Tawny owl

Strix aluco Today, 3 October

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

now moulting 11 days

moulting Bird here all year

The whole year

15 September – 14 October

the coastal calendar, shifted 14 days later for this region

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	15 October – 14 March	151 days	Song, display, fighting, scent-marking — pairs forming or reaffirming.
on eggs	15 March – 14 April	31 days	Clutch laid and being incubated, or buried and left to the sun.
raising young	15 April – 18 May	34 days	Dependent young in the nest, den or burrow, being fed.
young have left	19 May – 14 August	88 days	Young out of the nest or den, but still fed and followed by the adults.
young dispersing	15 August – 14 September	31 days	Young leaving for good, looking for a territory of their own.
moulting	15 September – 14 October	30 days	Feathers or coat replaced. Many birds go quiet and hide while it happens.

Other birds in this region

Barn swallowBlack storkCommon cuckooCommon nightingaleCommon ravenCommon swiftEurasian scops owlEuropean bee-eaterEuropean robinGreat spotted woodpeckerGreat titHoopoePygmy cormorantWhite stork

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