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License this footage here:
https://1url.cz/KugUU
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When I'm asked again in interviews which pieces of my footage I consider the most valuable, this will definitely be one of them. Filming a female eagleowl with her chicks on the nest was a truly extraordinary experience. I would therefore like to use the footage for the benefit of the owls and ask you a favour...

Predators beasts and birds of prey are the most timid animals of all. Approaching a fox or a northern goshawk is far more difficult than watching a woodpecker up close. Predators have good reason to be wary in the past they were intensely persecuted by humans as vermin, and in many places they are still killed by some people despite legal protection. As icons among birds of prey, eagleowls are therefore very wary of humans and see them as a mortal danger. Even if for a moment we ignore the real threat posed by poachers and nestrobbers, we are still faced with one unpleasant but undeniable fact that eagleowls can unfortunately be harmed (albeit unintentionally) by any of us. How, you ask? Simply: by inconsiderate tourism.

Eurasian eagleowls don't build nests and lay their eggs directly on the ground. For example, they use windthrows or places between thick roots, where, however, the young are exposed to danger from foxes and wild boars. They therefore prefer to nest on rocks, where most ground animals cannot reach them. Because of their anxious alertness, eagleowls need to feel safe on the nesting ground and require a complete solitude. Therefore, they seek out remote places where humans don't set their feet throughout the year... By now you can probably guess what problem I will be talking about. Such places virtually don't exist in the Czech Republic anymore.

We have a lot of free time, we like to wander around nature after work, and rocks in particular are like a magnet for us. We look around the landscape from them, take selfies for Instagram, hide geocaches in them and climb the steep walls. Of course, all this is incompatible with successfully raising baby eagleowls, falcons or even black storks. In protected areas, traditional bird nesting sites are often surrounded by noentry zones in spring, but this is just a tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of other rocks scattered across the landscape that are not guarded by any park staff, so it is up to us to be considerate of nesting birds. If you want to help or at least not harm the eagleowls, try to follow these two rules:

1) If you startle a large bird off the ground or a rock in the woods, or come across its nest, try to avoid the area for the rest of the spring season.

2) From January to the end of April, ideally do not visit woodland rocks at all. During this period, the eagleowls are mating, incubating their eggs and are extremely sensitive to disturbance. A spooked female may even abandon her clutch for good. When the chicks hatch in the second half of April, their mother will form a strong emotional attachment to them and will likely return to the nest even after disturbance. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to give the owl family peace and quiet. I'm sure you'll agree with me that considerate visiting of the rocks only in the summer and fall is not such a dramatic detriment to humans.

Now you may be thinking that I'm preaching water and drinking wine when I'm filming the owls at the nest. Unfortunately, I am not allowed to disclose the whole background of this event for the safety of the nesting site, but I would like to emphasize one thing this footage has been filmed under very unusual circumstances and under the supervision of an experienced ornithologist Ivo Hertl, who has been studying and protecting this owl couple for several years. Normally, I avoid rocks in the spring season and I would never dare to film an eagleowl nest without consulting an expert.

I will be happy if you share this appeal with your friends to spread awareness of birds nesting on rocks. I believe that most people would certainly not want to ruin the lives of young owls, and with a little education this scenario can easily be avoided. So let's work together to educate ourselves and use our common sense to do no more harm to nature and its inhabitants than we have done in the past. Thanks a lot!

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✿ Species
Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo)

✿ Location and date
BohemianMoravian Highlands, Czechia | April 2022

✿ Equipment
Panasonic GH6
Metabones T Smart
Sigma 150600 C
Olympus 12100
Zoom F3
Sennheiser MKE 600

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▶ YouTube
   / lukaspichvideo  

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▶ Stock footage
https://www.pond5.com/artist/lukaspich
https://www.pond5.com/artist/lukaspich_2

▶ Email
[email protected]

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Eurasian eagleowl | Bubo bubo | Výr velký | Uhu | Hibou grandduc | búho real | gufo reale | Обыкновенный фи́лин

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