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WATCH: A secure home for owlets

The estate has been playing the role of the surrogate parents to these owlets.

Five barn owls found a safe home in the release enclosure at Aspen Hills Nature Estate and was ringed on August 25.

Aspen Nature Estate has been involved in the Owl Release Programme since 2015 and also had owl and bat houses installed by EcoSolutions in the same year.

The estate has been playing the role of the surrogate parents to these owlets.

“It will be in the owlets nature to eventually leave their parents’ area to establish territories of their own. We would advise everyone who has a barn owl box in their garden to ensure it has been serviced,” said Sara Orchardson, ecologist at EcoSolutions.

Owl and bat houses are serviced and maintained annually to ensure the boxes are suitable and viable roosting and breeding sites for owls and bats. The service component of any box is essential for occupancy and should be undertaken once a year. EcoSolutions undertakes the service and maintenance.

“Today, EcoSolutions placed SAFrings on the owls. These rings are placed on all owls as a way to identify them should they be found again,” explained Orchardson.

“Data received from SAFring recoveries is invaluable and fascinating. The data allocated to each ring number includes the date of the ringing, the GPRS coordinates, the species, the age and condition of the bird.

“This data is archived by the Avian Department at the University of Cape Town. “Information retrieved from the ring recoveries is vital to improving understanding of owl dispersal and fledging distance allowing organisations like EcoSolutions to improve their conservation efforts.”

She said the owls will be released during the first week of September.

The owls have been fed and monitored daily during the release programme by the managers at the estate.

“There is a feeding roster with management. Residents can come and watch and get more knowledge of how the owls are fed and taken care of. The children can be involved with their parents just to appreciate nature and seeing owls because some have never seen a barn owl before,” Orchardson said.

With the release enclosure being placed close to the clubhouse and a walking trail, it also allows residents to become more involved.

Quick facts

Orchardson added that owls have the ability to see in low-light conditions. However, owls also have a keen sense of hearing and rely on their hearing to hunt for prey at night.

A useful feature in locating prey is the asymmetrical positioning of owl ears. One of the ears is larger than the other and is located slightly higher on the head, allowing for greater prey location.

Owls are often seen tilting their heads from side to side in a swaying fashion, and children are convinced that the owls are dancing.

It is actually a very important hunting technique that owls use to pinpoint the exact position of their prey by listening to it from different angles and using alternating ears.

Watch them grow

“We have an Owl Cam at a verreaux eagle owl nest in the Mziki Game Reserve in the Northwest. “If readers are interested in watching these magnificent owls live, they can head to our website (www.ecosolutions.co.za) and click on the Owl Cam on the home page.

“The owlet hatched on July 25, so everyone is excited to watch the owlet grow and develop,” she said.

There are also updates and highlights on EcoSolutions Facebook page (EcoSolutions Urban Ecolog), Instagram (ecosolutionssa) and YouTube (EcoSolutions).

Get involved

Schools and estates are great sites to conduct owl releases as these properties have large, open grounds which are quiet at night.

This provides perfect fledging sites for young owlets to hone their hunting and flying skills. Release sites also facilitate the creation of reasonably large poison-free zones which lend themselves to owl habitation.

Anyone interested in installing owl and/or bat houses or undertaking a release can contact EcoSolutions and they will can take it from there.

For more information send an email to info@ecosolutions.co.za or phone 072 365 9777.

A chance to get close to a barn owl.
Security manager from Aspen Hills Riaan van Tonder and Hussein Moyo, a ringer from EcoSolutions.
Hussein Moyo placed rings on the barn owls with the assistance from Riaan van Tonder.
Riaan van Tonder and Hussein Moyo carefully place the ring on the barn owl while one of the community members take photographs.

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