"and I thought, Damn! Those pigeons again!"

May 19, 2020 12:42 PM

A Eurasian eagle-owl has nested in the planter in front of Jos Baart's window and hatched three chicks. Jos Baart seems to be enjoying his new companions immensely.
posted by ChuraChura (25 comments total)

So. Fluffy.
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 12:50 PM on May 19, 2020 [6 favorites]

Wow, that's amazing! I was wondering if they were escaped hand raised birds, and so apparently are the Dutch bird people, from the article. A bunch of raptor species have become comfortably urbanized, but they don't usually jump straight to being cool with a human inches from them, the first nests tend to be in park trees or bits of architecture that are less human-accessible.
posted by tavella at 12:59 PM on May 19, 2020 [3 favorites]

Owls are awesome. This man is so lucky to have them nesting on his balcony/patio. So jealous.
posted by Fizz at 1:02 PM on May 19, 2020 [5 favorites]

God, that is so cool.
posted by notsnot at 1:04 PM on May 19, 2020

Yeah, yeah, yeah, flower box owls -- I love everything about this, thank you for posting!
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:15 PM on May 19, 2020 [4 favorites]

Like Anne Geddes babies, only cool.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:40 PM on May 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

I know it's just Resting Owl Face but mom owl looks most displeased with him. Most displeased!
posted by dellsolace at 1:51 PM on May 19, 2020 [15 favorites]

Congratulations to the Dutch language for producing an almost perfectly onomatopoeic word for the bird and its call: oehoe
posted by scruss at 1:52 PM on May 19, 2020 [7 favorites]

'while the parents are out hunting rats around the church, the chicks(?) are watching Jos through the window. They even join him watching television.'
posted by ouke at 2:02 PM on May 19, 2020 [4 favorites]

Those baby owls are giant.
posted by jeather at 4:00 PM on May 19, 2020 [2 favorites]

I can't get over how much they look like muppets.
posted by antinomia at 4:03 PM on May 19, 2020 [7 favorites]

The Marx Brothers, such an amazing symbiosis! The owl mom, watching the guy, but she must have been desperate to come up with his balcony. So charming!
posted by Oyéah at 4:08 PM on May 19, 2020

Well, mark me officially jealous. I'm so glad he's enjoying it. Based on my interactions with people having to deal with wildlife like this, that's not a given.
posted by mollweide at 4:12 PM on May 19, 2020 [1 favorite]

There is bird watching, and then there are birds that watch you.

I used to enjoy squirrel watching at my childhood home, and then an owl moved into to the tree in my front yard. Within month or two, all the squirrels were gone, and then the owl moved on.
posted by CostcoCultist at 4:45 PM on May 19, 2020 [4 favorites]

We should add the tag "bubobubo" to this post. (Tautonyms for the win!)
posted by Rora at 4:48 PM on May 19, 2020 [3 favorites]

Related, this from in my Twitter feed today charmed me.

"I found this falcon is nesting in my plant box so I started feeding her 😮😮"
posted by Borborygmus at 5:52 PM on May 19, 2020 [2 favorites]

I love that they watch TV. I am willing to point my TV at a window to attract giant baby owl muppets, if that's what it takes.
posted by fshgrl at 6:42 PM on May 19, 2020 [6 favorites]

This is great.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 6:59 PM on May 19, 2020

For more eagle owl action, check Yoll on youtube.
posted by 445supermag at 9:24 PM on May 19, 2020 [2 favorites]

I don't know what species of owl nested close to my bedroom several years ago, but damn they were noisy through the night. My positive feelings towards owls in general were soured by having to listen to their demands to be fed all night long. These ones seem much more chill - perhaps the trick is to talk to them and let them watch tv.
posted by Vortisaur at 3:55 AM on May 20, 2020

What does a bird that size eat? Surely mice are too small for them to bother with. I'd keep cats and any small dogs in the house at night, just in case.
posted by tommasz at 7:37 AM on May 20, 2020

Don't tell Wordshore.
posted by RandomInconsistencies at 7:54 AM on May 20, 2020 [2 favorites]

may I introduce you to the goony pantalooned majesty that is a fluffy baby condor?
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 10:10 AM on May 20, 2020 [4 favorites]

I was NOT prepared for when the goony pantalooned babeh condor spread her wings. Her enormous, size of a small car wings.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 5:20 PM on May 20, 2020

Also I have just learned that Eurasian eagle-owls have fluffy feet and you all need to know that, too.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 5:27 PM on May 20, 2020