Minerva is a sun worshipper, holding her head up to the suns rays and enjoys spreading her wings out on the aviary floor for a full sunbathing session. Odin, her sibling was the first to try out their bath, he got so carried away that he was too soaked to fly and had to climb back to his perch!

Fathom, two years younger than them actually walked here. He appeared to have fallen from a nearby nest so we left him under a tree until dark in case the mother owl claimed him. Later, when he was obviously hungry we took him home and placed him in quarantine for a couple of weeks before introducing him to Minerva and Odin. He soon settled down with them and enjoyed the attention of being hand fed long after he was old enough to fend for himself!

            Their favourite spot in the garden is in the fig tree where they like to observe activities after a flying session. When it is time to return to their aviary Minerva always obliges quickly whereas the "boys" want to stay until the last possible moment, unless it is raining, whereas it is a race then to get home!

            When younger, they tended to sit on our heads, as it was a competition to claim the highest spot! I had a repeat of this the other day. Whilst feeding them in the aviary a "wild" tawny arrived I found the three of them trying to perch on my head which was quite an experience!

Tawny Owls getting ahead