Our
record high temperatures have allowed June to leave the owlets at home
alone as she joins in the hunting for the first time since she laid the
eggs. These long absences have also presented Ernie with his first
challenges. As June went on a two hour hunting trip this morning, the
owlets huddled together for warmth as they are shown doing here. There was
a lot of pushing and shoving and Ernie was knocked over twice, but he
managed to get back up and rejoin them within minutes. Because they were
all together when June returned with her catch, they all wound up in the
same feeding position and Ernie had no problem getting his share.. 
June's
next outing came in the afternoon when the temperature had climbed into
the 90s. In this heat, it was no longer necessary for the owlets to huddle
together and Ernie wandered off on his own. That's him in the rear. When
June returned this time, he managed to get trapped in this position as
June started feeding Emmett and Abigail on this end of the nest. It took
him more than five minutes to to climb under June and around the older
owlets, but he somehow managed to pop up in front where he was given the
few remaining bites of a food. June will only feed the owlets that she
sees and hears and it's up to them to find their way to the table. Ernie
has passed his first tests.
It is now 9pm and Ward has already made two food deliveries. Each set off loud squeals by June and a lot of wheezing by the owlets. The record heat is scheduled to continue through tomorrow, so that June should again be able to leave the owlets alone and help out with the hunting. In cooler weather, she would not be able to do this until they are about ten days old.