Four of the Owlets Fledge at 31 Days

There is very little usable video at this point because the owlets have bumped the camera even more, and there are a couple of videos where it looks like the rowdy little things have actually been hanging from the camera, which means that on the momentous, much awaited night of fledging, there is pretty much nothing to show. The videos at this point are more useful for sound than anything. Sound alone, however, does tell the story: The oldest four owlets took their leaps out into the world at dusk on May 25, at 31 days of age.

Compared to the chaos and clamor of last year's fledge, this year's was positively anticlimactic. Each of the owlets' first flight was as if well practiced. No flailing, no falling, no scrabbling and scraping and languishing on the ground for minutes at a time while neighborhood cats lurk in the shadows. There was some drama, though, in that little #5, two days younger than his/her siblings, stayed behind, alone in the box, not yet ready to take the big leap into adult life. Try - JUST TRY! - not to anthropomorphize* as you listen to these lonely* little chirps:

Once the owlets are out of the nest box, they and the parents remain in the immediate neighborhood for a few more weeks, during which time the parents feed them in the trees, teach them to hunt, and try to protect them from predators. Despite having four of her babies to keep track of out in the trees (with Boyle's help, of course), DerOwl Hannah came back into the box to feed #5 through that last night: