species surveys do not well accommodate nocturnal species, of which the Tawny Owl is the most common. For all its public familiarity and popularity, changes in the distribution and population of the Tawny Owl are poorly known. Evidence from the Breeding Bird Survey suggests something of a decline since 1994 and the atlas surveys of birds in Britain and Ireland suggest an 11% reduction in range between 1968-72 and 1988-91. In 2005 the BTO organized a National Survey of Tawny Owls, that was the largest and most comprehensive for the species ever undertaken, and full results will be published separately. As the survey was carried out by volunteers listening after dark for calling territorial owls, the likelihood of detection by this means is crucial, and is the subject of the present note.

Back to Publications 2006 Page

© British Trust for Ornithology
BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU
Tel: +44 (0)1842 750050 Fax: +44 (0)1842 750030 Email: info@bto.org
Registered Charity Number 216652. This page last updated: 22 May, 2008