Tawny Owl

True Wild Life | Tawny Owl | The tawny owl is a small to medium sized bird of prey that is found across Europe and in parts of Asia but tawny owls are mainly found in woodlands across Eurasia. The tawny owl is the most widespread owl in Europe and is the most of common bird of prey found in the UK. Tawny owls tend to be around 40cm tall with a wingspan of about 100cm, with the tawny owl therefore being a much stockier bird than many other species of owl in the world.

The tawny owl is a nocturnal bird of prey, that takes advantage of their fantastic night vision to quickly catch their prey. Tawny owls prey on small rodents such as voles and mice, and also insects and small reptiles. In the same way as other species of owl, the tawny owl swallows it's prey whole and then regurgitates the bones that it cannot digest within a few hours of eating, in the form of a small pellet. Typically, tawny owls can be found nesting in tree holes during the daylight hours when they are resting. During the breeding season in the early spring, the male tawny owls can be seen hunting during the day as well as at night as they are collecting food to present to their mate.

Tawny owls are known to mate for life although this is not always the case. The female tawny owl lays an average of 3 eggs in the late spring to early summer and incubates her eggs while the male tawny owl brings her food. The tawny owl chicks hatch out of their eggs after an incubation period of around a month. The tawny owl chicks are reared by their parents until they are usually around 2 months old, although it is not uncommon for the tawny owl chicks to be looked after until they are nearly 3 months of age.

Due to the fact that tawny owls are relatively small birds (particularly in comparison to other birds of prey), the tawny owl has a number of natural predators within it's environment. Predators of the tawny owl include dogs, cats and foxes along with birds of prey such as hawks, eagles, buzzards and even larger species of owl. Rats and squirrels are the main predators of the tawny owl's eggs. Tawny owls inhabit dense forest and woodland where they cannot be disturbed resting during the day. During the night, tawny owls can often be heard making noises such as hooting and screeching which they do to communicate with other tawny owls, to mark their territory and to find a mate.

Snowy Owl

True Wild Life | Snowy Owl | The snowy owl is also known as the Arctic owl or the great white owl. The snowy owl is primarily found within the Arctic Circle with the range of the snowy owl ranging across Canada, Greenland, Europe and Asia. The snowy owl is the official bird of Quebec in the North-east of Canada. The snowy owl is one of the largest species of owl in the world, with the average adult snowy owl growing to about 65cm tall with a wingspan of around 140cm. Snowy owls however can be smaller than this, and can even grow to more than 75cm in height.

Despite the vast range of the snowy owl within the Arctic Circle, it has been reported for snowy owls to travel further south in search of food. Snowy owls have been spotted as far south as Texas in the USA and even in the Caribbean. Snowy owls are also commonly spotted throughout Europe and Asia, from the UK to the southern China. Snowy owls make their nests on the ground but they chose their nesting place very carefully. A nest site for the snowy owl must have good visibility so that the snowy owl is able to keep and eye on it's surroundings, and the nest of the snowy owl must also have a good source of food so that the snowy owl does not have leave the nest for long (if at all) in order to eat.

Snowy owls breed in may and the female snowy owl lays up to 14 eggs although the average clutch size of the snowy owl is about 7. The pure white snowy owls chicks hatch out of the eggs after an incubation period of around 5 weeks. Both the male snowy owl and the female snowy owl parents help to feed and fear their young, and also protect the snowy owl chicks from predators. Although snowy owls are omnivores, they have a primarily carnivorous diet. Lemmings and other small rodents such as mice and voles are the main source of food for the snowy owl. Snowy owls are opportunistic hunters meaning that they will take advantage of an opportunity to hunt larger animals. Snowy owls have been known to hunt fish (when they can find them), squirrels, rabbits, rats, birds and even large mammals such as gophers and foxes.

Like other species of large bird, the snowy owl is known to swallow it's food whole and then regurgitate the bones in the form of a pellet up to 24 hours after feeding. In order to sustain itself, the snowy owl must eat around 5 lemmings or mice every day which is nearly 2,000 in one year. The snowy owl is known to have bright white feathers that are often flecked with black and grey. The snowy owl also has large eyes, a sharp, curved beak and large head, along with feathers on it's feet. All of these features of the snowy owl allow the snowy owl is survive as successfully as possible within the Arctic Circle.

Due to it's large size the snowy owl has few natural predators within it's environment. Humans hunting the snowy owl are the main predators of the snowy owl, along with large foxes, wild dogs and wolves.