The bird of the month for January is the ... Long-eared Owl.

Despite its name, these birds are our unsuspecting neighbors, living in parks and gardens, close to people. As you can imagine this is not because of its love and affection for man but for the presence of large amounts of food.

From time immemorial man has been accompanied by other mammals, mysterious and hidden in the dark, gloomy and uninviting places we live - rats and mice. They are the reason that Long-eared owls inhabit our villages and towns.

These birds show interesting behavior in the Winter by gathering in large groups, sleeping peacefully in tall trees. There they remain hidden in the branches until the night when they head out hunting. These groups "break" in early spring, when the mating season begins. In warm years by April, May the owls already have the need for intensive feeding. So Long-eared owls are our valuable helpers in the fight against rats and mice, which is needed in every village and town.

However, this cohabitation is often quite risky for our feathered neighbors. Wintering diurnal owls often fall prey to poachers with air rifles, shooting at these fluffy balls just for fun. They are vulnerable during the day, and unsuspecting sleeping peaceful birds are easy targets.

Even in Spring, when the young leave their nests because they have already become too small. Sitting perched on the branches of neighboring trees they indicate where they are to the parents by shreiking in order to be fed. Those screams are certainly not the most pleasant sound that anyone has ever heard, but that is no reason for an armed attack against these small innocent birds. In the same way we can not shoot our neighbor who has a party with loud music all night.

In fact, they grow fewer and the problem goes away quickly, but in the meantime these beautiful birds eat a huge amount of rodents.
Furthermore, let's not forget that we are not alone in the world and are part of the "oh horror" more complex and interconnected system, which involves all living beings.

At the Rescue Centre of the Green Balkans, Long-eared Owls are the most frequent visitors, represented mostly by fluffy chicks in Spring. Inexperienced and clumsy, leaving the nest they sometimes thud onto the ground where people find them, luckily for them often before they fall into the clutches of a dog or cat.
We at the Wildlife Rescue Centre always advise people to think before sending chicks to us. Look for a safe place for the young owl. Because, as we have said before the parents have not "abandoned" the chick, they are around, but just not able to get the chick back in the tree where his home is.

Here you can find information about Long-eared Owls in the adoption program of the Centre.

A photo placed in a handmade mount made entirely from recycled materials, will be sent to each donor.

For more information:
Christina Klisurova - Veterinarian
PR rescue center for wild animals
e-mail: hhristova@greenbalkans.org; Mobile phone: 0886570053

Some of the pictures donted by Darren Weeks