|
August 4 - Here is a good shot of the Barn
Owls preening each other's faces. Barn Owls practice mutual preening as a means of
maintaining and displaying a friendly relationship. |
|
August 3 - In a study involving the
diet of 4 raptors, the Barn Owl was the only species that maintained a staple diet of
mammals throughout the year. The other three species which included the Little Owl,
Buzzard, and Kestrel changed their staple diet from mammals to insects in the fall and
winter months |
|
August 2 - When a Barn Owl catches prey it
will carry it on one foot back to the roost and then bring it into the roost with its
bill. |
|
August 1 - These two Barn Owls pleasantly
roost side by side. |
|
July 31 - The Barn Owl's long, broad wings
allows it fly slowly and quietly as it searches for prey. |
|
July 30 - At dusk, when Barn Owls typically
become active, they will leave their roost and fly across their territory constantly
changing directions as they screech to declare their territory. |
|
July 29 - The Barn Owl's screech serves two
purposes. One is to attract a mate and the other is to defend and proclaim its
territory. |
|
July 28 - When a Barn Owl feels threatened
by a human or a predator it will begin tongue clicking and giving aggressive hisses.
The closer a predator gets the louder the Barn Owl's hisses and tongue clicks
become. |
|
July 27 - When roosting, Barn Owl's will
open their eyes at the slightest noise. Once their eyes are open they will quickly
pull their wings in close to their body and then close their eyes till they are almost
shut so as to camouflage themselves from any danger or threat. |
|
July 26 - This owl gives us an incredible
view of its detailed plumage. |
|
July 25 - These two owls continue to spend
much time together. Normally we only see one owl staying to roost but recently there
have been two roosting owls in this box. |
|
July 24 - Barn Owls typically nest at the
same location for their entire life. Their young, however, usually disperse
great distances from their birth site. Some young have been noted to travel as far
as 1,900 km from their birth site. |
|
July 23 - Owls are only one of the more
than 300 species that regurgitate pellets of indigestible remains from their previous
meals. These pellets may include bones, claws, teeth, and beaks which are usually
encased in fur and feathers. |
|
July 21 - Barn Owl's give a variety of
calls, one of which is known as 'the screech'. The screech is often given before an
owl leaves its roost to hunt for prey. |
|
July 20 - The Barn Owl's ability to locate
prey by sound is so good that they can locate prey hidden beneath snow or vegetation. |
|
July 19 - The Barn Owl has been returning
to the box consistently between 4 and 5 AM to roost. Barn Owls roost with eyes
closed and head facing forward. |
|
July 18 - The facial disk of the Barn Owl
is a white with a small section of brownish red in the corners of the eyes. |
|
July 17 - These two Barn Owls seem to be
spending more and more time together as they display their friendship with cheek rubbing
and mutual preening. |
|
July 15 - Barn owls have a total of 12 tail
feathers each of which fade from a dark brown to a light gray towards the end. |
|
July 14 - Once again we see two owls return
to the box to rub cheeks and preen one another. |
|
July 13 - Barn Owls have been known to live
up to 17 years in the wild and as many as 20 years in captivity. The oldest wild
Barn Owl on record was believed to be 34 years of age! |
|
July 12 - With the owl in this position we
have a great view of its beautiful plumage. |
|
July 11 - Here we see an owl in typical
roosting position as it stands on one leg, body slightly tilted, and eyes closed. |
|
July 10 - Notice the unique features of the
Barn Owl's face. You can see the pink flesh-like color inside of the beak. |
|
July 9 - Two owls continue to visit the box
daily. The owls are cheek-rubbing which often leads to preening. |
|
July 8 - Occasionally Barn Owls will roost
in hollow trees containing luminous bacteria that sticks to their plumage. The
luminous bacteria causes the owls to glow, giving them a ghost like appearance. |
|
July 7 - The bill of a Barn Owl is
straighter and aimed more downwards than that of other owls. |
|
July 6 - Notice the spotted underbelly of
the owl. |
|
July 5 - This shot gives us a good look at
the Barn Owl's curious eyes. Contrary to popular belief, Barn Owls may
actually see better during the day than at night. |
|
July 4- Our owl seems to be
exercising its voice as it vocalizes right into our camera. |
|
July 3 - As this Owl vocalizes, it
demonstrates a non-aggressive call known as 'the snore'. |
|
July 2 - These two owls greet each other
eagerly as they rub cheeks and begin to preen. This behavior is normal for young
owls as they become active and indicates that they are very happy to see each other. |
|
July 1 - This Owl demonstrates the fact
that the majority of Barn Owls return not only to the same area of their territory to
roost but the same spot. |
|
June 30 - Today, two of our owls
return to the box and preen each other displaying their willingness for a healthy
friendship. |
|
June 29 - This owlet may be yawning or
emitting a "snore", a vocalization which can serve both as a begging call and a
contact call. |
|
June 28 - The fact that this bird spent the
last 24 hours inside the box suggests that it is the youngest owlet and still being fed by
its parents. |
|
June 26 - Self preening serves many
important functions, one of which is to remove any ectoparasites (those living outside the
host) and their eggs. |
|
June 25 - To our surprise, there continues
to be an owl spending most of the day resting in the box. |
|
June 24 - This owl stares right into the
camera giving us an exceptionally close up view of its intriguing facial features. |
|
June 23 - For the past week, at least one
owl has returned nightly to the box to feed. |
|
June 22 - With wings lifted, this young owl
reveals the characteristic bands along its tail. |
|
June 20 - This is the first image since
June 13 where we have seen more than one owl at a time in the box. |
|
June 18 - The extremely long tail dangling
out of this Barn Owl's beak could only belong to a rat—a favorite prey item. |
|
June 16 - This last young owl gives
us one last look at its beautifully formed juvenile plumage before venturing into the
uncertain world outside the nest box. |
|
June 15 - This owlet appears to be the last
one still in the nest during the day. |
|
June 14 - The owlet is caught on tape with
a large rodent. Pellet regurgitation, (the undigested bone, teeth and fur of prey) usually
occurs approximately six hours after a meal. |
|
June 13 - Two of the owlets are seen
preening one another. |
|
June 12 - During the last few days, just
three Barn Owls have been seen at any one time in the nest. |
|
June 11 - The owls are about 10 weeks old
now and will continue to receive some food from their parents until about their 12th or
13th week. |
|
June 10 - At nearly 70 days old, the owls
now have their basic adult plumage. |
|
June 9 - The incredibly flexible neck
vertebrae of owls allows them to twist their head upside down as pictured. |
|
June 8 - The camera illuminates eye shine
of prey caught by either an adult or owlet. |
|
June 7 - At least 17 different Barn Owl
vocalizations have been documented, the most common of which is a long, drawn-out
hissing screech. |
|
June 5 - Compared to their bodies, Barn
Owls have relatively long legs as evidenced in this photo. |
|
June 4 - Very soon the owls will fledge for
good. We will sorely miss their wonderfully charismatic antics! |
|
June 3 - The owls are now in and out of the
box quite often and at any given time, there are between one and five owls in the box. |
|
June 2 - On several occasions, the owlets
have been seen eating prey inside the box. This could be a prey item caught by the young
owl. |
|
June 1 - It appears as though only three of
the six owlets remain in the nest. |
|
May 31 - Although it would be a bit early
for the younger owlets to capture their own food, the oldest, at 66 days old, may indeed
have caught its own prey and brought it back to the nest to devour. |
|
May 30 - Few accounts of sibling rivalry
occur but this image appears to show some aggressive behavior between two siblings. |
|
May 29 - The beautiful facial features are
displayed for us in this close up image. In the last few days, only four or five owls have
ever been seen at one time. |
|
May 28 - In the past few days, the owlet
siblings have begun mutually preening each other. |
|
May 27 - At this stage, the owlets are
often seen pouncing on inanimate objects. They do this as "practice" for
capturing real prey which will occur by about 10 or 11 weeks. |
|
May 26 - Assuming they all survive, these
soon-to-be fledging owls will consume over 2,000 rodents in the coming year, and thus,
provide a natural and effective pesticide for humans to benefit from. |
|
May 25 - At this late stage of the nesting
cycle, most of the owlets have an adult appearance, so it is much harder to tell them
apart based on plumage. |
|
May 24 - All six owls remain in the box,
despite the fact that the oldest owl is now eight weeks old and should be preparing to
leave soon. |
|
May 23 - As the younger owlets obtain their
adult plumage, it is becoming harder to tell them apart. |
|
May 22 - Juvenile Barn Owls are notorious
for their playfulness which they use to their advantage to hone their hunting skills. |
|
May 21 - As one owlet looks on, another
enjoys a fresh meal. Although we no longer see them, food is still being delivered by the
parents. |
|
May 20 - All six owls are sequestered in
the corner. Soon, they will begin their life outside the next box. |
|
May 19 - By the look of this owls plumage,
it appears to be the oldest. |
|
May 18 - Say Cheese! The owlets have become
a lot more interested in the camera in the past few days. |
|
May 17 - Although we have seen very little
feeding lately, the camera captures one of the older owlets as it consumes a large rodent.
|
|
May 16 - Throughout its range, Barn Owls
are also called "Ghost Owls", because the underside of their wings is very pale
and in flight, the owls appear "ghostly". |
|
May 15 - One of the owlets holds its wings
out, in an upside down position, mimicking the shape of a butterfly. |
|
May 14 - The four oldest owlets are flanked
by the two youngest owlets, who are still lacking most of their adult plumage. |
|
May 13 - All six owlets are accounted for
in this image, with the smallest and youngest off to the side. |
|
May 12 - Close observations of Barn Owls
have shown that older nestmates will occasionally feed younger siblings of the same brood.
This behavior has not been recorded for other bird species. |
|
May 11 - One of the younger owlets is
beginning to show its adult primary and secondary wing feathers. |
|
May 10 - The five youngest owlets remain in
the nest while the oldest, now seven weeks old, begins to venture just outside the nest
box. |
|
May 9 - Another view of the fully extended
wing of the oldest owlet. As an adult, each wing measures approximately 330 mm, or 13
inches. |
|
May 8 - The two oldest owlets have begun
taking practice flights inside the nest box. |
|
May 7 - Notice the striking difference in
feathers between the oldest owlet and the two youngest which are still covered in down. |
|
May 6 - Barn Owls will remain in the nest
for about eight weeks, after which time they will continue to rely on their parents for
food for an additional three to five weeks. |
|
May 5 - At six weeks old and with wings
spread, the oldest owlet is starting to look very much like an adult. |
|
May 4 - Looking like something out of a
Broadway musical, the two oldest owlets are transforming into the guise of an adult. |
|
May 2 - The owl in the front is
demonstrating its ability to rotate its head 180 degrees, upside down! |
|
May 1 - The oldest of the owlets is showing
the classic Barn Owl heart shaped-face. |
|
April 30 - Now that the owlets can
effectively feed themselves, the female will limit her time in the box to the day light
hours. |
|
April 29 - While the two oldest owlets have
passed the period of fastest growth, the remaining owlets all between 10 and 25 days, are
in the midst of rapid development. |
 |
April 28 - At nearly five weeks old, the
oldest owlet stretches its wings and exposes the emerging adult feathers that are
beginning to grow. |
|
April 27 - As if posing for a family
portrait, the downy-covered owlets line up in a row. |
|
April 26 - After a night with six owlets,
the female lets off a little steam. |
|
April 25 - Behind the female is the
smallest owlet which she continues to feed to help ensure its survival. |
|
April 24 - The oldest and largest owlet
attempts to swallow what appears to be a songbird. |
|
April 23 - The female is caught in the
middle of a vocalization while one of her young sleeps peacefully behind her. |
|
April 23 - One of the older owlets attempts
to devour a rather large vertebrate. |
|
April 22 - A nice shot of the six
downy-covered nestmates. Our cam host has confirmed that the 7th egg did hatch a few days
ago but it is likely that the chick starved to death. It's body may have been consumed by
its siblings. |
|
April 21 - The female stays in the nest box
during the day, but now in the evening, she, along with the male, are busy hunting for
food for their large family. |
|
April 20 - This is the first image which
confirms the presence of SIX owlets! |
|
April 20 - The greatest challenge with
being the youngest and smallest owlet is getting enough food. This owlet uses its size to
squeeze under the female and grab a morsel. |
|
April 19 - We believe that at least five
owlets are thriving. It is unclear if the other two eggs ever hatched. |
|
April 18 - The owlets spend most of the day
huddled together; notice the different sizes represented by the order of hatching. |
|
April 17 - Although appearing lifeless, the
youngest owlet is in a typical sleeping position. |
|
April 16 - The male continues to bring prey
to the box. The female is spending more time away from the nest, as the food demands
of the owlets increase. |
|
April 15 - The largest owlet is seen on the
right with a piece of prey - his large size gives him an advantage over the other
nestlings. |
|
April 13 - The owlet on the right is most
likely the oldest owlet, who is almost three weeks old. |
|
April 13 - A nice shot of mom stretching
her legs. |
|
April 12 - The female is having difficulty
covering her growing family. |
|
April 11 - The bodies of decaying prey
surround the owlets which in turn, surround the very busy female. |
|
April 10 - With likely five owlets behind
her, the female appears to be helping the sixth owlet out of its shell. |
|
April 9 - One of the owlets is seen here
feeding on a piece of prey. |
|
April 8 - We can see in this image that
there is still one egg left to hatch; we can't determine yet if the second egg is still
there or if it has hatched. |
|
April 8 - The female looks like she is
feeding one of the older chicks, the oldest of which is now two weeks old. |
|
April 7 - The owlets are huddled in a mass
behind the female. The arrow is pointing to what appears to be the oldest owlet. |
|
April 6- Despite the presence of five young
and two eggs, the male and female continue to mate several times a night! |
|
April 5 - The arrow is pointing to one of
our first clear images of a small owlet looking in the direction of the camera. |
|
April 4 - The image shows the female eating
a broken egg shell, indicating that the fifth egg hatched. |
|
April 3 - Three eggs remain in the nest.
The female must continue to incubate the eggs while also feeding and brooding the four
live young. |
|
April 2 - It is unclear if the fourth egg
hatched, but it appears that only three eggs remain. |
|
April 1 - The altricial young are unable to
rise and can utter a faint food call. To the right of the owlets is a fresh prey item. |
|
March 31 - Three of seven eggs have
hatched. It is unlikely that all seven eggs hatch. |
|
March 30 - It looks as though the third egg
is hatching with the help of the female. |
|
March 29 - The camera captures a food
exchange from the male to the female. |
|
March 29 - The arrows are pointing to two
distinct owlets. At hatching, young are mostly naked with just a few wisps of down on the
head, rump, and wings. |
|
March 28 - Another broken shell along the
right wall indicates the arrival of the second owlet, which according to the video, broke
out of its shell just after 7am. |
|
March 27 - The female will continue to
rotate the remaining six eggs until they hatch. |
|
March 26 - The male delivers a food item to
the female, which she will now have to share with the first chick. |
|
March 25 - The first of seven owlets is
seen here, fully exposed. The discarded shell is along the right side of the box. |
|
March 25 - It is believed that the female
can hear the owlets peeping from within their shell 24 hours before they hatch. Here the
female is helping the owlet out of its shell! |
|
March 24 - An uncommon full body profile of
one of the owls. |
|
March 23 - The female continues to incubate
during mating, requiring her to carefully control the amount of pressure put upon the
delicate eggs beneath her. |
|
March 21 - Barn Owls have an array of calls
and screams to communicate warnings, distress, hunger, and territorial information. |
|
March 18 - It appears that one of the eggs
has cracked open; in fact, the dark object on the egg is either a recently regurgitated
owl pellet or debris from the nest floor. All seven eggs remain in tact, as shown by
later images. |
|
March 17 - Although Barn Owls are medium
sized, measuring 16", they have a relatively large wing span of 42". |
|
March 16 - The oval heart-shaped facial
disc distinguishes members of the Tytonidae family, which include Barn Owls and Grass
Owls. |
|
March 14 - According to our dates, the
first egg should hatch around March 25th. |
|
March 13 - Gently rotating the eggs with
her feet ensures that the amniotic fluid does not stick to the shell. |
|
March 12 - With no additional eggs laid in
the last 48 hours, the clutch is complete at seven eggs. |
|
March 11 - Since midnight, the male and
female have mated six times! They will continue to mate even after clutches are complete. |
|
March 10 - We estimate that the SEVENTH egg
was laid mid- afternoon! A clutch of seven eggs is not uncommon, but it does reach the
upper limits of a typical clutch size. |
|
March 9 - Mmmmm, lunch! Even though the
male is not seen as often, he continues to supply all of the female's meals, around the
clock. |
|
March 6 - The cameras captured a food
exchange in progress. To a large extent, the number of eggs, or clutch size. will be
determined by the amount of food provided. |
|
March 5 - Barn Owls are voracious consumers
of rodents. A great natural way to decrease rodent populations where Barn Owls exist is by
providing a nest box for the owls. |
|
March 4- Sometime between 8:45 and 9:15,
the female laid her fifth egg! |
|
March 3 - The incubation period for Barn
Owls lasts between 29-34 days. Since the male supplies her with food during this time, she
does little more than eat, sleep, and incubate. |
|
March 2 - Around 10:30 am, the female laid
the fourth egg. Clutch sizes can range between 3 and 10 eggs. |
|
March 1 - Mating continues, albeit less
frequently. Notice the male's beautiful outstretched wing feathers. |
|
February 29 - The female is often seen
using her feet to gently rotate the eggs. |
|
February 28 - Shortly after 8pm, the female
laid the third egg. |
|
February 27 - The female alone begins
incubating eggs on the day the first egg is laid. As a result, eggs hatch asynchronously,
i.e., spread out over several days. |
|
February 26 - Some time between 12:30 and
1:46, the female laid the second egg! |
|
February 25 - The female has been
incubating the lone egg for two days and is frequently seen repositioning herself. |
|
February 24 - The owls will continue to
mate throughout egg laying and incubation. In this image, it appears as if the female is
sitting atop the egg while the male mounts her. |
|
February 23 - Just minutes before
the bottom image, the owls were seen mating. The lower image shows the female during
egg laying. Twelve minutes later, she reveals the first egg!!! |
|
February 22 - Our cameras have captured
daytime mating for the past several days. In addition, the female appears to be
eating more often while mating. |
|
February 21 - Like sleeping humans,
sleeping birds can remain motionless for hours on end. Unlike humans however, birds sleep
in a vertical perched position. |
|
February 20 - Like most owls, Barn Owls
have incredible low-light vision. In addition, they are able to locate prey by sound
better than any other animal tested. |
|
February 19 - In this image, the female
appears much larger than the male; in fact, she may weigh as much as 100 grams more than
the male. |
|
February 18 - Our first time our cameras
have captured the female eating a bird! Given the long legs and tail of this bird, we
think it is a California Towhee. Birds typically make up less than 10% of a Barn Owl's
diet. |
|
February 17 - While exact figures are
unknown, it may take up to five weeks from the start of mating for the female to lay the
first egg. |
|
February 16 - It is unclear whether during
mating, the female is consuming prey or simply resting her chin upon it. |
|
February 16 - Daytime feeding is not
altogether rare, but this is the first time we have seen it happening. |
|
February 15 - During the mating period, the
male delivers food to the female after nearly each copulation—far more than she can
usually consume. |
|
February 14 - Prior to mating females can
often be heard snoring, while the males let out a series of bizarre screeches and wails. |
|
February 13 - Immediately following
copulation, the female frequently remains in a horizontal position. |
|
February 13 - Caught in the light of the
camera, the Barn Owl's spectacular facial features are illuminated. |
|
February 12 - Likely, the male delivered a
large rodent to the female which she holds in her talon, prior to consuming. |
|
February 12 - The monogamous pair are
often seen "cheek rubbing", throughout the year. |
|
February 11 - A profile of the male
provides a glimpse of his sharp beak, obscured by facial feathers. |
|
February 10 - The female, with a slightly
darker chest, is seen gently preening the male's stiff facial disc feathers. |
|
February 9 - Prior to copulation, one sex
will solicit the other by crouching in front of him/her. |
|
February 8 - Shortly after midnight, one of
the owls is seen consuming a freshly caught meal. |
|
February 7 - Although our camera was down
for much of the day, we did manage to capture more mating. On average, we have captured a
mating event approximately once every 5-6 hours. |
|
February 6 - The male can be seen atop the
female, grasping her neck. Copulation typically lasts 10-20 seconds. Shortly after mating,
the female will often preen the male. |
|
February 5 - The owls have been mating on a
nightly basis. We expect to see the first egg laid soon! |
|
February 4 - A nice shot of the classic
heart shaped face indicative of this family of owls. |
|
February 3 - The Barn Owl pair spend the
day resting and preening. |
|
February 2 - With wings spread, the male
Barn Owl is seen mounting the female. This is the only image we have of mating
occurring during the day. |
Species: Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
