Date: 8/19/26 6:24 am From: Alfred Maley <alfredmaley...> Subject: [NHBirds] Gobsmacked and Dumbfounded - The Barred Owls Nest Late, Right Under My Nose
Last night at 11:55 PM on 18 August 2026 I was shocked to hear a chorus of
young Barred Owl fledglings giving their food begging calls from various
parts of the forest around the house. Apparently one of the parents had
arrived with a food item. The chorus lasted for about 10 minutes before
things settled down.
Back in late March when there was no sign of nesting in the boxes in the
yard (nor in any of the other eight boxes that were occupied in 2025) I
concluded it was due to a lack of food (mice, voles, chipmunks) after the
2025 mast crop failure. I decided to see if I could remedy the situation by
feeding the adults to bring the female into breeding condition - they
looked quite skinny. All during April and May I made sure there was food on
the table, but seemingly to no avail as the nest boxes remained empty.
By mid June the adults could be seen roosting together in the daytime in
the white pines next to the driveway. Also, both adults had taken to flying
into the thick pines behind the neighbor’s house with de-headed chipmunks
and other rodents. I attributed this to a desire to avoid the eyes of the
Cooper’s Hawks that patrol the yard and will try to steal food items from
the owls if possible.
It appears that Mrs. Owl did indeed come into breeding condition by early
May and had selected a well concealed hawk nest (Broadwing?) high in the
pines and had begun incubation. By mid July the young would be big enough
to move about and begin flight training. Now they are scattered about the
trees that nearly surround the house, indicating that they can fly about
with some facility.
My mouse traps are now not as empty as in April and the mast crop and white
pine cone crop are looking good, so prey numbers are on the upswing. The
young will stay in the territory into October, until their hunting lessons
are complete. All's right with the world, at least on a few acres of it.
