Restless Owlets

Wally and Theodore are starting to look a little bit confined in the nest box as their rapid growth continues. As you can see in this picture, Wally's wings are already far too long to fully extend inside the nest box. Don't worry, Theodore is fine and hidden under one of Wally's wings. June's efforts to get Theodore his share of the food have paid off and he is now almost as big a Wally. Both of the owlets have started to swallow their food whole, so that June no longer has to cut it up for them. She does, however, still have to make a special effort to be sure Theodore gets his share. When she brings food to the nest, she enters and makes certain that the hungriest owlet gets to eat. If this is Theodore -- and it usually is -- she watches him very carefully to make sure that he swallows it before she leaves. Ward, on the other hand, only brings food as far as the door and gives it to the owlet that reaches the highest -- usually Wally.  Ward and June made two daylight mouse deliveries yesterday and many more food deliveries last night. The last came at 5am today and was a mouse from June to Theodore. The owlets are now big enough to stretch and reach the bottom of the doorway, but treat it as off-limits. Wally continues that strange scratching and churning with his claws and I am beginning to suspect that he may be looking for a less frightening way out of the nest than the door.

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