The Fab Four

Tawny owls are the most common owl in the UK, with an estimated population of around 50,000 breeding pairs. However, they are highly nocturnal and therefore more often heard than seen. They are the owl known for the twit twoo call which is actually made by a pair of owls with the female calling twit and the male calling twoo!

This weekend I went out looking for four young owlets which recently fledged the nest and are now branching around the small wood where they hatched.

When young owls get too big for the nest hole or the nest box they will leave the nest site and head up into the branches. They are still unable to fly but they are amazing at moving around from branch to branch, a method known as branching. They will generally stay together or with at least one sibling so if you're really lucky you may get to see them all together in the canopy.  It is common for owlets to miss a branch as they move around and they may fall to the ground. Even if grounded, they are perfectly capable of climbing back up the tree using their talons and beaks so if you come across one on the ground just leave it alone and it will head back up into a tree.

It took us quite a while to finally locate them, and as we were about to head off Lee spotted two of them high in an oak tree. We managed to manouvre through the undergrowth, with only one minor stumble, and got into a couple of spots where we could take a few pictures.

After a few minutes I manged to find the other two owlets quite close to the original two but in the next tree along.

All four were very quiet and didn't make a sound but they did keep an eye on us as we tried to find the best spot to take pictures.

If you do think there are owlets in your local wood a good way to find them is to listen for a continuous, high-pitched whistling or hissing coming from one spot as it gets toward dusk. This is likely to be the fledglings or juvenile owls loudly begging their parents for food.

The adult birds will be close by keeping an eye on the young and if you're lucky you may spot one of them as they prepare for a busy evening hunting to feed their family.

Adult tawny owls are also very protective and in 1937 the photographer Eric Hosking, while attempting to photograph a tawny owl near its nest, was struck in the face by one of the adult birds, causing him to lose his left eye! Be careful out there.

Four owlets is a fabulous result for this pair and shows that not only is there plenty of voles and mice about but also that mum and dad are excellent hunters.

Fingers crossed that these four fluff balls grow into beautiful adult tawny owls and head off to find a territory of their own for the next breeding season.