After a tip-off, Paul Holt, Alice Carfrae and I spent yesterday evening looking for an owl… not just any owl but a Northern Boobook (formerly known as Brown Hawk Owl but now ‘split’ into a species in its own right). We arrived on site at 6pm and, after a short walk, we soon heard and saw, spectacularly well, this lovely owl: the first time I have ever seen this uncommon species. Unfortunately it was an overcast evening, meaning the light was poor for photography, but it was also very still, enabling us to hear it well.
Although we only saw one bird, it was clear that there were two birds present, probably a pair, with the other bird (a female?) calling at a slightly different pitch.
We were then told about a nearby breeding pair of Oriental Scops Owl and, sure enough, after a 5-minute walk, we were watching and listening to one of these small owls in the company of a few uncomfortably large, low flying bats. Although Oriental Scops Owl is a migrant in good numbers through Beijing, we didn’t know it bred….
There is so little we know about the birds in the capital, let alone the rest of China….!
Wow, not just owls, but Booboks! I once found an owl pellet in a smallish garden in the middle of Beijing – a small pellet so I assumed it was scops – sized. It was in the spring, but I forget exactly when. I was quite surprised to think of an owl there, though it could have been passing through.
Hi Gretchen. Oriental Scops Owl is a reasonably common migrant in Beijing from mid-April, so there is every chance the pellet you found was from this species. Northern Boobok is a scarce breeder, usually arriving in mid-May. Tawny Owl is also possible in Beijing and, of course, Long-eared Owls roost at the Temple of Heaven in winter and both Short-eared Owls and Eagle Owls are also seen occasionally. So Beijing is quite a good place for owls! Terry
Hey Terry, Last May I saw a pair of Oriental Scops Owls mating in Beijing (Tsinhua campus). Seems they intended to stay!
Nice shot… the 7D isn’t so bad at high ISO settings, then !
High ISO is ok…. but I really don’t like the in-flight focusing… nowhere near as good as my old 1D MkII…!
1D MK II – fine camera !
Hi Terry,
More on Oriental Scops Owls:
Several Universities (THU, PKU, Renmin U.,Beijing Language and Culture University), Bot. Garden, all there are Oriental Scops Owls breeding.
Thank you Shen. Great to know… clearly Oriental Scops Owl is a regular breeder in Beijing!