Powerful Owl in St Kilda
On Thursday 4 May I received a report from Neil Blake that a single Powerful Owl was roosting in the St Kilda Botanic Gardens high up in a group of cypress trees, a first ever record of this owl species in the gardens . I went to see the owl in the late afternoon to find it holding a half eaten pigeon (rock dove) under its foot. On returning to the site in the early evening the owl was observed eating the rest of the pigeon and during this process disgorged some pellets of indigestible matter consisting of bones, fur and feathers. After swallowing the last morsel of pigeon the owl walked up and down along the branch rubbing its beak against the branch, presumably to clean off any remaining scraps of food. It flew a short distance to another low branch approx 2.5 above the ground (to pose for that great image with its wings out spread) before flying off into the night.
The Powerful Owl remained in the gardens for at least a week and finally departed on the evening of Wednesday 10 May. During that period it roosted in several different locations in the same group of trees at a height of anywhere between 8 to 12 metres, every day except Saturday 6 May when it was either well hidden or roosting elsewhere. On Monday 8 May my partner and daughter inspected it in the afternoon and noticed it being harassed by four Rainbow Lorikeets. The owl did not appear to be disturbed by this raucous attention.
On the final day (Wed 10 May) the owl was observed clutching another item of prey under its right foot, this time a young Brushtail Possum. Returning later with Neil Blake in the early evening (6.00 pm) the owl had left the roost and all signs of the possum were gone. After some searching the owl was found perched on a low branch about 100 metres from the roosting site, where it did not appear to be disturbed by our presence only two metres away. We walked away from it still perched on that branch at about 7.00 pm. Sadly that was the last time the bird was seen by anyone in the gardens. It is assumed that it moved on to look for a mate and a suitable site in which to nest and breed. Although food is plentiful in St Kilda in the form of possums and roosting birds Powerful Owls are unlikely to establish here permanently, as there are no suitable tree hollows large enough for breeding.
The three Tawny Frogmouths resident to the St Kilda Botanical Gardens, consisting of two adults and a chick raised last summer, remained there while the Powerful Owl was visiting, but were roosting apart from each other in different and unusual places each day. I got the impression the Tawny Frogmouths may have been spooked by the big owl, suspecting they might end up as its next meal. About two weeks after the owl left the gardens the Tawny Frogmouths returned back to their normal trees frequently roosting together.
Andrew McCutcheon, Elwood, Vic
