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