It involves large pliers, an aerial platform and all kinds of measuring instruments. And all for small, fluffy chicks. In Nijensleek, young tawny owls are ringed.
The task of ringing is assigned to Wolter van Tarel of the Uffelte bird watch. With extreme precision he clamps the rings around the still fragile legs of the chicks. It suggests that Van Tarel has just as sharp eyes as the animals he works with.
The work comes down to the details. The birds should of course not get caught on anything with the ring, and it should also fit well around an adult owl’s foot. The weight of the chicks is set at roughly 250 grams during ringing, but they have yet to become twice as heavy.
The only thing that indicates protest from the chicks is the clicking of their beaks. When asked whether the owls experience any stress from ringing, Van Tarel answers: “Always something, you can’t prevent that. But that’s why we don’t take too long, especially with this cold weather.”
The chicks grow up in a nest box in Claus van den Hoek’s garden. He keeps a close eye on the owls through a camera, day and night. “Some people read the newspaper in the morning, I look at what happened at night,” he says with a laugh.
Van den Hoek thinks we should help owls a little more. According to him, this can be done by letting mice run, instead of spreading poison. Mice are an important food source for owls. “We don’t have a cat, instead we have an owl,” he jokes.