Unfamiliar food for tawny owl chicks

Screencap by  Maggy, LK forum

Translation Liis

At night the adults brought four fish to the tawny owl chicks ….

Roach      Harilik särg      Rutilus rutilus

The roaches in the Bay of Matsalu start their spawning when the water temperature goes above 8 ºC . The reproductive activities take place in water about half a metre deep. The slow development of this spring has shifted the normal spawning period, at the end of April, into May. It generally lasts about three weeks.

It seems that the tawny owls have discovered the roach spawning, and caught roaches in the early morning dusk a little before 4 o’clock.

Four fish were brought into the nest trunk. The heads had been eaten by the adult birds. The strange fish smell made the ever hungry, fast growing owlets uneasy and the fish were left lying on the bottom of the nest hollow. Female Klaara came to the nest at 11 a m and fed the roaches to the owlets – food brought in the beak of Mum must be eaten …

They had to get used to the new delicacy anyway. The age of the owlets then, May 9th, was 24 days; in a week the bigger ones are likely to manage outside the nest trunk.

Photo Arne Ader

Roach