It is midwinter, there’s snow on the ground and Luna, our female tawny owl, is sitting on a clutch of eggs which she laid in late January. This is the earliest I’ve known tawny owls to lay here at Fotherdale Farm.

Watch Luna & Bomber interact live on my nest cam:    • Live From Fotherdale | Robert E Fuller   and follow their story in this playlist:    • Tawny Owls  Luna & Bomber | Wild Liv...  

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ABOUT THIS FILM
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Tawny owl courtship

The courtship between female tawny owl Luna and her mate Bomber began early and due to the surveillance cameras here at Fotherdale we have been able to watch their romance blossom.

An old couple

This owl pair have been together for a few breeding seasons and have raised several chicks here. They don't always chose to nest inside one of my bespoke nest boxes so I can follow the story on film. So this is very exciting!

Identifying this tawny owl pair on camera

Similar in size, neither bird wears an identification tag so it can be hard to tell them apart. But there are subtle differences in colouring. Bomber's face has heavy features with ginger markings above and below his large eyes. Luna has a more grey coloured facial disc.

Find Luna's scar

Luna also has a scar across her right foot, which is a handy identifier when watching the birds inside the nest box at night

Experienced parents & even foster parents

Last year this tawny owl pair raised six chicks here, two of them rescued chicks, named Eric and Ernie.

Courtship begins with a search for new nest sites

As soon as these chicks fledged, the pair began to look forward to the next breeding season and by late October they were spotted in my Beech Stump nest box together a sign they hoped to nest here.

Followed by territorial flights

To secure the site, they had to fight off a squirrel and a barn owl. Watch them work together to evict the barn owl.

Pair bonding

By the new year the tawny owl couple were spending more and more time in the nest together, reaffirming their longestablished bond. Listen to the noises they make and watch as they lovingly preen one another. They also work together to keep house and you can see Bomber shoring up a hole in the box and Luna tidying up.

Egg laying

By January, we spotted Luna dig a shallow nest scrape. This sallow indent in the floor of the nest site is all that owls will do to prepare for their eggs. Watch how she settles down into a comfortable position and, after a few hours, she’s laid her first egg.

First egg left alone

I was shocked when Luna abruptly left the nest. It was night and the temperature outside was freezing. Tawny owls are normally very protective over their eggs and this one was alone until Bomber arrived the following morning. It looks as if he goes off to find Luna, because she soon returns and settles down to incubate.

Second egg laid

This time Bomber stayed close, offering support as Luna laid. Just listen to those affectionate calls.

Protecting the eggs

At two eggs, this tawny owl couple’s clutch is now complete. Now the pair must protect these eggs against the winter weather and even against some unwanted visitors, including a wandering barn owl.

ABOUT ME
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I am a British wildlife artist and filmmaker on a mission to share my love for wildlife with the world. As well as creating detailed animal film and art portraits, I promote wildlife tours around the world and do all I can to help conserve and protect wildlife here at my home in Yorkshire. I hope that by putting nature in the frame I can foster a deep love for wildlife amongst my followers.

You may like to purchase my artwork which you can find on my website: https://www.robertefuller.com. Many of my paintings are portraits of the wonderful characters you watch here!

You can also follow me on these platforms:
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© Robert E Fuller

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