nests & nesting doubling the odds A helping hand for a Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl chick
Text & photographs john pillans
y wife and I live in a retire ment complex in East London, surrounded by suburbia, two schoolsM and the North East Expressway. Our sliver of green ‘park’ is sandwiched in between and is probably not a location that one would readily imagine as being attractive to owls. There is, however, an abandoned Crowned Eagle nest in a large Erythrina tree near the school tennis courts. We had our first indication of owl activ ity in early June 2018 when I heard the birds vocalising one night. On 12 June we got an inkling that something was afoot when Pied Crows mobbed the vacant Crowned Eagle nest. To our considerable surprise (and great excitement), closer scrutiny revealed that a female Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl Bubo lacteus was in the nest. The nest tree is roughly 150 metres from an eight-storey apartment complex and by virtue of the position of the nest in the tree, observations of the sitting birds were possible only from an apartment on the sixth floor and not from ground level. Verreaux’s Eagle-Owls are not common white ball and from this we deduced that above Our first sighting of the female eagle- around East London, so to have these birds the incubation period had lasted between owl and the two chicks. nesting was a highlight for many residents 35 and 40 days. of the retirement complex and others in On 3 August a second chick was seen opposite The adult female watched intently the neighbourhood. We have a bird hide in the nest together with the female and as the chick was removed from the nest. with a water feature in the garden and the its older sibling. The species’ character owls’ story has served to greatly increase istic pink eyelids were evident from the the extent of the greyish downy feather interest in and awareness of ‘our’ birds. first sighting and the grey colouring and ing increased, the coloration remained We were unable to determine the exact barring on the face became more evident the same, while feathering on the back date on which the eggs had been laid, but as the chicks grew. Wing feather growth and shoulders became more tinged with the first sighting of a chick was on 24 July. was rapid; after about 10 days we no brown. We estimated that the chick was then less ticed that the chicks were exercising their Due to the proximity of the two schools than 10 days old as it was still a fluffy wings at all times of the day. Although and their sports fields, as well as the >
january/february 2019 verreaux’s eagle-owl 49 expressway, a decision was taken to with hold information about the nest and chicks in a bid to deter any potentially unwelcome interest by schoolchildren or pedestrians near the expressway. In the re cent past, four Peregrine Falcon chicks at a nearby nest site had been stoned to death, so our concern for the safety of the nest in habitants was warranted. Numerous interesting observations were made during the brooding period. Little Sparrowhawks and African Gos hawks were seen on a few occasions early in the morning in the vicinity of the sit ting female owl. We saw an immature African Goshawk perched on the edge of the nest and we suspect that it was try ing to scavenge leftovers from the food brought to the nest the previous night. A Greater Double-collared Sunbird fe male hawked flies and midges inches from the owl chick’s head. Intimidating Pied Crows were always a nuisance at the nest and were routinely seen off by the male owl; he regularly perched on a branch some 60 metres away, enabling him to watch and if necessary defend the nest at all times. When a Crowned Eagle also showed interest in the nest, settling in an adjoining tree, it incurred an im mediate response and rapid retaliation In a typical case of the Cain and Abel and luck have a 100 per cent success rate The chick exercising and stretching shortly be- from the male owl. The female eagle-owl syndrome, the smaller chick inevitably with this clutch of Verreaux’s Eagle-Owls. fore it left the nest. It remained with its parents above Removing the remained on the nest from initial incuba succumbs to starvation, dehydration and As things turned out, before it was re in the area for another month. younger chick from the nest tion until 21 August, when she took up intimidation through resource competi moved on 16 August the younger chick involved some strenuous tree residence in a large fig tree that gave her tion exerted by its aggressive older sib had survived in the nest for a little longer flights to and from adjoining trees became climbing... an unobstructed view of the nest as well ling. It became obvious to me in my daily than four weeks. At that stage it was in steadily more controlled and its landings as any other activities in the vicinity. observations of the birds that one chick poor condition, with severe mouth and more co-ordinated and less haphazard! right The rescued chick was Every day we checked the ground below was being increasingly victimised and tongue wounds and bill damage. It is The family of three has remained within in a poor condition. It was the owls’ ‘plucking tree’, some 30 metres pecked by the larger chick. After con clear that it would not have endured for our greenbelt. found to be suffering from from the nest, to see what had been caught sulting with Peter Steyn, on 14 August I more than another day or so had it not an internal infection and had and fed to the chicks and female the night made the decision to remove the younger been removed. Acknowledgements severe facial injuries. before. The owls plucked their bird prey chick from the nest and arranged for it The chick was taken to the Caring Owl My thanks go to Peter and Jenny Steyn, prior to taking it to the nest. The majority to be rehabilitated at an owl sanctuary in Sanctuary near Makhanda and at the who have been more than special friends of prey species were Red-eyed, Laughing Makhanda (Grahamstown). Through the time of writing was doing well, devel since our first meeting many years ago at and Rock doves; Speckled Mousebird and tireless efforts of Kevin Cole at the East oping a typically assertive and aggres Falcon College and who continue to give me Water Thick-knee were found on only three London Museum, the necessary permit sive owl attitude. In due course it will be wonderful advice and help; Chris and Pat occasions. The remains of a rock hyrax were was obtained and Mark Mannheim taken to a private game reserve, kept in Warner, whose apartment we frequented discovered once below the nest. Locating climbed the tree, collected the chick and an aviary for a while to adjust to its new regularly to observe the nest; Leigh-Ann the owls’ regurgitated pellets was surpris lowered it to the ground. environment and learn to hunt live prey Kretzman; Mark Mannheim; our complex’s ingly difficult and we located only two, both My decision to interfere with the nat before being released. CEO Mike Schulze and senior manager of which contained vestiges of insects. ural order did not go down well with By the first week in September the re Mary-Ann Hill, without whose support everyone, but it is my belief that it is long maining chick was managing to hop and this story would probably not have materi here are few records of two Ver overdue for us to make an effort to save flap its way around branches next to the alised; and Chris Pretorius of the Caring reaux’s Eagle-Owl chicks beyond what is left of our natural heritage. In nest. As it grew stronger, it became more Owl Sanctuary outside Makhanda for his the age of three or four weeks stead of a 50 per cent chance of survival, I adventurous and on the night of 16 Sep compassionate help in rehabilitating the Tbeing reared together in the same nest. reckoned we could with some application tember it left the nest permanently. Its second chick.
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