Eurasian eagle-owl in Polissia
Bubo bubo
Red Data Book of Ukraine: rare
The eagle-owl is a very large owl with mottled reddish-brown plumage, big orange eyes and long feathered “ear tufts”. Its call is a deep, muffled “oo-hoo” that carries far on a quiet night.
In Polissia the eagle-owl keeps to remote forest tracts with bogs, ravines and quarries where there are few people. It has been recorded in Polissia's nature reserves and in the Chornobyl zone.
It hunts at night for rodents, hares, hedgehogs, birds and even other owls. It nests on the ground under snags, among stones or in the old nests of large birds. Its courtship calls can be heard at the end of winter.
The eagle-owl is listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine. It is very sensitive to disturbance at the nest, so nesting sites are not disclosed, and photographing the chicks is not allowed.
When to see: all year; the call is heard most often at the end of winter and in early spring
Where it was seen in Polissia
Observations from the open scientific database GBIF since 1990. Locations are shown approximately, to within 10 km.
More in “Birds”
Tawny owl
Polissia's commonest forest owl, whose drawn-out hooting can be heard in old forests and parks.
Aquatic warbler
A small warbler that nests only in sedge fens; the bogs of Polissia are one of its main places in the world.
Eurasian bittern
A secretive heron of the reedbeds, rarely seen but easily heard in spring: its deep “boom” sounds like a bellowing bull.
Common snipe
A long-billed bog wader whose spring display flight sounds like bleating – hence its Ukrainian folk name “baranets” (little ram).