European Eagle Owl Lost

[porshiepoo]

:~( One of our european eagle owls has managed to escape from his aviary, has anyone spotted any sightings? He's lost from Lybster and he is ringed. He's not very friendly so we advise no one to attempt to catch him if he is sighted. Any info please call the following number as we are extremely worried.
07886597232 / claxson@btinternet.com

[kas]

Hope it comes home when it is hungry.

If you telephone Caithness FM on Thurso 890000 They will mention it there too.

I really hope you find it, let us know if you do.

[porshiepoo]

Thanks for your support, it makes such a difference to know that people are helping to keep an eye out for him. It doesn't look as though he's gonna come back for food and because he's not very friendly we're hoping this will hold him in good stead and keep him away from populated places.
Thanks again for taking the time to post your support
porshiepoo

[Rheghead]

I have just started Bird watching at Thurso night class so I have looked them up and will be on the look out.

I hope you get it back.

[carasmam]

Would he stay near his aviary or come home to roost? A bird that size could cover a fair distance, or not??

[porshiepoo]

Hi,
Thanks again for all the interest.
Yes he is a big bird and although we hope the fact that he's not tame will keep him away from populated places it also means he probably doesn't feel the need to hang around here. he's been gone a few days now and he was sighted the next day on the fence post here but got scared off and he's not been seen since. The problem we have is that there is a rookery right next door and although he's a big bird he'll still probably get mobbed by the rooks and probably many other birds, which in turn means he'll fly off. Luckily his jesses are not tied which means he shouldn't get caught up in trees. Whether he can manage to survive himself in the wild we don't know but hopefully instinct will kick in and hunger will encourage him to look for prey.

[Liz]

I really, really hope you do get him back!

I had a look on the internet and they are magnificient looking birds.

I notice that rabbits and foxes are amongst their prey. Should pet owners be worried?! :roll:

I live a fair distance from Lybster but will still keep a look out for him.

Good luck!

[porshiepoo]

HI,
Yes they are very big birds and are capable of taking cats and probably small dogs but theres plenty of rabbits and fox around at the moment so if he's still alive hopefully thats what he's managing to prey on. The poor thing is used to dead carcass so we've got an awful he may actually have either starved or been killed. Although he had a huge aviary he spent most of the time hiding in the long grassy areas so if thats what he's taken to doing out there then theres a fair chance something may even have killed him.
Fingers crossed he's ok and thank you all again for your help and support.

[Liz]

Oh that's awful the poor thing! :(

I know how worried you must be and, again, very much hope you find him soon.


Liz

[George Brims]

Why do you have an Eagle Owl? Do you run a a sanctuary or something?

Perhaps if he wanders as far as Castletown he can dine on that highly coloured escapee from there?

[Rheghead]

George you rotter!! :)

[Beppo91]

hi i will keep a look out for the poor thing and i will spread the word around i live a few miles away from lybster so we might get lucky :D

[Rheghead]

Did anyone watch the documentary tonight about Eagle owls?

There is a breeding pair in Yorkshire and they are tipped to spread to other parts of UK. They just need cliffs and plenty of rabbits which puts Caithness on the EO's des res list.

[porshiepoo]

I know alot of people will probably be against them setting up home here but I think it would be great.
They're not the lamb killers that alot of people would think that they are, the documentary showed quite well that they survive on rabbits.
The odd cat may have gone missing too and I'm not dismissing that as not important but I think they'd be more likely to take a fox.
Having said that, our escapee would never have survived. He'd all but given up and stood in the middle of the road on a suicide mission. Freedom wasn't exactly what it's cracked up to be.

But where do all those youngsters go from the yorkshire pair. There have been 23 of them and while they know that 1 got killed, there was no mention of any others. Maybe they migrate to sweeden, they did say their numbers were increasing over there at the same time!

[Tugmistress]

i take it your escapee was brought home head under wing?

used to keep bengals and europeans, only pic i have is the one we didn't rehome when we moved in to city (YUK) as she was on her last legs

this is aggie, the european eagle owl

http://www.tugmistress.co.uk//images//agie02.jpg

http://www.tugmistress.co.uk//images//agie01.jpg

[porshiepoo]

Great pics Tugmistress!
Nothing quite like feeding time with Eagle owls eh!

Yes Tommy was caught. The local bobby and the Balmore inspector did a fantastic job of catching him. Thankfully it was the bobby that saw him first as he was in the middle of the road, but alls well that ends well.
His girlfriend Izzy was mighty glad to get him back too.

[Rheghead]

Was he a 'hobby' bobby that caught the bird?