Neighbours Noticing Nature

Powerful Owls (Ninox strenua) have been sighted and heard in our local area recently and there’s a good reason for that as the update from the The Powerful Owl project, run by Birdlife Australia explains.

What are the owls up to now?

At this time of year (April), singles are calling for a partner, and the established pairs are cementing their pair bonds, investigating tree hollows, and deciding whether to nest in the same tree as last year or move to a different one. The owls are also visiting the perimeters of their territories and calling to remind the neighbours where the boundaries are. Around the end of May/beginning of June, the females of this year’s breeding pairs will enter their hollows to lay their eggs and brood.

You may be wondering what the juveniles from last year are doing now? Some will have already dispersed, and over the coming weeks the rest will leave the territories where they were born, to find a territory of their own.

An article from the ABC describes the eating habits of Australia's largest and most powerful owl , the only owl in Australia that has an owly hoot.

Powerful Owls are capable hunters and include sugar gliders, greater gliders, ringtail possums and brushtail possums in their diet. According to Dr Raylene Cooke from Deakin University, Powerful Owls eat an astounding 250 to 350 possums a year. Dr Cooke analysed 2500 owl pellets to determine this fact.

Unseen and unheard, the winged hunter swoops onto an unwary possum, grasping it with its claws and breaking its neck. In one great bite the Powerful Owl can eat a possum's head. The male will then take the headless possum back to the roost and eat some more, as well as provide meat for the female and two chicks.

Powerful Owls will also eat mice, insects and a range of other birds, including quite large prey such as white cockatoos, magpies, and even ravens.

They specialise in their diet, but eat a broad range of animals over their habitat area. Coastal Powerful Owls will favour Ringtail Possums, while in the high country they prefer Greater Gliders.

We are very fortunate to have Powerful Owls in our area, they are listed as Vulnerable in NSW. There are some simple actions we can take to make sure the Powerful Owl will always have a home on our peninsula

• If you happen to know where a Powerful Owl is nesting please do not disturb it.
• If you have a cat keep it indoors, especially at night, for its safety as well as that of the owls.
• If you have a rodent problem consider using the less toxic first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as Warfarin, Coumateralyl (Ratblitz) because they break down more quickly than second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides which accumulate in the predator’s bodies and can result in their death.