The camouflage is so good. Can you find the rabbit next to Bonnie?
The owlets are being well fed and they are growing. Their plumage changes every day and they seem to be constantly hungry. It is no wonder. The eldest, Tiger, was born on 7 March and the youngest, Lily, on 9 March. Just think of them as two weeks old for ease. By the time they are five weeks old they will be climbing around on the branches of the tree and they will be flying at nine to ten weeks.
In the image below you can get a glimpse of the changing plumage on Tiger. Note the colour of the beak. When Tiger was born it was pink. Now it is a lovely espresso black. You can also see the coloured plumage coming around the neck and the wing. Behind them you can see the green ‘8’ of the Garter snake in the pantry and in front of Tiger are the parts of a rabbit brought in by mom last night.
Bonnie heaves the rabbit up and over the edge of the twig nest.
She brought the head of the rabbit in earlier. In total, the lapin was broken up into three pieces but still, the headless back seemed like it was pretty heavy for Bonnie to lift. But she did it! It is certainly a feast for the owlets.
The oldest was doing a little bit of preening and then they both heard mom coming. Look at their sweet faces looking at Bonnie. A happy, well-fed raptor family! And no real drama. It is nice for a change.
This is a quick posting. All is going well at this nest. The owlets are growing and growing and getting to eat a variety of food. They will imprint that into their memory for when they are hunting for themselves. Bonnie is a fantastic mother and with the rains settling in around 4pm in Kansas she will need those little ones to cuddle up and sleep.
Thank you for dropping by to check in on the birds in Bird World.
Thanks to Farmer Derek for his streaming cam. That is where I captured my images.
