Bloody hell !!!

25 May 2010
Further afield but just returned from some extreme bird ringing in Sweden. Watched some ringers getting to grips with Ural Owls.

Quite simple really, just put a ladder up a tree and go to the nest box to take out the chicks and ring them. This incidentally really does provide invaluable data on what is happening to these rare owls. Mummy Owl watches as a man goes to her home and starts on the kids !

Bird ringer sees the mummy owl and gets stick for self defense. This sensible man has a helmet on. His colleague who warns him if the Owl attacks doesn't.

The Ural Owl now looks a lot more aggressive.

....and launches an attack, man with helmet is flattened as his colleague warns of the attack BUT, he also gets an attack and doesn't have a helmet - they retreat, and I start to fill my pants as the Owl starts looking at the photographer - that's me - and it feels as if it's staring straight at me ! ... more of this Swedish story in due course, with link to separate blog. It'll be a few weeks.

Great trip which included Great Grey Owl, Moose and Beaver, among some 103 species of bird in just a long weekend.