Penelope
the owl made her transition from talking egg to owlet less than 24 hours
after Spencer's hatching. While the wheezing of two owlets made her
arrival apparent,
June again blocked the cameras and prevented her picture from being taken
until noon today. Even then, she stayed right on top of the owlets so
that only the faintest of pictures was possible. Penelope is already
almost as big as Spencer and should outgrow him in the next few weeks as
female owls normally do. Today has been a difficult day for the owlets,
with no food since sunrise.
If June will cooperate, I hope to have better pictures of the owlets soon.
While
Ward made three deliveries and the owlets were fed several times last
night, he has not been back since 3am and June was already out of food
when the sun came up today. As a result, the owlets have done a lot of wheezing
for food and June has been calling for Ward all day. There has, however,
been no answer as of 5 pm. It will not hurt
the owlets to miss an occasional meal, but Ward already has some serious
catching up to do. Because June must brood the owlets constantly until
they are old enough to regulate their own body temperatures, she will not
be able to help with the hunting for at least ten days. The owlets are now
sleeping as June broods them and lets out an occasional whine
for Ward.