I suppose you could say that tawny owls are slow learners.

Although the youngsters can fly when they are six weeks old, they are dependent on their parents for food till late in the summer, even though they look quite grown up long before that.

Most of our young tawny owls are found in April or May – balls of fluff that look like toys.

Within a few weeks the baby down is being replaced with smart new feathers.

The last down usually remains on the head, making the owls look comical.

By this time our young owls are living in aviaries, in groups of three or four, family sized clutches.

They get plenty of exercise, learn to communicate with each other, and get used to the sights and sounds of their surroundings.

In August, we open a hatch in the aviary, and the young owls leave that first night.

Instinct tells them it is safe to roost among dense foliage in nearby trees, but they don’t go far away.

Over the next two to three weeks we put out food for the owls, on the aviary roof.

We whistle, a call that the owls associate with food.

So when they hear the whistle, they know that supper has been served, and if we stand and watch for a while, we see dark owl shapes swooping down to collect a meal.

The owls gradually learn to hunt for themselves, but we’ll put food out for as long as they need it.