18th July - fingers crossed

The chicks are not always in view, as they can wander out of sight of the camera to the entrance of the box. These two chicks have survived the wet and windy weather this week. Many other owlets have not been so lucky, as recent checks of some nest sites suggest that between a quarter and a third of young Barn Owls have died of starvation over the past week, because the adults were unable to go out hunting in either wet or windy conditions. Even very large chicks at 6/7 weeks old, (same age as these two) have not survived................a very sad state of affairs.

12th July 2010

The two chicks are now six weeks old and appear to be doing well. Two chicks seem to be the normal brood size in the area around this box. Barn Owls in some areas seem to have been affected badly during the cold spell earlier in the year, with the result that they have laid fewer eggs than normal. In a good year Barn Owls will average 4 or so young per brood. Hopefully these two chicks will fledge successfully.