We know there are owlets in the nest box on eastern edge of the dutch barn and their hissing becomes more audible by the day. Despite my familiarity with the owls I have been amazed by the sheer brazenness of this adult pair. They fly to the nest box with food whilst I am dropping more food at the furthermost end just twenty metres away. I walk back past their nest box to leave the yard but this does not deter them. This week I watched as the female left the nest box and flew to the shed feeding platform. There she sat staring intently at me with those dark, all seeing eyes before dismissing me and flying straight back up to her hungry brood. It feels such a huge honour to be acknowledged and almost accepted in this way, to be trusted with their secret that they have guarded so well up until now. Watching them busily feeding their growing brood like this each evening I anticipate a good number of owlets for this pair which were new to the farm last year.
Our regular pair still frequent the box in the shed just a few metres from the east nest box. I watch them leave here and sometimes return but I worry that they are intimidated by the braver pair close by. I remind myself that their broods were both later than the ones in east nest box last year and as such there will be less urgency from them. There is a second entrance to this secure nest site which the owls can access from across the grass field. I am also reassured that here is plenty of food and the weather favours good hunting opportunities. This pair have reared two broods at this nest site for the past two years and despite my concerns I am optimistic for them.
But my owlish escapades are no longer just an evening spectacle. I am now fortunate enough to receive a morning performance too. With the settled weather I am not seeing the barn owls hunting by morning light but both the kestrels and the little owls wait for me as I walk the dog. There are a pair of kestrels in the nest box on the westernmost corner of the dutch barn but there is also a rogue male and I suspect at least one of these birds if not both are the youngsters we saved last summer. The little owls appear to be nesting in the straw stack as they did last year. That makes four nests of raptors in the space of thirty metres. I just leave two day old chicks on the platform under the kestrel box and stand back to watch. My most spectacular moment of the week occurred when the feisty little owl flew in first to secure its breakfast closely followed by the rogue kestrel. The owl dragged its breakfast after it but dislodged the second chick which the kestrel caught in mid air. I was lucky to capture these shots. that morning but am captivated every day as I watch to see who is waiting and how the drama unfolds.
But it is now apparent that although the owls and kestrels are continuing to perpetuate the circle of life, this year we will not have the opportunity to find out for sure what delights those nest boxes contain. As with many things in these present uncertain times there will be no ringing of the owlets, for first broods at least. Despite Paddy rarely seeing anyone as he checks the boxes across field and fen, his journey and purpose is deemed unnecessary and as such he will not be visiting. It is a shame yet totally understandable in the circumstances.
So last week I ordered this, a new trail cam which should capture anything that occurs when I am no longer in the farm. Initially I hope to put it in the shed as these are the birds I am most concerned to find out about. Its time to get technical!!
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