Bird Language Tawny Owl alarm, Clifford Barton, 7th March 2023

It’s a great time of year for interpreting bird language. Over the last couple of months, hardly a day goes by when I’m not alerted to the presence of an aerial predator, usually a Sparrowhawk.
When birds find an Owl in this situation, multiple species will gather around the Owl and alarm at it until it moves on and away from their territory. In this case, an extremely agitated Blackbird was the first clue, but as I continued to work in the barn, other species started to alarm in the same area. Robins, Jays and Blue Tits joined the Blackbird in its attempt to flush the Owl away from the area. At this point, I knew for sure I’d see a Tawny Owl and went outside to try and video the action.
It was very exciting to come across not one, but two Owls being hassled by the other birds in the area.
There is something magical about being able to read the landscape by listening to bird language and I’ve even located deer using the same technique.
If you are interested in learning the language of the birds I highly recombined Jon Young’s book, ‘What the Robin Knows’ or watching his DVD ‘Bird Language Basics with Jon Young’.