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As featured in the previous edition of Kingswood BUZZard, resident Pieter Steyn and his family enjoy the rare privilege of a bird’s-eye view into the daily (and nightly) comings and goings of a pair of owls that have nested in one of their flower pots – and his reportage on the subject has now gained national exposure.
In the April/May edition of Weg! magazine (the title of its English-language version is Go!), Kingswood resident of two years Pieter Steyn is honoured with the Winning Letter prize after sharing observations of an owl family on his doorstep. (Essentially a travel mag, Weg! was first published in April 2004 and focuses on affordable destinations in South Africa and the rest of the continent. In addition to travel stories, it also contains photographic portfolios focusing on nature and food, as well as car, book, music and outdoor equipment reviews.)
In its 195th edition, Pieter’s letter is splurged all over the page, thus catching the eye of the popular publication’s vast readership. He writes, inter alia: ‘A pair of Spotted Eagle Owls (Bubo africanus) has been using a flower pot right beneath our kitchen window as a nest and, in September last year, two chicks hatched.
‘The owls are exceptional hunters and we have often been amazed at how quickly they return with their prey after setting out around dusk. Their diet consists mostly of mice, rats and pigeons, but last year they also dished up a bat and three snakes.’
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The photo accompanying Pieter’s letter shows the chicks drenched by rain, while contemplating their feast of fresh bat. He adds that many of their neighbours have owl boxes up in trees, but that the Steyn owls seem to have settled into the flower pot for good, come rain or shine.
The letter concludes that the chicks had left the nest by November. ‘My wife Cilmi and the kids are looking forward to seeing them again sometime this year.’ And boy, are those ‘kids’ in question – Christiaan, 15, and Linke, 13 – enjoying Dad’s winning-letter loot.
‘Their rooms are downstairs, and we’re upstairs, so the set of two-way radios I received as prize is providing lots of fun for everyone.’ Taking into account that the radios have a range of several kilometres, the Steyn brood may well use them to report on their owl neighbours’ hunting forays from far corners of Kingswood Estate.
Pieter is adamant that people must not pick up young owls when spotting them on the ground, as their parterre adventures constitute an important part of growing up.
‘They literally spend weeks on the ground, but the parents are always close by. We collaborate closely with the owl sanctuary and, sadly, the “orphans” brought in by members of the public have, in most cases, been mistakenly picked up while mature owls would have been keeping watch. ‘People and their dogs and cars are our owls’ biggest enemies, so please be on the lookout not only for kids but also for these magical birds that form such an important part of our ecosystem.’
