The tawny owl is the most widespread and common owl in Europe and it is thought to be the most commonest raptor in Britain, but not very often seen in daylight, unless it has been disturbed inadvertently roosting in woodland up against a tree trunk or among ivy.  It is an owl of the night and of fairytales, its twit – tu-whoo in the night both soothing and haunting, depending on who is describing it in our literary heritage. It has been given a variety of names over the centuries such as brown owl, golden owl, ferny hoolet, hill hooter, hollering owl, and ivy owl, to name but a few.

It is about the size of a pigeon or a mallard and has a very rounded head and body, with a ring of dark feathers around its face, surrounding the most beautifully liquid chocolate brown eyes. It is an owl, which has variable plumage, ranging from red, brown to grey, brown dappled with buff, which is perfect for roosting in trees during the daytime. At night it simply becomes a silhouette and you will be more likely to hear its call rather than see it.  It is much paler underneath its body and it is very widespread breeding species in England, Wales and Scotland but not found in Ireland.

Birds are mainly residents with established pairs which probably never leave their territories and young birds fly away from their breeding grounds in the autumn. The Latin name is Strix aluco.  The tawny owl can be seen all year round and they eat small mammals and rodents, fish, insects and worms, as well as frogs and small birds. It has a very thick short beak, and its legs are black/grey, brown or white and are feathered, and it likes to walk on the ground or even run sometimes, particularly if it is eating ground nesting bird’s eggs.

There are over 19,000 pairs breeding in the UK annually. It has a wingspan of 94 – 105 cm (38 – 40″) , and is 37 to 39 cm in length. It weighs approximately 330 to 580 g (1-1 1/4 lb).

The tawny owl tends to get mobbed, particularly by different species such as blackbirds, finches and tits which dangle and harass the roosting owl, the commotion been useful in locating it, which is usually on a branch close to the tree trunk or in a hole in the tree. It flies quickly with strong wing beats followed by long glides on its broad rounded wings.

When you hear the noise at night, because they are so extremely vocal and have many calls which most of us rarely hear, it is most likely a male answering a female, or another male. The prey that they catch such as shrews, mice and rabbits which are then main prey, they drop on after having looked for it from a perch and they mainly feed at dusk or dawn.

A hole in a tree or building or sometimes the squirrels drey, will be used for its nest but specially made nest boxes are sometimes used too.

One of our directors is a passionate wildlife photographer and this stunning little owl was actually found recently in his neighbour’s garden. Having photographed her looking sleepy, James was dismayed to see her still there the next day and knew something must be badly wrong. He contacted the RSPCA who said she was a juvenile and a very undernourished little thing, probably due to the bad weather. They made her warm and very comfortable for the night and looked after her as best they could, but unfortunately she died the next day. We feel extremely privileged and very proud to show this beautiful creature in our images, a little girl who will hopefully live on in her photographs and in our memories.