It should not be 20C at 9pm in Brisbane in Winter. It's no wonder the owls are confused about breeding season.

This evening, well after sunset, @lucyparkerpaul.bsky.social and I saw the first Powerful Owlet of the season! Usually they don't peak out of the hollow until late July.

Tonight @lucyparkerpaul.bsky.social and I will be talking about Powerful Owl rescues/releases we've helped with, and what we've learned over 5 years of almost daily Powerful Owl observations. Birds Queensland, 7.30pm at Merthyr Road Uniting Church, New Farm. All welcome.

On Thursday evening, @lucyparkerpaul.bsky.social and I will be presenting at the Birds Queensland meeting in New Farm, Brisbane. Find out what we've learned making some 2000 observations of Powerful Owls in Brisbane. There will be lots of photos and stories. Come ask your POwl questions!

Powerful Owl #ShowingOff how powerful it is. #BirdOfTheDay

Male Powerful Owl with his bat this morning. He and his partner still seem to be trying to nest, though it's very late in the season. Last night they were mating, and he sat on the edge of the hollow "purring" and hooing for 5 minutes while his partner looked on. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Male Powerful Owl at dusk yesterday. At sunset the female called from about 100m away and they then met up and shared the Ringtail. Being 6 weeks late, we'd given up on them nesting this season, but the male then went to the hollow and was "purring" on the edge ... #brisbane #wildoz #birds

This pair of Powerful Owls appear to have abandoned nesting, dammit. The female had been in the hollow for a couple of weeks, but now they've returned to their non-breeding roost area. You can see a well-developed brood patch on her front. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

The first Powerful Owlet of the season! When @lucyparkerpaul.bsky.social and I first heard the Owlet trilling from the hollow we were so not expecting it we thought "What's that sound that sounds like an Owlet trilling?". It'll likely be another month and a half before it comes out of the hollow.

Rainy day, so a quick Grey Fantail sketch. Every drawing is practice for the next.

Female Powerful Owl having a quick peak out of the nest hollow this evening. Her brood patch where she has lost feathers on her chest to keep the eggs warm is showing quite strongly. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Male Powerful Owl guarding the nearby nest hollow while displaying a bird this morning in suburban Brisbane.

New Powerful Owl nest hollow! It was great fun owl detecting this one. We'd heard a male calling 2 nights ago in the area. Today we scouted & found a tree we liked, then discovered 3 sets of scat nearby. At dusk a male called to the south, then flew in to investigate the hollow as a female watched.

A new nest hollow, and it's active! At 5.15pm after sunset the male Powerful Owl landed nearby and started calling. This was the best looking hollow around, so we were watching it and the female came out of it for 6 minutes at 5.32pm, confirming a new nest hollow.

Female Powerful Owl looking out of her hollow at dusk today. When she came out she flew off ignoring the male guarding the hollow about 25m away. When she came back later it looked like she'd had a bath. After 19 min out of the hollow she went back in to sit on her eggs. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Male Powerful Owl this morning guarding the nearby nest hollow and looking sternly at the Noisy Miners. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

It's been mostly raining today, so the dog, Thomas.

We think the partner of this male Powerful Owl I saw this morning may have entered the nest hollow for breeding. With luck we'll see her come out of the hollow tonight & be able to confirm. He was very interested in the hollow last night, as were the Noisy Miners during the day, but no sight of her.

A new Powerful Owl pair! There had been a couple of sightings at this location 6 years ago, but nothing reported since then. Better still, they were right next to an excellent looking tree hollow, so most likely they are preparing for breeding. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

The poor Boobook. The weather has been miserable and the local birds were at it continuously during the day. I imagine it'll be off to somewhere a bit quieter and drier tomorrow.

There's a Boobook Owl on my street! This is the first time I've ever seen an Owl on my street (though the neighbours have dragged me out in my pyjamas previously to see Frogmouths #NotAnOwl). The Currawongs, BF Honeyeaters, Noisy Miners, and Grey Butcherbirds are all going nuts which is how I knew.

This female Powerful Owl and her partner are being very confusing. They're not behaving like they're not breeding, but they're also not behaving like they're breeding. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Male Powerful Owl guarding the nest hollow and being mobbed by very noisy Noisy Miners. At dusk his partner came out of the hollow for 12 minutes to stretch her wings, confirming that it is an active nest, which was great to know. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Female Powerful Owl in suburban Brisbane this morning. We're beginning to think this pair may not breed this year despite all the hollow investigating and mating. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo human-ing.

I can be reasonably sure the female Powerful Owl hasn't gone into nest yet since these two Cockatoos still had their bums when they left. The cockatoos will probably use the hollow to nest once the POwls are done.

Night-time sound is helping protect the #PowerfulOwl🦉#conservation with @openecoacoustics.bsky.social. Learn more🔗 ardc.edu.au/article/voic... w/ @cnzdenek.bsky.social @birdlifeoz.bsky.social @doktrnick.bsky.social @lucyparkerpaul.bsky.social @rob-clemens.bsky.social #ecoacoustics #NCRISimpact

First confirmed Powerful Owl nesting of the season! At dusk this male was roosting with prey. At 5.44pm the female flew out of the nearby hollow, confirming she was nesting, and went to a nearby tree with the male and had dinner. At 6.05pm the female returned to the hollow. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

#worldcurlewday ... though the Bush Stone-Curlew isn't a proper Curlew, it's still one of my favourite birds.

Male Powerful Owl keeping an eye on the nest tree hollow in preparation for breeding season. Only another 1 to 2 weeks until the female goes in to lay her eggs. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Powerful Owl pair at dusk yesterday looking annoyed because large numbers of Blue-faced Honeyeaters and Noisy Minors had been bothering them for quite some time. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Powerful Owl pair roosting together, female left, this morning in a suburban Brisbane park. Last night we discovered the nest hollow of another pair we have recently found. It was fantastic to see them going in and out of the hollow, investigating its nesting potential. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Male Powerful Owl with a Ringtail. Yesterday he also had a Ringtail, and at dusk his partner flew over from a few metres away and they had dinner. After that they flew to a nearby tree and mated. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Young Powerful Owlet falls asleep while intently watching some ducks. This is my favourite Owlet movie ever. We always finish our Powerful Owl talks with it zzzzzzzz #birds #brisbane

Powerful Owl pair in a suburban Brisbane park this morning.

Male Powerful Owl giving me a hard stare this morning. His partner was about 10m away in the same tree. We're interested to see when they make the transition to nesting with the female in the hollow.

Female Powerful Owl #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Male Powerful Owl #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Male Powerful Owl in suburban Brisbane this morning. The female was about 20m away in another tree. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

My favourite Powerful Owl pair in the late afternoon yesterday. They are definitely gearing up for breeding season, roosting close together only about 30m from a nest hollow tree. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

I'm happy that tomorrow I'll be back home and able to check on the Powerful Owls again. Only 1 month, and the females will be going into the hollows, and 3 months after that new Owlets will be coming out.

House sitting at a friend's house for a few days where there are no Powerful Owls. So a quick sketch of one. Every drawing is practice for the next.

One of my Birdata Powerful Owl sightings got featured by @birdlifeoz.bsky.social's Birdata project. Nice! Of course, I made the list private as public map pins of POwls often lead to serious disruption of the territories of these beautiful birds.

And here's hte Powerful Owl call verification website - powerful-owl-microsite.netlify.app

Mine & @lucyparkerpaul.bsky.social's talk on the Art of Owl Detecting went well on Saturday. I'd guess about 130 folk (1/2 virtual, 1/2 IRL) came along & we got some lovely feedback. Thanks to @ardc.edu.au and The Powerful Owl Project for having us along! Our next talk will be at Birds Qld in July.

#Brisbane Powerful Owl lovers! @doktrnick.bsky.social Nick and @lucyparkerpaul.bsky.social will be presenting from their POwl Project. Jump in! www.eventbrite.com.au/e/voices-of-... Image ©doktrnick #PowerfulOwl #POwls #Owls

Powerful Owl pair roosting in suburban Brisbane this morning, close to a nest hollow. Several of the pairs are beginning to roost together during the day and investigate nest hollows after dusk in preparation for breeding season. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

Sleeping Powerful Owl in suburban Brisbane this morning. #brisbane #birds #wildoz

The Powerful Owl release that @lucyparkerpaul.bsky.social & I helped with went beautifully last night. We found a spot where there was open space to fly, and let it settle for a while with a view of a tree that it might fly into once released. And that's exactly what it did. #brisbane #birds #wildoz