Owl cam

At the start of the month, both chicks were nearly fully fledged. They ventured out onto the platform more often to stretch out their wings and shake out some of their downy plumage. By mid-July, one owlet fledged the nest into the big wide world. The remaining owlet continued to hang around the nest box or out on the rafters. However, it wasn’t long before it, too, flew the nest. We wish them both the best of luck!

As we leave July behind, we may still have the occasional visit from the family, where they can be seen together preening and resting on the rafters. Another successful season for our barn owl couple!

The first egg hatched! The newly emerged chick could be seen nestled in a pile among the other eggs. It was soon followed by a second owlet. Seren (the female) occasionally moves around to give us glimpses of the small chicks, and feeds them regularly. It appears that the other eggs did not hatch.

By the end of the month. The owlets looked much bigger! Our owlets had a habit of hiding in the corners of the box, away from the camera, but they could be seen popping their heads out every now and again. Sometimes they would move around the nest especially when Seren popped out onto the rafters for a preen.

The chicks were being left on their own more these days. Both parents went out to hunt in the evening. They ate a range of prey including voles, shrews and smaller birds. As the owlets got bigger the nest box began to get crowded. Both parents could be seen roosting in the rafters. The chicks poked their heads out of the nest box more often, curious to see what lay beyond the box.

By the end of the month, the owlets were starting to look more mature. One of the chicks occasionally ventured out on to the rafters just outside of the box, flanked by Nos and Seren. It would have a big stretch before ducking back inside.

Despite the spiders blocking our view with their cobwebs this year, we did manage to spot at least four eggs in this year’s clutch. Barn owls incubate their eggs for around 32 days, so we were expecting them to hatch soon!

Working under a Natural Resources Wales protected species license, we set up our cameras ready for another barn owl season. Nos and Seren seemed to be settling in nicely.