WELCOME


Welcome to the new Owlers' Blog Network (OBN).


The intention is, primarily, to unite those persons who already have an interest in owls, and who have a blog which has a significant owl-related content, in order that they can easily share their interest and experiences, and build up a sense of camaraderie.

It is also hoped that those who are just developing an interest in owls will be inspired by the links to the blogs of people who are already passionate about these wonderful birds, and join our ranks!

If you have a blog with a strong owl content and would like to become part of this network, please e-mail me at richard@peglermail.co.uk with the URL of your blog. All I ask is that, in return, you add a 'gadget' link to the OBN from your blog using the HTML code that you will be supplied with.

If you have any information which you feel that owlers in general could benefit from, such as a valuable resource for information, or a warning about a developing situation, etc. please submit it to the OBN administrator at richard@peglermail.co.uk.

If you have found this site to be at all interesting/useful, it would be much appreciated if you would show your support by becoming a 'follower'. That way, you'll also see when a new owler joins the network, or if we publicise a new owling resource.

Thank you for visiting, and happy owling!

Friday 20 March 2015

Great Horned Owl

1st WARNING - For a limited time only !

2nd WARNING - You may find the following addictive !!

3rd WARNING - You may find yourself suffering from withdrawal symptoms sooner than you would like !!!

I have to thank (or blame!) my good friend, David Gascoigne, for drawing my attention to a web-cam that has held me spellbound all-week.

There is a web-cam that overlooks a Great Horned Owl nest on Skidaway Island, Georgia, USA. You can find its images here. As I write this, the nest contains two owlets which are being looked after by their mother.

Sunday 15th March, 2015

This was my first day of watching the nest, starting in their afternoon. The chicks are fairly lively, and mum puts in an appearance later. The time shown is local time (to the cam) - 4 hours behind UK time.






Monday 16th March, 2015

One of the owls is doing its wing exercises. 




Tuesday 17th March, 2015

Suddenly I find that there is someone working behind the scenes and the camera has amazing zoom capabilities! Until this point in time, all the footage I'd seen had been at the same focal length.






Wednesday 18th March, 2015

I managed to tear myself away from the nest-cam for most of the day. The owlets seemed to be doing just fine. However, by the end of the day, the wind was getting up, and all was looking a little frightening.




Thursday 19th March, 2015

A rather frightening start to the day, with a high wind blowing the tree, and the owlets staying hunkered down or sheltering behind thicker branches. At one point, mum seemed to be mantling one to warm it up. Fortunately the wind died down during the day and the owlets seemed to emerge from the experience with added confidence and a sense of adventure. It was apparent that one would be off the nest platform at any time






Friday 20th May, 2015

When I first looked at the web-cam only one owlet was visible, and that was at the very edge of the nest platform, looking up along a branch. I didn't do any screen grabs of this episode as they took place during the hours of darkness and not much was visible. It seems that one of the owlets was 'branching' - something that they do at about six weeks old. A period of around a week, during which they explore the branches around the nest platform (sometimes ending up on the ground), is (with luck) followed by fledging. It seems, therefore, that these owlets will soon be fledged.

Next time I looked, both owlets were back on the nest. The backroom boys were putting the camera through its paces again.










From my observations of the web-cam, the mother owl appears to be away from the nest for most of the time during the week, but it seems she is not far away as you can see here in this view from the ground.


Remember, this could all end at any time! I suggest you get watching the nest-cam as soon as possible!

4 comments:

  1. such wonderful photographs of these precious moments! Such a joy to see, thank you so much for sharing!

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  2. Fabulous photos and thanks so much for putting them on the site. Our connection is so slow I would never have been able to watch a webcam. Diane

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  3. What a wonderful post, Richard, I nearly missed it!!
    I am amazed at how exposed the chicks are on this tree platform.
    A brilliant idea to set a camera up so you can follow without disturbing the birds.
    Quite a success from the parents to bring 2 up!
    I really enjoyed each pic, including the close-up on the feet! LOL!!
    Let's hope both chicks have a great life ahead!
    Thanks for sharing this with us :)

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