Barn owl love
Next to my painting easel is a TV monitor displaying live views from inside owl and kestrel nests. Inside one, a pair of loved-up barn owls canoodle most days; rubbing beaks and standing as close to one another as the warm weather allows.
Gylfie’s new partner
This is Gylfie, a female barn owl and long-time resident of my garden in Thixendale, North Yorkshire, and her latest partner. The two seem deeply affectionate, given that barn owls normally pair for life and this is Gylfie’s third partner in the four years since I’ve been counting. The reason for this is that poor Gylfie’s been widowed twice. And on both occasions her losses were sudden and dramatic.
After barn owl Finn’s death
The latest, just a month ago, was tragically preventable. Finn had been a loyal and devoted barn owl partner. He barely left her side throughout the two seasons they raised chicks together and spent much of his time either hunting or standing guard over his family. This is unusual for barn owls. The other resident pair in my garden have far more divided roles when it comes to caring for their chicks: the male does the hunting, and the female does all the rest.
A tragic owl loss
But in July, when the weather was scorching hot and it became necessary for the owls to both cool and clean off – barn owl nests can get pretty mucky – poor Finn sadly drowned in a water trough.
This is unfortunately an all-too-common fate for birds in the summertime. They get trapped due to the steep sides of most troughs. And yet the so solution is so simple, just a few breezeblocks in the corner of the trough, submerged under the water, or a floating plastic tray, means wildlife can get out safely.
Gylfie moves on
But as I, and the many fans who follow these owls’ daily lives on my YouTube channel, mourned his loss, Gylfie was getting on with life and was caught on camera apparently flirting with a new owl. Flirting is my interpretation of course but after watching her lead him on a tour of my home-made nest boxes and preen and touch beaks with him, it certainly looked that way.
I noticed that this owl was ringed and after zooming in on the footage I was able to read the number inscribed into the British Trust for Ornithology band wrapped around his leg. A few phone calls later and I discovered that this owl was already known to me. In fact, I had had a hand in his upbringing. Even more surprising, Gylfie’s new barn owl mate was, effectively, Finn’s stepbrother.
New owl love’s incredible story
The number on the identification tag also revealed that this barn owl has a harrowing past. As a chick, this male was discovered inside a corn dryer alongside four others. The owlets had been in there for six days before they were found and all five were in an appalling condition.
Sadly, three died within hours of their discovery. Wildlife rehabilitator Jean Thorpe of Ryedale Rehabilitation had to work hard to revive the remaining two. They spent their first days under a heat lamp where she hand-fed them day and night. In her record books Jean had written the word ‘Dryer’ next to the weights and measurements of the male owlet and so I decided, therefore, to name him Dryer.
A rescued owlet
Jean and I regularly work together since she often brings me her charges so that I can release them back to the wild here at Fotherdale, where I have plenty of wide-open spaces and nest boxes to keep them safe. Sometimes, I even introduce younger owlets to wild owl families where the parent birds take the chicks on as one of their own. My cameras mean I can monitor their progress and if necessary, intervene.
Fostered at Fotherdale
In this case, the wild barn owls living at Fotherdale had finished using their nest box for the season and the now empty box represented a safe place from which Dryer and his sibling could fledge. So, once the rescued owlets were deemed ready, Jean brought them here and I then placed them into the box and provided the food their parents would naturally drop in for them until they were ready to fledge and hunt for themselves. I kept a close eye on my monitors to make sure they were safe.
And barn owl Finn’s step-brother
When Jean arrived with Dryer and his sibling, she also brought two more barn owlets that needed a home. So that year I released rescued four barn owls here at Fotherdale. One of these owlets was Finn. And so, ironically, Gylfie’s new partner grew up alongside her old one. I’m hoping that Dryer turns out to be as patient and attentive as Finn was!
So far he’s been showing similar traits, standing close to Gylfie in one of the nest boxes and seemingly keen to please her, so it’s possible. It’s a little late in the season for the two to breed this year, although it’s always possible that they could go for a late brood and so I’m keeping my eye on their movements.
Owls live on
But, even if they don’t, I expect Dryer to be around for the next breeding season and if so it will be amazing to watch as he and Gylfie raise chicks together. And heartening that Gylfie’s story can go on.
