Are owls predictable in their behaviour? Do they like to frequent the same sites for hunting? Do they just fly around their home range all night searching for prey? If you see one in a spot one night would you be likely to see it again the next night, in a few days, maybe a week? If anyone has any knowledge or experience...I would love to hear from you 
Jackie
Very good questions - I'd like to know more too! I think they are amazing-looking creatures. I don't know much about them beyond the images you often see of them on wildlife shows, taking mice etc.
One thing I read recently was that the larger ones travel over quite a large area.
- soakes
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia
Good questions Jackie..... lets just have a look!
Powerful owl. Home range presumed. 1000 ha. note by R.P. Kavanagh
Rufous owl 400- 800. ha note P. D. Olsen
Sooty owl. 200- 800 ha. Note P.D. Olsen
Boo book 4- 10 ha note. P.D. Olsen.
And by reading & observing , they seem to perch and Listen for calls of mammals. Gliders have warning calls too . Any shadow in the night they go off, just like birds if they see a raptor. I'am no expert I just carry the name.
Nightowl
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
Thanks soakes and Nightowl (haha
).
I have been doing some more thinking and I guess if you look at the owl diet, that will tell you a little bit about their behaviour. I am guessing that an owl is as predictable as the prey it is hunting?? I definately need to do some research.
Jackie
Jackie
E-mail me off line for some info. I can send some papers etc that you will find fascinating.
Owls have favoured home ranges of course, and that can vary depending on the quality of their habitat. While Powerful Owls have been known to have a range of around 1000 Ha, in areas of low prey density, that area could increase to probably 5000Ha. Some radio tracking of a Sooty Owl in the Royal NP has picked up movement of around 9km in one direction, so that throws some theory out the door too at least to a degree.
A good reference book on Aussie owls (and all other night birds) is written by a wonderful friend of mine called Dr David Hollands, whom I hold in the highest regard for he has seen and photographed every Australian owl species and documented his adventures in his book. I think it's called Owls, Frogmouths and Nightjars of Australia.
WOW, fascinating stuff, I will have to hunt down a copy of the book as it is out of print. I sent you a pm
Jackie
Jackie you might try this link to a bookstore that says they have it in stock
http://www.andrewisles.com/home/BookSearchForm?BookSearch=Owls%2C+Frogmouths+and+Nightjars+of+Australia.&action_bookResults.x=103&action_bookResults.y=12
if it does not work pm me
Peter
Thank you Peter, how lovely you are to go to trouble of searching
Jackie
that is my preferred bird books bookstore
have a look at their 'Bargain Books' section - generally something interesting
Peter
Jackie, the Boobook Owls in our area call for a while & then seem to disappear for some months. At least I don't hear them calling.Then I'll hear them calling again at a distance of, I estimate, up to 1 km. It's quite unpredictable as far as I can tell.
Hi Jackie & Soakes
Now that I've had a bit of time to put a few words together...
I lived south of Norwa at a place called Sanctuary Point on a tidal creek that would flood after heavy rain. It was old growth forest with a very thick understory right up to the waters edge. There were plenty of gliders - when I think about it there were lots of mammals. When the swamp mahogany or bloodwoods were in flower the calls of the Yellow Bellied gliders were loud and we could hear and see their silhouettes in the night sky as they were coming from the neighouring trees. We had a few trees on our block that they preferred to land on and the kids were ready with spot lights. You had to be quick , because as soon as they landed it was a dash to the opposite side of the trunk as if they were being followed in by an owl! We've never seen a kill, but we knew when an owl was about. Even a Boobook spooked the gliders, but when a Powerful owl landed and looked around it was tense. My family & friends would spend hours on the back deck spotlighting , it was plugged into the main power with a 12 volt adapter - a great nights entertainment. So I guess the owls followed the flowering trees, just like a lot of birds do, but only to catch our night time pollinators...
Nightowl
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
Thanks Woko, interesting. I wonder if they do disappear or if they are just not vocal?
Hi Darin, I find it all so fascinating. I have just been in touch with a gentleman who wrote a paper on YBG and he touches on owls. Once I do a bit more reading, I will have a clearer profile in my mind.
Thanks, Jackie
It's hard to say, Jackie. On several occasions I've come across a Boobook Owl sitting quietly or even being harrassed by other birds but not having heard an owl call for quite a long time. So I reckon they might often be about the place but not calling.