09 September 2021
‘Branched . . . ‘
This morning, when I checked on the owls, I found that the last chick had decided to leave the nest and join its siblings on the roof under the box. The adults were in their respective trees either side of the building and there was the remains of a rat on the roof with the chicks.
An hour later 6 crows were harassing the chicks . . . and the female flew back to the nest to protect them. After chasing off the crows, I fetched the camera and went out on the lower roof to try and photograph the chicks.
And the title of the update? – ‘Branching’ is a term used to describe when chicks start moving out of the nest, usually before they are able to fly properly – literally moving out of the nest onto the branches.
By Geoff Lockwood