09 September 2021
Just Chilling
When I checked on the owls just after 17:00 yesterday, I could just see one of the chicks spread-eagled on the roof under the box – fast asleep in the late afternoon sun. As soon as my head popped above the parapet however, the female gave a few bill clicks from her Bushwillow in the Tea Garden . . . and then flew up to her spot on the air duct. The activity woke the chick – who added a few bill clicks of its own and lay prone watching me intently. It then ‘sat up’ on its ankles, still watching me closely, with one of its siblings also peering at me from just behind.
Along with the crows and geese, a pair of Ovambo Sparrowhawks plus the odd visiting Black Sparrowhawk have been buzzing the nest and the chicks have been (wisely) staying under cover under the box until dark.
Owl chick 
Female owl 
Owl chick 2
By Geoff Lockwood