Dexter
the owl refused to wait till daylight to bust out of his shell. He could
just be seen in the shadows as he stuck his head out from under June and
peeped for food at 5:40 am. Since he was already white, fluffy, and dry he
must have been out for several hours by this time. Newly hatched
owlets are damp and pink for the first few hours. In spite of his tiny
size, he was already calling for food with both peeps and wheezes. When
June tried to accommodate him by ripping apart a big bird that Ward had
delivered the night before, Dexter climbed up onto the back of the bird to
make sure she didn't forget that it was for him. He is constantly
thrashing about by pushing himself around with his wing stubs, and is
easily the most aggressive owlet ever hatched in June's nest box.
Two
hours later, Dexter was no longer an only owlet. Daphne broke through her
shell with her beak and called for June to help her out with both peeps
and wheezes. June then started biting off large chunks of Daphne's shell
and eating them until she was also free to push herself around with her
wing stubs. She is the one on the right in this picture while Dexter is
resting his head on the unhatched egg. Since she was hatched within hours
of Dexter, it wont be long until she is bigger than he is. Female owls are
typically about 20% bigger than males by the time they become adults. The
owlets are alone in this picture because Ward had called June out to
accept another large bird he had caught. When June returned a few
minutes later, Daphne was ready to compete for food and was already
wheezing loud enough to get her share.