Tuesday, February 3, 2009

How They Grow - Tawny Owls

This little owl is so popular in Great Britain that it makes an appearance in many pieces of English literature--the most well known being "Winnie the Pooh" and the "Harry Potter" books.

Above you see our Tawny Owl baby at 7 days old.




This photo, taken at 30 days, shows a remarkable change in appearance.  He (she) is already showing characteristics of the beautiful little bird he will become


At 43 days our little baby is assuming the rounded, blocky shape, by which his species is generally described.  I personally think he looks  like a kid who's been caught in the act, and is saying "Who me?"  

In the wild he would now be scrambling around on branches near the nest, beginning to explore his world, although his parents would still be feeding him.




At 58 days you can see that our little character is beginning to get some of his adult plumage, even though he is still quite fuzzy.





As you can see, at 64 days he now has most of his adult feathers, even though there is still some down left.  In the wild he would be flying and beginning to hunt for himself.



At three months (about 90 days), he would be independent and he and his siblings would be starting to disperse.  

This photo is Tigger, our resident adult Tawny Owl.

Isn't it an incredible transformation from photo #1 to this beautiful, amazing creature in such a short time?


TO SEE TIGGER AND SOME OF HIS FRIENDS IN PERSON, JOIN US FOR ONE OF OUR SEVEN REMAINING OWL PROWLS!

Owl Prowls begin at 7 p.m. and last approximately 1-1/2 hour.  The first half hour is held inside our Nature Center where you will meet several of our owls close up and our Naturalists will teach participants how to  "hoot".  We will then proceed outside and walk the trails of our grounds, while attempting to coax our local owls to return our "hoots".

For more Owl Prowl information, or to Make a Reservation, call 636-225-4390, Ext. 0.

Cost for this entertaining and informative program is:  $9.00 for adults and $7.00 for children.

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