At the Joffre high school, in Montpellier (Hérault), perched above the beach volleyball courts, they do not miss a crumb of the students’ performances: a couple of European eagle owls have taken up residence on the ramparts of this establishment. , in the city center of the Hérault capital. As surprising as it may seem, these birds of prey, which usually flee crowded places, have set up their nest in this high school, where some 1,600 students are educated. 300 meters as the crow flies from the Place de la Comédie!
“Usually, eagle owls nest on cliffs or quarries,” says Thaïs Provignon, wildlife mediator at the Occitanie Bird Protection League (LPO). Nestings of eagle owls have already been observed on buildings. It happens from time to time. What is surprising, with this couple, is that it chose a particularly frequented place… We could have feared a failure of nesting. »
And yet, three little owls were born on the ramparts of the Joffre high school. One of them unfortunately did not survive. Only two remain today. “They are still on a relatively high wall, notes Thaïs Provignon. And a security enclosure has been set up to prevent students and staff from getting too close. »
“They feed a lot of pigeons”
The babies are in great shape. They have come out of their nest, and “emancipate themselves to the ground”. But they will not grow up, on the other hand, with the same diet as their congeners, born in the wild. At night, in the Ecusson, their parents obviously do not hunt the same prey as if they were flying above the scrubland.
“They feed on a lot of pigeons, because it is a species which is, of course, very present in the city, explains the mediator of the LPO. There are a lot of pigeon feathers in their nest. While usually, eagle owls tend to eat rabbits, hares, hedgehogs or crows. They adapted. »
However, this is not the first time that a couple of Grand Dukes have chosen Montpellier. In recent years, the LPO has observed a few. Two of them had even, a few years ago, set up a nest in another high school in the area. And yet, the Eurasian Eagle Owl is not the most common owl. “We are lucky when we see it! “says Thaïs Provignon. Persecuted for a long time because it was thought to be a bad omen, this owl, one of the largest on the Old Continent, is now protected.
