Tonight, the young ones were more aggressive about coming to the edge of the cavity.  There are definitely at least two nestlings. 

Adult whinny and hoot-hoot vocalizations were heard.  A raccoon seemed to trigger the hoot-hoots.

Feeding of what may be moths, continued as their were frequent flights between the trees near the West Drive’s street lights, an interim stop on top of a broken sapling ten feet in front of the nest and the cavity.  One pictures of a nestling shows the food, but it is too blurry to see if it is definitely a moth.

The male was reported to have been out of the cavity all day, and the female left just as I arrived.  They both would have been fun to photograph, but I concentrated on the cavity and its current jewels.

Tonight was a wonderful evening.  The behavior of the parents was similar to past nights.  What was wonderful this evening was that after the female few out, a nestling came to the edge of the cavity in the daylight, so we finally got to see one of them clearly.

It was an interesting night.  The male was already out sitting on a branch near the nest cavity when I arrived.  The female came out early and rested on a branch ten feet from the cavity in very bright light.

There was movement about the site by both owls and both whinny and hoot-hoot sounds were made.

The owls continued the active trips back to the nest.  It’s unclear if this is feeding or behavior to encourage fledging.  The dull nights are over!

I can’t tell how many kids there are.  I’ve included lots of pictures, just in case someone thinks they can tell some of the nestlings apart.

I arrived later than usual, having been tied up photographing Lola.  The male was just about to leave the cavity and I just got a few shots before he did.  He was taking out the trash again. I’m not sure what it was this time.

The female soon appeared and didn’t take long to leave.  Tonight, I followed her, rather than watching for signs of nestlings.  She made lots of calls in front of the nest and to the side of the nest.  It seems as though she is encouraging the nestlings to come out of the nest.  I wonder what happens after we leave!

It was a nice evening.  Not as warm as yesterday, but not too cold.  Both adults traded places in the cavity before flying out.  At least two nestlings are in the cavity.

One of the owls “barked” loudly at a Towhee just before fly out, moving up and down frantically.

After fly out, the mother called for a great deal of time from just in front of the cavity.  I think she may be enticing the children to fledge or at least explore the cavity’s edge, but I can’t be sure.

The next two weeks should be lots of fun after all of our waiting.

After fly out, we got to see and hear some fun activity.

The owls continued their campaign against the raccoons nearby.  We got to see the male make ten passes at a raccoon as it made its way down a tree close to the nest cavity.

The nest cavity clearly has nestlings.  We got to clearer pictures of young ones tonight.  Soon their should be fledglings.