It is usually December and January that we start to get interest in our Tawny box at Yew View. For the last two years, this pair have shown a lot of interest and we wait, with everything crossed, hoping that this is the year that they choose our box to breed. So far, they have shown all the right signs, including food passes and matings, nest scraping and the female even spent a few days in the box…. but sadly, no breeding.
These last few weeks have seen a few more visits to the box and lots of lovely vocalisation! Pairs vocalise a lot as they begin to search for potential new nesting sites. I think it is the male inside the box in these clips, with the female either outside (you can hear her responding to the male)
In this lovely clip, they both a doing the special ‘warbling’ like call that seems to only be performed at nesting sites. I just love the interaction between these two as they check out this space….
I always feel very privileged to capture footage like this… so lovely to be able to witness these special moments.
It is not only the tawny owls interested in this nest box. Anyone with such a nest box will know that squirrels are very keen to take over the joint too! Within just an hour , they can fill the whole space with leaves and take up residence, forcing the tawnies out and away from this potential nest site. I keep a close eye on this box and clear it of leaves as quickly as they fill it, I’m afraid. Nesting tawnies are more important to me in this box than the squirrels. We do have another tawny box and I am happy for them to take up residence there…. They are quite comical to watch and I admire their diligence in leaf collecting duties!!
Our new Tawny Stump Box is ready now and we are just waiting for a tree surgeon to help us put it in the tree. It is then just a matter of waiting, with everything crossed, that they chose one of these spaces to raise their 2017 family.