Wildlife watch Who-o-o-o goes there? Tawny owls, of course
Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Falls of Clyde Wildlife Reserve assistant ranger intern Rebecca Crawford has been learning all about nocturnal animals like tawny owls.
Nocturnal animals are often used to symbolise all things ‘Halloween’ and one species I have been hearing a lot about around the reserve this week is the tawny owl, which is one of the most common owls in the UK.
It is a relatively small bird, about the size of a pigeon, with a rounded head and large brown eyes.
Its upper feathers are usually a reddish-brown, with a paler underside and lighter patches on its wings and head.
They can be found in a range of habitats, including woodland, farmland, parks and urban areas.
They tend to nest in tree hollows, but will also use buildings, disused nests of crows and magpies, and even squirrel dreys.
As the evenings draw in you can hear its calls around two hours after sunset in autumn and winter.
They are very territorial birds and will call to mark the boundaries of their territories.
We tend to notice them calling more in the autumn, as this is the time that resident pairs are defending their territories against young owls that have dispersed from breeding grounds and are trying to establish their own.
They have a repertoire of around 12 basic calls, and sounds can often differ between males and females.
The class ‘too-wit, too-woo’ call is actually usually a male and female owl calling to each other.
The female makes the ‘too-wit’ sound and the male answers with ‘too-woo’.
If you are taking the kids trick or treating this weekend be sure to listen out for some of these spooky sounds in the trees!