Understanding Australian Powerful Owls - Ninox strenua

Owls have to be the coolest nocturnal animal however, they simply go unnoticed in Australia. We here have 11 types of owls from the Barking Owl to the Eastern-Grass Owl. Sadly there is one species that is the most endangered through South East Queensland and that is the Powerful owl or Ninox strenua. It is easily recognisable with its small head, white and brown barring, and large yellow/orange talons. The Powerful Owl can grow up to 65cm long and is the largest owl on the continent.

The habitat bested suited to these owls are open forests and woodlands. But also in sheltered gullies with dense under-stories. These owls can also found in parks, small bushland patches, farmland, and even in suburban areas. They need large forests with mature trees that contain hollows that are used for their breeding.

This is unfortunately the main reason these guys are endangered in South East Queensland.
With increasing urbanisation, these owls are continuously on the move getting pushed out of location after location. Large forest owls such as the Powerful Owl are apex predators that require complex habitat requirements and a large home range. The Powerful Owl mates for life and pairs defend their territory all year round, however, with continued expansion, this can be extremely dangerous for them.

Keep a lookout in your neighbourhood for bundles of hair, animal jaws, and other bones. Looking down on the ground for white spots and animal carcasses is often a better way of looking for this species. They have a distinct call particularly through dusk and dawn, Powerful Owls have a slow “whoo-hoo” call that is soft but resonant.

Ninox strenua struggle especially throughout South-East Queensland; living in urban areas these owls suffer from dogs, cats as well as electrocution, car strikes, and deforestation. They eat possums, birds, and flying foxes. However, they also suffer from loss of prey due to cats and dogs killing animals in their diet. Some of their prey such as ringtail possums and sugar gliders rely on hollows for breeding also, so destruction by humans is swinging the entire ecosystem out of balance. Rat poisons can kill wild animals including owls. Human population growth has led to an anthropogenic modification of the environment, including land clearing for suburban developments. The growing population density, particularly in the South-East Queensland region, resulted in the highest land clearing rates for settlements. These factors combined are threatening the life of this species, leading it to extinction.

What can be done to help? Keeping a lookout for these owls and let the powerful owl project know so that they can continue to do amazing work. (Birdlife Australia currently has the Powerful Owl Project active which monitors these owls distribution and abundance and uncovers why owls are present in some areas and absent in others.)

Find more details here - https://birdlife.org.au/projects/urban-birds/powerful-owl-project-pow

Posted on October 7, 2020 12:51 AM by