Helga D'Havé

© Wim Acke

Last June I accompanied a friend (thanks for the pic Wim!) to visit a barn owl nest at the attic of a former pigeon house in a small village in East-Flanders. We counted four barn owl young (and several small pigeons in the lower part of the house). Unfortunately, a few weeks later my friend told me only one small barn owl was left, but there were no remains of the three others, so they clearly hadn’t died there. Possibly the three young owl were stolen for pet-keeping. Unfortunately some selfish people think they need an owl at home. Barn owl populations have been thriving again in Belgium, but this story makes clear that new dangers are present..

The original Dutch version of the article can be read in Eos-magazine no. 9 (Oct. 2009) or downloaded here. The English version follows below:

In the seventies barn owls populations had dropped to their lowest numbers ever in history. At present and as a result of protection measures the barn owl is again an often sighted bird in the agricultural landscape. Continue Reading »

© Helga D'Havé. Hedgehog at Rivierenhof, Deurne, Belgium.

Where is the time where – for days, weeks, months – I saw more hedgehogs than humans? These were exciting times (being out at night in park areas), weird times (having zero ‘human’ social life), and rewarding times (getting to know these night creatures and gaining results). Hedgehogs are suitable bio-indicators of environmental pollution, that was the main conclusion of my PhD research (2002-2006).

My recent article in the Dutch magazine ‘Zoogdier’ brought my research again in the news. An English summary follows below: Continue Reading »