Hi, I have a family of five owls in my garden could anyone identify please? At least 35cm and three at least are the young ones in this photo, thankyou
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Southern Boobook
LM
Thankyou, they didn't look like the pictures of the Southern Boobook as they had so much white and they seemed quite large, my photos of three of them together was too large to post but they come nearly to the back door everynight for about half an hour and play in the bird bath and on the furniture, absolutely amazing and they are nesting in a very large olive tree, the five of them, three together and what must be Mum and Dad above and below during the day. The only sound is the trill from all the birds.
Where are you located? There are several sub-species of Southern Boobook with some variation in size and colouring, the nominate race of the south eastern mainland being the largest. My field guides say up to 36cm.The big white 'goggles' are a dead giveaway. You're so lucky to have such close encounters with a whole family of them in your own backyard, would love to see more photos..
LM
Hi, we are in Normanville which is on the Gulf of St Vincent, a kilometre from the beach, the garden is a haven for birds of all description, the more it grows the more birds we have, blue wrens, finches, rarer honey eaters but the owls arrived three or four weeks ago. My photos are all 4.5 megs, too big for this forum, would need to reduce but my tablet is difficult to do this. Have taken several of three together and just missed four on the little table last night. Had two in the bird bath two nights ago and that is all that would fit, I can go right up to them briefly, they are so gorgeous, they act like meah cats and look a bit like that too.
I suspect your Boobook Owls are roosting in the olive tree, sjacobe. They usually nest in tree hollows, sometimes in a cliff hole or the domed nest of a bird such as a Babbler, according to Michael Morcombe in Field Guide to Australian Birds.
By the way, no doubt you & or your neighbours are ensuring that no birds are spreading olive seeds from the tree in which the Boobooks are roosting. Olives are great to eat but the trees are a really invasive pest.
Yes they are and the tree has been there way before we arrived seventeen years ago, we don't have a problem on our three acres with any trees popping up and we knock the olives off. I took a photo of them roosting today and there are now six, managed to capture them all in the photo.