Slow And Silent Death

With soft wings and slow flight, the tawny owl is a stealthy hunter that isn’t fussy about its diet, happy to live on what is most abundant

Double-glazing may help to keep us warm but it is a shame that it also cuts out the noise of tawny owls. They are very early breeders so it is important to make sure that a territory is clearly defined before the winter starts. Resident pairs are chasing out young interlopers and new breeders will need to find a mate and carve out a good territory before winter starts to bite, if they are to maximise their chances of raising chicks in 2018.

The number of eggs laid depends upon the female being well fed in January and February. Then the number of chicks that fledge successfully will be dependent upon both parents being able to supply owlets with a plentiful supply of food in the spring. If the flow of food slows down, older owlets may well eat their younger siblings, as has been documented by the BBC’s Springwatch camera team.

Acute hearing

 Winter is both good and bad for nocturnal owls. Like our other resident species, surviving snowy and icy weather will be a challenge, but for tawny owls there is actually more hunting time in the winter than in the summer. When not sitting in a favourite tree and hooting — or making the “kee-vik” call if it is a female — a tawny owl silently hunts for mammals and birds. Soft wings, slow flight, big eyes and acute hearing all help this stealthy hunter to pounce on small animals as they gather food or pluck roosting birds from branches while they sleep.