The Largest Collection of Owls in the World

 
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"SUCH A WONDERFUL AND UNIQUE PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT WILDLIFE!"

senninhasenninha, tripadvisor.co.uk

 
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100+ OWLS FROM
AROUND THE WORLD

DAILY ALL-WEATHER
FLYING DISPLAYS

HANDS-ON
EDUCATION FEATURES

HOLD AN OWL FOR A PHOTO

ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND

PICNIC AREA

GIFT SHOP

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FACE TO FACE

Now you can meet face to face the birds that you've only heard as a distant Twit-Twoo. From the giant Siberian Eagle Owl to the tiny Scops Owl you can learn about their habits and habitats and how to help in their conservation. Let these awesome creatures inspire you to make a difference.

 

"WOW, WOW AND WOW AGAIN!!"

C. Kiddell, Somerset

 
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CONNECT WITH US

Tawny Owl populations in the UK have plunged into a decline. Their status changed very recently from green to amber, which caused the BTO to launch their 'Tawny Owl Calling Survey'. This involves members of the public who take part being assigned a 'tetrad' (green area, potential habitat) which is visited for just 20 minutes to listen for any calling Tawny Owls. You can repeat the process as often or as little as you choose over subsequent weeks, 20 mins is the minimum. You record a tiny little bit of data and forward this to BTO. Through this survey, BTO hope to be able to plot a population map to determine just how concerning the Tawny Owl decline is and get a better handle on the distribution of owls left in the UK. For more information, visit BTO's website and search 'Tawny Owl Calling Survey'. Or you can Google 'BTO Tawny Owl'. Some of our staff and volunteers at the Centre have already been taking part and the survey runs till March 31st 2019. A small effort like this done by a lot of people can make all the difference to conservation of these beautiful birds in the wild 🦉 #tawnyowl #btotawnyowlcallingsurvey #callingsurvey #btotawnyowl #projectowl #btosurvey #strixaluco #conservation #littlethingsmakeadifference #birdsofprey #owls #owlsoftheworld #britishowls #scottishowlcentre When rainy days equal bath days, and bath days equal some very funny owl faces 😂 #soggyowls #bathdayforowls #owlsoftheworld #owls #scottishowlcentre #southernboobookowl #africanwoodowl #northernhawkowl #ninoxboobook #strixwoodfordii #surniaulula #birdsofprey #bathday More feather focus 😊 These have all been moulted by our female Snowy Owl, Fetlar🦉Research into owl feather properties has suggested that paler toned feathers possess better insulating traits than richer tones like browns. One study hypothesises that white feather pigment might be better at trapping and retaining heat than other pigment tones 🤔 So Snowy Owls aren't just white for camouflage purposes! Evolution is a fascinating thing ☺ #snowyowl #feathers #buboscandiacus #featherpigmentation #feathercolours #evolution #owls #owlfeathers #scottishowlcentre #featherstudy #incredibleowls Northern Hawk Owls are an example of an owl species whose population numbers are constantly fluctuating from year to year dependent on how successful a year vole populations have had. Their clutch and brood sizes correlate to the vole numbers. However, they have an advantage over other owl species in similar predicaments. The Hawk Owl is one of few owl species who have the speed and agility required to catch birds in flight🦉In years where their diet is short on voles, pellet studies have revealed that the remainder is supplemented by wild bird prey 🙂 #northernhawkowl #surniaulula #hawkowl #birdsofprey #speed #agility #owlsoftheworld #owlsofthenorth #raptors #scottishowlcentre #owl #diet
Is that a jack-owl-lantern? 😝 (the options for bad Halloween owl puns are endless! 😂 🙈) Sheila the Southern BOObook Owl wishes everyone a happy Owloween! 🦉🕷🦇 This amazing photo of her was taken by Katielee Arrowsmith© and the pumpkin was carved by one of our Keepers at the Centre 🎃 #halloween #southernboobookowl #ninoxboobook #owloween #jackolantern #pumpkincarving #pumpkin #halloweenowl #owlsoftheworld #owlsofinstagram #happyhalloween #scottishowlcentre #birdsofprey #spooky #spookyowl #pumpkinowl #allhallowseve #houlet #owl #owls #takeoff Mel, our Melanistic Barn Owl, was very impressed with his spooky new perch today 🎃 Getting into the Halloween spirit for tomorrow 🦉Owls have been an object of fascination to humans for years, and are one of the creatures prominently associated with Halloween due to many of them being nocturnal. Stories spoke of the night bird, the witch's familiar, the screeching houlet... Too many legends to name 😋 #owls #halloween #melanisticbarnowl #tytoalba #owlsofinstagram #pumpkin #pumpkincarving #scottishowlcentre #houlet #ngihtbird #nocturnalcreatures #owlsoftheworld #birdsofprey #barnowl Definitely felt like she was judging me when I took this photo 😂 Our recently arrived female Tengmalm's Owl seems to be settling in well with our male. The two can be seen perching together and choosing to sit close within each other's company🦉So glad we were finally able to source a female this year to enable us to set up a pair of these stunning little predators 😍 #tengmalmsowl #borealowl #owl #owlsoftheworld #raptors #birdsofprey #aegoliusfunereus #scottishowlcentre #tinyraptor #owls #pair Sheila, the Southern Boobook, has her eye on something... 😍 Many of the owls whose primary diet is insect prey are far more visual hunters, as opposed to responding to audio cues like many of the small mammal specialist owls🦉Her hearing is still very good but she's often looking more for sights than sounds 😊 A clue to look for that can help deduce whether the owl relies more on eyes than ears, is how much space the eyes take up in the skull 👀 If the bird has a huge head with tiny eyes in comparison, it's all about the hearing - whereas Sheila here has big saucerplate eyes framed by a very petite little head 😋 #southernboobook #ninoxboobook #owls #owlsoftheworld #owlsofinstagram #owlsofaustralia #birdsofprey #accutesenses #hearingvseyesight #scottishowlcentre #raptors Although the patterning on each can exhibit similarities, the shapes can vary dramatically dependent on which part of the owl they've come from🦉Owls have 10 primary wing feathers along the edge of the wing, which contribute massively to their silent flight with the serations along the feather edges 😊 These feathers have all come from Tony our Tawny Owl, during his annual moults #tawnyowl #strixaluco #owl #feathers #moult #primaryfeathers #owlsofinstagram #beautiful #owlsoftheworld #scottishowlcentre #owlsofbritain #owlsofeurope Our Band-Bellied Owl pair basking in the waning sunlight yesterday 😊 The low sunlight really highlights the subtle colour tones in their plumage 🦉#bandbelliedowl #pulsatrixmelanota #owls #eveningsun #beautiful #owlsoftheworld #owlsofsouthamerica #raptors #birdsofprey #scottishowlcentre #owlsofinstagram #owl New arrival at our Centre this week 😊 He's a young male Tawny Frogmouth who we're hoping could be a potential mate for our resident female, Jessie 🙂 Although more closely related to nightjars than owls, due to their looks, colouring and nocturnal behaviour they are often mistaken for being one. Frogmouths, however, aren't raptors. They don't hunt and kill their prey with their feet. Instead, they use those big, powerful beaks to beat their prey to death 🙂 #tawnyfrogmouth #youngster #newarrival #notanowl #scottishowlcentre #nightjars #birdsofinstagram #birdsoftheworld #nocturnal Our Indian Eagle Owl pair have been showing some courtship behaviour recently 😊 It is coming in to their usual nesting period, since most of her previous owlets have hatched on New Year's 😊 She takes some convincing each year, the male has to prove he'll still make an awesome dad - but he normally wins her over after a couple weeks! 😋 #indianeagleowl #bubobengalensis #nestingseason #courtship #owls #owlsoftheworld #owlsofinstagram #birdsofprey #raptors #scottishowlcentre Little Owls were artificially introduced into the UK by a rich, English nobleman/ornithologist in the 19th century. Lord Thomas Powys, 4th Baron of Lilford captured and brought a small population across seas from Europe which he then released onto his estate grounds in England. He thought they would be a useful, ecological introduction into the British countryside to act as natural insect pest control on his land. Since then, their population initially flourished as they expanded across England - but then plummeted in more recent years. Unfortunately, they are not granted conversation status here in the UK as they are not considered a native species. Therefore, there is little in the way of conversation work being done to help stabilise or supplement their wild population. This seems a little unfair, as it wasn't by choice that they ended up in a place where they didn't naturally belong. They've survived this long, it would be nice to see more being done to give them a better chance at continuing to survive here in the UK. They'll hopefully always have a place in breeding programmes like ours in various Centres across Europe and the UK. It may well end up being their final hope further down the line🦉 #littleowl #athenenoctua #owls #tinymurderbird #artificialintroduction #owlsoftheworld #britishowls #lordpowys #lilford #conservation #survivor #birdsofprey #scottishowlcentre #breedingprogramme Alicanto, the Magellanic Horned Owl, had his first adventure out in the country park today 😍 He loved it! Was incredibly curious, watching everything and looking completely at home 😊 Looking incredibly handsome, too!🦉#magellanichornedowl #magellanhornedowl #bubomagellanicus #countrypark #nature #owl #owlsoftheworld #owlsofsouthamerica #owlsofinstagram #raptor #birdsofprey #scottishowlcentre Sleepy Southern Boobook Owl, the male from our pair at the Centre🦉In as many of our flying displays as we can, we try to include simple things that anyone could do in their everyday lives that can help owls out in the wild. We heard that in Australia, predation by domestic cats has a significant effect on the wild Boobook Owl populations. Of course we can't blame our cats 🐈 Just like the owls, they are predators and hunting is in their nature... But there are little things that human owners of those cats can do to help. One solution is to keep your cat indoors overnight. Another would be to put bells on their collars, so that the owls are more likely to hear them approaching and have time to flee to safety. Both of these things are easy for us to do and apply not just to Boobook Owls in Australia, but to many species of smaller owls across the world 🙂 Little things done by lots of people really can make a difference 😊 #owls #boobookowl #ninoxboobook #owlsofinstagram #owlsoftheworld #makingadifference #helpwildlife #raptors #owlsoftheworld #scottishowlcentre #predators Our female Western Screech Owl, Black Widow. In the wild, these owls nest in tree cavities, often cavities that have been excavated by woodpeckers ☺🦉#westernscreechowl #megascopskennicottii #owl #owlsofinstagram #weeowls #owlsoftheworld #raptor #birdsofprey #nature Tomsk, our Ural Owl, is coming back into training for our upcoming winter flying season 😊🦉She's a tiny little bit distracted, but for her first sessions back she's transitioning back into the mindset fantastically well ☺ #uralowl #strixuralensis #owl #owlsofinstagram #owlsoftheworld #owlsofthenorth #training #flyingdisplays #owls #scottishowlcentre #birdsofprey #raptor We are currently taking care of a wild Tawny Owl who fell victim to a road traffic accident and was left for dead at the side of a road near the borders. He looks just like our resident Tawny Owl, Tony, who features in the photo. The Scottish Owl Centre isn't really a rescue Centre, our collection consists of healthy breeding pairs of owls who are part of our conservation breeding programme. We simply don't have the space, resources or facilities available to us at the minute to be a rescue centre, unfortunately. However, occasionally, injured owls have been brought to us by concerned members of the public and of course we would never turn them away. The vet has diagnosed the wild Tawny, he has suffered severe head trauma and is currently suffering from loss of sight due to swelling in the head behind the eyes. We have been feeding and supplementing the owl, keeping him rested and safe as he recovers. Hopefully, if the swelling goes down, he will recover his sight. One eye on the direct hit side is still swollen tightly shut, but we are encouraged after Keeper Lauren and Volunteer Ruth checked pupil response in the open eye this morning and his pupil was observed dilating and contracting. If we can be sure the bird returns to full fitness and can survive re-release, we have detailed notes of exactly where the Tawny was found by the borders and we will be able to return and release him back into his home environment. Apart from the head trauma, the wild owl is fully fit and healthy (which it proved when it caught Keeper Lauren with strong talons!) We've named him Spartacus due to how feisty he is 😛 Fingers crossed for Spartacus🤞🏻#tawnyowl #strixaluco #rescue #wildrescue #owl #owlsoftheworld #scottishowlcentre #rehabilitation Working with animals will always be a rollercoaster of ups and downs. Inevitably, there will be times when the animals in your care give you scares, worry, stress and also heartbreak. No creature is immune to ailment and there will always be moments in your career where one of your animals falls ill. My latest heart attack inducing moment has come from Eretria, our Little Owl who has taken ill. Her symptoms were extreme loss of appetite, lack of energy, loss of alertness and slight swelling of her cloaca (rear passage). Keeper Lauren suspected an underlying infection and so Eretria was rushed to the vet. The vet confirmed that it was likely just that, essentially, the owl equivalent of a urinary tract infection in humans. The cause of this would be bacteria entering the cloaca which, after doing some research, we discovered can be caused by an owl sitting on their food (mantling, or potentially sitting on top of a stash in a nest) Cases of such an infection have been observed in both wild birds of prey and captive ones, salmonella from their raw prey has entered their body through the rear passage. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, birds of prey are designed with natural defences against such bacteria given that their diet consists purely of raw meat. The issue can arise if a bird has moulted out the feathers that usually protect that area all at once, which young, inexperienced birds might do. That's what Tria has done and made herself vulnerable to the infection. Luckily, Tria has been prescribed antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory and is under direct, around the clock care as she recovers at my home. I'm so happy say that after a couple of days on her antibiotics course, she seems to be doing much better ☺ Her appetite is returning, her energy levels are rising and she's looking much brighter and like her usual murderous self 😛 Hopefully, her condition continues to climb as her antibiotic course continues to its end and we get our feisty, tiny murderbird back to full health🤞🏻#littleowl #athenenoctua #owls #owlbiology #scottishowlcentre #owlsoftheworld #owlsofinstagram #health
 
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