Eagle Owls in downtown Helsinki!

The male hooting in bright sunshine on 12th of March

Eagle Owls can now be seen in central Helsinki. Since a few years back at least three different pairs of Eagle Owls Bubo bubo have settled in central Helsinki, probably attracted by the impressive numbers of feral rabbits in the city parks. Many of the owls have favourite day-roosts, and it is not that difficult to find them if you know roughly where to look. Sometimes they pick the perch for the day just above the heads of thousands of people rushing to and from work. Of course, most people never see them, but even some non-birders know where to look, and add it to their list on most working days. Every now and then the owls even make it to the newspapers or the main TV news.
Half an hour or so after sunset, the owls leave their day perch to go hunting. A few days ago I witnessed one glide out over the traffic, strongly underlit by all the city lights, which gave it an almost ghost-like appearance. I have been keeping an eye on a number of “real” Eagle Owl pairs since the mid-1970’s in an area some 30-40 kms west of Helsinki. These rural Eagle Owls are truly shy and withdrawing, and I could never, even in my wildest dreams, have imagined a future like this. So far only one (unsuccesful) nesting attempt has been documented in 2008, but time will show if the Eagle Owls can adapt fully and start to breed successfully.

Scratching behind the ear-tufts...