Nature Notes with Graham Workman: whoooo are youuuuuuu?

The winds were a tad mad last week to say the least – thanks to yet another named storm.

The trees didn’t half do some bending, and I was thinking how rough it gets with wind and rain for tawny owls.

Do they feel miserable when they get soaking wet feathers and a biting wind? The same goes for the cold: last week it dropped to -5oC so that’s the time they become one with the tree.

While I was parking the Land Rover up a tawny owl that lives in the woodland straight across for our cottage decided I’d got a tad too close and off he went manoeuvring expertly through the tree trunks as he was flying at head height.

He soon vanished into the woodland.

It’s well into the time of year when they start setting up territories ready for breeding.

As well as being our most common and widespread owl, its other claim to fame is that it’s the owl of both fairy tales and horror stories whose tu-whit, tu-whoo of the night has become part of our rich literary heritage.

Under normal conditions courtship begins around now in late February.

The male, during this period, can often be encountered hunting in daylight. This helps him find food and present it to his mate.

As he patrols the boundaries of his territory, he screeches loudly to let his rivals and neighbours know this is his patch and it also helps to attract Mrs Tawny.

Long, wavering hoots are often heard, and sharp ke-wick calls, also.

Cat-like screams – caterwauls - are also a common feature of tawny owl boundary disputes, but perhaps the least known yet most appealing, call is a soft, bubbling purr audible only at relatively close range: a soporific, affectionate sound that drifts gently through the trees, catching well the mood of calm, night-time woodlands.

When tawnies have found a good nest site they seem to use it for years. Evidence suggests that successive pairs tend to use the same sites for 20 or even 30 years.

There are well authenticated cases where sites have been used in excess of 100 years.

The widespread use of artificial nest-boxes has, over the recent past, proved to be successful especially in urban areas.

Tawnies don’t construct a nest and even a scrape is thought to be no more than the fortuitous creation of the male's courtship behaviour.

But, because the breeding season is so long, by the time the eggs are laid, there is often a soft bed of pellets and feathers.

Between four and six eggs are laid in April or early May. The eggs are left to the female to incubate, once the first egg is laid.

The male’s job from here until the eggs hatch is to keep a regular supply of food coming to feed the female.

The eggs hatch (asynchronously as with laying) after 32 to 34 days, and the young enjoy a remarkably lengthy fledging period of usually 60 days but can be anything up to 86 days. There are frequently two broods per year.

Tawny owls mainly feed on small mammals; in woodland, bank vole, wood mouse, and shrews are most common, while in farmland field voles are more often caught.

Invertebrates can also be a significant part of the diet, especially earthworms and beetles.

They usually hunt from a perch, silently dropping down on their prey.