The owl files – Chapter 3: Early morning activity

06 July 2022

Early morning activity

I hit the roof early this morning with my coffee and enjoyed the slowly growing dawn chorus. Birds already seem to be thinking of Spring!

At 06:33, there was an explosion of excited chattering from the bulbuls in the Tea Garden .  .  . and first the female owl, and then the male owl swooped up onto the parapet overlooking the garden. The male mounted the female and they mated, after which he briefly sat next to her. He called once, .  .  . and then headed for his roost in the Evergreen Oak. The female however remained behind on the parapet.

A flock of Pied Crows then appeared and, after she was ‘buzzed’ by one, the female flew to one of the trees in the Tea Garden – remaining there till just after 07:00.

I took the opportunity while she was off the nest to check the contents. Still three eggs.

By Geoff Lockwood