Yes, she does... Is today the day?!
Early evening report:
5:23 - Bonding inside Hideout
5:47 - Dale flies off, Roy stays on porch
5:50 - Dale returns to inside Hideout
6:47 - Roy flies off from porch
6:52 - Dale flies off
6:56 - Dale returns
7:47 - Roy delivers rabbit to Dale (no bonding)
7:48 - Roy flies off
7:52 - after 2 tiny bites, Dale gulps down rabbit in lightening speed, lol, CuteLibby states, "that is the fastest rabbit gulp, I've ever seen!"
8:43 - Roy returns
8:49 - Bonding
9:01 - Dale and Roy both fly off
Thank you LvOwls!
21:12 Both Dale and Roy return
21:14 Mystery owl confronts Roy, Roy chases off
21:15 Mystery owl confronts Roy, Roy chases off
21:16 Roy takes a stance on the porch to protect Dale and the Hideout
23:22 Bonding occurs
23:46 Roy flies off
00:10 Dale goes on extensive flyabout (hee hee)
00:11 Dale returns
00:49 Unknown owl lands on lookout cam, Dale sees it and get in position
01:12 Dale hops to HP
01:17 Dale flies off HP
01:19 Dale and Roy arrive at the porch and give beak kisses. MO in
background behind Hideout
01:19 Both immediately fly from porch
01:28 Dale lands on lower perches
01:31 Dale flies off from lower perches
01:32 Dale returns to the Hideout
02:11 Roy returns to the Hideout
02:16 Roy flies to lookout cam
02:19 Flyby by unknown owl by the lowre perches and behind the trees http://www.flickr.com/photos/litlvxn/sets/72157628806313941/
Thank you DodgerGirl1!
Tweetkathleen videos:
Dale with the bunny and the other of Roy chasing the mystery owl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIAePt6V7kk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BCx2ij3Kls http://www.flickr.com/photos/30690443@N06/6672822341/in/photostream
Roy was out of the Hideout for about 1.5 hours from around 3:30am this morning. Dale was restless and calling for him during that time. I'd say it was a distinct change in her behavior from the last several mornings!
Thank you Tresbien!
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"Stay away from my wife. Stay out of my life. And no stealies"..Roy vs. Mystery Owl (MO) by DodgerGirl1 |
One bunny delivered early on.. that makes 6 Bunnies so far this year !
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| Jan 9th Dale with 6th bunny..screenshot by our new chatter KountryKlutz |
11:43 pm update.. Roy has been on talon patrol outside the box, scanning the skies constantly for MO (Mystery Owl)
Dale, after an early bunny dinner, has been alternating between cooing softly and calling out to Roy for bonding... all in all, another great evening at The Hideout.. Roy chitters to Dale occasionally in between bonding and watching out for the Mystery Owl who arrived last night (See Vixn's photo on top)
4:47 am update: Dale has shown increased signs of First Hatch in the past hour. These include:
Fidgety: Rising often, turning in a circle, observing the floor carefully
Scratching: Soft scratches at the floor, with the intent to create a cavity for the egg's safe placement.
Restlessness
Wall pecking
Based on previous experiences observing Dale and other Female Barn Owls (Bonnie, Molly, Willow, Lucy and Sydney) she may either lay an egg today or within the next 2 to 3 days, it is anyone's guess! )
Roy and Dale's First Clutch
Belle Starr 7/15 10:23 am.
Egg #2 Non viable
Pearl (pEarl) Hart 7/20 3:53 am.
Egg #4 Non viable
Daniel Boone 7/24, 10:11am
Wyatt Earp 7/25 6:35 pm
Zee James 7/28 1:10 pm
Thirteen Days between First Hatch (Belle) and last hatch (Zee )
Information from The Barn Owl Trust on Nesting:
Barn Owls can breed in their first year and the breeding cycle often starts in late winter. By early spring pairs are usually spending much of their time in and around their intended nest site. During courtship, or pair-bond reinforcement, the male spends more time hunting and presents additional food items to his mate or leaves them in the nest cavity. The female spends progressively less time hunting and as her weight increases from around 350g to 425g she comes into what's called "breeding condition". Copulation generally occurs each time food is presented and this, combined with her tip-top condition, helps to ensure all the eggs are fertile. However, it's not just a matter of food and sex. Most pairs also engage in mutual preening and cheek rubbing. They "talk" to each other in the nest making a wide variety of soft chittering and hissing calls, and their aerial antics (chasing while screeching) around the nest site can be quite energetic! Also, there's much individual variation. Nest cameras have revealed that some males are very active and attentive, some surprisingly lethargic, and others are hardly ever present. In almost every case the male is present at the nest site (with the female) in the two weeks leading up to egg laying and until the clutch is complete. This is when males are most vocal, defending their mate against other males and leaving only to hunt.
Although nesting has been recorded in every month of the year, most pairs lay eggs only in the spring. A study published in 1990 showed that the average date of the first egg laid was May 9th, however there is much annual and regional variation. Recent studies suggest that the first eggs are generally laid in early April - almost certainly a response to climate change. Eggs in March are now quite frequent so the main breeding season is normally quoted as "March to August" (inclusive). Early laying females are generally those with the best food supply. However, in the late winter/early spring period, small mammal numbers are at their lowest so prey availability is probably linked to improving weather conditions and increasing prey activity, which together result in increased prey "catchability". First-year birds tend to breed later than older more experienced birds.
Barn Owls do not "build" a nest but just before egg laying the female usually makes a shallow scrape in the previous years' nest debris and/or breaks up a few recent pellets creating a soft layer for egg laying. Where there is no nest "cavity" as such, (for example, on a wall top or loft floor) pellets may be widely scattered and the eggs laid directly onto any surface (stone, wood, loft insulation etc.). Compared to other owl species, Barn Owls lay small eggs (in relation to their body size) and they lay lots of them.
Most bird species don't start to incubate (warm) their eggs until the clutch is complete so the eggs hatch at more or less the same time. Barn Owls begin incubation as soon as the first egg is laid and additional eggs are added every two to three days.
The average number of eggs laid is 5.6 and clutches laid earlier in the year are usually larger than later ones. In cases where the eggs are abandoned this is almost always because the female is underweight and/or suffering extreme food shortage. Normally, after 31-32 days incubation, the eggs hatch in the order they were laid (at 2-3 day intervals). This is termed "asynchronous" hatching. The average hatching success rate is 4.5 and the age difference between the oldest and youngest nestlings can be as much as three weeks.
By late spring, small mammals have completed their first breeding cycle (thus increasing the owls' food supply) and nestling Barn Owls are usually half-grown (around 5 weeks old) at which stage they are generally heavier than a fully grown adult. The average brood size is 3.6 but this figure can vary from zero to seven and occasionally even more. Clutch size and brood size are directly related to food supply - the more food the adults have the more young they produce. Food supply is affected by habitat quality, prey density, the weather and the experience and behaviour of the individual adult owls.
