Not Stitched or Knitted, a Real Tawny Owlet!

This beautiful little creature had a close encounter with death this morning.    Luckily, son-in-law heard him fall and went to investigate.

This is what he found.     A Tawny Owlet!    Tawny Owls have moved into the owl box again after all these years.   Forget the fights between squirrels and Jackdaws, the Tawnies won!

We didn't have a clue, until we found this little fellow.

He was an awfully long way from the box, but we do know that Tawny Owlets often do leave the nest before they are ready and then spend their time clambering along branches and twigs. 

Normally "the Owl People/Ringers" come along each year to check the boxes, weigh and measure any owlets, then ring them before they fly the nest.   Covid-19 means that this cannot happen this year.

We had a long debate - keeping an eye on this adorable creature all the while - but as he showed no signs of recovery my husband picked him up and simply held him to his chest.    Within a few minutes he began to perk up, opening his eyes and staring.

In an ideal world/woodland, without our marauding cats and boisterous dog, we would simply have  popped him back in his tree.     Unfortunately Sparky and Millie would have made short work of him, so we decided the best option was to replace him in the owl box and this way we could take a quick peek to see whether there were any others - we know that a small amount of handling is fine and will not make the parents reject the little bird.

Out came the long ladders and the hatch of the owl box was lifted...two inside, plus this little one - Triplets!

For now the little owl is back in the box, goodness knows for how long.   We have set the wildlife camera up and hope to catch some images over the next day or two.  Fingers crossed for those adorable little birds.


Owl Wood has owls again, I can't even begin to tell you how happy that makes me.

Have a wonderful weekend.
x

A Spoonful of Sugar

No sooner do I complete the enormous task of clearing the woodland floor than Storm Erik comes along to rock and roll among the trees, tearing down branches.   Ah, well.   That is life. 

Owl Wood is a place of magical delight to humans and animals alike, but it does come with responsibilities and expenses.     In this modern day and age, even for such a small scrap of woodland, we have to have special woodland insurance and that doesn't come cheap.    Add to that the many hours we spend maintaining the place and, at this time of year, I do sometimes wonder why?

Then I come across photographs like this...

A safe space for our grandchildren and their friends to play in and explore, for treasure hunts, map reading practice, or for rambles with the dog.

Fun isn't limited to the summer.
Two cousins take a spin around the woodland.

A lazy swing and a bit of contemplation

.



A game of hide and seek with someone who hasn't quite grasped the concept...oh, the hours we spent doing that!

Early evening adventures, a little bit of darkness makes it all seem so much more exciting - for that is when you have to watch out for bears and wolves.

Owl Wood has been home to several little flocks of retired battery hens - their joy at the freedom to roam was very special.       They soon regained their feathers and their health, wonderful characters, each and every one of them.
 



The most recent flock were fancy breeds.   Beautiful girls, but definitely not as robust as those battery girls.     So many hens over the years, yet each one developed into a character.


There are many bird boxes, as well as nests, perched up in the trees.   

The most special box is the one where these three little creatures were hatched, three Tawny Owl chicks, all three successfully fledged, hence 'Owl Wood' - so much nicer than the official name.

Adding all these delights up, and all the ones I haven't mentioned - wild garlic, for instance - offsetting them against the cost of insurance (£150 pa) plus all the hard work - is it worth it?




You bet!




Thank you for all your lovely comments, they helped me through my silence. 

Whatever it was seems to have been blown away by the wind, for I came back from walking Toby feeling bright and energetic, windswept and cleansed of whatever ailed me.

Have a wonderful weekend.
x

A Totem in Owl Wood

A little while ago I was given an old birdbath.

I didn't really want it,

because

it is not a style of garden ornament that I like.

However, because it has owls on it,

and we have Owl Wood,

I decided to accept the gift

and

to place it discreetly away in Owl Wood.

What can I say?

Except that I am overjoyed that I did.

For many years we have gone to sleep at night 

listening to the sound of Tawny Owls

calling to one another.

Not so this last year or so.

The woodland has been upsettingly silent.

Well,

 since I got two strong men to place the birdbath in Owl Wood

I am happy to say that some magic seems to have happened.

The wonderful sound of Mr and Mrs Tawny Owl

calling to one another

has once again become the soundtrack 

I fall asleep to each night.

Magic!

Cleaning out the Owl Box

The trees are showing signs of autumn, leaves are turning colour, falling into crisp and crunchy piles along the lane.   Of course the schools go back next week, so the weather will probably improve, it usually does!

One job which has been on the 'To Do' list is cleaning out the owl box in our little patch of woodland.  It is necessary to do that now, while the box is not being used, in the hope that the 'des res' will attract some honeymooning tawny owls again next year.

A few years ago we were incredibly lucky, for when the 'Owl Men' came around for their Spring check on the box, they found three of these little owlets.   It was so exciting, a real gift from nature.

A few weeks later the owl men came back to weigh, measure and ring them - and once again, they were more than happy for us to watch the procedure.

They turned into real beauties.

Since that time the box has been variously occupied by squirrels and Jackdaws.  No more owls - yet we hear them around the place each night, sometimes we even get to see them hunting in the wood.

Max climbed up the ladders while I held them steady.    Just as well we did that bit of housekeeping for the box was filled with large sticks, twigs, moss, frayed bits of string, sheep wool, etc.

Here's one small example of what came cascading down

 on to my unsuspecting head.    A little warning, next time, would be appreciated.   Never mind, it will be worth it if we can attract the tawnies.
fliss&max

ps  Yes, I did squeal as what looked like a dead rat, complete with tail fell on my head.   So thankful it turned out to be sheep's wool and a length of thick string...!