Long-eared Owl watchpoint on the reserve

[TobyAW]

Hello,

As many of you may know we have a Long-eared Owl roost on the reserve which is away from public access. We have set up and organised an Owl Watchpoint which has been very succesful for the past 5 days. This will be run by the estate team on a daily basis.

A visit to the area will be made between 10 and 11 to assess that the birds are viewable without being disturbed and that it is practical to get to by visitors. This may not be the case everyday so if you're planning a special visit please call reception on 01642 546625 for a daily update.

The Owl Watchpoint will be open from 11-2. Please do not go and look for birds outside of these times. This is for the welfare of both the owls and visitors.

With the current methods in place we will be able to make sure that whoever wants to see the owls will see them. Staff and volunteers will have telescopes set up on the birds in the best locations so all you need to bring are yourselves.

Have a very Merry Christmas and New Year and we look forward to seeing you soon.

[TobyAW]

With plenty of birds now returning to the reserve and lots of people coming to see them we don't have the resources to man the Owl Watchpoint all day every day. Instead we will be running a walk down to the Watchpoint at 13:00 during weekdays so anyone coming to the reserve specifically to see the owls will still have the opportunity to do so.

At 14:00 the hide guides will then leave the watchpoint and return to normal duties. Over the weekend we anticipate more visitors so will run the watchpoint as we have been doing over the holidays from 11:00-14:00.

Everyone has been very respectful of our request not to look for owls outside the watchpoint hours and keeping to the paths. We'd like to thank all who have come down for the LEO's for behaving so well and the fact that the owls are in the exact same position each day shows how beneficial not getting too close is.

Please can you pass on the above information to any non TBC members who might be planning a visit

Thanking you

[TobyAW]

Please be aware we are having work done at Haverton on Monday (which may run into Tuesday) so there will be no Owl Watchpoint or access to Haverton on Monday (and possibly Tuesday). If you are wanting to see the owls please contact the reserve on 01642 546625 where you will recieve the most up to date information. Please pass this information on to anyone you know who may be visiting the reserve next week.

Thanking you