Things are definitely looking promising on the Tawny front at Yew View. The female (Aluco) is now staying in the box during the day, several times a week. At night, we often see the male (Strix) as well. Strix aluco is the Latin name for Tawny Owl.
Here they are, both alighting on the outside of the nest box.
I have been unable to get an external microphone fixed to the internal camera yet, but the camera facing the entrance does have a mic. This means I have to lift two clips and use the video from one cam and the audio from the other cam and combine them. A bit of a faff, but worth it when you get a clip like this.
The calls you can hear are two individuals. It is usually the female who makes the 'Kee-wick' call, which makes me think that is is Strix (male) in the box here and Aluco (female) responding outside....
I also lifted a couple more clips of the female when she was in the box during the day. The squirrel does appear sometimes and she responds pretty aggressively now, as we near breeding time.....
The rest of the day, she snoozes, preens and sometimes pops up to sit at the entrance to look out.
For the last three years, she has laid between the last week of Feb and the 2nd week in March, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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