Hello, my name is Fudge and I’m a female Tawny Owl. I hatched on 2nd May 2011. I’m called Fudge because of my big chocolate coloured eyes. My Latin name is Strix Aluco.
My ear openings are hidden in my facial disk and, believe it or not, one is higher than the other. This is called asymmetrical hearing.
My hearing is ten times better than yours. I can use this sense alone to locate my dinner, sometimes under several inches of undergrowth or even snow, but the patter of raindrops make it difficult to detect faint sounds, and prolonged wet weather can lead to starvation. Of all the owl species I’m proud to say, I have the best developed eyesight, I have 56,000 light-sensitive rods
per square millimetre, that’s a whopping 36,000,000 per square inch. In low light conditions my eyesight is upto 100 times better than humans’.
I nest across Eurasia in woodlands, farmyards and derelict buildings. In Ireland the absence of my species allows the Long Eared Owl to become the dominant species.
I eat day old chicks, quail, rabbit and duck necks (this helps to keep my beak in good condition). Sometimes I eat medium sized mice, and I swallow them whole, head first, yum!