08 January 2021
Things are going well
Over the past few days the remaining chick and the female continue to hang around the Centre building – the chick either on the window ledge, or on one of the lower ledges, and the female in her favourite spot – the Cabbage Tree. In the early evenings both owls come onto the flat roof, though there still seems not to be any social interactions between them and they typically stay far apart. Yesterday, it appeared as if the chick had been hunting in the damp soil – leaving it with muddy feet and mud on the top of its bill.
I have started cutting back on the assist feeding – skipping a feed every couple of days in order that the chick does not become too dependent . . . and also continues to develop its hunting skills!
In a previous post I mentioned that the chick was very aware of birds passing overhead – watching them very carefully until they had moved over. Early yesterday morning the female Black Sparrowhawk was very active around the Centre . . . and both owls were missing from their usual roosts. In the evening both were back however – but as the chick was wandering around on the roof, it suddenly glanced up . . . and went dashing into the cover of the overhanging foliage. Has it had a narrow escape from the sparrowhawk or another raptor?
By Geoff Lockwood