ON THE BACK: Unlike the chicks of a barn owl, those of a tawny owl leave the nest well before they are competent fliers. This behaviour is known as “branching”. On summer evenings, listen out for their characteristic and piercing “pssswit pssswit” as they call to be fed. Tawny owls nest early in the year, often laying their clutch of two or three eggs in February or March. The young leave the nest in April, May or June depending on when breeding occurred.