Link to January 2022 to end of February 2023 thread
Live stream from North Fambridge, Essex: https://www.essexwt.org.uk/wildlife/webcams/barn-owl
In 2022, four Barn Owlets, deemed to be 3 females and 1 male (the youngest), successfully fledged.
Here they are at their ringing day on 7.7.22
Hopefully, the resident pair will successfully breed in the nest box again this season.
He's just been in again and she's done the same thing!
She was in the corner
He came in and she launched an attack
He exited the box
A short doze...
Then calling again
Calling
He didn't come in
It is our female isn't it?
She's left the box
It seems like our regular female to me! We've witnessed this sort of behaviour before in previous seasons, still don't know why it happens but seems to resolve itself!
Have to sign off now, will catch up tomorrow!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
I've posed a question on chat re that the resolution of the streaming appears darker. I am seeing a lot more detail with the feather markings (they appear quite dark now too). Maybe she is, as you suggested, requiring him to bring her food - no prey gift, no mating!
It is still ENS at 23:24 and am signing off now as well. Goodnight, Wendy, catch up tomorrow.
Morning Kate (and Wendy, when you get here)
Still ENS
Yes, perhaps my mind was playing amok and I was over-complicating things after watching the events of last night. I should have really looked at the female's usual behaviour - ie being comfortable in the box, her haunched appearance when resting as well as the usual mating position at the back (the latter being very typical of her last season too).
Will see how this plays out and hope that our male begins to get the hint to bring her in a gift or two.
Morning All,
No disturbance on the flooring so it appears that the B0s didn't come to the box overnight. Comparison pics...
Last night, before I headed off to bed
This morning