Before being fed.
This adult had just left one of the chicks with a fieldmouse and was just about to fly off.
Afterwards and away back to sleep.Two Tawny Owlets on the edge of the Abbey woods just a couple of hundred yards from the house this morning. While I was there one of the adults flew in with a Long tailed fieldmouse and one of the chicks took it out of its mouth , kept a hold of it for a while, then swallowed it in seconds. Nice to see as its been a few years since I have seen young Tawny Owls. They were a bit distant for a decent shot, the light was poor and they were obscured by twigs. They were quite well grown. I believe these were the same birds I saw last week in the same tree calling silhouetted against the darkening sky.
4 comments:
Like yourself its many years since ive see owlets. Quite suprised at these as i thought the weather would hold back breeding.
Nice ones Nigel thats a great breeding record considering the winter we've had...
Thanks...I don't know if biologically early breeding species can put off nesting for a few weeks until the weather improves or not but I was talking to ADMc a while back and during the cold weather there has been a lot of Tawny Owl activity on the edge of the estates here and as everybody feeds birds there are mice feeding under bird tables. I have seen fieldmice in my garden so presumably there has been good feeding for them. In the egg stage it must have been very cold, I don't know if they would have been on eggs on the 8th Jan but it was between -13.5 and -9 degrees that night.
Nice find, on your doorstep too!, as you say the birds must have been confident of success to breed this early, most sources state mid March !!
Brian
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