Long Eared Owls.
03rd June 2022
Long Eared Owls according to established records are thinly distributed across the island of Lesvos. This is I’m sure quite correct and they are therefore reasonably difficult to locate, but they do favour Eucalyptus and Corsican Pine trees for roosting and breeding purposes. Therefore, these trees should be the first places to look for them during the daytime. In addition Eucalyptus is also a reliable tree for finding Scops Owl.
Skalla Kalloni is the place most birders use as their base when visiting Lesvos and there is a site about a mile away where for years Long Eared Owls have been reliable but a few years ago the Eucalyptus trees there, which make up most of the site were what can only be described as butchered. Thankfully after about five years the trees are starting to recover and it looks good habitat for these secretive owls once again.
That aside these owls can be seen in the most unlikely of places and there was a female and two chicks reported roosting in a Corsican Pine next to a very busy road on the outskirts of Kalloni, which is the main town which presumably gives Skalla Kalloni its name. A few people went to try and see them and the following day we had a look and typically they were obscured by foliage, in my experience these owls do like a few leaves or twigs in front of them when they roost.
I managed a few record shots of them but it was always going to be difficult especially with my Sigma’s lack of focal length. Nevertheless it is always nice to see these secretive owls.
Those orange eyes are typical of a night hunting owl.
What is presumably a female.
Skalla Kalloni is the place most birders use as their base when visiting Lesvos and there is a site about a mile away where for years Long Eared Owls have been reliable but a few years ago the Eucalyptus trees there, which make up most of the site were what can only be described as butchered. Thankfully after about five years the trees are starting to recover and it looks good habitat for these secretive owls once again.
That aside these owls can be seen in the most unlikely of places and there was a female and two chicks reported roosting in a Corsican Pine next to a very busy road on the outskirts of Kalloni, which is the main town which presumably gives Skalla Kalloni its name. A few people went to try and see them and the following day we had a look and typically they were obscured by foliage, in my experience these owls do like a few leaves or twigs in front of them when they roost.
I managed a few record shots of them but it was always going to be difficult especially with my Sigma’s lack of focal length. Nevertheless it is always nice to see these secretive owls.
Those orange eyes are typical of a night hunting owl.
What is presumably a female.