Generosity

 Once more the owls have impressed me. With the new knowledge gleaned from the nest box check I watched them ever more carefully. I knew that the west nest box owlets were flying each night but that their parent birds were occupied over at the beehive box. The female was notable by her absence whilst she sits on her second brood of five eggs. The male continued to roost in the shed with his second mate but wasted no time in heading over to his first mate once the golden hour arrived. He could be seen continually hunting and returning to her with his prey. It would appear he had quite forgotten his first brood.

The youngsters are beyond delightful and I walk down each evening relishing what antics I will be privy to. They fly in for food but have not been briefed on the etiquette involved. I have watched, sometimes one but often both sitting on the recently installed shed feeding station, busily tucking in to the offerings I have left, oblivious to anything else. On one occasion the shed female appeared from the door above them and sat staring indignantly down at them. They did not take the hint and ignored her. Her incredulity was palpable and I smiled to myself.

These greedy youngsters have, however, been more generous with their roost. I was concerned at the lack of hissing coming from the shed. I had watched one morning as an owl landed on the door frame and thought about its natal nest site. It either changed its mind or fell but either way it disappeared back inside. After two weeks since nest box check it was evident that these youngsters were also ready to fledge. Although the shed is a great nest site the door gap is tricky to manage and I suspected that the owlets had indeed left the shed but not been able to return. Then I heard it, hissing coming from west nest box. I stayed behind to watch and the shed female delivered food. I do believe they had roosted with the other owlets, their half brothers. It also became apparent that the shed female would feed which ever owlets shouted the loudest. If I walked down earlier than usual the cacophony that greeted me told me that there were more than two owlets inside. We seem to have an owl commune on the farm.

 So it would appear that the shed female is now firmly in charge here by the straw stack and the owls are confident of my support too. I have also become a sort of surrogate mum to these feisty fledglings. Last night I watched as two of them jumped about in the newly cut grass field. I stood well back and smiled at their evident delight. Soon a third joined them and they steadied themselves to watch as I walked across with the food.  With the sky still gleaming turquoise as midnight fast approaches these are halcyon days for the owlets and I marvel at their ease and generosity with each other.

However this generous spirit is not extended to other species and our kestrels have had a difficult few days. On Sunday I noticed one of the young kestrels out on the front porch and thought this was rather odd. The kestrels seemed agitated as the haymaking commenced and at teatime we realised why. One of their youngsters was out of the nest box yet unable to fly. As we returned it to the box an owl flew out. Returning half an hour later we found the youngster grounded again. Once more the owl left the nest box. It seemed that the owl had ejected the youngsters in her haste to use the box herself. It is the favoured site for our shed female's second brood but we have never known her to act in this way before.

There was no point in trying to return this kestrel indeed by the time we went to find it, it had vanished and we guessed it had hidden itself in the shed. By the following day its older sibling could also be seen. Both birds seemed quite at home hopping about across the grass field foraging for food whilst the parent birds watched closely from a nearby shed apex. At dusk the youngsters settled on some roofing materials, the older one reaching the top of the pile whilst the youngest struggled halfway up before giving up. I took food and after dark positioned a box for them to use. A quick check before seven the following morning revealed the older bird still in situ peering down at what appeared to be a pile of feathers. Then it moved. The youngest kestrel was helping itself to an early breakfast.

 Since then they disappeared completely and I was besides myself with worry. The youngest appeared on a wood pile ut it took me a full twenty four hours to find the oldest fledgling. It was sheltering in the ash tree along the dyke side whilst its parents sparred with the crows. Finally today the younger bird managed to join its sibling in the tree. To watch them sit together preening each other was beyond endearing. They are still extremely vulnerable and far from safe but we are all watching them carefully and willing these gregarious little falcons a happy ever after.

What is odd after such callous behaviour, is that the barn owls seem indifferent to the kestrels now that they have purloined the nest box. I would have expected some rivalry with the family being so noticeable across the field. Even the family of little owls who create such a fuss when I arrive and guard the westernmost feeding platform from the fledgling barn owls appear quite indifferent to the kestrel's plight. I cannot pretend that the eviction was an accident, especially when it happened twice, but I suppose in nature it is survival of the fittest.