Bird Cams Around the World

A BIG THANKS for Your Most Kind Heart! God's gift to those Owls. You might write a book someday!

And also for the wonderful video's that show it all!

Food drop by Pete at 10:43 PM. As they grow, each one will need more food. Will it be possible for Pete to increase the supply?

As we've seen in the past, the father barn owl delivers food throughout the night. We certainly can't expect Pete to do this.

for some reason I cannot access the cam, so I am grateful for the reports on this nest. Saying my prayers that things continue to go well.

Pete, if you read this, you are my hero!!!

As the three oldest owlets become larger and stronger, they will certainly need more food. As to Numbers four and five, I don't think they are growing as they should. Especially number five. Something may be wrong with number five. He just doesn't look right. He should be larger with more feather development. At the rate he is growing, he won't be ready to fledge when his siblings leave the nest. Number four may catch up, but only if there is enough food.

Thanks for ALL the updates. A real dilemma.

Food delivery by Pete at 9:23 PM. Mom returns, and #5 steps up to be fed, while #4 lurks in the background. Finally, #4 rushes forward to get his share--

Two posters on the Starr Ranch Barn Owl chat reported that Mom makes a number of deliveries during the night. I was glad to learn that.

Recording ends a few minutes after midnight, February 4.

Mom has brought 4 or so treats the last couple of nights, which is great. Given to the "big uns" as they are being called, it keeps them full so she can feed 4 and 5 by shredding. A couple mornings at 5 or 6am she was feeding #5 which is good too.

I am not so afraid he will starve as I am afraid he will be trampled and hurt. Last year, we saw this happen to Tiny. Right at the cam view, each time parents delvd prey, the others all ran forward screeching, not realizing they were trampling over Tiny. 5 times of that, and poor Tiny was fatally injured, but did not die for several hours, rasping in pain in front of the entrance, until one of the big uns pulled him to the back of the cavity, poking him, hoping to get him to move and get up. He died. I cant see that happen to this #5, its too sad to watch. So for now, I peek in quick for the PeteZa delivery, and then in the am to see if he is still around. I really think at this point it would be good to pull him (and maybe #4 too) from the nest BEFORE something like that happens to him, but then again I'm a barn owl lover and naturalist, not a biologist. It's also frustrating to keep reading posts that rehabbing and releasing is not possible. People are just so hard headed or refuse to accept new information and knowledge about what is possible.

So well said.

Mom brings a large prey (rat?) to the nest and watches her brood handle it. Perhaps it's too big... About an hour earlier, she brought a small mouse or vole, which was quickly grabbed and swallowed.

Recorded between 7 and 7:30 PM local time

Daddy O's body has been found...He was found Friday, and had only been dead for 2 or 3 days...They now believe maybe Mrs O WAS bringing food to Dad, that he wasnt mobile somehow...Maybe when she went missing for 9 hours the other day, she was spending it with him in his last hours... Pete has the body frozen and they will do a necropsy to see if maybe he ate something poisoned, or West Nile Virus or whatever, but body was not decomposed, and in great shape like he was only dead 2 or 3 days...

RIP Daddy O, you were so beautiful, funny, and such a good provider...I have dozens of videos of him with Mrs O, snatching a treat and getting caught, chittering to Mrs O for forgiveness, looking at his babies, snoozing in the sunlight next to Mrs O...May your memory live on Daddy O, we will never forget you...

Here's some good news:

Mom returns... and #5 makes sure he's at the head of the line!

Bless them ALL! What a beautiful story, but oh, so SAD. Life is hard!