Most sightings are of a ‘large white bird’ seen in car headlights at night.

White underside with gold/grey/brown and white on the upper parts with a Heart-Shaped face with small dark brown eyes.

Hunts 1-2 metres above the ground, over rough grassland and salt marsh. May sit on an open perch such as a fence post, looking and listening for prey.

Mainly nocturnal but may be seen by day, especially in early morning.

Call is an eerie, piercing shriek (nothing like ‘kewik’  /  ‘tu-who hoo-hooo’ of Tawny owl). Chicks make a distinctive rasping, hissing sound.

Regular perches may be identified by vertical white streaks of almost pure white dropping

Black/grey ‘sausage’ shaped pellets (about the size of a man’s thumb) consisting of indigestible fur and bones of prey items are regurgitated at favourite roosting places.

Quite large accumulations of pellets and droppings may be seen at roost sites. Old pellets are grey and eventually disintegrate.

Pellets occasionally contain a few surprises, such as this bird skull.

Sighting reports are hugely important to us and may help us to locate and protect breeding pairs. It may also enable us to provide vital data at a future date, in respect of planning applications or designation of a particular area for habitat protection.