Tawny Owl Chicks - Update

Since I posted the revisited update two weeks ago, a lot has changed. The third chick has perished, while I think it's safe to say that the egg that hadn't hatched two weeks ago, isn't going to.

But on to better news, the two chicks that we last saw and doing well and have put on a lot of weight. At around 5 weeks they should start to leave the nest and begin to fly. They will still be fed by their parents for up to three months after this though, while they learn to hunt and fend for themselves. Interestingly, they will still have the fluffy down when they leave the nest, this will gradually be replaced by adult feathers.

There are some images below and at the bottom there's a video clip that I've bodged together from seperate recordings taken over the course of one evening.

Leaning on each other to keep warm!

Gosh kids you're getting a bit big for this! Mum still manages to wrap her wings around them for warmth.
 This image was captured tonight. Even though there's food to the right of the second owl, they're just keeping together and not too eager to eat it. Hopefully this is a good sign that they're well fed.


Thanks for reading, Tim