Hi to all,
Some of you may remember that we had been watching and photographing a Powerful Owl family since last June.
The last time they were at the nest site was at the end of November...see "Powerful Owls..the last supper."
We guessed they must still be in the area and several times a week we take a packed lunch and search in all the the nearby bushland.
A bit over a week ago we got very lucky and stumbled across all three family members roosting deep in a tidal mangrove swamp. It was quite surprising to see how much the youngster has matured in those 3 months. We never expected them to be there and each day we go back and check to see what they're up to.
Most days we find the one who (we think) is the mum within a few metres of the young one and the dad about 50-80 metres away. (Sometimes we can only find the first two).
The strangest thing is that in the 10 days we have been watching, only one time has one being holding food. (Powerful Owls normally have a possum or a bird in their clutches every day or every second day)
What is even stranger was that this one time we saw one holding food, it was the YOUNG one holding a tiny brushtail possum . Just a few days before this same young owl was trilling plaintively to its mum-mid morning as if it was hungry. So this is possibly the first possum it has caught(?)
In just a few months the adults will, no doubt, start the breeding cycle again so the young one must learn to look after itself well before then.
Cheers,
Antonia
Lovely photos as always!
I guess the young one's about to experience childhood, teenagerdom, and leaving the nest (literally) in a short while. Mum and Dad seem quite content with themselves, that they've done well.
Very interesting shots and story.
I didn't realize owls would inhabit mangrove swamps. Well done tracking them down.
Fantastic! Gorgeous family.
Mum & Dad look like they're admiring their superb natural chick rearing skills, with good reason. So glad you were able to track this beautiful family down - always such a pleasure to read & see your updates Antonia!
West Coast Tasmania
Thank you windshear, WhistlingDuck, sacrednavel and AnnieJ.
We were very surprised to find the owls in the mangroves. Normally we find this type of owl
towards the top of freshwater creeks in steeply sided gullies or valleys.
It was only the fact we found a regurgitated pellet of a noisy miner (?) near the
mangroves that we decided to have a look in there.
We were lucky that on that particular day they were roosting close to dry land.
The tidal mangroves are spread over several hectares and some days it is quite difficult
to locate all three birds. Most days we find at least two but one day just a single owl.
We often wonder what they are eating as other than the noisy miner pellet and a small brushtail
possum we haven't seen any other food on twelve consecutive days.
Perhaps they get sufficient at night and don't need to hold any during the day?
One of the photos shows how far they can rotate their necks...way past 180 degrees, probably
210 degrees or more.
Cheers,
Antonia
Antonia, they are such a delight to see , thank you for posting the updates. I have never seen one but one day I may get out into the right places . Glad you were able to catch up with them again and I hope the juvs learn to fend for themselves OK.. By the way.. love the GSD too ... my favourite
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Thank you Birdie. I am glad you like German Shepherds, she is a big part of our family.
We have found at least one owl or more on every day (except one) this past month.
Mostly we can find all three if we look long enough. Sometimes they are grouped together,
sometimes way apart. Mostly though, it is two together and one a little way off.
Recently the two adults are close and Junior is on his own, no doubt because the
breeding season is about to begin.
Today the three were close together with Junior in the middle.
Soon after we got there 2 or 3 currawongs started swooping on Junior. As time went by
the number went up to about 10 or 12 all circling, carolling and making feint swoops.
Junior was terrified and trilled constantly and turned his head in every direction trying
to guess which direction the next attack would come from. He began scratching and preening
himself and looking towards his Dad for help.
After 45 minutes or so Dad slowly began waking himself up, also preening and scratching himself.
This took a good ten minutes or more. Finally, he flew to an exposed branch 15 metres away
followed by two or three currawongs.
Here he took an aggressive pose, looking as if he was going to grab the next one who came close
(note his left foot in the second photo).
Within a few minutes, the currawongs seemed to realise the dynamics had fundamentally
changed and all flew off, way out of earshot.
Cheers,
Antonia
Wow that would have been great to witness!!! They look gorgeous in these shots ( or is it the same bird...sorry I am not able to tell markings that well) , who would want to mess with that beak and those talons?????
Lovely pictures and you make me wish I could find some
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Thank you, birdie.
They are fantastic birds to watch. The adults have strong air of dignity and strength.
The top photo is "Junior" who is about 8 months old. The second photo is his/her dad putting on his serious face.
Junior was terrified by the circling currawongs and kept calling to dad for help as well as scratching and preening
himself nervously.
We made a bit of a (shaky)video and put it on Youtube for our own interest. I am happy to give you the link but be warned...
the quality is somewhere between pretty bad and awful. The camera we were using (with a long lens) weighs about the
same as a housebrick and holding it at armslength to see the display screen was a challenge without a tripod.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYUrvXZs128
Cheers and thanks again,
Antonia