All language subtitles for Super Powered Owls BBC Natural World 2015 1080p HDTV_Subtitles01.ENG

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...

WOMAN: 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.
CHILDREN: 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.

No. You know why?
Because they're still too small.

It's a unique
opportunity for the children

to learn more about owls...

That is the egg that Lily
hatched from.

..and it's also clear how far
the owlets have come.

So, when she hatched,
only three weeks ago, 20 days ago,

she fitted in there. Look.

She was smaller than her
own head is now.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Isn't that amazing?

Now, who knows what's really
clever about what owls can do?

They can see in the dark.
That's it! Well done.

Now to be able to see at night,
it's not easy,

but owls have very, very good eyes.

They're very clever birds.

Good night vision is probably
the owl's best-known superpower.

There we are. What do you think?

She's as soft as cotton wool.
She is!

But Luna was developing another
one of her senses...

..even before she hatched.

What do you think?
Shall we check on its progress?

Let's have a look.

On occasions, if you call to 'em,
if you chip to 'em,

they actually call back to you.
I'll shush to him.

Shusssh.

OWLET CHEEPS

I heard it! Amazing.

Remarkably, owlets recognise
the calls of their parents

even from inside the egg...
Shusssh.

CHEEPING
It's amazing! Did you hear it?

Tiny little "Chip, chip."

We'll put him back in, then.

..which suggests sound must be
an important part of their world.

But just how important is hearing to
adult owls in the wild?

At a disused aerodrome in Essex,

this barn owl is on the lookout
for her next meal.

Cold weather, and a blanket of snow,
have left her short of food,

so she's been forced to
hunt in the day.

And now she's got competition...

..a kestrel.

It's one of the downsides of hunting
during the daylight hours.

And, even worse, the snow means
she can't see her prey.

So how do you find your food

when it's hiding out of sight?

Hunger forces the kestrel
to take a chance...

..but his razor sharp eyesight
isn't enough in these conditions.

Luckily for the barn owl, she has
another superpower in her armoury.

Flying blind won't stop her eating.

Because, although she can't see it,
she can hear her prey,

even under the snow.

The kestrel simply doesn't
have what it takes.

So how does an owl's
extraordinary hearing work?

OWL HOOTS

Some owls have ear tufts...

..but these feathers aren't used
for hearing.

They're more about
communicating mood.

In fact, the owl's whole head
is designed for listening.

Its distinctive round face
is shaped like a satellite dish,

specifically to detect sound.

A ring of stiff feathers channel
the sound towards the true ears,

which are hidden
at the side of the face.

Some species of owl have one ear
opening higher than the other.

This unique adaptation

allows the owl to work out what
height a sound is coming from,

as well as the direction.

Sound arriving at the left ear

before it reaches the right,

tells the owl it's coming from
below.

At certain frequencies,
an owl's hearing

is ten times more sensitive
than ours.

This extraordinary skill

means this great grey owl
can locate its prey...

..even when it's out of sight.

Come on.

Shusssh.

Kensa.

Hearing is a key part of the owl's
hunting strategy...

Kensa.

..in any environment.

Shusssh. Good girl. Come on.

Lloyd and Rose have an 11-year-old
barn owl called Kensa...

Good girl.

..who they've trained to hunt
to the sound of a beeper box.

BEEPING

When she hears that beep,

Kensa knows exactly where to
find her food.

But what about at night?

Just how much is
she relying on her hearing then?

So, that can go here.

To find out,

Lloyd's made an indoor
hunting ground.

So, we're going to put
the beeper in there.

Over to you, Rose.

He wants to be certain Kensa's
not using her sight.

I want to make it totally dark.

So he creates an artificial night.

OK, Rose? Yep.

Right, here we go.

Torch off.

OK, ready?

With our infrared cameras,

we can see what's going on,

but Lloyd, Rose
and, importantly, Kensa

are in total darkness.

KENSA HISSES
Hold on, where is she?

She must be by me,
by the sounds of it.

BEEPING

Sounds like she's under my feet
somewhere. Shusssh.

KENSA CRIES

I can't hear, has she got it?

I don't know.
Do you think she's got it?

Oh, my gosh, she's got it!

THEY LAUGH

Using only her hearing,

Kensa locks straight on
to the beeper.

BEEPING

That sounds good!

I'll get me torch, hold on. Kensa.

Shusssh. Good girl, you clever owl.

Who needs eyes
when you've got ears like that, eh?

But the owl's super-human hearing

is made even more effective
by their party trick.

They can turn their head through
an incredible 270 degrees.

If we did that,

we'd cut off the blood supply
to our brains and pass out.

But owls have evolved
special adaptations in their necks.

As their head turns,

wide spaces in the neck vertebrae

make sure the blood vessels
don't get crushed...

..and enlarged arteries at the top
of the neck create a reservoir,

which keeps a constant
supply of blood to the brain.

This astonishing
flexibility allows the owl

to focus its super-sensitive vision
and hearing...

directly at its prey.

In just two months,

there's been an amazing
transformation.

Luna and Lily have
grown from helpless little chicks...

..to near-adult barn owls.

Now their fluffy down

is being pushed out

by proper flight feathers...

Ooh! Come on, then.

Shusssh.
SHE CHUCKLES

..which marks the arrival
of the biggest milestone

in their young lives.

Luna, come and get weighed.

Now Luna's started using her wings,

she's being slightly less
cooperative

about her daily weigh-in.

Luna, I know you're hungry.

Come on, then.

Come on, then.

Good girl. Now, steady.

Don't go mad.

Steady, steady.

Good girl. That's it.

Wahey!

Luna, you can fly!

Luna's very first flight starts with
a leap of faith from the scales...

..and now she's hop-flying
every chance she can get...

..leaving her younger sister
to stare in wonder.

ROSE LAUGHS

She's on the tripod!

Oh, yeah, she might.

Mastering this new skill
doesn't happen over night.

She might have another go, though.

But it's something she must
get right,

as flight is perhaps an
owl's greatest superpower.

Luna.

Don't fall in the bucket of water!

Ooh, you're seeing what water is.

Is that interesting?

Shusssh. Oop!

THEY LAUGH

I told you not to
go in the bucket of water.

Oh, poor thing!

You'll get very wet.

I don't think you'll do that
again in a hurry.

Luna and Lily are still spending
the night in the house.

Now Luna can fly,
nowhere is out of bounds.

And her enthusiastic
flight practice

is getting her into trouble.

Whoa! That's on the picture, Luna.

THEY LAUGH

That bird!

But Luna's lucky.

A house is a relatively safe place
to practise this vital skill.

In the wild, some owls face
a monumental challenge.

Californian redwoods
are giants of the forest,

the tallest trees in the world.

And perched precariously
at the top of this one

is a family of great grey owls.

It's a wonderfully safe
place for a nest.

OWLET CRIES

But when it comes to
learning to fly,

there are some obvious challenges.

Launching yourself off the
equivalent of a 30-storey building

takes some courage.

Until they get the hang of it,

these owlets rely on being
able to cling on.

This is less flying,

more falling with style.

He makes it safely to the ground.

But they must keep practising,

so now it's a long hard climb

back to the top.

And it's not
long before they have lift off.

Although Lily's a week
younger than Luna...

SHE WHISTLES
Whoo!

..like any younger sibling,
she's not going to be left behind.

You're a clever, clever,
clever girl.

I know you're hungry.

Before long,
she's progressed from flapping...

to flying.

ROSE LAUGHS

Ah, that is so clever!

The power of flight is something
that sets birds apart.

SHE WHISTLES

Lily!

Whoo!

And owls have refined
their technique

with some incredible adaptations.

Ready?

You ready? Yep.

Lily!

Come on.

To fully understand this superpower,
we need to go back to basics.

Lily!

What does it take
for Lily to get airborne?

To find out, Lloyd and Rose
have enlisted the help

of bird expert
Professor Graham Martin...

and high speed cameraman
Mark Payne-Gill.

For a bird to take to the air,

it has to overcome two forces.

Gravity,

the invisible pull that
keeps us grounded...

..and drag,

which is the resistance
we experience

as we move through the air.

Birds use their wings
to create lift...

and thrust.

But how do they do it?

Birds' wings are the
shape of an aerofoil.

Air travelling over the top
of the wing

has to travel faster
than air travelling beneath.

This creates a difference
in air pressure,

which generates lift.

To gain forward momentum,

birds flap their wings.

This makes the air flowing over them
spiral off the trailing edge.

These vortices

thrust the bird forwards and
upwards.

These are the basic
principles of all flight.

But what's so unique
about the way owls fly?

We fly quite a few different
types of bird... Yeah.

..of varying sizes. Yeah.

But the one thing
I notice about the owls

is they always appear to be
a lot slower

when they're flying than
the other birds.

Well, all birds have got
different wing shapes

and they can fly
at different speeds -

it's just like aircraft.

So if you look at the wing
size of a barn owl,

it's actually got a very big wing,

and so they can fly very slow,
very controlled.

To really understand
the barn owl's slow flight,

Lloyd's putting Lily to the test
against two of his other birds.

Maisie the greylag goose,

a long distance endurance flier...

..and Moses the peregrine falcon -

one of the fastest birds on earth.

The peregrine takes the lead.

Its long and pointed wings
are quite flat,

designed for speed
and manoeuvrability,

which it needs to hunt.

The goose is next.

Weighing three kilograms,

its relatively short and narrow
wings work hard to get it airborne,

but once up, it can
sustain this for hours.

The barn owl has the largest
wings in relation to its body

and its aerofoil is very curved,

which generates a huge amount
of lift.

So the barn owl can fly slower

and with fewer wingbeats
than most other birds.

Whoo! Good girl.

But why is that important?

Sometimes when you're watching
the owls fly,

they go so slowly

it looks as if they're not going to
be able to maintain flight.

That's right.
They are actually flying so slow

that they're very, very close
to stalling.

But, of course,
that's what they need to do

because when they're doing that
very, very slow flight,

they're hunting.

It may be just a little
rustle in the grass,

so they've got to be in a position
to drop out the sky

and investigate it.

And get a nice, tasty vole.
Absolutely, yeah.

Owls have evolved a wing design

perfectly suited for their aerial
hunting strategy.

Slow, yet deadly.

But the refinements don't
stop there.

These birds have fine-tuned
their flight

so each species has
subtle adaptations

for the environment it lives in.

Like the barn owl,

these short-eared owls
have very large, broad wings,

ideal for flying slowly whilst
hunting over open ground.

Owls that live in woodland,
like tawny owls,

have shorter, more rounded wings

to help them manoeuvre
between trees.

Wherever they live,

all owls have an amazing
aerial agility.

They're even able to
take off vertically from standing.

It's a great defensive move,

especially when you've
got young to protect.

SHARP BIRDCALL

SHARP BIRDCALL

A dive-bombing arctic skua
is no match for the snowy owl.

Such mastery of the skies
seems to make these owls fearless...

..even against one of the
Arctic's largest predators.

OWL SHRIEKS

OWL SHRIEKS

Her supreme flying skills
drive the wolves away...

..and her family is safe.

Owls have one more amazing
flying skill...

..and this one is totally unique.

Floating across the meadow,

the barn owl is ghost-like
in appearance...

..and mysteriously quiet, too.

But just how quiet is
a hunting barn owl?

Kensa.

Shusssh.

To find out, Lloyd's
taken Kensa to a special studio...

..where Graham...

WINGBEATS

..and sound recordist Gary Moore
are going to put her to the test.

..against Smudge the pigeon...

..and Moses the peregrine.

The birds' challenge -

to fly over a series of
super-sensitive microphones.

ROSE WHISTLES

WINGBEATS

Good girl.

THEY MURMUR

Moses.

Mo.

WINGBEATS

And now it's Kensa's turn.

Shusssh.

Here we go!

Shusssh.
KENSA SHRIEKS

KENSA SHRIEKS

Did you hear anything?
Wow, that was really good.

No, nothing at all.
Absolutely quiet.

It was amazing!

But what have the
microphones picked up?

TUB RATTLES

The decibel waveforms
show the sound being generated

by the birds in flight.

WINGBEATS

Each spike is an
individual wingbeat.

THUD

WINGBEATS

THUD

But with the barn owl...

..there's almost nothing.

Even our array of super-sensitive
microphones

fail to pick up any sound
of Kensa in flight.

..and here's the owl doing
exactly the same.

KENSA SHRIEKS

KENSA SHRIEKS

Nothing, nothing at all.

I'll play it again.
KENSA SHRIEKS

KENSA SHRIEKS

There's not a sound. Yes.

That is really impressive, isn't it?

Yes, it shows that they
really are silent fliers.

So how does a barn owl fly
so silently?

WINGBEATS

When air moves, it generates sound.

The more movement,
the greater the sound.

The pigeon's large body
and small wings

mean it can't stay airborne
without a lot of fast flapping.

This creates turbulence
in the feathers below.

WINGBEATS

The peregrine has much larger wings,

which it uses to build up speed
and chase down its prey.

The barn owl is far more graceful.

Kensa's large wings and small body

make it easier for her
to generate lift.

So, just one gentle wingbeat

sees her gliding effortlessly
through the air...

..creating little more than
a whisper in the feathers below.

But that's not the only thing

that helps the barn owl
achieve near-silent flight.

Its flight feathers have
noise-reducing fringes

on the leading and trailing edges.

And they have a velvet-like
top to them.

These soft surfaces
absorb air movement,

reducing any turbulence
and minimising sound.

Birds like pigeons and peregrines

don't have these
specialised features.

So, why are they important
for an owl?

I suppose being able to fly
so silently

gives you two huge advantages
over your prey.

Not only on a dark night,
if you were a vole,

would you not hear your killer
coming - you wouldn't hear it!

Also, it allows the owl, I suppose,
to pinpoint its prey

without any interference
from the noise of their wings.

It doesn't want to hear itself

as it's trying to home in
on a very, very small sound.

That's incredible, isn't it?
Absolutely.

Silent flight is possibly
the greatest

of all the owl's superpowers

and it makes a huge difference
to their hunting success.

But, like every
superpowered creature,

owls have their kryptonite.

THUNDER RUMBLES

Rain.

OWL CALLS

This male, short-eared owl
has a young family back at the nest.

When it rains, they're all at risk.

Because there's a price to
pay for having silent feathers -

they can't also be waterproof.

The female hunkers down.

She can't move, or her chicks will
be at risk of hypothermia.

The male is struggling, too.

He can't hear his prey
over the driving rain.

So, today, his family will go
hungry.

Wet weather can be fatal for owls.

It's one of the reasons some don't
make it through their first winter.

Learning to hunt for themselves

is a challenge all young owls face

if they're going to survive.

Little owls fledge
between four and five weeks.

After this, their parents encourage
them to fend for themselves.

The adults usually hunt voles
and other small mammals...

..but these pint-sized youngsters
don't have the experience

to take on such tricky prey.

So, they start by practising
on something a bit easier.

Earthworms won't be enough
to see them through the winter...

..but they're great for honing
their hunting technique.

As birds of prey,

owls are defined by their habit
for hunting small animals.

Mastering the kill is a critical
survival skill...

..but it's clearly not easy.

So what exactly is it
youngsters need to learn?

To find out, Lloyd's brought Kensa

to meet animal locomotion scientist
Dr Jim Usherwood.

Together they'll try to deconstruct
the moment she pounces on her prey.

In Jim's laboratory,

they've created
a mini hunting ground.

That can go there.

Got the beeper?

They've hidden a beeper box
and some food in the long grass.

Right...

And, concealed beneath the turf,

is a special device that can
measure the forces at work.

BEEPING

She's got it. There's a good girl.

You clever old barn owl.

How much force, then,
does she exert on the pounce?

So, here we have the vertical
forces of the owl.

And, so, there's the force of
taking off,

and then you see some
fairly powerful flaps,

and then she eases off the gas,

uses gravity to come
back down at speed,

hits the ground at about
five metres a second,

with a force that's something like
12 times body weight. Wow.

This is the moment an owl must bring
all its superpowers together.

Hanging silently in the air,

Kensa uses her hearing
and eyesight to find her target.

She angles her face
to pinpoint the sound.

Once she's locked on,

she positions her entire body
for the pounce.

And then, what I find
really interesting,

look, when she comes down,

basically she's going headfirst
towards the ground.

And it's only now the legs
come forwards.

But the legs are still
very, very bent,

and, then, it's right at the very
end the legs extend

and then you get that thump.

So, she's coming down at
five metres a second.

She's hitting the ground
at around 12 times her body weight.

Mm-hm. Which would make sense,

because primarily she's hunting
small mammals.

So she wants to hit them
with as much force as possible,

to disable it and kill it.

What I was thinking was those long
legs would be useful

to ease off the force -

but she's not easing off at all.

She's actually extending with her
legs just as she hits the ground,

then gives it a good old thump.

To put this in perspective,
the force of Kensa's pounce

is the equivalent of a 12-tonne
truck hitting an 80kg man.

It's unlikely her prey

would survive the impact.

You wouldn't want to be
a vole, would you, now?

No, no. No,
life as a vole would be brief.

LLOYD LAUGHS

The journey to mastering
such finely-tuned superpowers

starts early.

It's now three months since
Luna and Lily entered the world.

They started to use their senses
even before they hatched.

Shusssh.

OWLET CHEEPS

I heard it! Amazing.

First, their hearing.

And then, within three weeks,

they were using their eyesight
to explore their surroundings.

Their development was
encouraged by Lloyd and Rose

every step of the way.

Who knows what's really clever
about what owls can do?

They can see in the dark.
That's it! Well done.

At just two months old,

Luna and Lily started to fly.

Wow!

Whoa, that's on the picture, Luna.

Now, at three months old,

it's time to see if they can put it
all together.

Shusssh.

Come on, Luna.

Luna.

ROSE LAUGHS

Hello.

Mind your feet! Lily, come here.

Luna!

Luna and Lily have grown up

in an extraordinary family...

Good girl.

..and become bold and
confident birds.

Lily! Yep.

ROSE LAUGHS

Luna, you're not meant to
be on the camera.

Lily!

Good girl. Good girl, good girl!

But despite their unusual
upbringing,

out in the meadow, their
natural instincts kick in.

They're hunting,
just like adult barn owls,

using all their superpowers
of keen eyesight,

extraordinary hearing

and slow and silent flight.

Shusssh.

Good girl, come on.

Nature has played its part...

BEEPING

Ooh, good girl. Got it?

..and Lloyd and Rose have done
everything they can

to get both birds to this moment.

Got it stuck?

There you go.

But, while Lily continues to hone
her skills living alongside them...

..there's been an unexpected twist
to her sister's story.

One evening,

Luna flew off...

and she didn't come back.

For Lloyd, it only underlines
her graduation

from owlet to adult,

reassuring him that he's equipped
her with everything she needs

for an independent life.

I've given her all the skills
that she needs to survive.

I've been her parent.
She's chosen to go -

it's her choice -

and we always say they've
got that choice to stay or go.

It's sad for me because you get
really attached to them,

but they don't have those
trappings of human sentiments.

She's just gone on to the wild
to do her own thing.

Now, more than ever, Luna will rely
on those special skills

that set owls apart.

For centuries, these enchanting
birds have captured our imagination.

With their haunting calls
and ghostly appearances,

owls add a magic
and mystery to our landscapes.

Their charismatic faces
are so familiar,

perhaps because they look
that bit more human

than other birds.

But it's their superpowers

that make them one of the most
successful

and best-loved birds on our planet.