Little owl is settling in

He still looks bewildered but Perjo is doing well.  He wouldn’t hand feed last night but did help himself to the meat we left out for him.  Little Owls normally feed at dusk and dawn so that is the time he will expect to be fed.  This morning he seemed more settled and was looking around and ‘clicking’ to us.  Nor the big loud click we get from Ozzie, this little chap makes a much lighter noise.  He is barely half the size of Ozzie, probably about the same height as our Tawny Owl was when he first arrived.

He has learned to trust us quite quickly and when we tried hand feeding him this afternoon he took his piece of chick eagerly.  Getting him back up to weight and strength is our priority.  It’s such a relief that he is hungry and eating well.

Perjo is a different colour to Ozzie, more silvery grey, where our tawny chap is fawn and brown. Both have beautiful golden eyes, these are lovely birds.    Perjo has the same strong talons and sharp beak as Ozzie.   I found  this out when I moved him from the box just after he arrived.   He may be small but there is nothing dainty about those feet!   He is well adapted for seizing and eating prey and covering him with  a towel is the least stressful way to pick him up.   Did I say he?  It’s difficult to tell his sex –  both our owls may be she’s!