06 December 2022
After the storm (2)
Early this morning, the male was calling from the corner of the tower above the box. Phew!!!
When it was light, I went out on the lower roof to check and found him in his favourite spot in the Evergreen Oak. He was well-hidden, but his right eye was closed – Oh no! Back inside for the camera, and then a few photos to try and determine if there was any injury. When I zoomed in on the photos, the eye looked OK but there seemed to be an injury to the eyelid itself. ?????
I then checked on the nest – both the female and chick were safe, and more importantly, there were the remains of a young Vlei Rat in the nest. The injury was not serious enough to prevent the male from hunting successfully!
How I wish we could have a ‘normal’ season – without any of the ‘curve balls’ that these owls keep coming up with this year!
By Geoff Lockwood