Rare Tengmalm’s owl breeding again in the Netherlands

From NOS TV in the Netherlands:

Tengmalm’s owl breeding again in the Netherlands

28-07-08

For the first time after over thirty years, Tengmalm’s owl has been breeding successfully in the Netherlands. Staatsbosbeheer has said so today.

The Tengmalm’s owl’s nest has been found in a forest in Drenthe. …

[Earlier this year] various calling Tengmalm’s owls had been discovered, and Staatsbosbeheer decided to make this part of the forest inaccessible to the public, in onder to give the owls trying to nest as much quiet as possible.

In April, a nest was found. Of the four eggs, two produced chicks. However, these birds did not live for a long time; almost inmmediately after fledging, predators ate them.

For a while, it seemed that was it. However, in June, a new nest was found, 500 meter away from the first nest. In this nest, four chicks were born; however, one chick died before fledging; and another chick was caught by a predator after fledging.

Succesful

The two other chicks must have survived. That makes this the first successfull Tengmalm’s owl breeding case in over thirty years.

Research says that most chicks of this species die within a year, as the species has many enemies, including pine martens, goshawks, and tawny owls.

…

Staatsbosbeheer will have a look whether the chances of breeding for this species may be enhanced by having nestboxes at strategic spots.

Tengmalm’s owl sound: here.

Facts about owls: here.