 Emmett
and Abigail are shown here as they waited for June to return at 3pm
yesterday. She had gone out to visit with Ward and retrieve a mouse that
he had delivered to a nearby tree. As you can see, the owlets are already
quite a bit bigger than the remaining egg; which should hatch in the next
48 hours if it is to hatch at all. The owlets are close to the same size
and can only be distinguished by their voices. Abigail may be slightly
bigger but Emmett (on top) is more active and struggles continuously
to stay on top. This is the start of their competition for June's
attention and for the best feeding position. When June returned ten
minutes later, Emmett flapped his wing stubs and tried to leap in her
direction while Abigail showed little interest. June has been feeding them
what is left of a large bird this morning and they are both in good voice.
Ward called home during one of these feedings, but June only looked up
without responding. Ward gave up after three classic hoots. While female
barred owls are known to ignore the calls of strange males while they are
nesting, it is highly unusual for June to ignore Ward. Perhaps no news was
good news to Ward as he went back to sleep. |