Precious Birds: Saving Owls

The Scops Owl is a welcome visitor to Hvar Island every summer. Arriving between the middle of March or beginning of April its persistent single-note call is the hallmark of the warm season. 

Floof ready to fly... Floof ready to fly... Photo: Norman Woollons

Nature lovers on Hvar often go the extra mile to help creatures in need. In June 2024, when donkey saviour Jana Appleyard was told that a baby bird had fallen from its nest near one of the churches in Dol, she immediately went to the rescue. The tiny bundle of feathers was difficult to identify with certainty, but she suspected it was a Scops Owl, and this later proved to be true. Looking after such a frail, helpless little waif was sure to be challenging, with no guarantee that its life could be saved, but Jana rose to the occasion without hesitation.

Baby Floof, June 2024. Photo: Norman Woollons

The feathery bundle was given the name of Floof, and fed a baby diet of mice, ordered from the mainland and diced into tiny pieces for Floof's little beak. Jana's selfless diligent efforts were supported by Norman, also resident in Dol, who did some thorough research into Scops Owls and their needs, and reported on the baby and ts progress in his widely read blog 'Life in a Dol House'.

Baby Floof, happy in the hand. Photo: Norman Woollons

Floof thrived and quickly started to grow. This made it easier to identify the previously anonymous fluffy bundle of feathers with certainty as a Scops Owl. However, she or he? This question could not be solved, as it would require analysis of the bird's feathers - mission impossible on the island.

Floof, 6th July 2024. Photo: Norman Woollons

The experience of watching baby Floof grow and develop led Norman to the idea that it was the perfect opportunity to ring him/her in order to track his/her future movements, as Scops Owl migrations have not been fully investigated to date. However, organising the ring proved impossible, as the major bird  conservation organisations are based in northern Croatia, too far away to coordinate a ringing mission in mid-summer just for one little bird.

Floof, July 6th 2024. Photo: Norman Woollons

 By July 13th Floof was progressing extremely satisfactorily:

Floof growing up. Photo: Norman Woollons

 No longer a little waif fitting into the palm of a hand!

Measuring up. Photo: Norman Woollons

Although Floof was obviously comfortable being handled and living in human company, the instinct to explore the great world beyond and live a bird's life was obviously growing apace alongside Floof's physical development. Before the end of July 2024, Floof was ready to leave, after only a short apprenticeship experimenting with the art of flying. Having flown to freedom without hindrance, Floof came back to base for a 'flying visit', as if to say 'thanks for everything' and then disappeared off into the distance.

Floof, last picture before flying away. Photo: Norman Woollons

As Norman poignantly put it in his blog dated 13th July 2024: "Human summer visitors to the Mediterranean basin will have heard the almost electronic sounding calls of the Scops. However few will have seen one and fewer still will have had the privilege that I have had of having one like Floof on my hand. I have definitely been Floofed!" Looking back over her relationship with Floof, Jana movingly expressed the fondest emotions: "Ah, dear Floof! It all seems like a dream now! He used to come and have a nap with me and cuddle up. So sweet- I hope I see him again, it was such an amazing experience. Even getting up for his 3am feeds!"

It is also true that even at a remove, this exceptionally lovable bird captured the hearts of everyone who followed the story..

Floof's progress was recorded in some charming videos, courtesy of Hvar Digital / Norman Woollons:
 
The care shown by Jana and Norman was rewarded with success which was enjoyed by the numerous well-wishers who followed Floof's story. Many people on Hvar, native islanders and incomers alike, care about the island's birds and wildlife and are concerned about the species losses which are becoming more evident year on year. Tragically, there are people on the island who have no respect or understanding for the island's natural riches. One example is the long-standing tradition of trapping song-birds during their autumn migration, in order to keep them for the rest of their miserable lives in tiny cages, singing their hearts out mourning for their lost freedom. The practice of trapping wildlife was outlawed some years ago, but some islanders still do it. One Saturday afternoon in November 2023,  tourists walking in the hills came across a little bird caught in a trap 
Caught in an illegal trap. Photo: private album
The helpless victim has been identified by experts as a Long-Eared Owl. One wing was injured, probably in its struggles to break free. The tourists contacted the police in Split, knowing that such a trap contravened European laws for the protection of wildlife. They also freed the bird. The Split police informed their colleagues on Hvar, who immediately went with the local vet to rescue the bird and remove the trap. Eco Hvar was told that the bird survived, but no further details of its fate were forthcoming.
Scops Owl, Dol 2017. Photo: Steve Jones
We are glad that more and more people are demonstrating love and care for the environment with its flora and fauna. Visiting and resident bird lovers follow the activities of the island's birds as a measure of the health of the island. When the Scops Owl departs as autumn looms, the haunting lower-pitched call of the Eagle Owl is one of the rare bird sounds breaking the silence of the night. We hope that Floof will be among the returnees next spring, maybe even visiting the kind friends who saved his/her life in Dol!
Scops Owl, Dol, 2017. Photo: Steve Jones
Note: we are grateful to Jana Appleyard and Norman Woollons for saving Floof, and to Steve Jones for helping to identify the bird caught in the illegal trap.
 
  © Vivian Grisogono MA(Oxon) 2024
Nalazite se ovdje: Home Novosti iz prirode Precious Birds: Saving Owls

Eco Environment News feeds

  • The 1,274-hectare Bradford Pennine Gateway links eight nature sites and includes landscape that inspired sisters

    The sweeping landscapes of the Pennines inspired the Brontë sisters, and now those lands are being protected as one of England’s biggest nature reserves.

    A huge new national nature reserve, to be called the Bradford Pennine Gateway, is being announced by the government on Tuesday. It will give Bradford, one of Britain’s largest and most nature-deprived cities, easier and more protected access to green space

    Continue reading...

  • It broke my heart to see a seal so injured by a £1 plastic toy. Now I campaign to ban them – and it has changed my life

    There was an incident seven years ago that changed my life. I saw an adult grey seal with a plastic pink flying ring toy so deeply embedded in her neck that she was practically dead. It was stopping her from feeding because it was digging into her and she couldn’t extend her neck – the wounds were horrific.

    It broke my heart. From that moment on, I became obsessed with seals and protecting them from the dangers of plastic flying rings.

    Continue reading...

  • Bioplastics, heralded for supposedly breaking down more quickly, can cause similar health problems to other plastics

    Starch-based bioplastic that is said to be biodegradable and sustainable is potentially as toxic as petroleum-based plastic, and can cause similar health problems, new peer-reviewed research finds.

    Bioplastics have been heralded as the future of plastic because they break down quicker than petroleum-based plastic, and they are often made from plant-based material such as corn starch, rice starch or sugar.

    Continue reading...

  • Exclusive: Andrew Bowie says Kemi Badenoch could pull UK out of Paris climate agreement

    The Conservative party’s energy spokesperson has attacked leading climate scientists as biased and claimed Kemi Badenoch could take the UK out of the Paris climate agreement.

    Andrew Bowie, the acting shadow secretary for energy, told the Guardian that the target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 – passed into law by Theresa May – was “arbitrary” and “not based on science”.

    Continue reading...

  • Hitchin, Hertfordshire: We have a local speciality here, the rue-leaved saxifrage, poking up in street cracks and wall crannies. It’s worth lying on the pavement for

    I’m a proud member of Happy (the Hitchin association of pavement plant yokels), so-called by my friend Phil, a fellow wildflower enthusiast. You’ll find us roaming the town centre, scanning brick walls and peering into paving crevices on the hunt for the tenacious species that thrive in these oft-overlooked habitats. I had my pavement epiphany a couple of years ago outside the chemist on Hitchin high street when I saw a little lass bending down, scrutinising the paving stones. Her dad soon whisked her away and I went over to look. She’d noticed a community of self-seeded plants growing in a semicircular crack. The diversity of the miniature garden astonished me: mosses, meadow grass, goosegrass, common whitlowgrass, sow thistle, fleabane, and there, among the annual plants and perennial cigarette butts, a seedling with trilobed leaves – a Hitchin speciality – rue-leaved saxifrage (Saxifraga tridactylites).

    Now it’s early May and this three-fingered rock-breaker’s tiny white flowers have opened in the sun, the foliage blushing redder the drier and sunnier its location. Looking closely, you can see sticky hairs lining the fleshy leaves and stems – but be prepared for funny looks if you lie prostrate on the pavement to examine this low-growing annual.

    Continue reading...

  • Sustainable farming initiative is part of payment package that replaced EU’s common agricultural policy

    Ministers wrongly refused nature funding to 3,000 farmers in England when they shut the post-Brexit subsidy scheme, the government has admitted.

    There was anger earlier this year when the environment secretary, Steve Reed, suddenly paused a key post-Brexit farming payments scheme with little information about what would replace it and when.

    Continue reading...

  • Exclusive: Campaigners call for energy profits levy to be made permanent to enable ‘just transition’ from fossil fuels

    Making permanent the UK’s windfall tax on oil and gas producers would generate enough cash to enable North Sea workers to move to green jobs, research has found.

    Cutting current subsidies to fossil fuel producers would free up yet more funds to spend on the shift to a low-carbon economy, according to the report.

    Continue reading...

  • ABC’s The Kimberley showcases rare footage by a crew working alongside Indigenous rangers, traditional owners and scientists

    The Kimberley’s winding ochre gorges, coral sunsets and celadon crocodile-filled rivers feature in a new ABC documentary series about one of Earth’s last great tropical wetlands.

    Filmed on cinema-grade cameras in the remote and vast north-west Australian region, The Kimberleycaptures an intimate portrait of its ancient landscape and offers ecological and cultural insight across three episodes.

    Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

    Continue reading...

  • Under pressure from Reform and from the former PM, Keir Starmer is facing a series of tests of his resolve on green policy

    Populist politicians are striking a chord with the public in their attack on “the green agenda” because they are right – climate policies are elitist. So says the man standing to be the next leader of the Green party in England and Wales.

    “We should all be angry about net zero,” argues Zack Polanski, currently the Greens’ deputy leader. “The poorest people in our society are being expected to step up to tackle the climate crisis. But it’s the government’s fault, not the people’s fault.”

    Continue reading...

  • On the remote Channel Islands, a draw for researchers and divers, preservation has transformed the ecosystem

    Just 14 miles (23km) off the southern California coast lies a vast underwater paradise.

    Giant sea bass the size of grizzly bears and schools of sardines glide together through swirling strands of golden kelp, whose long stalks preside over a world exploding with life and color. Playful harbor seals dance into the depths of undulating pink, green and orange plants, alongside spiny crustaceans and vibrant sea stars that embrace the volcanic rock that slopes to the sandy seafloor.

    Continue reading...

Novosti: Cybermed.hr

Novosti: Biologija.com

Izvor nije pronađen