More of the Tawny Owl

Early one morning at the weekend, I had one of my most memorable encounters yet with a Tawny Owl. I found it perched high in a tree, slightly obscured by summer leaves, and clearly wide awake—not in the mood for roosting.

With a bit of slow repositioning, I managed to get a clearer view. Then, without warning, the owl began hooting repeatedly, filling the quiet woodland with its deep, resonant call. Moments later, it flew into the dense cover—and that’s when things got even better. A second owl responded, and soon I was listening to a duet between a male and female Tawny Owl, echoing through the trees.

It’s not often you get to witness this kind of behaviour in daylight, let alone capture it. While the photo above reflects the calm before it all kicked off, I’ll be sharing more images from this encounter soon, including the moment the hooting began.