As usually happens in the summer months at
Ackworth, it is becoming easier to spot tawny owls in the
grounds during the daytime and I have made several such
sightings this month. The first of these was on the 5th,
when I found myself walking directly towards an owl which
was perching in a hawthorn, only about a metre above the
ground. The bird spotted me and sat bolt upright, making
itself look tall and thin, giving itself the appearance
of a very large long-eared owl rather than a tawny owl.
Other sightings followed on the 12th, the 22nd and today,
the 28th. On the 12th, an owl launched itself from a
branch just above my head as I walked beneath trees at
the end of the cricket field, the usual haunt of these
birds. The owl
settled in a nearby tree and I was able to get very clear
views of it as it stared down at me. On the 22nd, I was
led to a tawny owl by the sound of blackbirds making
their alarm calls. The owl was trying to roost agains the
trunk of a medium-sized sycamore but the blackbirds were
not going to allow it to remain there. The owl soon had
to move on. This morning, I found an owl sitting on a
branch of a sycamore. It watched me through partly open
eyes but did not fly away.
I am not sure why the tawny owls always take to roosting
in such conspicuous places during the summer months. It
is probably something to do with the proximity of a
nest-hole and the likelihood of such a hole being quite
crowded at this time of year.
One
thing that I have not managed to do during my time at
Ackworth is to spot any of the owl chicks after they have
left the nest although I have seen them in other areas.
Tawny owl chicks are grey, downy bundles when they first
emerge from the nest and can be expected at this time of
year. It seems that it is now too late for me to see them
in the school grounds, this year as Bob Hall, the Head of
Mathematics, reports seeing a tawny owl chick about a
week ago whilst walking his dog. The chick was on the
ground and spread its wings to make an aggressive display
as his dog approached. The chick was not harmed.
The skull pictured on this page came from an individual
which was killed by a car only about two kilometres from
the school. It was prepared by simply burying the bird
for a few months and then cleaning the skull with a
toothbrush. One thing that I noticed when I did this was
the fragility of the bones. These are light and thin and
do not look suitable for a bird which risks having to
survive some fairly hard impacts when dropping onto its
prey.
As usually happens in the summer months at
Ackworth, it is becoming easier to spot tawny owls in the
grounds during the daytime and I have made several such
sightings this month. The first of these was on the 5th,
when I found myself walking directly towards an owl which
was perching in a hawthorn, only about a metre above the
ground. The bird spotted me and sat bolt upright, making
itself look tall and thin, giving itself the appearance
of a very large long-eared owl rather than a tawny owl. 
settled in a nearby tree and I was able to get very clear
views of it as it stared down at me. On the 22nd, I was
led to a tawny owl by the sound of blackbirds making
their alarm calls. The owl was trying to roost agains the
trunk of a medium-sized sycamore but the blackbirds were
not going to allow it to remain there. The owl soon had
to move on. This morning, I found an owl sitting on a
branch of a sycamore. It watched me through partly open
eyes but did not fly away.
One
thing that I have not managed to do during my time at
Ackworth is to spot any of the owl chicks after they have
left the nest although I have seen them in other areas.
Tawny owl chicks are grey, downy bundles when they first
emerge from the nest and can be expected at this time of
year. It seems that it is now too late for me to see them
in the school grounds, this year as Bob Hall, the Head of
Mathematics, reports seeing a tawny owl chick about a
week ago whilst walking his dog. The chick was on the
ground and spread its wings to make an aggressive display
as his dog approached. The chick was not harmed.