Every so often we go on a little night drive around the area to look for owls, and any- and everything else active after dark. Buffy fish-owls are the commonest owl encountered. Most other nocturnal species seem to occur only in low numbers. There is however a good species diversity and there is always a chance to encounter something special.
When we went on a short night drive last Thursday we had two great finds. The first owl we picked up was an Oriental bay owl. After listening to the distinctive calls from two individuals for a good 20 minutes one of the owls finally showed itself.
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| Oriental bay-owl (Phodilus badius). |
This is a tricky species to see and it was definitely a good feeling to finally get a visual of this beautiful little owl.
The evening had more in store! A kilometer or so down the road we picked up two reddish scops owls in duet across the road. And we soon located out this little fellow.
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| Reddish scops-owl (Otus rufescens). |
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| Reddish scops-owl (Otus rufescens). |
Another little owl that is rarely seen. While this species is more often heard than the oriental bay owl, I have only had one very frustrating little glimpse before last nights encounter. No Buffy fish-owls this evening, but its two smaller cousins more than compensated!
Folkert, 04/05/2013.
