This week I got to see the babies a few times. They are like little children on sugar when they are awake. They fly from branch to branch following each other. It looks like they are chasing each other in a game of tag. They don’t linger on trees too long before they take flight again while they are awake.
Peek-A-Boo! A baby barred owlet in view and one of its siblings hiding behind some leaves.Sibling flew off.Perched on a broken branch.Flying from tree to tree.Screeching for food. At least one of them got either a mole or vole that night.
BARRED OWLET SOUND
Click on the audio file below to hear the noise barred owlets make.
Good-bye baby owl!
Do owlets have ADHD? With all the flying they do while they are awake I wonder how many rodents their parents need to catch for them a day.
Surprise! There are three owlets. After only hearing them for about a week, but not seeing them, I found them today. They were all together on the same branch with good views from a couple of different places nearby.
They appear to be singing.
A parent was in a neighbouring tree. They were probably begging for food. I was hoping to see a parent feed them and I knew at least one of them was hunting nearby. But once again a thunderstorm was approaching .
I am happy I at least got to see the three of them together and I hope I am lucky enough in the future to see a parent feed them. Enjoy your week!
What is twice as nice as spotting an owlet in a tree hole? Finding out there are two owlets.
Second baby is in the hole.
The day after I spotted one in the hole, there was one high up in the same tree, and another one in the hole, so definitely two.
Baby owl power napping.
This is the one who was high up in the same tree with their nest hole. I suspect he climbed the tree, however I did see him flying branch to branch the next day.
Mother or Dad? I tried to make this one look like an old photo. The light was not great that day.
The mother owl usually flies down to a lower branch for a couple of minutes before flying back to a higher branch. I do not hear the “Who cooks for you?” sound people say barred owls usually make. She or he usually make half a who around the babies. I guess it is owl baby talk.
These two seemed to have left the nest quickly. I passed that tree two times every time I went there and prior to my last post I did not see an owlet peeking out. Would have wished for more days to see them at the tree hole, but I will take what I can get. Go slow and be aware when walking in the woods, you never know what you can miss.
The owlets are growing up. One can see more colouring like that of an adult great horned owl. It is interesting to have this opportunity to view these youngsters. Get out and enjoy nature. It’s a perfect way to social distance and get exercise at the same time.
The eyes of the owlet on the left appear a little off. Is it just me?I wonder what they were talking about.Watching me leave.Singing a song or pleading for food?Sleepy mom at one point was in the tree.A very windy day and the branches were moving about. In this photo you can see the two owlets hunkering down.
I had to stop by after work. The weather has not cooperated, but I can not do anything about that. No drama today. The crows did a fly by , but did not see the parent.
It looks like one owl was winking at me. I am sure it had something in his eye though. The parent tries to be stealth around the nest. It did not work today. It has no problem being photographed away from the nest.
Yes, one seemed to be winking at me. It had one eye closed for a few shots.The owlets are starting to get feathers it appears and I see what appears to be ears more prominently.Parent is trying to be stealth. It did not work too well at this moment.
Get out and enjoy nature. It is the perfect socially distant activity.
Some action around the nest tonight. A hawk was getting too close and was chased a few times by one of the parents. It did not seem to worry the babies. They spent their time snoozing and watching me. They are starting to look more like owls and less like aliens.
Cuddle timeSibling love
These are taken from quite a distance away and heavily cropped. I am sure there are others with much sharper images out there. This nest is also on private land.
Sometimes you are at the right place at the right time. I have been following this nest on private property for several weeks now. I knew there were babies as one parent was always sitting in the nest. Then today… poof ….I see one adult perched on a neighbouring branch and two babies in the nest that look quite large.
Owlet gazing at its parent.Looking regal.One owlet closer to me I had a better view of and one more I could just see the top of its head and eyes.The parent had flown off at this point leaving them alone. It may have gone off to find dinner.
I kept a distance. This is one owl you need to give a lot of space to. They will attack people who get too close. I took these with a zoom lens and they are heavily cropped. Get out and enjoy nature. You never know what you find in your own backyard or a friend’s backyard.
The babies from different local parks and wildlife areas are starting to hunt. I try to catch local youngsters at least a few times a week. The parents are less visible now. They are leaving them more and more on their own. Soon they may be off to find their own territory.
The owl babies are looking more and more like adults. I saw one hunting, while the others were on nearby trees.Communicating with its siblings nearby. The only sound I have heard them make is a screech like sound.I think they are so cute. As long as you are quiet and respect them from a distance they will tolerate you being around.It moved around from downed tree to tree searching for wildlife along the stream.Pausing to look at me. This one was on this downed tree scanning the stream bed for dinner in the deep, dark woods. It caught a few things, but I could not get a good look. The stream bed is a foot or more below the ground level with plants obscuring its view and the owlet went right down to that level. What did it catch? I could not tell, but it was eating something more than once. A frog perhaps? A chipmunk looking for a drink?
I will enjoy these youngsters while I can. Who knows, maybe in other nearby parks in the coming years these owlets with raise their own families. One can only hope.
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