03/2021
Anyone struggling to sleep in South Petherwin during the early hours will no doubt have heard the familiar twit twoo of our resident tawny owls. They are Britain’s most common owl, but are in decline and considered at sufficient risk to be placed on the amber list as a species of conservation concern.
To help them out we have added an owl house to the other nesting boxes in the churchyard at St Paternus. The box will have time to weather in and become familiar to the owls who will hopefully make use of it next breeding season.
Tawny owls favour wooded areas and their territory can extend to as much as 20 hectares. They usually find a mate at around 1 year old and then remain together for life. Established pairs rarely if ever leave their home terrain, although they do change roost sites. 2 or 3 eggs are laid in the early spring and the owlets hatch after a month of incubation, ready to fledge at around 5 weeks. They stay with the nest and depend on their parents for a few more months, leaving in the autumn to find a territory of their own.
The tawny owl diet includes small mammals, other birds, frogs, fish and insects, the remnants of which can be visible in their regurgitated pellets. Tawny owl pellets can often be found under their roosts - they tend to be grey, narrow and furry, with the prey bones visible but damaged. Barn owls are also present in the village but their pellets are larger and rounder, smooth, black and compact with the prey bones often intact. The easiest way to tell if barn owls are around though is listening for their unearthly nocturnal call (hence their alternative name of screech owl).
If you have a suitable location for an owl nesting box, they need to be sited within a coppice or wood, preferably on a deciduous tree. The site should be sheltered and undisturbed. Site the box out of full sun and prevailing winds, and at least three metres off the ground with branches nearby for fledgling chicks. You can find plans for tawny owl and barn owl nest boxes at the RSPB website linked to on our home page.
That’s owl for now (sorry!). We really hope that soon we will have been able to resume our other activities – keep an eye out for updates.
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