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Notes and photos from 2006

The first egg of the current clutch was laid around May 16, 2006. Barn owl eggs are laid and hatch asynchronously: every other day. The best time to see lots of action in the box is after dark.

Barn owls are plentiful and prolific here in California, but in other parts of the U.S., and the world, they are gravely endangered due to loss of habitat. Barn owls have large clutches because the average life of a barn owl is quite short - only a few years. They face many perils during their short, but intense lives. Many die from being hit by cars because they fly low while hunting, many die from eating rodents that have consumed poison, and some die from their main natural predator, the Great Horned Owl; they can also be preyed on by hawks if they are flushed from a roost or nest during the day. They often lose their nests due to tree cutting during nesting season, as do many birds and squirrels.

The barn owl's primary diet consists of all forms of rodents, including rats, mice, voles, and gophers. They will take other prey when necessary, especially when feeding their large families, such as birds, and large insects like Jerusalem crickets. Their diet also varies depending on what part of the world they inhabit. Owls do not build nests. In the case of barn owls, they cover the floor of their cavity with their pellets. Owls swallow their food whole, later they regurgitate a packet of the bones and fur of the prey. These pellets pile up on the floor of the nest and create a soft, warm carpet for the eggs and babies. For more detailed information on barn owls, please visit our Natural History page.

Many thanks to Karlyn Strand,Mike Gallagher of Gallagher Security, Trinka Marris, Jim Cairnes of Small World Tree Service, and Intuitive ISP, our web cam host and home of theowlcam.com, and to Pacific Online Network for hosting our web site, and to our sponsor, Clay Station Wines.

Pictures from the first clutch:

It all started with seven eggs.

It's just past dark, and the male has arrived with dinner.
The male mates with the female as part of the bond that keeps them together.
He only stays for a few moments and then must leave to hunt for more food.

After swallowing her dinner whole, the female leaves the box for a short break of about five minutes.

Here the mother stands up giving us a view of the babies and the eggs that have not yet hatched.
Birds of prey must be very careful when moving about in the nest - their talons are deadly weapons that could
easily cause severe harm to the baby birds. Often raptors will actually walk around the nest with their feet
balled up to ensure no harm comes to their young.

This is probably the oldest of the hatchlings. Because the eggs hatch approximately every other day,
by the time the 7th egg hatches, the first owlet will be two weeks older than the youngest.
Being the last to hatch means being the smallest one and not always surviving.

Here we can see the baby owls, and in the lower left corner is a pile of rodents. The male keeps
the larder full as the female will feed the babies throughout the day & night.
The owlets will consume their weight in food each day. Over the next few months,
this owl family will consume several thousand rodents. A far more effective pest control
than poison: Owl Pest Management (OPM). During the breeding season, a family of owls
can consume 1000 gophers!

Hungry Owls & Owlets!

Here is a very brief view of the male. Darkness has fallen and the first food delivery is brought in.
He is in the box for less than two minutes, and must head back out for more food.
When the owlets get bigger & are self-feeding, the female will also stay outside
of the box, coming in only to drop off food items.

One egg still remains.

The female has left the box for a short break.

Dinner time! After consuming a meal, the owlets will often go into a kind of stupor.
They lay down flat and appear dead! They are not dead, just full...

It is getting harder for the mother owl to fit all her babies underneath her body.

In general, owls swallow their food whole. Even a small owlet can swallow a rodent whole, as illustrated here.
In the manner of a snake, the owlet 's mouth can open much wider than it looks and swallowing this rodent can take
the owlet quite some time! Later, the owl will cough up an owl pellet, which consists of the undigested bones and
fur of its prey. Sometimes people
find baby raptors and think they can feed them on hamburger or chicken or even tuna fish. This is not true.
Baby raptors are fed bones by their parents, at the appropriate age and time. Keeping a baby raptor
and feeding it inproperly can cause it to develop metabolic bone disease and doom it
to death or a life in captivity.

It has been less than three weeks since the first egg hatched. It is impossible to tell if all seven
of the babies still survive. Right now they are just a pile of owls. This picture gives a good look
at how big their feet are. Like puppies with giant paws, raptors grow into their feet, which
are a critical tool for successfully capturing prey.

Family Portrait.
The mother is spending longer and longer periods away from the nest site.
She too must hunt to feed the hungry owlets.
There appear to be at least four owlets, from the seven eggs.
If you see more than four heads, let us know!

A fascinating report has come in from a Hungry Owl supporter who went to San Domenico School campus, on 3/4/06 to watch the action via live video:

My friend and I went to SD last night to watch the live owl box TV (good thing to do on a Saturday night, right?)! It was so amazing, that we sat there for 2 hours! I think the night security guy thought we were a little crazy...but he told us a lot about the owls. Anyhow, we only saw 3 babies. 2 pretty big ones, and one smaller one. We were so worried about the small one, as the parents (literally) threw the food in, the little one never got any. We then walked over to the tree, and heard the owlets crying...and the next thing we knew, the mom came flying home to the box, and went all the way inside. So we RAN back to the TV monitor and watched. It was so cool to be able to see all of that!

She was inside with some little critter-rat or mole, she slit it down the middle, & held it so that the little one could pick at it. She eventually just pulled all the insides out, in one piece,and ate it herself. The owlet then swallowed the skin, bones-and of course the sad little rat feet and tail that were lodged in front of his face for so long as he tried to get it all down! Then they all went to sleep...and we finally left!

Owl or alien? You be the judge...

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