Santander Scops Owl Nest Cam

A Tiny Migratory Owl

The European Scops Owl (Otus scops) is the smallest owl of the Iberian Peninsula and its only long-distance migrant, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa and returning each spring to breed. Barely 19 centimetres tall, its mottled grey-brown plumage and false ear tufts let it vanish against tree bark with uncanny ease.

Life Inside the Nest Box

This live webcam looks straight into a nest box fixed to a mature tree in a Santander urban park, where the female incubates a clutch of two to five eggs. Viewers can follow each tender stage of incubation, hatching and chick-rearing as the pair feeds its young on moths and other large insects.

Urban Conservation in Santander

The camera is part of Santander Capital Natural, a project led by the city council alongside SEO/BirdLife, which has installed a hundred nest boxes across the city's parks. The initiative offers an extraordinary window into urban wildlife and the ongoing effort to protect this charismatic little owl.