Tenacious Tawny

A few weeks ago, I had a message from a landowner to say that their owl nest box had taken a hit in a storm and had come off the tree. However, it was still wedged up in the tree. I arranged to go and recover the box and try to reattach it. 

When I arrived, the box didn't seem to be damaged, but it was leaning precariously and the entrance hole was facing almost downwards. It didn't look too tricky to recover, but then as I climbed up to it, a Tawny Owl flew out!

Somewhat surprised, I tried to look inside the box, but the angle made it very difficult. Nevertheless, there appeared to be a single egg lying in a corner and it seemed to be a Tawny Owl egg. 

Some quick calculations suggested that the egg could have been laid before the box had been dislodged and it seemed the position of the egg was very awkward and I guessed the tenacious female owl would struggle to incubate it. 

Obviously I couldn't start moving the box, but it seemed reasonably secure, so I arranged to return a few weeks later. This plan was then thwarted by a car breakdown and it was a further 2 weeks before I was able to fit it in today.

Assuming that whatever the outcome, the box was now likely to be empty, I climbed up only to have the female Tawny fly out of the upturned box again! And when I reached inside, my hand found a well grown Tawny Owl chick perched on the slopping floor. The timing now suggests that the female may have laid after the box had moved, and she had clearly been able to incubate the egg, despite the odd position within the box. 

Pete