Tawny Owl Luna's Tragic Loss Has a Happy Ending🦉| Luna & Bomber | Robert E Fuller

This is the story of a wild tawny owl named Luna who's eggs fail to hatch and it has a very happy ending.

*JOIN MY MISSION*
____________________

*ABOUT THIS FILM*
____________________

Luna's story

The story begins in January as Luna and her mate Bomber look for somewhere to nest. This owl couple are an established pair and nested here at my home in North Yorkshire last year, when their eggs sadly failed.

Beech stump

Beech stump is an owl box I made (from an old beech stump) many years ago and is where Luna grew up. Ironically, Luna is herself a fostered owl and back in 2017 I placed her in this box with a wild tawny owl pair who raised her as their own.

Nest revamp

But since Bomber & Luna were here, I have made some renovations and the owl pair seem surprised at how it has changed. They seem to like it and it isn't long before Luna begins scraping out a hollow into the sawdust. This will do for an egg.

Fighting off competition

The newly restored nest has caught the eye of a few other birds too and Luna and Bomber have to see off barn owl Gylfie before they can settle down to making it their home.

Nesting

Tawny owls make their nests in holes in trees, and both male and females scrape out the hollows the eggs will sit in. Luna also seems to like to add her own touches. I see her picking off bits of bark and making home improvements.

Egg laying

By mid-May, Luna lays her first egg. But as she broods it a jackdaw and then a kestrel land at then entrance. Luna stays calm. Tawny owls lay eggs every two to three days… and even with disturbance from jackdaws outside… 64 hours later she’s laid a second egg. And then a third, 64 hours after that. Her clutch of three is now complete.

Incubation

Tawny owls incubate their eggs for approximately 30 days and as Luna broods the clutch Bomber drops in with regular food deliveries.

Then tragedy starts

But a month later, in spite of Luna’s constant brooding there are no signs of hatching and it becomes clear that yet again Luna's eggs have failed.

And Luna is trapped

To make matters worse, the jackdaws have returned… this time, bringing nesting material into the entrance. Within hours, the nest entrance is full of sticks. And Luna is trapped inside.

Hope

Meanwhile, I get a call about two owl chicks found on the ground at a nearby farm. They’ve fallen from their nest in a straw stack. Without warmth and food these chicks could perish in a matter of hours.

Owlets get intensive care

I have to act quickly to keep these chicks alive. There’s no choice but to rescue them. Back at base, the chicks are fed. It’s never nice to take an animal out of the wild, but this really was the only option.

A plan hatches

Luna is the ideal foster mother for these two. She's still preparing for those eggs to hatch, so she’s full of maternal hormones.

But first I have to release her

Meanwhile, in the nest, Luna is still trapped. If I don’t remove the sticks she will die. I remove the back of the nest. And with her gone, the nest can be cleared.

Luna meets her new chicks

Luna rushes in and envelopes the two chicks, brooding them instantly. It's almost as though she was expecting them.

Next time

Keep an eye on my channel to watch the chicks meet foster dad Bomber and get ready for their first flights.

*ABOUT ME*
____________

I am a British wildlife artist and filmmaker on a mission to share my love for wildlife with the world. As well as creating detailed animal film and art portraits, I promote wildlife tours around the world and do all I can to help conserve and protect wildlife here at my home in Yorkshire. I hope that by putting nature in the frame I can foster a deep love for wildlife amongst my followers.

You can also follow me on these platforms:

___________________
© Robert E Fuller

#robertefuller #tawnyowl #owl #wildlives #lunaandbomber

[RobertEFuller]

I hope you've enjoyed the video!

Follow me: Facebook - bit.ly/43LiisV | Twitter - bit.ly/43yuiO9 | Instagram- bit.ly/3XV7rLA | TikTok - bit.ly/3XUnEAJ

[shadycatz]

finn is unbelievably gentle! a while ago, he entered a nest with chicks, and left them alone. now he finds an egg and leaves it alone. many birds would destroy eggs/kill chicks in order to attain the nest/try to push the other bird out of their territory/get food via egg/chick, but he seems so docile and forgiving.

edit: rip finn, you were my favourite male owl, so sweet and curious. hopefully your babies take after you :(

[konstantinriumin]

Luna was probably thinking "They grow up so fast, they were just eggs yesterday!"

[moonycat]

5:09 Finn is such a sweet gentle boy omg, everytime he finds a nest with eggs, he just looks amazed and gives a lil tap before flying off. No aggression, just curiosity

[angelachouinard]

The way she looked straight into the camera at the end was like. "I've got this covered (literally), the little ones will be all right!" So good to see.

[Master_Petes_Theater]

Luna was "passing it forward" when she adopted the owlets since she, too, was adopted. We're happy she was able to share her mothering instincts to the needy owlets. It was a win-win situation for all!

Thank you for the assist, Uncle Robert! 🥰🥰

[faefiercevulpine]

In all the content we’ve seen of her, I don’t think her eyes were ever more wide, shocked, and elated than when she came home to those two chicks. This actually has me super emotional.

Also Finn is so sweet and so curious about everything, bless him 🥺

[katyalupochev]

Must’ve been a bit disorienting for Luna when Mrs Kes effectively opened her front door, screamed incomprehensibly at her in her living room, and left without further comment or context

[Ragetiger]

This egg season has been one of the wildest to date. From Luna taking in two nestlings when her eggs failed to Mr Kes taking on the duties of a female kestrel when Mrs Kes was attacked then abandoned the nest box

[herpderp]

I don't want to anthropomorphize the birds too much, but Finn really does seem to be such a placid soul. Same for Luna, she's got such a strong maternal nature.

[karenbearden]

She says to the landlord, "You've changed the carpets!? Lovely." These are wonderful, thank you so much!

[xyz]

Luna and Bomber are so cute when they’re nest-scraping and getting their faces completely covered with wood chips and dust; they look so confused 😂

[TraciPeteyforlife]

I swear Finn is the hardest working male Barn Owl of all time. He has no mean bone in him. He loves all eggs, thank you Finn for being such a sweet heart. I swear Finn just wants to be dad to all. Luna being the best mom she can. She wanted so badly to be MOM. Now she's going to be MOM

[sanjuktachatterjee]

Luna fostering in the same nest where she was herself fostered! 😍❤️

[Lonesome__Dove]

I just love how the parents owls look down at their young with their beautiful eyes a look of love and contentment.

[vesnafall]

It almost looks like Luna is hugging them as she starts to brood them. What a sweet foster mom! I'm so glad it worked out.

And Finn is such a good lad. I was honestly expecting him to break the egg (and was thinking, "Oh, no, Finn is usually so sweet--but he's an animal looking to nest, it's a part of nature-") but he just let it be. <3

[amphiptered.]

Aww, Mrs Kes... I still hope she alive and safe somewhere.
I am glad Luna accepted the chicks.

[mari]

You’re amazing Robert! I’m happy to be one of your subscribers 😊

[KraftyKeelah]

So nice to see Mrs Kez stepping up to unknowingly defend a fellow laying mama. Luna, as a rescue, paid it forward by rescuing some new babies. She didn't hesitate to start brooding. Thanks for sharing Robert.

[debrabishop]

It’s very thoughtful of you to did for Luna giving her the baby owls. She will be the best mum ever for those owlets. When she looked into that camera, she thanked you.