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Comments

Barred Owls 2015 — 2,483 Comments

1. Owlet’s eyes should be opening fully today or tomorrow. Looking forward to that. The stockpiled prey appears to be a frog or toad, most likely the former, given the environment.

   

2. Luna put the egg back, then she entered the nest for a brief visit and flew off, returned at 1:01am.

   Photo is a blur, but it was her return and soon after departure.

   I was on the phone and saw her return. Did not get a photo.

   Curious to see, how she interprets the egg now. She is awesome no matter. imho

   

3. then…kerplunk, the egg (rolls?) from perch into the nest. Luna brought it back.

   

4. Luna left the nest with the egg accidentally attached, came back minutes later, dropped off the egg and flew away again. Yes, really.

   I realize this photo of Luna with the egg accidentally nattached, was her “returning” to the nest box, the first time. She did leave at about 12:41a.m.

   She arrived back a second time, at 12:47a.m. gone her usual 6 minutes.
   Returned the egg to the nest and flew off again, shortly after the egg drop, returning second time at 1:01a.m. Egg looked intact, but curious as to why/how it stuck so well to her feathers.

   Notified Admin to help verify info. No photo of her leaping up with the egg stuck in her feathers, all I got was blur.

5. As usual, when she flies off and owlet wobbles around, he/she’s wobbling and at this point the egg is gone.

   

6. Who else saw what happened to the egg?

   Luna stood up, stretched her legs and hopped out to the perch.
   When she stood to exit, the egg was stuck in her feathers. Shocked,
   watched her fly off and thought, it wasn’t her doing, it was an accident.

   A few minutes later, Luna returns, sits atop the perch, plop, egg falls into the nest. She hopped inside, then turned and flew off, the egg was in flight out of nest… her usual 6 minutes maybe, attached to her feathers alone. It was gone, but now it’s back, intact.

   

7. May 8th, 2014. Owlet has two milestones.

   One week old today and eyes have begun to open. Sweet.

   Look where the little foot is…had some maneuvering to do.

   

8. Day 7 Anticipating owlets eye opening day and “freedom”.
   Day 38 Waiting with bated breath for the outcome of her second egg.

   A somewhat humid day in the nest area according to Weatherbug.
   Humidity at 85%. High 68° Low 57° Chance of showers daily, through Wednesday.

   

9. May 8, 2014. Owlet is one week old today!!!

10. Do owls yawn? Well, apparently yes!

    There is not a lot of information on the subject, practically nil.
    Owls do yawn and the information I have gathered up says yawning can be a warning to others or it can be a way to cool down the brain.

    At the time I took the photo below, owlet had yawned at least 3-4X.
    Made me smile to think it is a defensive instinct, possibly due to fear of being alone, owlet decided to put on his powerful roar face.

    Bravery or cooling down, simply tired being the reason to yawn, this owlet is amazing.

11. 3 of 3.

    Plenty of food, a fantastic day. Luna keeps an eye on the owlet.
    Laying across her leg.

    

12. 2 of 3.

    Vigilance. Innocence.
    This was nice, to see owlet laying down asleep.

    

13. 1 of 3.
    I couldn’t decide. Each photo has something unique.
    Owlets “eyelashes” and those extremely cute feel side by side.

    

14. oh “solo” mee-oh

    

15. Abt 10 min. of wholehearted encouragement. She then closed her eyes to rest, but owlet is squirmy.
    6:17pm she’s rolling the egg, cooing
    6:18pm she’s calling n a high pitched whistle

    She’s really going at it.
    6:20pm very high pitched sounds, body quivering.
    6:27pm rocking shimmies, she stood n looked, owlet was laying down sleeping.

    Taps and scratches, rolling the egg and her own body,long repetitive coos. Different behavior.

16. In response to an earlier question, I have read that Mom owls brood their chicks almost constantly for about 10 to 14 days. When the chicks are a few weeks old, the brooding time is gradually reduced.
    I would imagine that night time temperatures are fairly low in these woods and that temperatures would influence the timing and length of time.

17. Owlet eye-opening watch. The owlet’s eyes, which are tightly sealed at hatch, usually open from 8 to 10 days after. Should be anytime now. Eyes make the owl. As I understand it, the natal iris color is a bluish gray which will change to the adult color by the time the owlet leaves the nest. In the case of Barred Owls, the color is dark brown, and ever so velvety. View of a feeding just a short time ago.

    

18. Hi Sara, Thank you. You are very welcome. I am more than happy to do it. We are welcomed in to share in the lives of the owls, so I enjoy sharing events and happenings with good folk who aren’t able to watch as much.

    I love how you mention~ when the little one will be allowed out from under. I hadn’t really thought about it like that until you mentioned it. Luna doesn’t allow the owlet out, will it happen on eye opening day, soon? She sometimes bobs from owlet pushing for an escape. You are so right!

19. Lynn – Just had to thank you for the amazing pictures you posted. Noche’s tail in her eye is so touching and “Luna hearts her egg” is lovely. Can’t wait until that feisty little guy is allowed out from under.

20. The original date and time of the photo is 2014-04-28 at 11:00:18p.m.

21. Pulled from the archives, going through photos and noticed something that grabbed my attention.

    In the IR reflecting in Luna’s eye, it looks like Noche’s tail, on the perch maybe.

    I wonder, did he visit and upon leaving sat for a few seconds and she watched him fly off?

    

22. Luna permits us a partial view of the egg. Looking for any evidence of a pip or staring. The left end looks particularly interesting, but nothing definitive. According to an outstanding and well researched study “Owls of the United States and Canada: A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior,” “At least 1 to 3 percent of eggs never hatch” (170). Just hoping that this will not be the case here.

    

23. Luna Hearts her egg.

    

24. Closer look, the top/left of the egg has the recognizable marking captured a couple days ago. The spirally shaped dark spot, hmm.

    Day 37 for the egg. Held under Luna’s chest feathers. Speaking of “holding” how much longer can Luna keep the owlet under wing?

    She’s being bobbed by owlet and looks annoyed at times!

    

25. hmm. hmm. hmm. Pretty Luna and bewildering egg.

    Watched her move egg and once again, the egg is in the chest feathers.
    A sure thing for delayed incubation.

    

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