 After
hiding her eggs for almost a week, June finally raised up for just a few
seconds to reveal the second egg today. As you can see, it is possible
that there is a third egg hidden under her, but no way to know until she
climbs up to the door in daylight. In the past, she has done this only
when alarmed by a deer, coyote, wild turkey, or some other loud creature
walking near the nest box. The second egg was probably laid on April 1st,
while she repeated the sneezing sound which has previously accompanied the
laying of eggs. |
 June
continued to demonstrate extraordinary dedication and patience as she
incubated her eggs on an unseasonably cold day. Her only two excursions
from the nest came last night and both lasted for less than ten minutes;
which is far too brief to allow for any hunting. Since Ward made no direct
deliveries to the nest, June had to make due with whatever he provided to
her during her two excursions from the nest. In spite of this, she again
refrained from calling to Ward from the nest as she has in past years when
she is hungry. I do not, however, expect that there is a serious food
problem because the very mild winter has resulted in an abundant supply of
rodents. June is shown here as she slept in the warm sun that streamed
through her door just after noon. When she was not sleeping, she was
either chewing on the wood chips or rotating the eggs. |