Raptor Politics

Eurasian Eagle Owl – Update.

We have enclosed a claim made in the Collins Bird Guide, first edition (1999) and repeated again in the new updated second edition published January 2010.

“Only a hand full of genuine records in Britain, all in the 19th Century.”

Collins Bird Guide, described as the user Bible for dedicated birders both the UK and [...]

I don’t consider myself an expert on Eagle Owls by any stretch but we monitored them here regularly for 9 years and when I was stationed in Germany over 25 years I knew several nests and helped put up artificial breeding platforms for them in conifer trees which were successful.

No-one could ever say that Eagle Owls don’t take other avian species because clearly they do.  But on Sennelager Training area in Nordrhein Westphalia they nested quite successfully in an area where we controlled annually ca 30 Red Kite nests and 22 Goshawk nests.  In that same area bred Osprey, Black Stork, Peregrine, White Stork, endless numbers of Buzzards, Honey Buzzards, Short-eared Owls and Bittern (to name only a few).  The numbers and variety of species there was far superior to what we find here in the UK and the birds seemed to survive without any obvious evidence of conflict.  From time to time I witnessed aerial stand-offs, but that is common in many raptor species.

Continue reading Eagle Owl: A Personal Perspective by Major Anthony Crease, Retd.

After reviewing the detail enclosed within the UK non-native organism risk assessment scheme 3.3. document, on behalf of the North West Raptor Group, we wish to place our concerns on record. In particular we strongly object to a number of unscientific and unsupported opinions/conjecture enclosed within the document. For example the Eurasian eagle owl is being classified as an alien species throughout the United Kingdom. There is no supporting scientific evidence for this claim what so ever.
Continue reading Eagle Owls – Response to FERA “Risk Assessment” by North West Raptor Group

We are able to report today the Eagle Owl debate is now under the spotlight having been brought to the top of the birding political agenda. You may be interested to learn Raptor Politics has, within the last two days, just discovered that FERA, for several weeks, have been in the process of carrying out a public [...]

In April 2010, Eagle Owls will be included in the newly revised Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in England and Wales. Doubtless at some point the necessary legislative steps will make the revisions applicable in Scotland too. The overall provisions ban the sale of certain species and make it an offence to release into the wild any animal, or plant, that is not indigenous to Britain. A proven offence against the provisions carries a possible two year jail sentence or a £5000 fine. Continue reading Eagle Owl Concerns