Thaba Eco Hotel welcomes new visitors
Two young owls are currently in the Thaba Eco Hotel rehabilitation programme, after being rescued by the SPCA from the side of a busy highway.
KLIPRIVIERSBERG NATURE RESERVE – They were brought to EcoSolutions to be included in their release programme and it is through the dedication and care of participants such as Thaba Eco Hotel that these youngsters can go on to be contributing and valuable members of the Johannesburg owl community.
“Thaba Eco Hotel is proud of their newly built aviary as part of their vision to conduct operations in an ecologically conscious manner. “Our aim for this project is to bring back birds of prey that have been forced out of their natural environment due to urbanisation which is reducing and limiting their breeding sites, threatening the survival of the species in Gauteng. Our goal is to rehabilitate abandoned or injured birds and release them back into their natural environment,” said Reuben Louw, owner of Thaba Eco Hotel.
Every year EcoSolutions receive young owls that, through some mishap, have found their way into captivity via organisations like the SPCA or other rehabilitation centres. After the appropriate rehabilitation process these owlets are released, this is the focus of the EcoSolutions Owl Release Programme. Suitable sites are chosen and the young owls are ringed and then “hacked” back into the urban environment from which they have come.
The hacking process is well established and relies on keeping the owlets in a hacking pen while establishing a feeding relationship with them. The feeders whistle on approaching the pen and the owls soon learn to associate this whistle with the presentation of food. Once the owlets are released they remain in the area and return for food nightly until such time as they become totally independent. This allows them to practice and hone their hunting skills while still receiving supplement feeding from their surrogate parent. In this case of Thaba Eco Hotel it is Andre du Toit.
These are young owlets are not a territorial threat to adult owls in the area and are given a “rite of passage” as they leave the hack site and move away from their artificial man-made area. Through ring recoveries EcoSolutions are able to ascertain the success of these releases.
Why attract owls to your garden?
They assist with the control of rodents and insects.
The presence of owls means that no pesticides and rodenticides need to be used, resulting in a financial saving and an eco-friendly outcome.
It is extremely gratifying to listen to the lovely calls of owls at night.
Important aspects about attracting owls to one’s garden
It is important that the species’ requirements in the natural environment be considered when nest boxes and the place where they are erected are selected
Nest boxes should be firmly attached to a wall or tree trunk in a shady, quiet position, away from predators.
Boxes should not be attached to walls of houses, as the owls may be considered a nuisance when they make a noise and mess. They may also attack people and pets while defending their chicks
The boxes and especially the roof of boxes, must be waterproof.
Swarms of bees may pose a hazard to owls as they sometimes take over their nest boxes, causing the owls to abandon their eggs or chicks. Burning a mosquito coil at the entrance of the box will discourage bees from settling in.
Pest Control Management
Modern day society relies heavily on a number of artificial products to sustain its own existence. Rodenticides are chemicals that are used to control rodents that threaten the lives of people, pets, livestock and food stocks. Although these chemicals are all specifically designed and developed for the management of rodents, their adverse effect too often have a much wider effect. Other animal species such as owls and birds of prey, for many years, have unfortunately also been seriously affected by the indiscriminate use of rodenticides all over the world.
Take care of owls in your garden. Do not allow people or domestic animals to harass them as they control rodents free of charge.
Do not kill snakes or other small predators like mongooses and genets that may come on to your property as they also help to manage the rodent population.
When using poisons to bait for rodents don’t use chemical poisons that will also have a negative effect on non-targeted animals. Any formulation should be applied in such a way as to ensure that non-targeted animals do not have access to the bait.
