15 August 2021
Better late than . . .
Just back from a week at ‘our’ trout farm – where we managed to sort out some serious water supply problems plus a few other issues.
I’d been concerned about the owls and so I checked for the male in the Evergreen Oak as soon as Cynthia and I got home. No sign, . . . so up to the roof to see how the female was doing. Much to my surprise, I found the male lying on the step in front of the nest . . . in spite of there being no crows, Egyptian Geese, or any other threats around. The female was sitting with a more erect posture well back in the box. Things had obviously happened while we were away!
The way the female was sitting was typical of her brooding a chick (or chicks), and this was confirmed when I saw the remains of rat in the nest (she doesn’t keep food in the nest till there are young). It wasn’t possible to see how many chicks had hatched though.
Although previous males have all been good at protecting the females (and their chicks), this is the first time that a male has chosen to roost at the nest during the day. The new male is obviously very ‘hands on’ when it comes to his first family and continues to impress.
By Geoff Lockwood