VIDEO-Rare white-faced owl spotted in Durban North garden
St Andrews Drive resident, Travis Wilkinson said his domestic worker, Nomasonto Vice, first spotted the owl because it had caught the attention of a troop of vervet monkeys.
SEVERAL birdwatchers flocked to Travis Wilkinson’s home last week to catch a glimpse of the rare southern white-faced owl which had found refuge in a tree on his property.
The St Andrews Drive resident said his domestic worker, Nomasonto Vice, first spotted the owl because it had caught the attention of a troop of vervet monkeys.
Wilkinson, who normally carries his camera with him said he felt privileged to photograph the owl.
“It is such an unusual sight, particularly in Durban North as they aren’t really spotted here. Amazingly from the time I took the photo to the time other bird spotters came around, the owl had shrunk at least 10 centimetres in height as it got more comfortable. I sent the photo to Bart Fokkens who is a keen bird-spotter and he immediately broadcasted the photo to his group.
“It generated quite a bit of interest and we had about four or five residents come to our home to take a photo or have a look at the bird. We still aren’t sure how it ended up there but a guess is the owl was blown of course by heavy storms up north a few days earlier. The owl did look a little tired. It was a lovely sight and such a beautiful experience,” Wilkinson said.
Nicolette Forbes, ecologist with Marine & Estuarine Research (MER) and chair of the Birdlife eThekwini KZN spoke to Northglen News about the rarity of spotting the white-faced owl in Durban North.
“This is the first time I’ve heard of this species of owl in someone’s yard, let alone it being in Durban North. We have had sightings of these beautiful birds, who have prominent ear-tufts, spotted near the uMhlanga lagoon. They are nocturnal owls and are known to change their shape if alarmed. They can elongate their bodies and contract their plumage, making themselves taller and thinner as seen in Travis’ photo. They also narrow their eyes to make themselves less visible,” Forbes explained.
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