Easter Eggs !

News from the barn owl nest box! I needn’t have worried about the crows taking over the box. About a month ago I noticed the owls staying in the box during one day and seeing them off. They stretched out their wings to make themselves look bigger and scared the crows off.

Two weeks ago I noticed that the romance in the barn owl box was moving up a level with copulation now taking place. Then on the fourth of April I spotted two eggs for the first time! One was probably laid on the second of April but I’ve not been able to confirm this. Owls lay their eggs a one to two days apart.

As I’ve been observing this has been the case. So on the 6th April a third egg appeared. Here are the three eggs. Mysteriously one seems rather greyer and mottled than the others. This seems rather strange as owl eggs are small and white since there is no need for them to be camouflaged if hatched in cavities and with the mother brooding them almost continuously.

The male whom I call Popeye continues to be very affectionate and loving towards his mate. Here he his giving her a cheek rub.

He is now the sole prey provider, delivering voles to his mate Olive in the owl box. Here he is pressing one onto her. He then mated with her before either sitting in the box with her or flying off out. She will now sit on the eggs until they hatch, which is 30 days after they are laid.

On the 8th of April a fourth egg was laid and today, the 10th April, there are now five! Olive looks to be stepping back and gazing at them in wonder here!

Olive is now sitting on her clutch almost all of the time. She passes on heat to the eggs via her “brood patch”. This is an area of bare skin which is rich in blood vessels which forms during the egg laying period. Occasionally she leaves the box but for no longer than a few minutes. She turns the eggs from time to time, making sure they stay in contact with her patch.

Here she is incubating her clutch. If you look to the bottom left corner you can spot a wee dead vole. Popeye is doing a grand job supplying her with meals, some of which are cached till later.