First view of Mom on nest with owlet
A bit wary
First Owlet down being returned to nest
I have a rat tail caught in my beak
Breakfast Yummy
Fashionable headgear in case Mom attacks
“They are NOT pets!”
In the garden again
Sleepy time
Sibling owlet being deposited above
We are too sure about this brancher business
We like our new home. February 27, 2014
We were not ready to be branchers
Do not even think about taking my rats!
We love to snuggle
Passing inspection
Standing up in original nest
Catching some rays
Yummy leftovers!
Breakfast
Oops. This is not where I went
Twinkle toes fell to ground while being fed by Mom this morning 7 am
Ferns add so much to our decor
So embarrassing. Kind of like that squirrel thing. My tide clock was off a bit too…
Code Red Owlet Down February 22
Finally! On the The ISLAND!
I am trying to let go, but…
Same photo, zoomed in
Waiting for the tide to go out?
i should probably just get in without a fuss
Hanging out on the 2nd floor
Ditto
I am going to need a bigger ladder
Waking Up
Uh oh, I must have fallen asleep and missed the tide
Why the parent owl on watch is hard to spot
Precarious ladder position into thin air
I am trying! Really trying….
Swan dive
Does the phrase “sitting duck” apply here?
Falle owlet placed on branch above Klingon
Hide and Seek in the trees…
I swear I do not know where MiniMe is
View from back garden to tall pines
Hmmmmmm……..
Breakfast Yummy
Sun setting, getting close to feeding time
Could she at least wait until we’re done with hair and makeup?
This is why it took me so long. Finding an owlet in the marsh is not as easy as it seems
Recovering from near fatal swim
Tall pines on high marsh island. Parent Hangout
On the hunt early Wednesday morning
Too bad my foster parent cannot fly as well as she can paddle
Thanks, I’ve got this now…
Parent watching over the journey
Cedar Tree on easement
Afternoon nap on the 2nd floor
Catching some rays
A bit wary
Rainy day on the marsh
Feeing safer
Three owlet pellets
My what big feet I have!
Checking on kids from the pines
The Box
After exam
it is a very, very long story
“They are NOT pets!”
hanging out in cedar tree
Tide is coming in fast
i can barely hang on. I really want to be a marsh owl.
An owlet on good behavior: Big Sib in tree
Where is the ground?
I can explain…
Zeroing in on the kids
The WHOLE rat????
Tuesday morning so, so pitiful
I don’t know if I can make it…again…
What took you so long to come find me?
Great Horned Owlets
Mom feeds Big Sib first
Getting ready to go back in a tree
Looks like my foster parent
I am caught….
Dad and Steve at Flight demonstration Center for Birds of Prey
All I get is the blank stare
We are getting hungry
This is really, really not looking good…
Supervising the photo shoot
From a distance it is hard to tell Mm from stumps
I don’t know why I am in the marsh again
Chiin’ in the new ‘hood
Debbie Mauney retrieves the owlet from the box so she can examine it for injuries
Next time could we please get a roof?
Finally, someone that knows what they are doing
Good morning peek-a-boo
OMG
Recovering on the ground after near fatal sswim
I am compacting, not singing
Don’t eat!!!
Dad keeping warm on back porch during owlet watch.
Snuggling and so happy the Tinkle Toes did not go exploring again. And then getting stuck!
What took those humans so long to get me back up here?
I am really high up here!
Mom arrives with dinner, a cedar waxwing
I am feeling much better now
It was another long,…really… long…night
Do not even think about taking my rats!
MiniMe hanging out in the Cedar Tree Wednesday afternoon
Marsh trek rest
NO. I will be fine. Don’t worry…
Nancy texts me
Control the talons first, then the beak. Wear gloves.
Pardon my rear
Mom watching from the tall pines
Trying out the second floor
The tide is out but no one is giving me any advice or directions. There does not appear to be any ferry service….
Early morning hunting
Waiting for the tide to go out
Clumsy. Clumsy. Clumsy.
Expelling a pellet
We love to snuggle
Oops. This is not where I went
I am all wet and SALTY!
I cover box with blanket to hopefully settle it down
I do!!!
Ready for our close up!
Bamboo pole
First Owlet down being returned to nest
Snuggled in our new home
Discovering my new home
Getting back to dry land
Don’t think I can make it
Sibling owlet being deposited above
Sunday afternoon snooze
Debbie retrieves MiniMe
A Hard to spot adult parent on the near watch
I am just taking a snooze
Free fallin’
And more…
First morning on the island
Am I getting tan yet?
Looking for our parents
Very wary when feeding the kids
Meanwhile Big Sib is still comfortably in the Live Oak tree near our garden
My wing feathers are developing, I looking more like Mom everyday
uh oh.
Tide coming in fast
Looking rather lion like
Hide and Seek
??????????????????????
I am very, very weary…
I am fine.
I am hungry!!!
Hiding in the Cedar Tree
Expelling pellet. Now what do I do with this thing?
What happened Sunday night?
Recovering on the ground after near fatal drowning
The sun feels so good!
Me? I wasn’t doing anything…..
I COULD cilmb back up, but….
Once in the box, it lets go of my red glove
I look like I am singing, but I am not.
MiniMe is hard to find
Parent can’t even watch this time!
Ladder goes back up to the nest tree
What took you so long?
I seriously thought we done with the ladder work
We were not ready to be branchers
Life is good!
Yay! For MiniMe!
Even my petticoat is getting fluffy again
This is NOT what I expected on my inaugural fledge!
I have something caught in my gizzard
One owlet is thriving
Early morning sunshine after our breakfast
All dry
Exploring the big blue pot
Drying out and feeling better
I’m coming MM
OMG
White Ibis Preening
What next?
compacting
Standing up in original nest
Mm begins another journey, this time across land instead of the marsh
Expelling Owl Pellet
Exploring the garden
Back-in-the-box!
Uh oh…this can’t be good
Passing inspection
Warmest, best spot
I know I got UP here……
One parent always on watch
MiniMe looks dreadful. And hurt. In the early morning…
Where is MY rat? I am still waiting…..
Exploring the second floor, using wings to balance.
Using wings to get through tall spartina grass
Moving back to nook
Guess Hoo?
Makes the crossing to The ISLAND
Really???
Catching some rays
Beginning to dry out
Settling into our new digs
MiniMe is squawking in the marsh
In the marsh, natural GPS?
Vanessa Kauffmann photographing the owlets
Not me either!
Big Foot is right overhead above me
And more…
Breakfast
This may take a while…
So much to explain…
MiniMe looks dreadful
My parent is watching over me…
This not what HF told me about the marsh and the tide and…
And this tree comes with breakfast!
Hi Mom!
What do owlets eat?
Ok Back in the tree, sort of.
Parent on ‘the perch’.
…
I have a rat tail caught in my beak
Uh oh. There’s a moat…
Parent in tall pine can’t even watch!
Fashionable headgear in case Mom attacks
No, but you are bigger than me..
I am so depressed I am going to stay in bed and eat worms
Sleepy time
I can not get loose
We are too sure about this brancher business
Where is MiniMe?
I am a wood owl, NOT a shore bird…Pluff Mud? Are you serious?
All dry from the front
I complied
Crossing the mercy
No. I do not want to go back in the tree
Someone PLEASE call 911
I cannot keep as a pet ;-(
I swear
Back in the nest tree
Oops caught
One owlet or two?
My Big Sibling is on The ISLAND!
Dad with one owlet
Back together again. Well close enough.
Rats!
I hope Mom and Dad know I am up here….
Almost done
I feel a nap coming on
This is not where I went
Tide is coming in, can’t get back to high ground
And I stay here almost all night
MiniMe hears its Mother’s call
And this tree comes with breakfast!
I am determined to be a marsh owlet
2nd Floor outlook, when is dinner?
I am on a mission to find my parents or breakfast…
Hanging on too long???
Trying to nap up here before I figure out how I am going to get down for dinner.
In the garden again
Twinkle toes fell to ground while being fed by Mom this morning 7 am
MM in lichen tree and sees a familiar face
Photo Op!
Maybe I should reconsider the cedar tree…
Being inspected for injury
Trying to escape foster parent
My big sib is just sitting there watching, right above me!
We like our new home. February 27, 2014
I had a very rough morning…
We really do not want to talk to you right now
Dad is watching over us
Yummy leftovers!
Carrying ‘bucket’ owlet up past other owlet
It was a very long night
Seriously, do NOT tell me what to do!
Peek!
Prey of the day and corresponding owlet pellets
Morning showers all wet close up
Sleepy after all the commotion
I STILL do not want to come home…
Can’t wait to get my big boy/girl feathers
An Owlet on not good behavior: MiniMe on favorite place – the ground
Trying to make dinner when all I want to do is observe the owlets and their dinner
Are we done yet?
Similar to what we find beneath the nest area. (Photo from owloasis)
Not my best morning
And there is more….
Made it across!
Journey to The ISLAND
Foster parent, Dale , tries one more time to put me in a tree…
Happy Feet
Back in the tree? After that long journey? Crap. Déjà vu all over again..
STILL waiting, watching for Mom (and/or Dad). Do not even think about cuddling up to me after you ate the WHOLE thing!
Snuggled into the nook to keep warm. We even have a leftover mouse!
Marsh Owl
Debbie demonstrates how to hold the owlet for examination
It’s cold today!
Basking in the sun photo op
Is MiniMe looking a bit forlorn to you?
Two owlets restored to River Birch tree branches.
Ferns add so much to our decor
Getting closer
Early morning breakfast delivery
MiniMe is heading back to the marsh!
It didn’t last long……….
Marsh view from the rear
Hangin in the rain in our first nest
First view of Mom on nest with owlet
Uh oh that wing is going to knock me out of the tree!
Our back garden Live Oaks
Asking for divine intervention?
I have changed my mind about going to The ISLAND
I am in big trouble here
Getting harassed by other birds just trying to look after my kids.
Posing politely for photos
It was a really long, interesting journey. I can totally relate to the Geico Gecko…
Am I getting tan yet?
Is that what I thing it is?
It was not a good night…