Two baby owls! - 6/1/2021

Last night, Momma Owl left the box earlier, and as usual hung out in the Oak getting yelled at by Juncos, Oak Titmice, Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches and a Anna's Hummingbird. After they calmed down, she went off to hunt. Meanwhile, Baby Owl hung out at the box entrance for a while, getting their groove on. Eventually they flew out, and onto the perch! And much to my surprise, another Baby Owl peeked out - there are (at least) two in there!

I sat out watching as much as I could as it got darker and darker. What I observed was the first Baby Owl hanging out on the perch for a while, occasionally having a big wobble and flap, while the second baby looked out of the box. After it was mostly dark, the first baby started to explore the Oak, half walking, half flapping up the trunk. They got around rather well, which makes me think it's not their inaugural exit. The second baby didn't seem to leave, so they might be a few days early (or just waiting for later in the evening.)

At least one of the parents was around, brought a lizard (poor lizards! their population might get decimated at this rate! eat rodents!) and flew back off. Sometimes there were at least 3 owls in the tree making different sounds. Unfortunately, they're quiet enough and human noise pollution is a horror, so I didn't get any recordings as I'd have liked.

Here's some Baby Owl groove:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WLzXq28fq6oE22U3sAeQqtcDGztqEgQ9/view?usp=sharing

And a longer video of the two babies, lots of flapping, and a lizard delivery:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m2BldszjFpS9GI1kATyuF_4wYE-B7Qw0/view?usp=sharing

Tonight, I see that the first baby is really getting around, flew out of the Oak and to other trees in the yard, and the neighbor's. The second baby is still in the box. Must be hard to wrangle multiple baby birds!

Posted on June 2, 2021 03:47 AM by newtpatrol newtpatrol

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii)

Observer

newtpatrol

Date

May 31, 2021 08:34 PM PDT

Description

Once the light is fading, Baby Owl takes their turn looking out of the box for a while, really getting their groove on (I know, it's a vision thing, but still funky). This night, this baby flew out, and a second baby looked out!

Here's some Baby Owl groove:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WLzXq28fq6oE22U3sAeQqtcDGztqEgQ9/view?usp=sharing

And a longer video of the two babies, lots of flapping, and a lizard delivery:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m2BldszjFpS9GI1kATyuF_4wYE-B7Qw0/view?usp=sharing

Finally, I created a Flickr album with a larger collection of photos and videos here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmVZPnT5

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