The tawny pair are continuing to show positive signs that they are going to nest in my nest box. With the two HD cameras giving different views in the box, with audio, it is wonderful to be privy to their lovely ‘conversations’. They use a very different call when communicating about a nest space; a warbling call in the throat. You will see the throat inflate, but the beak does not open. It is difficult to tell whether it is the male or female in the box, but they both do this call, as this clip shows. You can hear the individual outside responding to the calls from inside the box.
I don’t often see both tawnies in the box unless they have owlets. There was a bit of a spat when this happened. This clip has shots from all three cameras….
The ‘paddling’ in the box, seen here is a mother really good indicator for nesting. They make a hollow in the substrate and seem to do this to test out whether the base is suitable…
Unusually , both tawnies appeared at the Owl Mansion whilst I was in site this week. They are regularly using the boxes at the river end of the site as day roosts.
I lifted some stills from the box this week… just imagine a couple of owlets in there!!
Finally, you may remember I put some fruit and berries out in front of one camera. I was hoping for some redwing or fieldfare. None appeared this week, but some other species took advantage of the feast….