Chris' Austin, TX Owlcam 2014

[dale]

"March 10 – The clutch is holding at five eggs. The interval between egg layings increases with each egg, so a sixth (if there’s to be one) may still be a day or two away. The last time I played landlord to a six egg clutch was in 1999, and every year I hope it’ll happen again. Nonetheless, a five egg clutch is unusual enough, so no hard feelings, Mme. Owl, if five’s the limit."

He's still working on the cams so there are only daily stills so far - live video to follow, I guess.

http://www.chrisowlcam.net/2014/

[Kris G.]

5 eggs!        Fun times!

[dale]

"March 13 – The morning’s post-sunrise hours included enough starling intrusions to put Mme. Owl into full defensive mode (see image). . . I think hopes for an oh-so-rare sixth egg should be abandoned. We haven’t been shortchanged, of course; five egg clutches are plenty rare enough. (It’s been fifteen years since my box had a clutch of more than four eggs, and I may be beating the odds, even so.)"

[Donna]

Oh boy, hope she keeps guard! Egg stealer!

[dale]

Oh boy, hope she keeps guard! Egg stealer!

If I'm not mistaken, the starlings are apartment hunting more than grocery shopping.

[Kris G.]

Oh boy, hope she keeps guard! Egg stealer!

If I'm not mistaken, the starlings are apartment hunting more than grocery shopping.

That's good!  I was thinking like Donna!

[Donna]

Oh boy, hope she keeps guard! Egg stealer!

If I'm not mistaken, the starlings are apartment hunting more than grocery shopping.

That's good!  I was thinking like Donna!

Sorry, not a duplex!

[dale]

"March 14 – Strange Mme. Owl. From about 8:32 PM to midnight she brooded only four of the five eggs. It seems too obvious... to be a mistake, and reinforcing that view, she left the nest ...for eleven minutes and continued to exclude one egg upon her return...Sallie, the raptor rehabber, comments that 'maybe this is her first rodeo.' Quite possible. For myself, I’m thinking more: “You – in the box – come out with your talons where we can see them and explain yourself.� (If only wildlife biology was so simple.)"

I noticed this yesterday, scanning through the 3-14 dailies. Too early for her to sense that it is a dud, I think! Then I checked the 3-15 dailies and she took the egg back around 2:30 a.m. hm. Chris had a thought that maybe this was a first-laid egg and she was slowing it down. The heart is one of the first things to develop, so maybe she DOES sense too-little or too-advanced development.  Maybe she just hates sitting on 5 and that’s how the fate of a chick is decided. With peregrines, when the male (with his third-smaller bottom) incubates, we've often seen an egg escaping, but they fix it as soon as they notice. I like Sallie’s version too, though cluelessness seems unlikely (Mme. Owl rolls and arranges them as well as any other raptor-egg-sitter).

Go figure.

[dale]

The 5th egg is again with the others, and this is about how it will probably be for the next, what, 10 days or so?

[Donna]

Hmm, very interesting! Just have to wait and see who hatches!  Thanks

[dale]

WHOA!!!! How cool.

"March 20 – Mme. Owl victorious. The interloping starlings were dealt a serious setback this morning when Mme. Owl captured and killed one of them. It wasn’t the quick kill that any raptor strives for (a basic risk-management measure), but it got the job done. This is not only good news for Mme. Owl, who had a good breakfast and lunch out of it, and will probably be left alone by the local starlings for the rest of the season, but for the other native cavity nesting birds of the area, notably, in this case, the red-bellied woodpeckers."

you can WATCH it; go to the site
http://www.chrisowlcam.net/2014/#x20140320
and click "View the movie (80.9 MB, MPEG-4 format)"
I'm astonished she pulled that off without damaging the eggs.
She does look quite fetching peeking out coyly from behind that wing, once the chaos is over.
 . . . but it isn't entirely over . . .

[Kris G.]

WHOA!!!! How cool.

"March 20 – Mme. Owl victorious. The interloping starlings were dealt a serious setback this morning when Mme. Owl captured and killed one of them. It wasn’t the quick kill that any raptor strives for (a basic risk-management measure), but it got the job done. This is not only good news for Mme. Owl, who had a good breakfast and lunch out of it, and will probably be left alone by the local starlings for the rest of the season, but for the other native cavity nesting birds of the area, notably, in this case, the red-bellied woodpeckers."

you can WATCH it; go to the site
http://www.chrisowlcam.net/2014/#x20140320
and click "View the movie (80.9 MB, MPEG-4 format)"

                   .

[MAK]

Geeze, I hope the eggs weren't damaged! 

[Donna]

OMG!!!! That was awful!! Looks like that bird died a slow painful death!! She was quick, that momma as the Starling almost got away!!

[dale]

It's kind of like a zombie picture at one point. Mom looks at the camera, "Whew, did you see THAT. . . " and then . . .