 Rufus the owl
broke through his shell and started
peeping at 8:30 last night. Like the owlets that were hatched in this nest
two years earlier, only his head penetrated the shell last night.
He remained a "talking egg" until June removed the rest of
the shell from his body just after noon today. Last night's peeping was
Ward's signal to start bringing in extra food to be stored inside the nest
and he responded with three deliveries in the next thirty minutes -- a sure sign that he has been
stashing it in anticipation of Rufus' birth. June never allows prey to be
stored inside until the first owlet hatches. One mouse and a much larger
rodent (on June's right in the picture) remained in the nest at dawn today, so that Rufus should have more
than enough food to get him through the day. The weather is a mess today
with a combination of rain and snow pelting the roof to almost drown out
the sound of Rufus' peeping. This peeping sound is something that would
only be heard by June if it were not for the OwlCam microphones only two
feet away. I will post a picture of Rufus as soon as June allows me to get
one. |