I could not wait to see how the owlets had been getting on in the last week. I can have a low resolution feed onto my PC at home and I can access the cams on my phone, but it is not the same as looking at the actual footage on site.
I just couldn’t believe the difference in these babies in a week! There have been an average of 2-3 prey items being brought in every 24hr period, but with many of these being large rats, there is usually food cached in the box during the day, which is always a good sign.
The following clips show the owlets and how they change over the week. The female is now leaving the owlets to go and hunt as well.
In this clip, you can see how the owlets have learnt that this call means dinner is on its way!
The female is coming out whilst it is still light… usually between 7.30-8pm… with 3 hungry mouths, I can understand why!
At just 10 days old, this owlet attempt to… and succeeds in swallowing a mouse whole! Incredible!
With their eyes open now, these three are very inquisitive and are taking in everything in their surroundings. They were all intrigued by the sound of the lawn mower…..
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Although the owlet footage took up a lot of time, I set up our swallow cams again. The brackets are all in place, so it is just a matter of popping the IP camera back into position. Two nest cups have mini nest box cams on as well and both also have a little light unit just above as the garage block can be quite dark inside.
This pair has wasted no time… they always add a little bit of mud to the cup and then bring in some straw, then feathers before laying. If they start their brood now, they can sometimes squeeze three broods in this season. Always a pleasure to see them back.