In June, I managed to visit the nest on two occasions. On the first visit, the young owls were still at the nest. On the second visit, the owls had fledged. They were relatively mobile but depended on their parents for feeding and protection. It was interesting to note that whenever a raven passed by or called out, the young owlets became quiet and stopped moving about.
Owlet at the nesting treeOwlet trying out its wingsOwlet at the nestTwo weeks later, mother owl, guarding the owlets, about 350 metres from the nest.Father owl with rodent. Delivered to the mother owl who then decided which owlet to give it to, or whether it would consume the rodent itself.Mother owl taking flight after feeding an owlet.“On guard”.Taking flight.This owlet had been waiting for hours to be fed. Getting tired, it just collapsed on the branch for a rest.The owlet got very excited when it thought its parent was going to deliver a rodent to it. The rodent however was delivered to its sibling. Disappointed it flew to other branches, waiting impatiently.The owlet landing on another branch.And again….Taking flight….Coming in for a landing. The owlet misjudged, fell, and had to clamber back up to the branch.The owlet finally being fed. (I had to wait four hours to capture this. I watched its sibling being fed twice, but this occurred behind branches so I was unable to take good photos.)Mother taking off after feeding the owlet.The owlets nuzzling and grooming after being fed.
