Looking for the Owl Channel Blog? Click below please for the new location !: 1/14 to 1/15-Roy checks the perimeters, and sets the parameters. No treat? No worry.. it may be time for eggz: )

Sunday, January 15, 2012

1/14 to 1/15-Roy checks the perimeters, and sets the parameters. No treat? No worry.. it may be time for eggz: )

Early evening January 14th: Roy: "I know.. I know.... Go get a bunny..sigh.. I'm going...

On second thought, I think 8 eggs is enough !

The male determines everything: he controls the amount of estimated eggs by the number of treats he provides and bonding, which is of course encouraged by Dale to ensure fertilization. Once treats are cutback, it is time to start laying.

Dale "discovered" the camera this evening while actively busying herself in Nesting Mode: checking the perimeters of the box, scratching the floors, breaking up "horks" (pellets) for the eggs..

Midnght update: A quiet evening without treats so far... a few bondings, and Roy has been away for periods of time, but checking in... He sat on the furthest edge of the left HP (hitching post) for a bit...

Chatter Melissa517 returned and I was happy to see her... Please check out her lovely blog, with many interesting cam links
http://eagleshaveflown.blogspot.com/

I would like to share Mille's Flickr Group Owly Peeps ..If you are interested please join in the fun, post your favorite owly pics..
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1837650@N20/

12:30 update: MO (Mystery Owl) does a flyby

2:49 am Several bondings over night.. here is a capture by Hundon

Overnight Reports:
　7:18 pm Roy flew off
8:33 pm Roy came back
8:35 pm Bonding
10:13 pm Roy left
10:20 pm Roy back
10:30 pm more bonding
10:33 pm Roy off on flyabout
10:36 pm Dale off for her flyabout　Thanks Couleedam!

Lone's report:
Night of Jan 14th-15th
Watched the Hideout from 11:30pm to 03:00am
Overview: Very similar to previous night. Dale
worked on horks/nest a little but not near
as much as last night. Several flyabouts, Dale
for shorter periods. Several bondings. 3rd owl
noted at 12:26am-- Roy did not seem particularly
defensive. No treats as of 3am.

Significant Events:
12:26 - Dale inside, Roy arrives, then 3rd owl.
Owl3 turns and flies away.
12:35 - Bonding
02:49 - Bonding Thank you Lonestar and Hundon!
　video uploaded by owlbert -- thank you and the overnight crew!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVqp_KEplLE&feature=context&context=G2866110FAAAAAAAAAAA Thank you Tresbien!Coulee's Crow Capture
Geek got video of part of the time the crows were flying around:

Owlperation Egg Drop (tm Kathy Goog) continues!http://www.flickr.com/photos/coulee/sets/72157628880192415/

Lone's pic of the third owl that came in: http://www.flickr.com/photos/coulee/6701302839/in/photostream http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jyLVn_Yn_s&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dVGBwgC5uM&feature=g-all-u&context=G2866110FAAAAAAAAAAA

And the flyby video

January 15 2:49 am Roy and Dale Screenshot by Hundon

Hundon's Photostream:http://www.flickr.com/photos/54060665@N03/6700293827/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Our new color camera is delightful and many chatters have found the afternoon light to be particularly stunning.. here is a gorgeous shot by Tresbien, 1:30 pm

January 13th 1:28 pm: Afternoon Check by Tresbien

Tresbien's Photostreamhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/30690443@N06

Brief excellent Video of Third Owl appearance last night by Owlfinn :
Third Owl Flies By around 12:30 pm!

5:00 am update: We are waiting on Roy to return with a possible treat...
7:00 am update: Roy returned at 6:23 am, no treat. (Dale may have picked up a snack during flyabouts

12 barn owl fascinating facts

Discover 12 fascinating facts about the beautiful barn owl.
1 The barn owl was voted Britain’s favourite farmland bird by the public in an RSPB poll in July 2007.
2 Historically, the barn owl was Britain’s most common owl species, but today only one farm in about 75 can boast a barn owl nest.
3 Barn owls screech, not hoot (that’s tawny owls).
4 The barn owl can fly almost silently. This enables it to hear the slightest sounds made by its rodent prey hidden in deep vegetation while it’s flying up to three metres overhead.
5 The barn owl’s heart-shaped face collects sound in the same way as human ears. Its hearing is the most sensitive of any creature tested.
6 Barn owls are non-territorial. Adults live in overlapping home ranges, each one covering approximately 5,000 hectares. That’s a staggering 12,500 acres or 7,100 football pitches!
7 It’s not uncommon for barn owl chicks in the nest to feed each other. This behaviour is incredibly rare in birds.
8 In order to live and breed, a pair of barn owls needs to eat around 5,000 prey items a year. These are mainly field voles, wood mice, and common shrews.
9 Though barn owls are capable of producing three broods of five to seven young each year, most breed only once and produce, on average, only two and a half young. 29 per cent of nests produce no young at all.
10 91 per cent of barn owls post-mortemed were found to contain rat poison. Some owls die as a direct result of consuming rodenticides, but most contain sub-lethal doses. The effects of this remain unknown.
11 In a typical year, around 3,000 juvenile barn owls are killed on Britain’s motorways, dual carriageways and other trunk roads. That’s about a third of all the young that fledge.
12 Everyone can help barn owls. Leave a patch of rough grassland to grow wild thus creating habitat for voles, erect a super-safe deep nest box, volunteer for your local barn owl group, switch to non-toxic rodent control