The baby Long-eared Owl has been sent out for release at a local nature reserve.
At the weekend, Jess and Tim met Sarah from Suffolk Wildlife Trust to build our Owlet hack pen at a secret location. Although Long-eared Owls aren’t rare in East Anglia, with a stronghold in Thetford Forest, they can be sensitive to disturbance, particularly during the breeding season.
This Long-eared Owlet was found on the reserve and we suspect that it had been pulled from the nest by a predator then dropped. After a couple of days in our care, it showed itself to be a fighter and we were keen to get it back into the wild as soon as possible.
The hack pen was built by one of our volunteers on site, then transported to the release site. It took Jess and Tim some time to attach the legs and get the pen into the correct location. It is situated on the edge of a dense woodland and an open heath, which provides the perfect habitat for Long-eared Owls to roost and hunt in.
The Owlet was then transferred into the hack pen where it will stay for a few days before the hatch is opened, allowing it to explore freely. Sometimes this process can be instantaneous as the birds fly out as soon as they are released and never return. Other times the birds may feel safe in their hack pen and remain local to it for a week or so before venturing further afield.
Sarah will install a remote camera at the release site to monitor this little one over the next few days and once it’s released, so we’ll share the footage when we receive it.
This hack pen, was built using materials funded by the Lord Belstead Charitable Trust, Geofffrey Burton Charitable Trust and Mrs L D Rope Charitable Trust and we are very grateful for this support.