June
tried every trick she knew to get Ernie to swallow a whole mouse, but he
wasn't buying it. After she nudged him with it and then showed him how to
flip it around head first to swallow, he ran away by tunneling underneath
her and refused to come out. June then dangled it in front of Abigail who
did not hesitate to grab it and start a series of wild gyrations to
"shake" it down her throat. It took her about five minutes, but
she finally became the second owlet to join the "whole mouse
club". Shortly after she finished, Ward arrived with the snake which
June is seen taking from him here. It was a garter snake, and this time
Ernie did not hesitate. He grabbed it from June and spent the next ten
minutes bobbing his head up and down until he "shook" it down
his throat. 
Ernie was
still basking in the glory when Ward delivered another blue jay a few
hours later. None of the owlets would attempt to eat an entire jay, but
Ernie certainly got his share of the pieces June parceled out. He is shown
here enjoying a large chunk, with a few of the feathers sticking out of
the side of his beak. That's Emmett in the shadows on the right and
Abigail is even further back and out of sight. I'm surprised that Ward has
been able to catch so many blue jays as they are very alert and much more maneuverable
than owls. He must have found a well hidden perch over one of their
feeding areas where he can pounce on them. June is starting to spend a
little more time out of the nest as all of the owlets have progressed
beyond the brooding stage. She whines to them every couple of minutes to
let them know she is nearby.