Owlet dramas, as we go from three to two….

As you can imagine, there is a tremendous amount of footage to look through each week at Yew View. It is impossible to save everything and almost impossible to choose highlights from each week! I try to lift footage that shows interesting behaviour or moments that sum up the rapid growth and development of these owlets.

We started the week with three owlets, but I had noticed last week, that the youngest and smallest of the three was not strong enough to fight for the food coming in and each day it was getting weaker.

On the 11th April, this owlet died and was quickly moved to one side by the female….

That evening, this owlet became supper for its siblings. It may seem harsh, but with hungry mouths to feed, it would be a waste not to make use of what small amount of flesh was on this owlet. IA sad moment, but something that happens regularly with owls. If there is not enough food being supplied to sustain 3 healthy young, then better two survive than three not quite be as strong as they could be…

The remaining two have gone from strength to strength and are growing and changing fast. You will see from the following clips that their fluffy white down is now slowly being replaced with the brown plumage. They seem to preen a lot as if this new emergence of feathers is somewhat itchy and uncomfortable. The female is still staying with them during the day and she leaves as soon as the light starts to fade, meaning I get some great views of the owlets on their own in the box.

This has to be one of my most favourite of clips! Snuggled deep inside the feather duvet that is its mother, this owlet looks so cosy….

We have had a variety of food being brought into the young, with a couple of birds this week. They always seem somewhat difficult to swallow!

With the days getting longer, it is fantastic to get some footage in daylight and in colour. The female often returns early morning and will leave before its dark, and it is lovely to see her in full colour!

I think this is the first time I have filmed both male and female in daylight … and with prey. Watch how you can see the male flying up from the far end of the garden!

The owlets are becoming more mobile and more animated and are fascinating to watch. With meaty remnants often in the nest box, flies sometimes appear and these can provide hours of entertainment!

Eating their prey whole means that owls eject pellets. These pellets consist of the indigestible hair and bones of their prey. Sometimes it can be a bit of an effort to get that pellet out and it gave me a most fascinating look at the inside of an owlet’s mouth. Look at the shape of that tongue!

I hope these two continue to thrive. It will only be a couple of weeks at the most and they will be looking to branch out into the trees, to be fed by their parents there. Tawny owls leave the nest before they can fly propoerly and use their beaks and talons to claw their way up into the trees. Here they will sit motionless during the day an then call to the parents at night, so that they are brought food.

It is certainly a most wonderful experience to be able to watch this wonderful family.



from www.wildlifekate.co.uk https://wildlifekate.wordpress.com/2019/04/21/owlet-dramas-as-we-go-from-three-to-two/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2019 off to a reasonable start

Image
Overcast, 5°, light NNW. A Little Egret seen today on the way out to Lollingdon and appeared to drop down near Amwell Spring. The hill hosted around 100 Fieldfare and a flock of c50 Meadow Pipit for a time before moving off over the top. Several Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer around the hill and a single Corn Bunting . A small flock of c20 Pied Wagtail feeding out with the Sheep. A few more Fieldfare and Redwing scattered around the Lollingdon area, a Goldcrest , Grey Heron , Kestrel , a couple of Jay , 2 Bullfinch and several Starling amongst other species. A Brambling in a private garden. Per Alan Dawson. 2 Blackcap in TW’s garden and 2 Chiffchaff at CSW. The flock of c60 Golden Plover still around Cholsey Hill. Brambling (courtesy Alan Dawson) from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2019/01/2019-off-to-reasonable-start.html
Read more

A Butterfly day

Image
Another sunny day, 24°, light E. A walk alongside the Bunk line from Church road to the bypass. Butterflies were the order of the day with literally hundreds of Meadow Brown on the wing today. They were everywhere. Another 8 Painted Lady seen with some looking very tatty after a presumably long flight and ageing. Best one of the day was a single Silver-washed Fritillary seen flying around a large garden before disappearing from view. Good numbers of Marbled White all along the route. Other species noted were: Small Skipper , Large Skipper , Large White , Small White , Green-veined White , Brimstone (1), Brown Argus (3), Common Blue (8), Red Admiral (6), Small Tortoiseshell (c20), Comma (3), Speckled Wood (2), Ringlet (12) and Small Heath (2). Some thistles were in flower on the edge of a bean field and these held the majority of Painted Lady , Small Tort and Marbled White . Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle (M&F), Large Red Damselfly and Southern Hawke...
Read more

Dormice and Hibernation

Image
A few weeks ago we had our quick dormice pre-hibernation checks to make sure they were all OK for the winter, and confirm how many kits we have bred over the summer. Good news!.. Both our pairs have had large litters of dormice, and so we have many babies to prepare for release next year. As part of the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Groups (CDCBG) we, along with many other holders across the south, breed dormice as part of the studbook for release out in to the wild. Once out of hibernation next Spring they will all be collected up and released back in to the wild in collaboration with the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES). We do have two species of dormice in the UK. The native, calm, small and adorable hazel dormouse above. Below is the larger, bitey and much more erratic edible dormouse that was introduced to the UK. You can really see the size difference with both in the hand like this. Both species of dormice are entering, or have already started, to h...
Read more