When their father Finn dies unexpectedly, barn owl chicks Fern, Griffin and Freya transform a close-knit crew.
Bizarre owl bond
At round 40 days previous barn owl chicks naturally spend extra time on my own of their nest and are fiercely aggressive. However since dropping their father Finn, who tragically drowns in a water trough, Freya, Griffin and Fern have advanced an abnormal bond.
Reinforce
Finn’s loss has additionally hit their mom Gylfie, who works on my own to feed this rising brood. As a summer time drought develops, I assist her out with deliveries of meals.
Summer season heatwave
It’s searing sizzling and the chicks are crushed. Watch them flutter the feathers on their necks to help warmth loss.
Freya’s first glance outdoor
However at evening the temperature drops, and the barn owl chicks transform extra lively. The eldest Freya, takes her first take a look at the sector outdoor.
ID rings
When the barn owl chicks are seven weeks previous, authorized BTO ringer Jean Thorpe arrives to position numbered tags on their legs. The chicks also are weighed and measured and those statistics despatched off to a countrywide database.
Chicks get ready for first flights
At 8 weeks the chicks transform extra lively, hopping and pouncing within the nest as they get in a position for his or her first flights.
Rebellious
Freya, the eldest chick, is probably the most assured, she additionally fairly sassy. Watch her mom Gylfie self-discipline her when she tries to dam the doorway to the nest.
Gylfie draws new spouse
Then 3 weeks since she misplaced Finn, Gylfie catches the attention of a brand new suitor. After analyzing the tag in this male’s leg I uncover that this barn owl was once in reality rescued from a corn dryer and raised right here at Fotherdale – along Finn
Dryer
So this new owl, whom I identify Dryer, is in reality Finn’s surrogate step-brother. And now he’s were given his eye on Gylfie. This presentations the facility of ringing! With out the hoop, we’d by no means have identified Dryer’s tale
First barn owl fledges
Freya is the primary to undertaking out of the nest, however she hops proper again after coming head to head with a tender tawny owl. Her subsequent try to fledge is similarly dramatic as she will be able to’t to find her long ago in!
Fledging follows
One after the other the siblings go away the nest. Fern, the youngest spends a complete evening out within the timber however returns tomorrow.
First days
The trio proceed to spend their time with regards to their Elm Stump nest field as they discover ways to are living independently and it’s a excitement to look at them develop in self assurance. When their father Finn died, I wasn’t positive how the circle of relatives would live to tell the tale and right here they’re at 3 months previous dwelling a existence within the wild.