 The
crows finally let up a bit today and June was able to do a little hunting
in the immediate are of the nest box. . She is seen here launching herself
from the rail in pursuit of something she has spotted in the distance. A
few minutes later she came back with a chipmunk and fed it to the already
hungry owlets. As soon as she finished she cleaned them up with some
preening as shown above and flew out to continue her hunting. She did this
from a low perch that was only about 50 feet from the nest box. It
proved a good spot as she came back with a mouse less than twenty minutes
later. While Ward did not visit the nest today, he did call home twice
from a distant part of their territory. The rapid fire deliveries that
start at sundown (3 to 5 in thirty minutes) lead me to believe that he is
hunting in the daytime and stashing his prey for delivery after dark. The
deliveries slow down to one every couple of hours by 10pm, which is a more
realistic rate for catching prey. Both he and June continue to have
remarkable luck with their hunting and the owlets are showing the results
in their rapid growth. |
The
owlets are now three and a half weeks old and about half the size of their
parents. Adult barred owls range from 18 to 24 inches tall and have wing
spans of just under four feet. Females are usually about 20% larger than
males and have considerably higher voices. The owlets spent much of their
day preparing for the outside world by doing winged leaps across the
floor. It suddenly seems very crowded in the nest and these flight
attempts end abruptly when they crash into the wall or each other. This
flapping and leaping is strengthening their wings and legs and should lead
to some leaps to the doorway before the end of next week.