Well ... on the news this morning there was an item about a BTO Tawny Owl survey . So of course I looked it up...... and I found that it has been running since 30th Sept last year.(!!) And it finishes on 31st March this year. I can't help feeling that it might have been better to tell us a bit earlier. I also get the feeling that not many people are doing it so they're panicking a bit. Surely not ! Maybe they did tell "us" about it earlier. ... but I've never heard of it. Anyhow, here's the video all about it ... ...and here's what it says online ... Why we need your help Are there Tawny Owls calling in your area? By listening out for them in your garden or nearby green space you could help us to understand their calling behaviour and distribution, and to discover the impact of urbanisation and artificial lighting. We need your help, whether you usually hear Tawny Owls or not. Knowing where owls can't be heard is just as valuable as knowing where they can be heard. Learn about Owls...... Visit our resource pages It takes just 20 minutes It's easy to take part - just listen for 20 minutes during at least one evening between now and 31 March 2019. You can listen from your garden, local park or woodland. You can even listen whilst lying in bed with the window open! All information is valuable, even zero counts (you'll be a #zerohero!). If you enjoy taking part you can repeat your survey in subsequent weeks. The more weeks that you can listen the better, but you can do as many or as few weeks as you are able. Gaps between weeks don't matter. You can listen for their familiar 'hooting' and 'kee-wick' calls any time between sunset and midnight. All we ask is that you tell us the date, start time of your survey, an estimate of cloud cover and importantly whether or not you hear an owl. If you hear a Tawny Owl at another time of the week outside the survey period you will also be able to record this. You record your weekly results online. Download the Tawny Owl Calling Survey Instructions(PDF, 1.03 MB) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well.... there's just one thing really. It's a problem with all surveys done by the "general public." ( And not just them ) And that is, they tend not to report negative results. If they don't hear any, they probably won't send it in. And that biases the results. They've tried to get you to ..by calling them "zero heroes." But it won't make much difference. I'm not getting at anyone ... it's just human nature. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The other "big thing" on the news was about the Total Eclipse of the Moon in the early hours of Monday 21st. Here's what the net has to say .. ... but don't forget .. it's bound to be cloudy. On 21 January 2019 there will be a total lunar eclipse, also known as a blood moon, visible from the UK in the very early hours of the morning. The last total lunar eclipse was on 27 July 2018. How to see the lunar eclipse in the UK 21 January 2019 On 21 January 2019 a total lunar eclipse will be visible over most of North America, South America and parts of west and north Europe. The rest of Europe and Africa can witness the end of the eclipse. Those in the UK will be able to see every part of the eclipse as long as they are willing to stay up all night! The Moon will start to enter the Earth’s shadow just after 2:30am GMT and the maximum eclipse will occur just before 5:15am. The entire eclipse lasts for more than five hours, ending at 7:48am. The optimal viewing time to see the eclipse is between 4:41am – 5:43am. This is the period of totality, where the moon lies entirely in the Earth’s umbra (full shadow) and will appear red. Time Event 4:41 am Mon, Jan 21 Total Eclipse begins Total moon eclipse starts - completely red moon. 5:12 am Mon, Jan 21 Maximum Eclipse Moon is closest to the center of the shadow. 5:43 am Mon, Jan 21 Total Eclipse ends Total moon eclipse ends. So .... owls and eclipses ..... good luck to all of you ! ( Pob lwc i pawb !! ) But ... maybe before getting up at 3 in the morning, you might just PAUSE ......
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AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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