Return to the wild for three lucky Tawny Owls

....Update September 2007

  Tawny owlets leave their nests whilst still bundles of fluff and unable to fly.  These agile and well equipped climbers then spend several months clambering about in the treetops being fed by devoted parents whilst developing adult feathers and learning to fly, and ultimately hunt, for themselves.  This is a dangerous time in the life of a young owl and many are found by members of the public who either mistakenly presume (because of their helpless appearance) they are abandoned or rescue them from dangerous situations.

One of the owlets shortly after rescue

Working for the Hawk and Owl Trust unsurprisingly makes me first on the list to call when people find injured or abandoned owls, and this year I have received three tawny owlets.

Owlets quickly become imprinted on humans, and therefore unreleasable, if not reared correctly and ideally with other owlets.  So, although slightly different in age and originating from differing areas and situations, we reared these three together in our specially designed aviary at Charterhouse. 

Now around six months old they are fully feathered and ready for their return to the wild.  The release location has been chosen as one with ample prey and suitable habitat (mature woodland) nearby, yet with no resident Tawny Owls to compete with the youngsters as they start out on their own.  The aviary itself has been built within a prey rich grassland habitat so that natural prey such as beetles, frogs and voles will enter and give the owls opportunity to practice hunting before they are released.

Now fully feathered and ready to go!

When the weather looks settled for at least a week ahead we will set up a surveillance camera and open the release hatch.  The owls will then be free to come and go as they please.  We will continue providing food at the aviary for several weeks whilst they build up their strength and hunting skills, and will gradually withdraw this as they become less dependant.

Once the owls are released we will monitor their feeding, distribution and behaviour as they adjust to being wild owls once more.   This soft release method is quite labour intensive, which is why we work with just a few owls each year, but we feel that it gives them the best possible chance of making it through their first winter and on to producing owlets of their own. 

By late October the owls should be self sufficient and begin distributing away from the release site in search of a territory and mate of their own.

Of course, we would not be able to give these owls such a fighting chance without our Hawk and Owl Trust volunteers, and the kind support of Animal Affairs.  For more information about the work of the Hawk and Owl Trust or to enquire about membership, please contact me on 01275 849287 or chris.sperring@btinternet.com

Although the monitoring of the release of these owls in now complete, its been achieved only with the help of volunteers on foot following their progress, all three of the 2007 owlets were very successful and monitoring was stop some 6 weeks after the release with their positions known.  1. Owlets has established itself between open grassland and 2 small copses approximately 1 mile from the release site, the other 2 are much further yet both have appear to have teamed up with partners already (as of December 07).

In order to make our releases more scientific in its approach we are looking to purchase some radio telemetry equipment.  We estimate the cost of this equipment which means we can follow any owl release in future with greater efficiency, will be around £3000.   If anyone wishes to donate towards the purchase of this please contact me through info@chrissperring.com

Thank you for any help you can give with this project in advance.