Category: Animals

Freedom Day and the oldest owlet ventures out onto the nest box ledge for the very first time. 50 days old and still covered with fluff, it surveys the strange thing that is the world outside.

Another quite day for the three owlets but they are beginning to get a bit restless: here’s one practising its neck exercises in front of the camera.

Sorry about the thumping noise – it’s a fault with the camera

Day 42 and the owlets are developing the typical barn owl heart-shaped face and they start to lose their fluff to reveal their new feathers.

Another week and we hope to have a visit from the Shropshire Barn Owl Group to check and ring the owlets: a great chance to see the three wobble-heads close up!

Now the three owlets are old enough (the oldest is 31 days old) the mother is roosting elsewhere during the day. We were able to turn on a third camera without disturbing them and this one gives a better view of the inside of the nest box.

So enjoy five minutes of the three fluffballs doing what they do during the day.

A perfect night for hunting and both the male and female took full advantage, delivering a total of fifteen juicy field voles and mice for the growing (and as you can hear, demanding) owlets.

Female 8, male 7!

The adults is hunting earlier and earlier as the owlets getting bigger and hungrier. Here the female dashes back in with dinner, so quick you can hardly see the field vole she has caught.

The oldest hatched 25 days ago and the youngest a week later.

After a few days of poor hunting this morning there is evidence of abundance, with a spare field mouse on the floor, so the owlets have obviously fed well during the night. The fluffballs are getting bigger and there are signs of their first true feathers coming through.

The oldest hatched 25 days ago and the youngest a week later.

The mother brings back a field vole for the hungry owlets and within the blink of an eye it’s gone. Question: who won the prize?! You may have to watch the video more than once to spot it.

Answer: it’s the largest owlet who grabs it and rushes to the corner of the nest box to swallow it whole, and it’s vanished even before the mother leaves the nest.

Yesterday evening the male barn owl came out early to start hunting, silently to and fro across the field, passing within feet of us as we sat holding our breath at the edge of the field. Soon afterwards the female flew out from the nest box and for a few moments the pair appeared to serenade each other as they flew out over the long grass, before each headed off into the distance: different directions, same intention.

The hunting appeared to go well during the night, but today the smallest owlet died, probably from being trampled by its bigger bolder siblings rather than hunger.

The three older owlets appear well, but the drizzle tonight has delayed dinner.

The rain stopped hunting early last night. The female came back empty mouthed and soaking wet, to be greeted by a noisy bundle of hungry owlets, who clamoured loudly for food that wasn’t there. The largest of the group became rather aggressive until even it got the message and they all calmed down.

The hunting needs to be better tonight, particularly as the youngest is still very small and vulnerable. Fortunately the weather forecast is good: dry, clear and calm.

Now the owlets have their warm fur coats and the weather is good the mother can go out at night hunting for them.

Here she brings back a small mouse, to a lot of fuss from the hungry youngsters. It is the second oldest who gets the prize and duly downs it in one (with a bit of a struggle).

Note the large dead vole on the floor, a little too big for the owlets to eat themselves.