The first Long-eared Owl nest of the Duhallow Project was located on Thursday. Two female Long-eared Owls had responded to taped calls during the first element of the survey in March (see this post HERE), in a woodland area near Newmarket. However, when our surveyors returned to the area in daylight, they could find no sign of the nest, despite searching the patch of forest in minute detail for several hours (see the post below). Another visit, another fruitless search, but once the sun went down, a female started calling nearby from a large nest of twigs (they usually take over an old crows nest), about 10 metres (30 feet) high in a Sitka Spruce. Our surveyors had missed the nest by only a few feet. Although the female called regularly from the nest, there was no calls from any chicks. Most likely she is still sitting on eggs. We hope to examine this nest (under licence) in the near future, and will keep you posted.
