Tawny owls fighting

[thunder]

Originally Posted by mbaldw

Thanks for that henrya - very interesting. That does seem early for a Tawny chick (given that they typically start laying March-time). Do you happen to know whether it fledged successfully?

Cheers,
Marc.

Can't remember all the details, but will try and find out for you.

henrya

[mbaldw]

Can't remember all the details, but will try and find out for you.

Thanks henrya. No worries if you can't dig them out - I'm just curious

Cheers,
Marc.

[rogpow]

Originally Posted by mbaldw

They are monogamous and nocturnal all year and have been documented to drive larger owls (even long-eared owls), cats, foxes etc. from their territories. Indeed, you probably saw the footage on SpringWatch a year-or-so ago, where a Tawny swooped to attack a fox feeding in someone's back garden. There was a fascinating account in a 1964 issue of British Birds describing an apparently unprovoked attack on a Red fox drinking from a pond in the owl's territory during January (even though this is too early to be protecting a nest!). There are also reports of Tawny owls eating other owl and raptor species, including Barn owls, Little owls and sparrowhawks.

In his book Birds of Prey of the British Isles Brian P. Martin states that:

"Though apparently very meek when mobbed by diurnal birds at roost, tawny owls can be furious in defence of their nests and will readily attack passers-by at any time of day. Throughout Europe there are reports of humans, dogs and cats being terrorised; some public parks have been temporarily closed because of unprovoked attacks. Although most assaults are from behind, some are right in the face of the intruder, concentrating on the eyes. At least two people in Britain have lost an eye to a tawny owl, including the famous bird photographer, the late Eric Hosking."

After reading that I'm quite glad that tawnies are a rarity on the Isle of Wight!

[mbaldw]

Though apparently very meek when mobbed by diurnal birds at roost

They do seem to come in for a lot of stick from other, smaller birds. In her Understanding Owls, Jemima Parry-Jones MBE (she of International Centre for Birds of Prey in Gloucestershire fame) wrote:

"We are unable to fly our Tawny owl in the field during the late spring and summer as the mistle thrushes will fly like a bullet out of nowhere and hit him with a full frontal attack, regardless of watching visitors."

Maybe I'm wearing the wrong kind of camo for my bird photography. Perhaps I'd have more luck photographing thrushes if I dressed as an owl!

Cheers,
Marc.

[Hedgehoggy]

Originally Posted by mbaldw

Perhaps I'd have more luck photographing thrushes if I dressed as an owl!

Cheers,
Marc.

Now that, I would love to see!