June
made three hunting trips today that each lasted for a little less than an
hour. She moved to a new hunting perch (such as this one) after ten
to fifteen minutes if she found no action in the old spot. She
limited her distance from the nest to less than 100 yards, so that she
could clearly hear the owlets wheezing and rush back to the nest if they
sounded threatened. Her hunting was made much more difficult by
dive-bombing blue jays who, along with many smaller birds, scared off most
of the potential prey. Ward did not show up in the area until after
dark and appears to be happy to let June take over the daytime hunting
duties.
When
June finally did head back toward the nest, the owlets were huddled
together to keep warmth near the back of the box. They had already reacted
to several false alarms, but responded wildly when they heard June's wailing
sound as she approached. Dexter was on top of the pile at the time and
was therefore able to push the other owlets over and race to the doorway
before they could get back up. That's June's head sticking through the
door with a very small mouse which Dexter snapped up before the other
owlets arrived. It's almost dark in the nest because June is blocking the
doorway which is the only source of light. This was June's only daytime
delivery today, so that the owlets again had to wait till dark before they
got any serious food. Ward has apparently benefited from his daytime rest
and made at least six deliveries between 8pm and 11pm. It has been one
continuous feast since then with no letup in the wheezing and
peeping.