Tawny owl

Strix aluco Today, 3 October

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

now courting 148 days

courting Bird here all year

The whole year

1 October – 28 February

the coastal calendar, unshifted

Sitting the year outGetting readyYoung aboutYoung leaving

Where to look

Old trees with cavities, including in town parks; calls loudest on still autumn nights.

Worth knowing

Autumn, not spring, is when tawny owls are noisiest — the young are being driven off territory and the adults are re-establishing boundaries. Branchers in May are flightless, on the ground, and being watched by a parent that will strike.

Look it up

photos, sightings and recordings, off this site

iNaturalist — photos and where people are seeing it Wikipedia — Strix aluco xeno-canto — recordings of the call

Regions

where this species is on the list

Dalmatian coastKvarner and IstriaVelebit and the DinaridesSlavonia and the Pannonian plainTukhlia, Ukrainian Carpathians

Phase by phase

dates as they fall in the region chosen above

Phase	When	Length	What it means
courting	1 October – 28 February	151 days	Song, display, fighting, scent-marking — pairs forming or reaffirming.
on eggs	1 March – 31 March	31 days	Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun.
raising young	1 April – 4 May	34 days	Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed.
young have left	5 May – 31 July	88 days	Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults.
young dispersing	1 August – 31 August	31 days	Young leaving for good, looking for a territory of their own.
moulting	1 September – 30 September	30 days	Feathers or coat replaced. Many birds go quiet and hide while it happens.

Other birds in this region

Barn swallowBlue rock thrushCommon cuckooCommon nightingaleCommon ravenCommon swiftEurasian scops owlEuropean bee-eaterEuropean robinGreat spotted woodpeckerGreat titHoopoeSardinian warblerYellow-legged gull

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