Who are Tawny Owls?

The Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) is the most common owl species in the UK and one of the most common across Europe. Tawny Owls - or the Tawnies, as I like to call them - are resident, sedentary and very territorial owls. The deciduous forest represents their main habitat, but they can also be found in mixed woodlands and anthropogenic environments such as urban/suburban parks and large gardens. 

Their territorial hootings (starting with a typical "hooo" followed by a "hu" and "huhuhuhoooo") are probably the most familiar owl calls people are familiar with, and they can be heard especially from late autumn and throughout the winter. 

Tawnies nest in tree cavities, but they also readily use nestboxes, especially where natural cavities lack. They feed mostly on small mammals (like mice and voles), which is the main prey type. However, they often feed also on birds, amphibians, insects and earthworms.

Owls of the Anthropocene

Tawnies are iconic forest owls, well adapted to hunt at night and by relying on their remarkable hearing.

And yet, they are much closer to us than what we think! They occur in our towns and cities, moving through the anthropogenic night in search of nests and food.

However, unlike pristine forests, our towns and cities present novel challenges that the Tawnies must deal with. For example, where do they nest and how do they find the prey in noise and light-polluted areas? Noise and light might affect their sensory perception and the way Tawnies move, rest, hunt and breed. 

Human-made structures, such as roads, may also impact on their beahviour and survival. We are finding that Tawnies like areas near roads, probably because they are useful as corridors or for hunting. However, this might increase the risk of vehicles collisions! Below, a Tawny Owl found perching along a road just outside Glasgow.

Our owl fieldwork

There are multiple ways to study owls in the field. Common methods include passive or active acoustic monitorings to esimate owl presence and distribution.

For our project, we mostly rely on a nestbox-related fieldowork. Nestboxes allow us to monitor in detail both owl occupancy and breeding events. At the moment, we have 53 nestboxes in and around Glasgow.

Moreover, the use of nestboxes helps us to catch the owls with the purpose of performing the ringing, biometric measurements and biologger deployment. We perform captures at the boxes by using both hand-nets and one-way door traps.

Where we are based

Graham Kerr Building

School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine

University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK