We could hardly believe it when we got a message from Jos Baart telling us that Europe’s biggest owl, the Eurasian eagle-owl, had made a nest in a planter in front of his window. Not only that, she had also hatched three giant chicks!#vroegevogels #springwatch #owl pic.twitter.com/gz1odkFLYC
— Vroege Vogels (@VroegeVogels) May 18, 2020
One of the world’s largest owls, the eagle owl, has set up camp in the window box of Jos Baart’s third-floor apartment. Since the mother owl’s three gigantic chicks hatched, they have watched television through the window with their new owner.
In a video shared by the Dutch TV show Vroege Vogels (or Early Birds in English), the huge, fluffy chicks can be seen standing at attention in a row, looking over Baart’s shoulder at the TV screen.
Their less friendly mother usually watches her young behind a shrub, apparently a bit warier of Baart’s and her babies’ TV habits.
“From there, she has a good view of the nest,” he explains in the video. “She can stay there for six to eight hours at a time.”
They seem to have gotten used to each other now, but Baart thought they were a nuisance not long ago.
“I thought, damn, these pigeons again,” he says in the video.
He was wrong one day when he arrived home and the big mother owl took flight right in front of him.
“You can see how relaxed they are,” Baart says in the video. “They’re not scared at all. To me, it’s like watching a movie 24 hours a day.”
Owls typically nest on cliffs and ledges, says the U.S. National Avian, but they have sometimes been known to take over abandoned golden eagles’ nests. Guinness World Records recognizes this species (also known as Bubo bubo) as the world’s giant owl, with a wingspan of more than 5 feet. They have no natural predators and have a long lifespan of 20 years in the wild, but can live up to 60 years in captivity.
