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doktrnick.bsky.social
Dr Nick 🦉🇦🇺
@doktrnick.bsky.social
5.3K followers 1K following 1.4K posts
Owlcaholic; Bird photography and drawing; Owl Club; Powerful Owl Project; Bird banding; also biomaths, machine learning, bio-imaging; Brisbane, Australia
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doktrnick.bsky.social
Dr Nick 🦉🇦🇺 @doktrnick.bsky.social · Nov 13
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
doktrnick.bsky.social
Powerful Owlet roosting with one of its parents in a Brisbane conservation area late this afternoon. The Owlet's sibling was about 30m away and after dark there was a lot of trilling and flying around.
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
November 9, 2025 at 10:53 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Checked in this morning on the two Powerful Owlets whose Papa may be in care. It's been almost 3 weeks now, but they are looking well and cared for. (Big lens is still in for repair, but hopefully I'll be taking decent photos again by the middle of next week)
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
November 6, 2025 at 2:10 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Updated my business card since I'm here and and haven't been on the bird site for quite some time.
November 4, 2025 at 1:31 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Powerful Owlets this morning in a Brisbane conservation park. Two weeks ago an adult was found suffering from poisoning (ban 2nd generation rodenticide!) about 1km away. We're not sure it's the papa of these two, but we're regularly checking in on them to see if they are OK and being fed (they are).
November 1, 2025 at 3:57 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Finally, we managed to track down this Powerful Owl pair. There had been some random sightings in the area in crazy locations that couldn't possibly be regular roosts. But today we tracked them to a more reasonable tucked away area that is most likely their regular spot.
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
Powerful Owl pair roosting, one displaying a Ringtail Possum.
October 31, 2025 at 2:15 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Big lens is still broken, but fortunately the Bush Stone-Curlews at the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens are so relaxed (except about crows flying over) you can use a portrait lens.
October 26, 2025 at 6:11 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Male Powerful Owl quick brushpen sketch. Every drawing is practice for the next.
Brushpen ink sketch of a male Powerful Owl head
October 19, 2025 at 10:07 PM
doktrnick.bsky.social
My big lens is broken, dammit. So here's one from a while back. The Owlet was obviously aware and agitated by the presence of the python. But my goodness, it took a long time to decide to fly away, at which point we began breathing again.
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
October 19, 2025 at 6:26 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Last round of voting (for the Emu-wren 😉). Get in before Bird of the Year closes:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Australian bird of the year 2025: vote for your favourite #birdoftheyear in the Guardian / BirdLife Australia poll
From little penguins to (very big) cassowaries, every bird has its fans. Vote for your favourite in the 2025 Guardian/BirdLife Australia poll
www.theguardian.com
October 14, 2025 at 12:35 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Being at #6 it looks like the Emu-wren should survive the cull tonight, but be sure and vote for Bird of the Year if you haven't already today, and make sure you vote tomorrow as it'll be down to the final 10.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
October 13, 2025 at 9:11 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
I quite like my new fountain pen for quick sketching. This was a Powerful Owlet I helped rescue off a busy path a couple of years ago. A bit like Donna in David Tennant era Dr Who, it didn't think much of being rescued.
Every drawing is practice for the next.
October 13, 2025 at 5:40 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
The Emu-wren has started the day quite well at #5. Like @hugepossum.bsky.social I'm hoping it can maintain its place in the top 5 today & tomorrow, it needs all the help it can get what with being threatened by space launches etc.
Vote for Bird of the Year here:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
October 12, 2025 at 9:26 PM
doktrnick.bsky.social
With the Powerful Owl now out, I'm going for the Southern Emu-wren. It needs protection from habitat destruction (I'm looking at you rocket launch site). It'd be great if it could survive the next couple of days of voting and finish in the top 5. Vote here:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
October 12, 2025 at 1:54 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Female Powerful Owl in a Brisbane conservation park. Two guys with 2 dogs walked right under her but didn't notice her and her partner on the same branch.
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
October 11, 2025 at 9:55 PM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Bird Bums of Brisbane LXXII
The Female Forest Kingfisher
Gold Creek Reservoir
Yesterday
October 11, 2025 at 8:52 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
The Powerful Owl is still hanging on there in the Bird of the Year voting, and should make the cut later tonight when the bottom 5 are removed, and the counts are reset to 0. Hopefully those currently voting for the Brush Turkey etc will move their support to POwls 🙂
Current voting for Bird of the Year Powerful Owlet and female Powerful Owl looking at each other quizzically.
October 9, 2025 at 10:48 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
An airplane went over, which seemed to rattle the Powerful Owl pair a bit. That's unusual as adult POwls mostly ignore them, and this pair being in quite a people-busy conservation area are very very chill. Owlets are always fascinated by planes.
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
Closeup of female Powerful Owl staring up at the sky Close up of male Powerful Owl looking worried. Female and male Powerful Owls looking agitated while roosting on a branch together.
October 9, 2025 at 2:34 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Powerful Owl pair (female left) in a Brisbane conservation park this morning. Don't forget to put in your vote today for Powerful Owls for Bird of the Year:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Male and female (L) Powerful Owl roosting about a metre apart on a branch.
October 9, 2025 at 1:50 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
What's with the Tawny Frogmouth vote (see reply below) at @australia.theguardian.com ??? It's not even an Owl!
The Powerful Owlets are concerned. Vote 1 Powerful Owl! Cast your vote here:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
October 6, 2025 at 11:30 PM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Got my Bird of the Year web scraping code running again ... it looks like the Powerful Owl should survive today's vote as it's 15th in the tally. Phew!
October 6, 2025 at 4:26 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
It's time to vote for Australia's best bird! Vote 1 Powerful Owl!
[ @australia.theguardian.com seems to have chosen a particularly unflattering POwl picture, so here's a better one]

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
October 5, 2025 at 9:57 PM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Sleeping Powerful Owlet in a suburban Brisbane park at dusk yesterday.
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
September 29, 2025 at 10:54 PM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Powerful Owlet being bothered by a Magpie-lark this morning. There were also Bluefaced Honeyeaters and Noisy Miners, but the Owlet wasn't really that bothered.
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
September 27, 2025 at 5:10 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Kookaburra in a Brisbane park this morning
September 27, 2025 at 4:17 AM
doktrnick.bsky.social
Powerful Owl family in a Brisbane conservation park this morning, adult female with a possum. The last time this pair bred was two years ago, so it was good to see them with an Owlet.
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
September 26, 2025 at 6:27 AM