Bird Cams Around the World

FINAL hooter hatched today at starr. all look to be thriving so far too

it spits out

It appears that Daddy O from Starr Ranch has been missing, last seen 9pm thursday. BEANS - this may very well be the last video of him bringing treats to the Mrs. Everyone is upset, Pete went up Sat night 10:40 pm or so and put some mice in the nest, against his own beliefs to let nature take course, but stated that if things were not going well, might turn off cameras this am. The cams are still on, mom went hunting also during the night. But she will not be able to handle feeding 6. Viewers asking to take 2 or 3 of the smallest to rehabbers. The policy in the past is not to interfere, so in view of impending deaths of the owlets, he may turn off the cams and resume when mom acquires a new mate. How sad, I have wonderful videos from over the years of Daddy O with the Mrs, playing tug of war with prey, getting literally kicked out of the nest by the Mrs during a spat, bonding with her, whispering sweet nothings to her, and chittering and chattering back and forth between them both. Pete said at this point he is concerned something HAS happened to Daddy O. We have been holding out hope for his return, as he went awol just at the same time mom saw oldest two swallowing prey whole, which is always a signal she is going to hunt now too. So at first I thought Dad was just "no longer in the nest" because it was his usual time to move out and keep hunting and doing "throw and go" deliveries. Apparently, not so, he is truly awol. This past week there were many "hearings" of GHO's near the nest area all throughout the week.

A part of me is still holding out for Daddy O.......

Oh my I am so sorry about this terrible news everyone this is just the
reason I can't watch to much I'm saying a prayer that something might be done if they can

I am so sorry to hear this. I'm sure Pete is really torn, but glad he delivered some mice in the interim. I love watching this pair. Ugh.

Oh my goodness I am so sad to hear about this. I thought I would check here to see if there was any news on the nest, as I have watched them and donated for several years now. This is just a painful thing to watch, but nature isn't always pretty as we know. I wondered why one of the cams was down. I can't imagine how painful for Pete. They are so beautiful and seemed to have 6 healthy young. It definately takes two for that job. Oh My!

Dad was last seen on January 19. In the meantime, Mom is doing her best to feed both herself and her youngsters. In this video (begins around 6:15 PM), mom is gone for 37 minutes. She returns with no prey to feed the youngsters, so she leaves again. The second time, she also came home without anything to eat.

The father's job is to hunt and bring home the prey until the owlets are old enough to be left alone. Then both mother and father hunt, as their appetites increase with their size. The future of these young owls is indeed bleak.

With Dad missing (see prior video), there is a critical shortage of prey for the owl family to eat. One of the hungry babies tries to eat his smaller sibling (the youngest). Mom arrives and tries to remove the tiny baby...

Very difficult. When Mom is goes out to hunt, the babies can get cold. Also, they are at the mercy of predators in the area.

Ditto SGB. I no longer can watch either. Can't take the pain.

I have stopped watching after the hatches I can't take the thought of it all anymore

Pete believes that something did happen to Daddy O, and he is gone.

This was posted on Starr Ranch's homepage today:


For those who have contacted the Serrano Animal and Bird Hospital/OC Bird of Prey Center please know that Starr Ranch has had a relationship with them and other professional raptor biologists for more than 20 years where together we’re doing as much as we can for raptors and raptor habitat protection. Here’s what SA+BH has to say about the current situation and I agree with their assessment:

“At present, we [Starr Ranch] are trying to provide adequate food for the remaining parent to feed the babies (not an easy feat since the nest is not readily accessible and the weather has been rough here) while field biologists are searching for nests with similar aged babies to foster. Hopefully, some of the babies will survive long enough to be transferred into an appropriate nest and fledge normally with foster parents. Removing and hand rearing the babies is not a viable option, since the babies will most likely become permanently imprinted (socialized to people) and non-releasable. They would then have to be found legal and proper housing for the rest of their lives (which can be more than 1 or 2 decades).”

I, along with several other field biologists, have already been working very hard to find another BNOW nest where some if not all of these chicks can be fostered. However, keep in mind that if we are fortunate to find a nest it cannot be one that already has a full clutch of even 4 – adding 4-5 more chicks to that would place the survival of all chicks in jeopardy.

I would like to ask that we all try to confine our comments to observations and that opinions and chat about what should be done be held. I think you all know by now that I don’t censor many comments at all on this site and I’m reluctant to start. As long as comments are respectful of others and contribute to our knowledge and understanding of these BNOWs, they’ll be allowed.

Last, the supplemental food I’ve provided these last two nights is something I’m extremely reluctant to do, notwithstanding it’s not that easy to do. Those who have been watching for the last few years know that I have said numerous times that I would not intervene – the only difference between this nest and ten’s of thousands of other nests is that we get to watch. And in this case we’re seeing what can happen when things don’t go as smoothly as we would like them to; the key word here is “we”. BNOWs and all other wildlife routinely deal with these kinds of scenarios and get though them just fine – even when death is part of the equation. I would also add that there’s a distinction between intervention and interaction. When I clean a lens, band the chicks, etc. I’m interacting with them in a way that is known to be nothing more than a short change in their routine that has no lasting affect on their overall behavior. Intervention, such as supplemental feeding, changes the outcome of their lives and affects not only them but other BNOWs and wildlife in the area. Please take a moment to consider that the death of an individual chick, and adult, or an entire clutch just might be what’s supposed to happen as part of the bigger picture.

Thanks you all for your comments, even when at times we might not agree. And those choosing to support us, an additional thanks. I’m really trying to do the best I can. Pete


Pete does a fantastic job at Starr Ranch, and I totally support his mission and efforts. He is a good man. I do not always agree with policy, but will always show him his due respect.

Suggestions have been made on the comments page naming CA rehabbers who use modern techniques to feed barn owlets so they dont become imprinted on humans. I know I saw a video online where they were dressed in army camouflage or hunter camouflage, and used special sticks with the food on the end to feed them, so they didnt know humans were feeding them. Anyway, hopefully some help can come for some of them. To those who dont believe in helping, and see it as "intervention" against nature taking its course, I really dont think helping 4 barn owlets to survive is going to upset the entire ecosystem in California. These are the ones WE are watching. The ones who passed that we did not know about will balance the numbers.

Peter, I would like to tell you that I do not have to agree with you inorder to admire and support your work. Perhaps you being there and doing whatever you chose to do, is what is meant to be.The big picture is not always ours to see. If you when a walking in the forest and came upon a distreed animal; would you not do your best to help the animal? Of course you would. Somehow I do not think that you spend alot of time watch TV. Thank you very much for your caring heart and labors. Bless you and take care of yourself.

Rafikki