Tawny & Barn Owl Chase – Watch & See What Happens!

This is one of the most dramatic things I've ever caught on the cameras. I'll be honest, the production is a little rough around the edges, as I'm only a hobbyist. But the footage itself is fabulous, and the tension is very real.

Buster, our barn owl, gets chased all the way back to his nest box by a tawny owl. And not just any tawny owl. It's Toby, who you might know from our other videos.

▶ Tawny Owl Chases Barn Owl: Toby vs Buster at the Nest Box

Press play when you're ready, and watch right to the end. You can also watch it on YouTube.

What happens in the video

Buster makes it back to the MeadowView nest box, but he's trapped inside, and Toby lands on the ledge right outside. Buster is terrified, and you can see it. Tawny owls are big, powerful owls with dangerous talons, and a barn owl would stand very little chance against one in a real fight.

Toby is probably protecting his hunting territory. But now that he's seen Buster and Bella's home up close, will he want it for himself? Press play to find out what happens when these two beautiful hunters of the night meet face to face.

If you've got sound, turn it on. I've added a music track over the footage to build the tension.

Two owls, one hunting ground

In the wild, tawny owls and barn owls often share the same hunting ground. They both love long, natural grassy fields full of voles, but they hunt in very different ways.

• The tawny owl is a sit and wait hunter. It perches on posts and in trees, watching and listening, then swoops down onto its prey.
• The barn owl hunts on the wing. It flies slowly and low over the grassland, hovering when it hears something, then drops down feet first.

Because they're after the same food in the same places, they don't always get on, and the bigger, stronger tawny usually comes off best.

Real owl behaviour, caught on camera

What I love about this video is that it shows how owls really behave in the wild. It isn't all gentle roosting and feeding owlets. Owls guard their territory fiercely, and a good nest site is worth fighting for. This is nature as it really is, filmed at our nest boxes in the Peak District.

What to look out for

• The chase. See how Buster heads straight for the safety of the box.
• Toby on the ledge. Watch how close he gets, and how big he looks next to the box entrance.
• Buster inside. His body language says it all. He's frightened, and he has every reason to be.

Meet the two owls

• 🦉 Buster, the barn owl: see him with Bella on one of their first dates, hunting after the rain and battling the snow
• 🌳 Toby, the tawny owl: see him with his partner Izzy, checking out a nest box and bringing Izzy a vole while she sits on her eggs

Watch the owls live

Fancy watching the owls for yourself? Head to the live wildlife cameras and pick one of the camera streams. You never know who might turn up.

Questions people ask

Do tawny owls attack barn owls?

They can. Tawny owls are bigger and more powerful, and they defend their territory fiercely, so a barn owl will usually try to avoid one.

Do tawny owls and barn owls share the same hunting ground?

Often, yes. Both like long, natural grassy fields full of voles, although the tawny hunts from perches and the barn owl hunts in low flight.

Which is bigger, a tawny owl or a barn owl?

The tawny owl is stockier and more powerful, with strong, dangerous talons, even though the two look similar in size from a distance.

Where was this video filmed?

At the MeadowView nest box at Barn Owl Live in the Peak District, England.

Cheers,
Paul 🦉