Owlet rescued after collision
I KEEP having to think of new ways of describing the melee outside my window as I write this column.
It is difficult to concentrate when more than 20 starlings are trying to get onto an 18- inch square bird table.
Then there are two or three on the fatball feeder, resulting in mid-air fly-offs with much fluttering of wings.
And, every so often, one of the birds flies into the window, which makes me jump and annoys the dog no end.
Fortunately, all these crash-test starlings have just flown off after a collision so far this summer.
One of our members, James Ingham, has a sent a more exotic tale which starts off quite dramatically.
He said: “It is always upsetting when birds, especially young ones, crash into the house windows and doubly so when last Sunday evening at around 8pm a bird hit our lounge window.
“My wife, Marjorie went to see what had occurred and discovered a young tawny owl in some distress under the window on the bench.
“She grabbed a towel and carefully wrapped and carried the bird to the back of the house and away from some circling crows that had been harassing it, and probably caused the collision. She gently placed it on the ground whilst I took up station to watch over it.
“I watched it as it started to recover and it finally opened its eyes fully as I took a photograph.
“A minute or two later I saw and heard a parent bird and the young owl took off silently to join its mother, apparently none the worse for the ordeal.
“I have seen this parent bird with its two young a couple of times since as it sits atop the sequoia gigantium which I planted some 20-odd years ago and is now around 50-feet in height, affording a clear view all round.”
A happy ending to a close encounter with a young owl.
It is great to know that the owlet was saved from the pesky crows.
There was also a good tip from Marjorie there.
I had a young starling in the kitchen the other day.
Once it had stopped panicking, I laid a light tea towel over it, carefully picked it up and checked it wasn’t hurt at all, and then took outside and gently sat it on the shed.
It flew off, shouting angrily behind it, and then I went to clean the poo from the kitchen window.
The tawny owl is famous for its “twit-twoo” call, actually made up of a “ke-wick” sound from a female and an answering “hoo-hoo-ooo” from a male.
It is largest common owl and it feeds on small animals like voles and mice, looking out for them from a favourite perch.
Nesting usually takes place in spring in hollow trees or an old crow’s nest.
It is mottled reddishbrown, with a pale underside.
It has a big, round head, rounded wings, large, dark eyes, and a dark ring around its face.
When the owl is on top of the perch it will be able turn its head 270 degrees to look out for naughty crows in future.
While James and Marjorie’s meeting with the owl was a bit of an emergency, they will remember this close encounter with a wonderful bird of prey for many years to come.