Eagle Owl in Bristol
Enormous Eagle Owl nicknamed Oscar roosting at Bristol University.
UK owl expert Chris Sperring said it would very exciting to observe Oscar's night time behaviour. And our presenter and wildlife expert Mike Dilger was ecstatic.
But how do you go about filming a nocturnal bird that can fly swiftly and silently?
It’s easy for the Natural History Unit who can stake out animals for months at a time. We only had a couple of days. - See link to website below
Help from the experts
Luckily, Bristol is the home of natural history filming experts.
Cameraman Richard Taylor-Jones has worked on nature shoots around the world.
He specified the equipment we needed – infra-red camera with massive 40:1 lens, infra-red light, huge batteries.
Fortunately Big Cat Diary had just finished with one and kindly lent it to Inside Out.
Eagle Owl facts
The Eagle Owl's latin name is Bubo bubo.
It's the largest species of owl in the world.
It can weigh more than 4kg.
It has a wingspan of up to two metres (more than 6ft)
It can kill birds as large as herons and animals as big as roe deer, but usually sticks to rodents.
Numbers of the birds in Europe were at their lowest in the 1960s but conservation programmes have increased the population. This could be why we're seeing more in the UK.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2009/01/08/west_eagle_owl_s15_w1_video_feature.shtml
UK owl expert Chris Sperring said it would very exciting to observe Oscar's night time behaviour. And our presenter and wildlife expert Mike Dilger was ecstatic.
But how do you go about filming a nocturnal bird that can fly swiftly and silently?
It’s easy for the Natural History Unit who can stake out animals for months at a time. We only had a couple of days. - See link to website below
Help from the experts
Luckily, Bristol is the home of natural history filming experts.
Cameraman Richard Taylor-Jones has worked on nature shoots around the world.
He specified the equipment we needed – infra-red camera with massive 40:1 lens, infra-red light, huge batteries.
Fortunately Big Cat Diary had just finished with one and kindly lent it to Inside Out.
Eagle Owl facts
The Eagle Owl's latin name is Bubo bubo.
It's the largest species of owl in the world.
It can weigh more than 4kg.
It has a wingspan of up to two metres (more than 6ft)
It can kill birds as large as herons and animals as big as roe deer, but usually sticks to rodents.
Numbers of the birds in Europe were at their lowest in the 1960s but conservation programmes have increased the population. This could be why we're seeing more in the UK.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2009/01/08/west_eagle_owl_s15_w1_video_feature.shtml
