Daily Reports |
| 4/23/2012 We saw the owl family in the tangled copse of trees in the neighbors yard this evening.
We believe all the family was there and they all looked great. We will continue to watch for them in the evening and keep the bird baths full of water for them for the hot Texas summer.
It's always a pleasure to have a little bit of the wild in our yard and we hope you enjoyed the owls with us this year. Thanks for joining us. Christine and Tim |
| 4/22/2012 This evening we watched and waited to see if anyone would show. Eventually an owlet appeared on the same branch we
saw them on previously. The one was finally joined by two others. They sat there interested in something in the neighbors yard. Eventually we were suprised when one of the owlets
flew quickly and with purpose into the nieghbors yard into a copse of tangled trees. The other two olwets rapidly followed, flying much better than I would have expected.
Righ after that we saw the female adult fly from that area to the box to retrieve a prey bird we assume. She then went back to that area and was seen there tearing up dinner.
We assume the fourth owlet was in those trees and she stayed with it during the day.
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| 4/21/2012 - 4/22/2012 We checked the box on the morning of 4/21/12 and the fourth owlet had flown the
safety of the nest box. In the place of the young owlet was a dead prey bird. There was no sign of any owl in the trees. It appears all four owlets successfully
made it to the saftey of the local trees to start the short "brancher" period of their lives.
After examining the motion detection captures of the owlbox camera we noticed that the female had come and gone around noon working on the prey bird. On the morning of the 22nd we had two more prey birds cached in the box and at about 10:00 AM the female showed back up to rest in the opening and feed on the prey birds. So they are now using the box as a cache site. |
| 4/20/2012 Tonight we had the full owl experience. We waited in front of the box for the fourth owlet to climb into the opening
which he eventually did. Then we noticed the mother sitting in a short tree about ten feet from us. We moved away and then noticed 3 young owlets in the trees above us
hopping from branch to branch. As night fell we watched both parents flying around the area hunting and delivering food to the kids. Later we watched the fourth owlet being fed in the box.
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| 4/19/2012 The lone owlet is doing well. He is getting up into the hole easily now
and spends most of the evening there. It won't be long now until he leaves. He is getting plenty of food receiving 7 feedings from 8:00 to 8:30 this evening.
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| 4/18/2012 Three in the trees and one in the box. The lone owlet enjoys the extra space and tests his wings.
He was a bit smaller then the others and may take a few days until he can leave the box. He has been trying to get up to the hole and finally managed it tonight at 7:30.
This evening in the span of about 30 minutes he received 6 feedings which is more than he is used to getting. Life is good as an only child.
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| 4/17/2012 Well, when we got up this morning we had two owlets in the box. Not sure how that happened, we definitley had only
one last night. Perhaps one was hugging the outside of the box on the perch and came back in. The mother has been in and out of the box today
and will continue to feed the two in the box and the two outside. The owls were very protective outside the box last night, a good indication that we had owlets nearby.
This evening we had two in the box. One looked out of the hole for a while. Later at dusk he sat in the opening being fed by the parents while the remaining owlet was not happy about his sibling blocking his dinner from arriving. Later the larger owlet flew to freedom leaving the youngest still being fed by the parents in the box. |
| 4/15/2012 - 4/16/2012 On the evening of 4/15/2012 one of the owlets crawled out of the box opening
and stood on the perch for a while. We thought he was going to fly but eventually he went back into the box for another day. Two of the owlets
had been sitting in the opening getting most of the food deliveries directly, but eventually they fell back in and the adults came in the box
to feed the others. We watched two of the owlets in the box opening just before dark on the 16th and then about 8:30 on the 16th three of the owlets left the box. They will crawl/flap back up the tree and remain there getting food deliveries until they can survive on their own. The fourth owlet is a bit smaller and the adults will continue to take care of him until he is ready to go. |
| 4/15/2012 This morning I saw two owlets sitting in the doorway together. But as I moved into position outside
only one was visible. They could leave the box any time now, but they usually leave just after dusk so we will be watching closely then. The kids are very active in the box right now
with not much room for four growing owlets.
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| 4/14/2012 Today we watched a young owlet sit in the doorway for about 15 minutes.
He seemed quite comfortable there even though it was a very windy day and the owlbox tree was swaying. Soon he will be a "brancher".
Flightless but being fed by the parents while sitting in the tree branches.
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| 4/13/2012 The mother owl is now spending the days in the owlbox tree hidden
in the foliage about 8 feet from the box. She is not in the box much at night either, the two adults just
coming in to feed the kids. Two of the owlets spend time in the doorway in the morning and at night. The owlets test their wings
and grow stronger daily. They may leave the box as soon as tomorrow.
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| 4/10/2012 The owlets are filling up the box now. I would expect the mother to perch in the tree
instead of staying in the box in the next few days. The feedings are heavy between 8:00 and 9:00 with the parents not coming into the box much.
The owlets are now jumping up to the hole and sitting in the opening looking or food. The family is doing well.
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| 4/8/2012 The owlets are doing well They are growing very quickly, getting stronger and their feathers
are filling in nicely. They have begun testing their wings which in the box is a bit tight for their siblings. We are on day 22 now so just about a week to go.
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| 4/5/2012 The owlets have really changed over a span of 19 days. They have
become highly mobile independent little birds with big eyes and a voracious appetites. The parents are kept very busy
catching bugs, geckos and birds for the growing brood.
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| 4/2/2012 The owlets are now 16 days old or so, a little over halfway until they leave the nest box.
Growing fast they are really looking like little owls now. The parents continue the food deliveries and I would expect the mother to spend much less
time in the box as the weather heats up and the owlets take up more real estate.
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| 3/31/2012 The owlets are a much larger presence in the box now. The mother often leaves the box or stands off to the side.
One of the owlets is smaller then the other three but all appear quite healthy. The owlets have a new vocalization now, a raspy cry when they want food.
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| 3/27/2012 The owls and owlets and doing just fine. The owlets are right on schedule and growing daily.
The parents are doing a great job of tending to their young with the female not needing to be in the box as much. The young owls are much bigger now and getting more independent. |
| 3/24/2012 We had a hot day today and the female spent a lot of time in the opening
of the box. It gets warm in the box and as the owlets continue to grow the space becomes limited. She still sits on the kids although
especially with four of them they are getting a little too big to do so. She is spending more and more time out of the box at night. |
| 3/22/2012 Tonight there were at least 6 feedings between 8:00 and 8:30 pm. The mother left a number
of times and the father showed up to feed the youngsters also. The kids are holding their heads up better and putting up quite a fuss
wanting food. |
| 3/19/2012 Mom continued to feed the kids during the day and when night fell Dad made 5 food deliveries in about 20 minutes. Small geckos and bugs were on the menu tonight.
The kids already appear a little bigger and stronger. |
| 3/18/2012 This afternoon we managed to get a small video of the female feeding the kids a bird. |
| 3/17/2012 When the Female owl left the box at 8:17 this evening we could see that there were no eggs left.
It appears that all four eggs have hatched. Hard to tell though with the owlets just being a white fuzzy collection in the middle of the wood chips.
Dad came in with the female gone and checked out his new prodigy. Finally Mom came back and the two owls checked on the kids. Dad left and mom settled in once again.
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| 3/16/2012 During the day we noticed what appeared to be part of an egg shell in the box to the left of
Mrs Owl. Later it did turn out to be a shell so we knew at least one of the eggs had hatched. The female spent far more time than usual fussing
underneath herself. She never left after dark which was unusual and at one point both she and the male looked under her apparently checking out the young. He appeared to step up
the food deliveries and came back at one point with a larger gecko for her. The female finally moved to the side breifly and we saw one small white owlet squirming around.
We left the cam run all night and in one of the motion detection captures she finally left and we see two owlets in the shot with two eggs remaining.
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| 3/15/2012 We are still waiting for the first egg to hatch. When the female left this evening at about 8:15 we still had
four little eggs intact. It should be any day now.
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| 3/8/2012 At about 8:00 this evening the male showed up with a bird for the female.
She spent the rest of the evening feeding on the bird and rotating the eggs. The first egg is due to hatch on or around the 14th of March.
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| 3/6/2012 This evening the male showed up around 7:30 and stayed in the box with the female for about 45 minutes. They spent time preening each other and just sitting together. It was unusual to see him in the box that long. |
| 3/5/2012 At about 8:00 this evening the male showed up and the two owls got to enjoy each other for a while
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The male is doing a great job of feeding the female.
The videos can take time to load so just be patient. I'm getting better with the audio but it's still not great. |
| 3/3/2012 The male has been coming and going while the female diligently sits on her brood.
Small birds have been delivered along with an assortment of bugs. Tonight two Great Horned Owls were hooting in the trees near the owlbox and the female
became visibly agitated. Great Horned Owls will prey on Screech owls. They left without incident though.
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| 3/1/2012 The owls continue on schedule. Still four eggs. The female sits on them during the day and the male
feeds her at night. He visited at least 5 times between 7:00 and 10:00 tonight. We have our first video up tonight for PC users. I will work on the MAC version
later. The sound is not good but it shows some great interaction between the two owls.
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| 2/29/2012 Well, we had 3 days in a row where we didn't see the male feed the female in the evening.
We were getting concerned but tonight he was back with at least 4 observed feedings and all seems well in the owl world once again. He was feeding her bugs tonight
so perhaps the previous nights he had bigger game cached outside the box for her or perhaps the warmer weather had something to do with the change in behavior.
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| 2/23/2012 The male continues to feed the female in the box- meals including bugs and small birds.
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| 2/20/2012 Four eggs observed. The male feeds the female in the box. The two owls share much time together in the box
preening each other and uttering content vocalizations. |
| 2/16/2012 2 eggs observed. Mrs Owl stays in the nest almost continually with only short absences at night. |
| 2/7/2012 Owls guarding box/nest site from squirrels. |
| 1/20/2012 Owl spent first day in box.
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| 1/14/2012 Raised box back up tree with new camera and bedding. |
| 1/7/2012 Removed box from tree for spring cleaning. Box was full of old prey feathers and squirrel nest material. |
