Where Did Bomber The Tawny Owl Spend the Weekend? The Role of Males During Brooding | Plus LIVE Q&As

This broadcast was recorded live and includes a live Q&A. It follows the sudden disappearance of Fotherdale's resident tawny owl just when his mate is sitting on eggs, and includes footage from live nest cameras.

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BOMBER TAKES OFF FOR THE WEEKEND
Last Friday I was alerted by viewers of my livestream to the fact that Bomber had left the nest. When this male tawny owl had still not re-appeared by Sunday, I searched through the camera footage.
BOMBER THE TAWNY OWLS LAST SIGHTING
The last clip I had of this tawny owl was as he gazed out of the nest entrance on Thursday evening. It was cold outside and his mate Luna was behind him calling. You can see her flutter her wings as if willing him to go out to find food for her.
MALE TAWNY OWLS NEED TO PROVIDE THEIR MATES WITH FOOD
It is the male's job to provide food for the female when she is sitting on eggs and Luna was clearly hungry. Eventually, Bomber reluctantly flew off.
BOMBER GOES MISSING FOR ALMOST FIVE DAYS
But then Bomber disappeared. I searched through footage from more than 80 surveillance cameras covering the garden and surrounding countryside and saw no sign of him.
MEANWHILE TEMPERATURES PLUMMET
I began to worry about Bomber and the fact he had left Luna sitting on eggs with no support, so I set out to search for him. I checked below power lines and listened for his calls each night. The temperature outside was -10 Celsius and the wind chill made it even colder.
EVEN THE BUZZARDS STRUGGLE IN THE WINDS
For an idea of how extreme the conditions were, I have included a clip of a kestrel trying to land in high winds and a buzzard, a comparatively large bird, struggling to balance as the wind pushed snow drifts along the ground.
TAWNY OWL'S PLEADING CALLS
As the days wore on, Luna was clearly getting hungry and we could hear her on the microphones calling out for Bomber. The sound, normally a beautiful one to hear, was heart breaking.
AT LAST BOMBER RETURNS
Finally Tawncy Owl Bomber returned on Monday. Watch as he dropped in briefly to check on the eggs before turning to greet Luna - was their exchange affectionate?
THE APOLOGY
My final clip is of Bomber returning again with a peace offering - a woodmouse for his poor hungry mate.
HAS HE BEEN UNFAITHFUL?
The question on everybody's lips was, where had Bomber been and did he have a girlfriend somewhere? I suspect this could be the case. Although owls are normally faithful, it is not unheard of for them to have two nests when there is a good food source.
IS LUNA HIS FAVOURITE
Tawny owls do usually have a favourite, even if they do have two females on the go at once. Three years ago I noticed Bomber kept taking food to a location somewhere down the valley, even though his mate was in my Beech Stump nest box. Then, when this female tawny owl sadly died, Bomber suddenly produced Luna and moved her into the nest box.
DO MALE TAWNY OWLS CARE FOR EGGS & CHICKS.
The short answer is no. I've never seen a male incubate eggs or even tear off tit-bits for young chicks. They do feed chicks once they are old enough to swallow food whole or break it up themselves but before this stage the females do all the work.
WATCH THE EGGS HATCH
We are expecting the tawny owl eggs to hatch at the end of next week. Tune in to my livestream to watch: https://youtu.be/N_DwST8vKdQ
THE STORY OF LUNA & BOMBER
Luna, and her mate Bomber, are resident here at Fotherdale Farm. Find out more about their story here: https://youtu.be/lV6YGd7CPuM

#tawnyowls #owlbehaviour

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I am a British wildlife artist based in Thixendale, North Yorkshire, UK. I build ideal habitats to encourage wildlife into my garden and use nest cams to study their behaviour. These studies inform my paintings. I share the best of my video research on this channel for free. If you would like to support my work please consider a small donation here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=A52ZHAMJZC3J4

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Видео Where Did Bomber The Tawny Owl Spend the Weekend? The Role of Males During Brooding | Plus LIVE Q&As канала Robert E Fuller