More than
four years after Ward and June's
departure, I finally have some very encouraging news to report. Earlier
this summer, a neighbor who lives about one half mile away reported frequent sightings of a pair of barred owls
in her area that began about the time that Ward and June disappeared.
As much as I would like to believe that it was Ward and June, there is
no way to be sure. There had, however, been only one brief sighting of a single owl in the
area of the OwlCam nest box and no indication that a barred owl might
even recognize
the new nest box as a potential nesting cavity. That changed on
September 25th when the loud rustling sound of an owl entering and
exiting the nest was picked up by a nest box microphone that has been
operating continuously for the last four years. By the time I could
turn on the night vision camera, the barred owl was hunting from the
nest box rail as pictured on the right. After scanning the ground below
for a couple of minutes, the owl zeroed in and tracked a target before
diving on what
was probably a good meal.As this owl remained in the area for the next week, its behavior and vocalizations convinced me that it is a first-year owl that has just left its parent's territory. I spotted it on two other occasions as it was being mobbed by smaller birds while trying to hunt in daylight, and heard many other indications of daytime hunting in the distance. Daytime hunting in a season when a mature adult would easily meet its needs at night is a strong indication of an immature owl -- especially in the late summer and early fall when young owls are dispersing from their parent's territories. More conclusive evidence came when I was able to record the vocalizations of the owl a few nights later. First-year owls are restricted to wheezing while they are in their parent's territory, so that it takes time for them to master their adult calls after leaving. The first call that I was able to record was this wailing call, which sounds very much like an adult wailing call. It was, however, a very different story when the owl attempted this more complex call. Those of you who have the OwlCam DVD may recognize a similar sound at the end of one of June's wild hooting sequences as Ward arrives with a meal on a very hungry day. This young owl obviously has a lot of practicing to do before it will be taken seriously in the world of adult owls. The only other call that I've heard from the young owl sounded like the siren call from the OwlCam Sound Library. I had previously only heard this call on two occasions during the five years that Ward and June nested here, and it's quite possible that those calls also came from first-year owls that were just passing through.
While young barred owls do not nest until their third year, I'm highly encouraged to learn that the owl is able to enter the nest and am hoping that it will find the habitat inviting enough to hang around. My faith in the predator resistance of the new box was bolstered when a gray squirrel failed in a recent attempted to enter -- first from the side, and then by climbing down the steep slick roof. The squirrel quickly lost its grip and slid uncontrollably to the front of the roof where it fell off and tumbling 20 feet to the ground. Red squirrels and flying squirrels have also failed to find their way into the nest and I would expect a fisher to have an even more difficult time. It looks like a pretty safe place for a new owl family and I will report any future sightings on this page. Those with wideband internet service will get a chuckle out of this video of the squirrel's failed attempt.
Thanks to all of those who have let me know that you enjoyed the DVD. Its satisfying to know that Ward and June's exploits are still being appreciated by so many.