The sight of
those foxes has apparently convinced Ward and June to cut back on their
efforts to coax the owlets out of the nest. They brought in so much food
last night that the mouse you see Rufus leaping for is still sitting on
the floor uneaten. Quite a change from yesterday's food riot when June
entered the nest with a dove. It was another one of those wild feeding
sessions where Seymour was hopelessly outmatched but never gave up. He
tried every trick that he knew, but always got pushed aside or sat upon as
the older owlets devoured every bite. This time though, the feeding
session had a surprise ending. Just as June left, she gave him a whole
mouse (I don't know where she was hiding it) which was so big that he had
trouble swallowing it. Once again, he did not give up as Rufus came after
the mouse, but ran to the corner where he finally managed to down it.
Rufus climbed to the doorway two more times yesterday, but his stays both lasted for less than a minute and he showed no serious interest in the owl rail. He just looked around, wheezed a few times, and then crashed back to the floor. Ward and June have also cut back on their efforts to call the owlets out with nearby hooting.