The sound of northern long-eared owl chicks is similar to the sound of an old swing set that needs to be oiled. The first time that I heard the sound, I ended up going outside in the middle of the night. Wondering if there was a small animal that needed help. Facing a little hedgehog I realized the sound was coming from the three next to me. The three that had been the home of a couple of owls for the past few weeks and now we were sure that the couple had babies!
It was halfway through March when my dad told us there was an pair of owls flying around one of the threes in front of our house, for days. For a while we heard them flying around when we walked the dogs around twilight. We could hear the sound of the wings and sometimes see the countours of the birds. I have to admit I was really impressed and didn’t expect we would end up seeing them for months. But it slowly got more clear that they actually inhabited an nest close to the house and wanted to welcome little owls.
Northen long-eared owl in the three
It was the end of March when one of the neighbors told us that one of the owls was visible a lot of times. He/she was sitting in one of the threes in front of the house during broad daylight. I do remember one Monday morning when my dad woke me up to come and see the owl. There I was, standing in my pajamas on the field in front of the house, watching the bird of prey. What an special creature and amazing that we were able to see him/her from up close.
The news of an owl in our neighborhood spread around Zeewolde like a fire and since the beginning of April there are tons of people under the three, to watch them. It almost seems like a touristy attraction for young and old. Some people come to this part of town just to see the owl, while others walk by without knowing it before. But once they see people under the three, they want to know what’s happening. Let’s just say: most people are super curious.
Northern long-eared owl chicks
The first few weeks we didn’t have any problems with the owls, but halfway through May they started to become louder and louder. I am sleeping at the front of the house and the screaming owls kept me up all night. I started wondering where the sound came from and ended up outside in the middle of the night. Thinking it might be an animal that needed my help. At first I thought it was a little hedgehog, but he wouldn’t be able to make those sounds and the sounds seemed to come from the threes. The three with the big nest. Would we really have northern long-eared owl chicks in front of the house? Now we are sure: the answer is YES.
There is a couple of baby owls and they have been in the three in fron of the house for weeks now and we see them growing day by day. By now they have moved to another three and it seems like they get better at flying.
I am so grateful to be able to have seen them so many times.
Video
I took tons of pictures and videos of the owls. Check out the video bellow for the best shots that I took of the babies.
