Owl Watch – The Two Ring Circus

A distinct lack of activity on the blog for only one reason. . .work! But everything stopped yesterday for the arrival of the owl men – Alan and Maurice. They were here to ring the owlets. Mrs H. has been worried that the owls had been too quiet and we had seen very little activity from the adults, apart from the pair of them roosting, somewhat appropriately, underneath our barn. The lack of activity during daylight hours was because they have had plenty of dry nights and they have been able to feed their brood. Last year we had 5 chicks so this year with better weather, and as it turns out only two chicks, it's all been a lot easier.

Alan went up the ladder and the whole process began.


Next came the job of weighing them. The are put in this soft cotton sacks to protect them and weighed. One weighed 415 grams the other 380 grams. Their wings were measured which showed they are 7 and a half weeks old – they fledge at 10 weeks.


In the bag they can be placed on their backs and left while the other owlet got weighed; next both of them were ringed with a unique number.
.
It's even possible to take them out of the bag – they just lay still and 'play dead'. Did you know that owls have the biggest eyes of any bird?


Then it was time for them to go back in the box. . .these two men made Mrs. H. a very happy woman. . .

Owl Watch Update

At the weekend we had Alan and Maurice, two experts, come to look inside our owl box. Alan, the man up the ladder, is a bird-ringer who went and opened the lid – inside was the female and two, maybe three young. They were too small to ring and he'll come back in about a month to do it.

Just as he was finishing up the female tried to do a runner out of the front door. Calm as you like Alan just picked her up and held her so Mrs H could get some pictures. Apparently Barn Owls are not vicious like Tawney Owls! In future when Mrs H is putting a fallen bird back in the nest I will no longer need to stand guard with a broom!

Owl Watch Update

Mrs H. was up early this morning and captured the owl, through the bathroom window, out hunting for food. It was a very wet night and with owlets and a mate to feed he needed extra time.

Owl Watch is Back

For several weeks now Mrs H. has been worrying about her owls and whether or not they would return to the nest that they used last year, which is in full view of the house. The nest has been extended with a patio to stop the young owlets falling off. Well, there was near jubilation in the house this week when at dusk she saw an owl fly at low level down the lane on a hunting trip. Yesterday she saw an owl drop on a mouse early in the evening and this morning we both watched an owl hunting. Rubbish pictures taken through our bathroom window, with its 100 year old panes of glass, but at least its proof!

UPDATE

18.20 Saturday. Mrs H. just saw the owl go into the owl box. He must be feeding his mate on the nest.

Owl Watch – Winter Edition

After a torrent of emails, well actually one, and in my capacity as Mrs. H's conduit to the blogosphere, here's an owl update.
The owl box has been improved with the addition of a rooftop patio; this is designed to avoid them falling off as easily as they did last year. This is, of course, assuming they return. Last night when Mrs. H returned from Edinburgh at about 9.15 pm she saw one of the owls fly out from beneath the barn; we know they've been in there a lot during the cold weather as they leave their droppings.

Mrs. H also suggests a visit to Jim Wilson's web site. Jim lives in the Lammermuir Hills and has to be one of the best wildlife photographers in Britain; his owl photographs are both staggering and beautiful.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's been very cold here for the last three days, Thursday night was -4, Friday -7 and last night -10. During the day it has not gone above freezing, giving us frost on frost; the upside of which has been beautiful scenery. This morning we took a longer than usual walk and Mrs.H. (being the camera buff that she is) got some great photos, including this one along the lane . This afternoon digging the parsnips out the ground was a challenge. . .still, they are certainly well frosted, which always makes them taste so much better.

Several people have asked about the owls. Well they've long gone from the nest box and apart from hearing screeching in the night from all around we have not seen any of the Barn owls, not that we would recognise them anyway! We're going to add some design modifications to the ledge so they don't fall off the nest so easily next year.