Home » Tawny Owl Nest Camera | April 2019 | Laying Eggs & Incubating

Tawny Owl Nest Camera | April 2019 | Laying Eggs & Incubating

April 8, 2019
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The female tawny owl is now incubating three eggs. She sits on these eggs alone for 30 days until hatching begins. This year she laid two weeks later than usual and for a while I was worried she wasn’t going to lay any eggs at all.

Owls are unlike other birds in that they begin to incubate as soon as the first egg is laid. This means that the chicks hatch at different intervals and vary in size inside the nest.

Scroll down to see my paintings inspired by these video studies | Click here to follow their story from the start of the 2019 season

Keep checking in to this blog post for new clips from the nest.

April 4 2019

Waiting For Babies | A Tale Of Incubation

Incubating three tawny eggs

Click to play video

The tawny owl is now sitting on three beautiful white eggs. The first two of these eggs were laid at two-day intervals, the third egg arrived three days after the second egg. All three are due to hatch in the first week of May.

The female sits on her clutch day and night, only taking the occasional break to stretch her wings. Female tawny owls incubate alone for 30 days to hatching. Her mate punctuates the monotony by bringing in regular snacks. Watch the surprised look on his face when he arrives one day to find she is out!

One day their peace is shattered by an audacious jackdaw who brings in sticks ready to make a nest in Beech Stump – right under the nose of Mrs Tawny!! After a tense standoff, the jackdaw retreats. It is a thankful escape. Watch the video to see how jackdaws can quickly colonise other bird’s nests.

April 6th 2019

Amazing! Tawny Owl Lays 2 Eggs

First tawny eggs of the season

Click above to play the video

Every day last month I have been worried about the tawny owls. The female looked seriously unwell and I didn’t expect her to survive. The male didn’t seem to be 100% either. So I’m absolutely delighted to report that the female is now fully recovered and has laid two eggs! Watch the video to see how loved up this pair are and how she lays her eggs. Watch how delighted the female is with herself, if an owl could grin – this would be it. Enjoy!