SNN (ScrollingNetworkNews) ✿ ✿ Our Mel and Sydney returned to their nesting box with plenty of bonding occurring..but after 2.5 months of Sydney in the box from Dec 2013 to mid Feb 2014, the lack of prey gifts from Mel ( perhaps due to the severe and historic drought underway in California)and they have forgone the nesting process this year as many other raptors ✿ Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, Barn Owls consume more rodents – often regarded as pests by humans – than possibly any other creature. ✿ We remind viewers that sometimes owlets may not survive - the parents will dispose of things in "The Owl Way" -viewer discretion is advised, this is nature and the "Owl way". ✿ ~ ✿ “Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.” ― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✿ Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius." ~ E.O. Wilson

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Empty Nest Syndrome - Starr Ranch

After months of caring for their 5 owlets with supplement feedings each evening after the loss of the male owl Mr. O.
All 5 owlets have successfully fledged.

Note from ranch caretaker Pete-
The BNOW cavity is currently vacant most of the time. This is normal as fledglings disperse and adults “regroup” and possibly prepare for another clutch. But I believe there are some comments and pics that indicate either fledglings or adults have been briefly seen more recently in the cavity. I will try to get the PTZ cam fixed soon so we may be able to read some bands and tell who’s who and perhaps get a sense of whether the adult female has found a new mate.
So stay tuned… Pete