16 July 2025

Eurasian eagle owls (Bubo bubo) span the continent from Norway and Spain to the Russian Far East, the Koreas, and China. Because they have been persecuted by people they are very sensitive to human disturbance in Sweden and will abandon eggs and even nestlings.

In some places they nest in parks, such as this owl family in southern Germany.

(video from Wikimedia Commons)

But the most amazing were the city owls who moved into Helsinki about 20 years ago when the rabbit population grew large. One of them became famous by “crashing” a soccer playoff at Helsinki Olympic Stadium(*).

Another pair nested above a city street in 2011. One of their youngsters miscalculated a short airborne hop and his mistake became an adventure. He had his first city tour complete with a fire department rescue from the top of the “Southern Fried Chicken” sign.

Watch as the city eagle owl learns to fly.

Eurasian eagle owls are not reported anymore in Helsinki’s city center. I suspect that they left when the rabbit population returned to normal.

p.s. More about the celebrity owl at the stadium: On 6 June 2007 the Euro 2008 Finland-vs-Belgium qualifying match was being held at the stadium when an eagle owl landed on the field and flew to the goal posts. The game was suspended during the owl’s visit while the crowd cheered “Huuhkaja!” (Finnish common name for the owl). Finland won the game 2-0, the owl was nicknamed Bubi and “Helsinki Citizen of the Year,” and  Finland’s soccer team was nicknamed the “Eurasian Eagle Owls.” See a video of Bubi’s game-time visit here.