Little Owl
Athene noctua
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Distribution Britain 1,228 (-11.0%) Ireland 0
Numbers breeding: Britain 9,000 Ireland 0 European status: 250,000 (4% in Britain and Ireland =8) British population trend: some declines likely (+8% CBC){+17%} How likely are you to record it? 195 squares (4.3%) Ranked 87 |
Britain had no native small owls and many attempts were made to introduce Little Owls from more than 150 years ago and two were ultimately successful in Kent (1874-80) and Northamptonshire (1888-90). The birds quickly spread, particularly from the second site, and were aided by further releases. By 1920 they were nearly all over Britain south of the Humber. To the north the gradual expansion took longer. Some birds were reported from Scotland in 1925 but breeding was not recorded until 1958 and the birds remain scarce and almost all in the south-east corner. No breeding has been reported from Ireland. The birds may have suffered a decline from pesticide poisoning in the 1950s and 1960s. The second Breeding Atlas records significant losses from Devon, Cornwall and Lincolnshire whilst the CBC showed an increase in the late 1970s and a fall back to the previous level in the late 1980s. BBS losses of 21% (not significant) in five years are worrying although global warming might help. Further losses seem likely.
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead