Natural World

They can find prey without ever seeing it.

They can fly as silent as a ghost...

..and they can even see in the dark.

Owls have what appear to be genuine super-powers.

To understand their amazing abilities,

we're going to get closer than ever before.

Meet Luna and Lily.

Through the eyes of these fluffy little barn owl chicks...

You can fly!

..and their extraordinary family,

we'll reveal the magic behind these mysterious birds.

- You wouldn't want to be a vole now, would you? - No.

No, life as a vole would be brief.

And working with some of the world's leading scientists...

- There's not a sound. That is really impressive, isn't it? - Yup.

..we'll find out what gives owls their super-powered edge.

Owls live all over the world...

..from the frozen north...

..to scorched deserts.

With their familiar faces, these charismatic birds

have captured our imagination.

There are about 240 different species...

..and they appear to have conquered our planet.

They live on every continent, except Antarctica.

So, what are the secrets of their success?

Owls are birds of prey.

Like their cousins, the hawks, eagles, and falcons,

they have sharp talons...

..a curved beak

and a taste for small mammals.

But they also have a unique set of skills that set them apart.

Their superpowers.

To find out more,

we need to go beneath the surface...

..and start at the very beginning...

..when all of the potential for this remarkable bird

is held in one tiny egg.

After 30 days of incubation,

the chick inside is ready to make an appearance.

But it's a tough task. It can take 48 hours for an owlet

to break out of its protective shell.

What are you up to in there?

You coming out yet, little one? Eh?

Anxiously waiting in the incubation room

is an unusual father for a bird.

I saw you move then, I saw the egg move.

HE LAUGHS

You moved!

Lloyd Buck has been fascinated with owls since he was young.

Now he and his wife Rose have a whole family of birds,

including a barn owl called Kensa...

..Johanna the Tawny Owl...

Good girl.

..Arnie,

Bran,

Moses,

PJ...

and Sasha the tawny eagle.

Lloyd and Rose love and care for their birds

like their own children.

Good boys, come on then.

Whoo!

They also train them to star in films.

We've got a little pellet.

They have a passion for educating others about birds

and the importance of protecting them in the wild.

Through the eyes of this special family,

we're going to learn more about the owl's mysterious world.

Lloyd and Rose are going to put their own birds to the test...

..and, this year, they're expecting some new arrivals...

..two barn owl chicks.

- Hiya. How's it going, Lloyd? - Well, it's all right.

The eggs are being incubated by experts

at the Hawk Conservancy Trust, a specialist bird conservation centre.

He's already started to pip. There's a little bit of movement.

Can you see the movement?

Look at that!

Mike Riley and his team make regular checks on their progress.

- We'll put her back in now. - Yeah, yeah.

The first is nearly ready to hatch.

It's almost two days since the owlet inside

made her first pip on the shell.

Come on, little one.

Now she's exhausted...

Go on. What you doing?

Get out.

..and running out of oxygen.

One more big push and you're out!

Ooh, there you are!

Hello.

You've done well, little one, eh?

That must have been a huge effort, wasn't it? To get out of there.

See, it's easy to take it for granted when you're here.

But, actually, it's a really wondrous thing to see new life

to come into the world, there's something really special

about that. Really special.

Mind you, saying that, they're not the prettiest of owlets, are they?

This chick and her younger sibling

have come from a pair of captive barn owls.

OWLET SQUEAK

As they grow, they'll give us a rare and incredible opportunity

to learn more about these secretive birds.

We've already thought of a name, which is Luna.

We always tend to give our birds names

because they become part of the family.

With Lloyd's love and care, Luna grows quickly.

And, just six days later, she meets her younger sister.

Lloyd and Rose call her Lily.

Once the owlets are strong enough, it's time to bring them home.

- Hello! - Hello!

SHE LAUGHS

All right? There you are.

SHE LAUGHS

They're so cute.

Come on, then.

During these early days and weeks, Lloyd and Rose need to give

Luna and Lily round the clock attention.

Go on. Delicious!

'When they hatch, they're blind, completely helpless'

they can't even regulate their own body temperature,

and they need four feeds a day.

'It's just like babies, really.

'But you've taken on the responsibility'

so you just have to get on with it.

The Owlets have a long way to go before they transform

into magnificent super-powered owls.

Now, shall we write down what you did today, eh?

Nature will play its part,

but, right now, they're entirely dependent on Lloyd and Rose.

By the evening, everyone's exhausted.

But in the wild, this is the time when most owls are waking up.

OWL HOOTS

The tawny owl haunts our nights.

But why choose to live in this dark and difficult time of day?

OWL CALLS

With the help of a special heat-seeking camera,

we can enter this hidden, nocturnal world.

It's springtime in the Highlands of Scotland.

At this time of year, male owls are feeling the pressure.

This one has a family of hungry mouths to feed in a nearby nest box.

The thermal camera reveals something else.

Many mammals are active at night.

So, despite the dark,

it's an ideal time to go hunting.

Success.

The female comes straight over to collect the catch.

Her owlets are a month old,

with a growing appetite.

One mouse won't be enough.

But luckily there's plenty more where that came from.

No other bird of prey can hunt in such darkness.

So, at night,

owls have the skies to themselves.

It's one of the keys to their success.

But how are they able to see in the dark?

This is where owls deploy the first of their superpowers.

Owls have characteristically big eyes.

A tawny owl's eyes take up a staggering 70% of its skull.

For us, it's only 5%.

These large eyes enable the owl

to gather as much of the available light as possible.

At the back of the eye,

the retina has a particularly high density of rod cells.

These cells are extremely sensitive in low light,

capable of resolving

an extra layer of detail,

which is sent to the brain

via the optic nerve.

These special adaptations mean a tawny owl can see an image

two and a half times brighter than the one we see...

..which helps it target small mammals lurking in dark undergrowth.

But tawny owls have another incredible skill.

They're territorial birds,

and, as they fly around their home range,

they create a mental map.

This means they can find their way in the dark,

avoiding unseen obstacles.

So, it's the owl's formidable memory,

combined with their sensitive vision,

that helps them take advantage of the night-time world.

At two weeks old,

Luna and Lily open their eyes...

..but it's another few days before they can focus on anything.

- OWLET PEEPS - Yes!

Now at three and four weeks old,

they're starting to take in their surroundings.

THEY CHUCKLE

- Oi, oi! - Oi, oi!

ROSE LAUGHS

To encourage their development,

Lloyd and Rose take the owlets to meet the children at a local school.

- Hello, everybody. - Hello.

Hello.

OK?

Well, this one here is Luna.

Luna?

Yes, and that's Lily.

- I've got a pet rabbit called Lily. - Have you? - Have you? Ah! - Oh!

Her nice wing feathers are starting to grow now, you can see.

Yeah. I think they can fly but they can't.