Mating calls of Australia's largest owl — the powerful owl — are now being heard along eastern Australia.

And this noisy kick-off to the breeding season gives vital clues to scientists trying to track and protect this magnificent bird.

It turns out our big cities are an important refuge for the owl — especially since the recent fires burned much of its natural home. And researchers want our help in finding its urban haunts.

Powerful owl chicks — each mating pair generally have one or two. ( Richard Jackson )

Big bird that eats big food

The powerful owl (Ninox strenua) is named for its strength.

"They are the only bird in Australia that carries more than its own body weight in food when it flies," conservation biologist Beth Mott from BirdLife Australia, says.

The birds are a top predator and adults stand at about 60 centimetres high and have a wingspan of 1.5 metres — the same length as our social distancing requirements!

Like all owls, these birds can sneak up on their dinner, thanks to wings with super soft feathers that enable them to fly silently.

These powerful claws can grab and carry massive prey. ( Nick Bradsworth )

And their talons are capable of seizing prey up to the size of a koala or possum.

"We're talking about a big bird that eats big food," Dr Mott says.

The thing is, it's very hard to see these owls because they are very well camouflaged and only come out at night for activities like 'possum shopping'.

But their calls are a dead giveaway. They're the only Australian owl that makes a classic owl sound — a double-note 'whoo-hoo' that can be heard up to two kilometres away.

Loading...

"People will know when owls are about because there's a noise in the night that they don't usually hear," says Dr Mott.

And right now, while they're courting, they are particularly noisy.

"Just after dusk they do a lot of calling together as partners to tell each other 'Yes, I still love you'.

"They preen each other, they share food, and the male brings food to the female to show he is a great provider."

An owl couple bond as they share a feed of freshly-caught possum. ( Richard Jackson )

The incredibly cute powerful owl chicks have a distinctive but very different sound.

But you'll need to wait until some time between July and September this year to hear them!

Hard to find a home

Powerful owls live east of the Dividing Range from Mackay in Queensland to Victoria, but they only breed in very old trees that have big hollows in them.

Unfortunately, this real estate is increasingly rare, which is one reason the species is in decline.

Chicks will hatch later this year. ( Wendy Whorrod )

The birds are very particular and so far efforts to provide them with artificial nest boxes have not been very successful.

The latest efforts include experimenting with nest boxes made by 3D printing using laser measurements of actual tree hollows!

Remnant bushland along waterways in urban areas are essential for owls.

This is where old trees with hollows are most likely to be found. And even when they're not breeding, or out looking for food, the owls roost (sleep) by day in trees in such areas.

Unfortunately the breeding trees are often on the edge of the bush next to homes and other buildings, and these are the most likely to be felled, says Dr Mott.

The owls only breed in hollows like this, which only form in trees that are very old. ( Supplied: Dave Robson )

She says we need to conserve urban bush like this, especially since the birds have lost so much of their home to bushfires.

"We've lost at least a third of all of the area they would have been able to occupy," says Dr Mott.

But there are downsides to life in an urban environment.

Owls are more likely to die in urban areas by being hit by a car as they fly quite low. They are also at risk of being electrocuted on powerlines and flying into windows.

Even if you don't hear an owl you might see its white poo. ( Beth Mott )

Powerful owl 'white wash'

Even if you don't hear owls, you might see evidence of them in the form of their poo called "white wash".

"It looks like someone has spilt a bucket of paint on the ground."

Or you might see pellets of regurgitated bits of food remnants — fur, bones and claws.

"They look like fluffy balls of vacuum cleaner dust with bits of bone sticking out of them — they're not like anything else you see," says Dr Mott.

She says pellets tell researchers what owls are eating, and suggest urban owls are eating a lot of rats, which is a worry because they could be poisoned by rats that have eaten rat bait.

Pellets look a bit like vacuum cleaner fluff but full of regurgitated bones and fur. ( Nick Bradsworth )

If you hear or spot evidence of powerful owls, scientists like Dr Mott at the Birdlife Australia's Powerful Owl Project want to hear from you.

You might also want to help them further as a citizen scientist. This involves monitoring owls from April to October — you could even follow a pair through courtship to when their cute chicks hatch.

"Citizen scientists are the heart of this research effort. Without them, we couldn't help the owls," says Dr Mott.

Loading...