The Little Owl, Small But Brave | Ronald van Harxen
The Little Owl (Athene noctua) is a characteristic species of semi-open, small-scale cultural landscapes in Western Europe. In the Netherlands, it traditionally breeds in burrows in high stem apple trees, pollard willows and manmade buildings.
In recent decades, nest boxes have been increasingly used. Sovon's nest record scheme has shown that although reproduction can fluctuate considerably from year to year, the trend is stable. Clutch size, number of young and condition are strongly related to the number of voles and wood mice.
Research with cameras has shown that the owl has a wide food spectrum. In addition to mice, many insects and their larvae, caterpillars, frogs, may beetles and earthworms are caught. Birds are also on the menu! In Western Europe, the species suffers greatly from agricultural intensification and the disappearance and fragmentation of suitable habitat.
The low dispersion distance of nestlings means that once abandoned areas are not quickly recolonized. Volunteers can play a major role in the protection of this beautiful species.
For 40 years Ronald van Harxen has been researching (as an amateur researcher) the little owl in the southeastern part of the Achterhoek (Netherlands). His research has revolved around the little owls' distribution, numbers, reproduction and menu. Ronald is the chairman of the national owl working group STONE. In this capacity he works a lot with national partners such as Vogelbescherming Nederland (BirdLife International) and Sovon (EBBC partner). He is also the author of two books on the Little Owl, co-author of the English monograph and has written prolifically on the bird.
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