Jean, Lee, Noreen and I watched the fly out. All three owls were in the cavity. The fledgling flew out early and had to deal with two alarmed Robins, who made a racket around it. After all three flew out, they went northeast. One adult stayed behind for a awhile. They then were in the area near the two pine trees the owls used two years ago. We heard more calling and the owls went across the drive.
It was cold and windy, with partly cloudy skies. Owl watchers included Marie, then, Chris, then Lee, Jimmy, Noreen, Mary Ann, and Jean.
We saw one adult, Trident and the fledgling in the cavity trading places. The fledgling few out five to ten minutes before the adult, who stretches a wing before flying out. The wing stretch before fly out is a rarity.
After the fly out of the adult, the third owl which doesn’t have stripes on its forehead, so I’m calling it Herringbone comes in from somewhere. All fly rapidly northeast. A song is heard. I think it’s the adult love song. Jean, the fledgling crying for food. She may have gotten it right, as the adults may have begun to let Junior get its own food, rather than feeding it.
Jean and I go down into the Loch, down north path from road, then north a little on the west path.
Two owls are on a low branch, that then go towards the stream. The “path” was too wooded and thick to safely follow them in the dark, so we called it a night.
It was a rainy and misty evening tonight. One one owl was seen by Jean and I. It moved quickly and we lost in just after fly out which was around 7:45.
The Pool, The Loch and the North Meadow have a young Red-tailed Hawk this season. This young hawk is full of teenage enthusiasm. I posted pictures of this hawk last week hunting around the Pool.
This week, I found one of its roosting spots. (I think the hawk wants me to keep the location to just between the two of us.)
Tonight, Marie, Jimmy, and I watched the nest cavity. We saw an adult and the fledgling trading places. It was a cold night after a nice and sunny, warm sixty degree day.
At fly out, we thought all three flew out of the cavity but couldn’t be certain.
We heard a soft song by one of the owls but we didn’t see any copulation tonight. All three stayed in the usual trees for about 10 minutes before flying northeast. We searched in the trees, but the owls had out foxed us, and were nowhere to be seen.
As we exited the park, our peanut feeding raccoon lover was feeding two raccoons. No wonder The Pool is over-populated with them.
Now, that we know where the cavity is, we can start to learn to tell the parents apart. This evening, we see one of the owls, I begin to call Trident, because of three lines that come off its forehead. It might turn out that there are four, but the name sticks.
