Owling the backwoods of S Finland

This is a mega year, for owls and voles alike. The past winter saw the strongest vole populations across S and C Finland for decades, and the damages on tree plantations are massive. All this raised hopes among strigophiles, and indeed, owlers have not been disappointed. Many species started breeding earlier than ever, and in many nests the chicks fledged already in March, which normally would be the time of laying. But now things are changing. In some of the Ural Owls nests I visited in early May the male had already started to bring birds to the chicks, which is bad news. At other nests the young were begging already in early morning, when they should have been fully fed after the night. But this is how it works. The number of chicks is adapted to the current food situation, and undoubtedly many of the chicks will starve before they fledge.

Female Ural Owl surrounded by five chicks. Note how different they are in size (and age)!