Wise guyback

 

Tel: 02173-99986-125

You can't see me. But I can see you. I could be anywhere, but you won't spot me. I'm not very big and some of my fellow birds don't like me much. Tawny owls do like me – for dinner. Although we're both owls, I'm much smaller. At about half their size, I'm just right for their greedy beaks. Martens can also give me a lot of trouble. But I've got great camouflage. My speckled brown-grey plumage makes me invisible when perching motionless on a branch. My prey is even smaller than me, mice for instance. From my perch I drift down so silently that by the time they notice me it's too late – for them, I mean. I could be perching in an old fruit tree. Or in the crown of a pollard willow. Or quite quietly on top a fencepost. You won't see me. But I can see you. I have to be careful because I'm endangered. The wetlands are my home. Its meadows and pastures give me all the food I need. I'm not fussy. Mice are great, but I'll take beetles, worms, or amphibians, too. It's different when it comes to nesting, however, I'm very particular about that. Holes are great. Holes in the walls of old barns or churches are good, but here in the Lower Rhine area I mostly nest in cavities in the trunks of old fruit trees or pollard willows. These used to provide abundant nesting places because their crowns are full of cavities in which I can hide and rear my brood. But meadow orchards and pollards willows have become rare. Agricultural surfaces have got larger and hiding is more difficult. The landscape is changing. So we little owls have also become rare. At least some humans are wise enough to provide us with nest boxes. Flat, oblong, and brown, these may not look all that attractive from the outside, but inside they're wonderfully dark, perfect for nesting. Perhaps you'll see the boxes. But you won't see me!

Photo: Karl-Wilhelm Zensback