Birds of a feather: The 10 lost and abandoned owls forming a family at St Tiggywinkles animal hospital

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

The owls are enjoying life in the hospital's aviary and will be released back into the wildlife once fully grown


Some have been orphaned when their parents were killed, others may have fallen from their nests but now these ten tawny owls are a family at last.

Lined up in a row, they are pictured at St Tiggywinkles wildlife hospital which has carefully gathered up the birds over the last few weeks.

Unusually none of the orphans are related and they come from different locations around the centre in Buckinghamshire.


Ten orphan baby tawny owls are enjoying life as a family after being rescued over the last few weeks


They are currently being cared for in St Tiggywinkles' aviary but will be released back into the wild once they are fully grown.

St Tiggywinkles founder Les Stocker said: 'We usually get a few orphans in this time of year as it's nesting season but this year we seem to have slightly more baby tawny owls.

'Tawny owls are usually born in pairs so we normally rescue siblings. This is an unusual group as none are related and they've all come in from different areas.

They've actually formed a really nice family and all seem very happy together.'


Some of the birds had fallen from their nests or were found abandoned after their parents had been killed


The wildlife centre takes its name from the hedgehog character in Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and treats more than 10,000 animals every year.
It cares for them free of charge and every single one is released back into the wild when they are well enough to do so.

The centre relies on membership, donations and sponsorship to survive and receives no state funding or financial help from conservation groups.

The tawny owl, a widespread breeding species in England, Wales and Scotland, grows to about the size of a pigeon and has a ring of dark feathers surrounding its dark eyes.

They mainly live in established pairs and some will never leave their territories once they are settled. Young birds disperse from breeding grounds in the autumn.


source: dailymail