Powerful Owls

There are many unknowns about Powerful Owls locally. For starters, how many are there? Where are they? What conservation measures are needed? Here's your chance to help build an accurate picture of all things Powerful, and to keep things that way!

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Pat McConnell
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:42 pm

Powerful Owls

Post by Pat McConnell »

On Saturday 3 May kath and I heard a male and a female Powerful Owl calling near Highfields. The female was calling even before the sun had set and the male started calling at 5.35pm.
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Mick Atzeni
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Powerful Owl sighting

Post by Mick Atzeni »

One of the Powerful Owls was seen today (12/7/2008) by Russell Jenkins and myself on the southern side of the scrub where the track that crosses the creek begins. (The same track where they were seen last year). From the southern entrance, we could see it perched above the track about 10m along and clutching the remains of a bird, perhaps a Grey Butcherbird. The size of the owl suggested it was the smaller female. It looked quite lean and we wondered if it was one of the young from last year.

Please report all sightings of Powerful Owls to the forum or email sightings to me at matzeni@westnet.com.au.
Michael Atzeni
7 Woden St, Murphys Creek 4352
Mob: 0499 395 485
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Mick Atzeni
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Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2005 9:08 pm

Emailed responses

Post by Mick Atzeni »

From: Brendon & Judi Gray <climaxroofing@optusnet.com.au>
Subject: Re: Powerful Owls Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:49:33 +1000
To: <mcconnel@usq.edu.au> CC: <matzeni@westnet.com.au>

Dear Pat,

thanks so much for your opinion, that would be very exciting wouldn't it! Our property is not very large only 18 1/2 acres but it does have other blocks surrounding it that are thicker tree'd than ours. when I first came across the possum tail, I did think it was the oddest thing as there was no trace of the rest of the animal and it was like it had just been severed. I couldn't make much sense of it and just finding a tail, I looked around and couldn't find anything else but I didn't think to look up!! It wasn't later until I read the David Fleay book "Nightwatchmen of bush and plain" that I remembered the possum tail. It was last year when I found it but didn't record when, wish I did now! We are not yet living at this property and only visit mainly on the weekends, however we are building and hopefully will be living there in the next few months. (property is off the Cooby Dam Rd near pipeline connection rd). We have seen many of the "food" species that you mentioned, sugar & squirrel gliders, brushtail possums and have seen evidence of bandicoots as well. I was amazed when I read just how many "possums" a powerful owl needs to survive, although I would love to see them, but I also hope they may have just passed through as I am terribly keen on the possums/ gliders and bandicoot's!! I will keep a better eye out for future evidence. The presence of the possum tail and the location under a large gum tree really had me puzzled.

This has prompted me to get my book out and look at it again.

David Fleay was my grand-father's first cousin, and with me being a huge family history buff I have all of his books now (some of which were hard to come by) and I find them all still very relevant . I just came across the last book I needed for my collection at Lifeline a couple of weeks ago so am now reading it. It was written in 1981 and the last book he published.

If you are interested his daughter published an amazing book on his writings on the Wedge-tailed Eagle, it is also a great bird read.

anyway thanks for replying and finger's crossed for possible future visits!

Judi.


Subject: Powerful Owls

Judi hello. Regarding your questions on Powerful Owls I can offer the following comments. Locally I have seen Powerful Owls in Glenn Lomond Park, Redwood Park, Highfields Falls, and Helidon as well as a bit further afield at Goomburra, a property near Cooby Dam and at Ravensbourne National Park. There are also records from the Cabarlah and Spring Bluff areas and the back of Withcott. These are just off the top of my head and I am sure there are others. They often venture outside of these areas into yards near by and have been recorded some distance from the range area along Bridge Street. I am sure they could turn up in areas along and adjacent to the escarpment. Their preferred prey is medium to large arboreal mammals with the favourites often being Common Ringtail Possums and Greater Gliders. They also like Sugar and Squirrel Gliders, Common Brushtail Possum, flying-foxes etc and they sometimes eat prey like bandicoots and rats and occasionally birds and even insects. I to have read David Fleay&#146;s book on owls &#150; what a great read. He says in there that they sometimes drop the tails of mammals below their feed trees although I have not seen this myself. I would say that there was a very good chance that they have visited your place and were responsible for the Common Brushtail Possum tails that you talk about.



Regards

Pat



Pat McConnell

Laboratory Manager

Department of Biological & Physical Sciences

Faculty of Sciences

Tel: 0746 315573
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