Tawny Owl in woodland

This summer saw the second year of the Tawny Owl Release Project underway. Every year, 20-40 young Tawny Owls are brought into the Trust, either by members of the public or by rescue organisations. It then becomes our responsibility to make sure they are fit for release back to the wild. Before 2005 these juvenile Tawny Owls were released with their fate remaining hidden. The intention of the project is to achieve an optimum rehabilitation and release technique and now, in its second year, it is hoped the project will run for another 3 years, enabling a protocol for Tawny Owl rehabilitation and release to be published.

Eleven Tawny Owls were released at the end of July 2005. Within the six week project period where the owls were being tracked daily, one owl died, five signals were lost and four remained detectable. I live locally and couldn't resist the chance to carry on tracking the owls over the oncoming winter months. There were no more fatalities; in fact I continued to track two of the owls for six months. They clearly had established territories and had survived the winter months. 

Tawny Owl No 11 - Titon

By the time these two remaining transmitter batteries ran out it was March 2006 and a new group of tawny owl chicks were being brought into the hospital. These owls were to be part of the forthcoming project and I gladly agreed to participate in the project again.

With the project in its second year, the Trust was fortunately joined in its cause by the RSPCA. They too released juvenile Tawny Owls, which increased the sample of owls and data to analyse.

Sarah checks the signal on her telemetry (tracking equipment)

This year we had ten juvenile owls to track. They were weighed and their sex determined by a BTO ringer, who also fitted a ring and the tail mount transmitters. The ten owls were released into the same woods as the previous year and a week on from their release most of the owls were doing well and dispersing from their initial release sites. In both years many owls have been tracked to hedgerows, woodland edges and rides, all of which are excellent habitats for small mammals, which they prey upon.

thus armed, Sarah goes off in search of an owl

Unfortunately this year we have had four deaths, as opposed to one last year. Two of the fatalities this year were the result of predation, with a post-mortem on one confirming it had talon marks on its body. The third casualty was found on the train line in the middle of the wood which the owl had been in for 7 weeks, and the fourth casualty was found with no apparent injuries, but came after a number of nights of heavy rain. Although the fatalities were unfortunate, the causes of death were not due to the method of rehabilitation as all had survived in the wild for some time.

Tracking of four more of the owls ceased because the transmitters came off the tail feathers. None were found with the tail feather still attached. Although movements of these owls cannot be confirmed, they are assumed alive and well, as are the two remaining owls.