Owls are nocturnal birds of prey. They also have claws like
the day birds of prey, but with two toes to the front and two to the back.
Their crooked beak is shorter. Owls hunt in the dark, although there are also
species that hunt during the day. You can tell by the color of the eyes when an
owl flies and hunts.
Owls with orange eyes, such as the eagle owl, usually fly at
dusk.
Owls with black eyes, such as barn owls, usually fly at
night.
Yellow-eyed owls, such as the Barn Owl, also fly during the
day.
Who doesn't like owls? An owl rests in a sheltered place
during the day, in the evening and at night they go in search of food. They
often miraculously manage to hide because their camouflage color resembles tree
bark.
Which owls can you encounter with us?
Tawny owl
The tawny owl (Strix aluco)
The Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) is a fairly large set owl with a
thick, rolling head and jet-black eyes. But it is more plume than bird: a tawny
owl weighs only 500 grams. They have no ear tufts but show a dark blaze on the
forehead.
There are both gray and reddish-brown color forms. On the
shoulders they have a row of white spots. The wings are relatively short as
befits a real forest dweller.
You recognize the tawny owl by
his round head
black eyes
the absence of earplugs
his unique call
Creepy duet
Although owls are known as symbols of wisdom, their call
frightens a lot of people. The tawny owl is the champion of horror movies. He
produces the most famous sound of owls. With a hollow shaky vibrator the male
frightens us. An elongated 'how' is followed after a short pause by a vibrating
'howhoehoe', for many a messenger of impending doom. By the way, the scientific
name Strix means 'witch'. If you want to hear that cry in real life, you have
to go out at night during the winter months. The tawny owl is a real night owl
and it can even start breeding in February when winter is not too hard.
How does the tawny owl sound?
As early as December they want to make the borders of their
territory known. Some nights you don't hear one, other nights they are shouting
everywhere. When one male starts, the others can't help but react. But also the
female and the male in duet can play a trill.
Tawny owls have been doing very well in Flanders over the
last decades and the species has evolved from pronounced forest birds to
breeding birds of even small town parks. Wherever the tawny owl shows up, you
should watch out for ringed owls and tawny owls, because they are sometimes
tasted by the tawny owl. But mice are of course the main part of its menu.
Faithful to their nest
A couple of tawny owls are dog loyal to their breeding
ground. When a period comes with little food, other owl species that breed in
common nests tend to look for other places. For tawny owls, however, the
breeding hole is far too expensive to abandon. They just stay on the spot and
wait for better times. Their menu is very varied and can vary greatly depending
on the food on offer. Besides mice etc. they also eat a lot of birds.
Remarkably, most studies show that they not only regularly attack amphibians
but sometimes even fish. They hunt from their lookouts and drop their pellets
scattered in their habitat.
How does the tawny owl reproduce?
They lay an average of 2 to 4 (sometimes 6) round, white
eggs. The female incubates them in less than a month (28-30 days). Because she
begins to incubate from the first egg, the cubs can vary considerably in size.
In case of lack of food, the largest chicks will eat the smallest (nest dot or
cackling nest). Another 25-30 days later, the young leave the nest before they
can fly effectively. They then clamber around in the trees, even using their
wings to find more support. With their thick fluffy appearance they look like
oversized vacuum cleaner bags. Owl chicks endear the most callous souls.