Eagle Owl Invasion | Five Owl Farm | BBC Earth

And all that young owls have to do is learn some of the tricks of the trade. Wood mice collect larders of food ready for winter. This one is using an old blackbird's nest. But owls see and hear everything. The short-eared owls have returned to the farm after a successful summer on the moors. And now we are five again. Rearing half a dozen youngsters in one season, it's not hard to see how the little owls manage to colonise most of England. But of all the owls, the long-eared are the ones most likely to remain together outside the breeding season. Some communal roosts may contain more than one family. Breeding at different times using different nest sites, feeding on a wide variety of prey to reduce competition, these five owls have found a way to succeed in this special place. Now another chapter in the story of our owls is being written. A new invader from the land of the Vikings has recently arrived in Britain. The eagle owl has landed. Ten times the size of our largest owl, this is the most spectacular owl to reach our shores. And now we are six. Over thousands of years, owls have cast their spell over people. It's hard to imagine a countryside without them. Yet their greatest challenge is still to come in this fast-changing world. How many more years will the old oak tree survive here, with its surrounding rich, wet meadows, hedgerows and woods? The railway that passes through this farm may soon be upgraded to a much wider, faster, busier main line. And what of the vital ingredient that keeps the owl's magic alive? Apart from the barn owl, most of our owls are not particularly well. Yet where would they all be without their age-old alliance with the most endangered breed, the traditional farmer? Without them, the owls could all just vanish.