Little Owls love sunbathing! You can spot them basking in sunshine on their favourite perches during the winter months in parks and rural villages. On a sunny day, look out for Little Owls on barn roofs, poles and fence posts.

My pet owl will soon turn 180.
He’s not old, he just has a bad neck. (Hoot!)

Little Owls were introduced into Britain from Europe during the late 1880s to control garden pests.
There are thought to be 5,700 pairs in the UK.

In 2008, a herd of 100 King Bladud’s Pigs descended on Bath to take part in one of the UK’s first public art sculpture trails.

Little Owls have decreased by 70% over the last 20 years. The UK Little Owl Project is working to protect them and is based in Bath.

In 2008 the King Bladud’s Pigs auction raised over £200,000 for charity and 16,000 pig fans came to say their ‘final farewells’.

For 2008’s King Bladud’s Pig trail 40,000 trail maps led pig fans on a city-wide journey of exploration.

You can find Little Owls in a range of habitats including quarries, villages, orchards, parkland, liveries and on lowland farmland. They prefer semi-open habitat and avoid woodland. Read Emily’s Little Owl Spotter’s Guide here.

The Little Owl has a large global range and is found in 84 countries (much of Europe, Asia east to Korea, North Africa, and the Middle East).

Many owls have asymmetrical ears that vary in size and are at different heights on their heads. This allows them to better pinpoint where their prey is.

“It was with sheer delight that I rounded a corner on my first ever visit to … where they were filming Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and saw a line of big, grey, fluffy, bewildered-looking owls blinking back at me.” JK Rowling

Owls do not have spherical eyes, they have tube eyes (providing better depth perception and allowing them to see prey from great distances. Their close vision is not as clear.)