Since several weeks notable guests can be seen in a small, tranquil town at the edge of the Taunus near Frankfurt. It´s a family of Eurasian Eagle-Owl
(Bubo bubo). Mid of April 2014 a representative of the NABU in Bad Soden, Mr. Guenter Sieper, was called that a young owl was staying on a terrace of the Hundertwasserhaus, a house built by the famous architect Hunderwasser. Die local conservancy initiative NABU drove immediately out to find the hatchery. In fact, on the highest tower of the building was some movement. Right there, where some bushes grew. A little later, the sensation was perfect. A female Eurasian Eagle-Owl could be photographed with two youngs.
Now – several weeks later – the youngs are not so small anymore. The good news is: the owls are still there. The bad news is, that they are only occasionally found on the tower. I visited the site already several times and shot nice pictures of the youngs and the flying mother owl. Last Sunday, I wanted to determine the current state with some friends from the nice Republic of Ireland.
Approaching the lookout, one member of the family could be perfectly admired and photographed. The young was sitting in the woods on a branch. This little forest is located just opposite the Hundertwasserhaus on a slope. The Eurasian Blackbirds (Turdus merula) were calling loudly against their fiercest enemy of the future. This made it easy to find the accurate localization. What a picture. My 3 guests from Ireland were delighted, too. Shortly after, the young Eagle-Owl was photographed by all of us. The “small” owl looked already right like an owl in the books. The fluff was still nice to see. The bright feathers made him much brighter than it is in the adult owls. Whether we would have discovered the young without the loud clamor of the songbirds is more than debatable. The young was sitting motionless on the branch.
The two other siblings were still (or again) to be seen on the tower of the Hundertwasserhaus. One of the bigger siblings watched for a while – almost 2 hours – from the tower down to the people in the nearby beer garden.
Should you wish to visit the site near Frankfurt, you should follow the signs to Bad Soden. Bad Soden is located on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains, 15 km north- west of Frankfurt and 20 kilometers northeast of Wiesbaden. More about Bad Soden and the birdlife can be found in the blog Birding around Frankfurt Airport: Bad Soden.
Those, who a performing a trip to the Eagle-Owls in Bad Soden, are more than welcome to post their experience with the blog. This is certainly valuable for other interested parties, too.
Some people might need help to find the Hundertwasserhaus in Bad Soden. Please feel free to contact me through the contact form of the website.
Owls are something like a speciality of bird-lens.com; as you find out in the blog about the Great Grey Owl.