Remember these teeny scraps that hatched out of their eggs on May 5th and 7th? Well here they are now, able to fly out of the confines of their box. I’ve been observing them closely but so far have only seen them stretching their wings and doing short hops around the top of the box. I don’t think they’ve got to exploring the rest of the barn …yet!
Ace is the bolder first born one, always first out of the box and doing the most daring flaps and hops yet. Duey, the second born looks shyer and is in and out of the box more frequently. When they see me with the camera they scuffle back into the safety of their box.
So yesterday evening a friend and I watched with awe through gaps in the side of the barn and I left the camera alone. As it the light faded it looked like we were viewing them in black and white. If they turned their creamy white faces and breasts away from us they seemed to disappear, blending in with the brown box.
I am house/pet sitting on site for a week so am privileged to be able to observe the owls more closely than normal. I’ve seen a parent perch on a beam in a dark out-building and have watched it at dusk hunting from fence posts and quartering the fields. Its wings glinted gold in the evening light as I followed it with my binoculars. Golden moments!
Sarah's Wildlife Watch 