If someone says,
“Let’s go and look for a little owl,” you rarely see this at first glance! It would be nice, but first of all this is a photo taken with a decent zoom and second of all, you need to know where to look.
This is why we decided to take our Discoverers on an Owl Search at dusk.
Although little owls are DIURNAL (they are active during the day, unlike tawny owls who are NOCTURNAL, mostly active at night), we decided to increase our chances and go out at dusk, when the park is quieter, to try and find them.
So what do you look for?…You look for the shape and size of a baked potato perched low down on bare branches or on old tree stumps.
And there it is!
It’s not easy to use binoculars at first but if you rest your hands on your chest it helps a bit, or you could lean against a tree.
Also look out for them flying around. Although they are rather small when they’re perched up, they are surprisingly wide (50cm, that’s half a metre) when they’re flying.
So even if you didn’t have the opportunity to come along, be as quiet as you can, go and have a look and be patient, there are plenty of little owls around in Richmond Park. Even if you can’t see any, you can be sure that there is one looking at you!
They can also be spotted very early in the morning!