Typical Barred Owl Family (3-20-98)

Two eggs were briefly revealed as June shifted her incubating position early this morning. I suspect that the second egg came late yesterday. Two eggs is the most common clutch size for the barred owl, and three days is the typical interval between eggs. The hatching dates should also be staggered so that the parents can give more individual attention to each young owlet. A third egg is still quite possible, but feeding three owlets would put Ward's hunting skills to a severe test. June did not spend as much time away from the nest last night and Ward brought her food on at least three occasions. She still knocks the eggs around like billiard balls and chews on them occasionally. No damage is apparent. June has yet to expose the two eggs for long enough to get a picture, so I will replace this picture of June with the eggs later.

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