Pic of the Day -2009

All pictures in this gallery were captured or processed on the day of posting or the day before, bringing true meaning to the "Pic of the Day"!

May 5 - "Mom is never far away" - There is mom quite close by keeping a close eye on her babies. They have, after all, not yet left the nest.<br>

Here are a few answers to some interesting questions that came out of yesterday's post (more than some of you want to know).
<br> Sonolady - Will you get to see them fly? - I doubt it very seriously. They will leave the nest soon, not to return. Once they leave, they will not go very far for a few weeks and we will hear their unusual squeal, but the foilage gets thinker with each Spring day, so it is unlikely that I will see them. I do, however, see mom and dad flying quite often. They are usually being chased by a broken-hearted mother crow.
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<br> fotoeffects, it is wonderful to have this nest in my backyard, now going on the 4th nesting season. An Eagle scout lived behind me at the time and put these boxes up as his final project. It is the kind of box they prefer. As a matter of fact, the same parents will come back to the nest every year and if something should happen to one of them, then the other will remarry and may bring his/her new spouse back to the nest.
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<br> JenniferD, they do not keep me up at night. They are actually fairly quiet during the late hours, but they do tend to make a lot of noise around 10am and again just around sunset. Speaking of noise, the adults make the well known "who, who cooks for you" sound, while the babies sound like an alien screaming from a B grade movie.
<br>Generally responding - we didn't see them until Sunday. We can hear them in the nest, watch dad show up with food and that is it for the most part. Then the special day comes they stand on the edge, Mom and Dad close by trying to talk them down or encouraging them to jump - lol, we are not real sure. So we only see them for a very short period of time.
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<BR>Last but not least, here is an excerpt from the reply email that I received from the UNCC professor that studies these little guys. That is when I learned that they were actually three babies in the nest.
-----Original Message-----
From: R. O. Bierregaard, Jr. Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 9:04 AM
To: JeffGroves
Subject: Re: The Owls have emerged from their nest.

Great shot!
I did come by on Thursday to band the 3!
youngsters. This was our 4th box with 3 young this year--a new record. I was surprised they were still in the box. Young this large have usually flown the coop already. I think they're still there because there isn't an easy branch to jump to. They won't be there for long. Keep me posted as to when they leave the box, please.

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May 5 - "Mom is never far away" - There is mom quite close by keeping a close eye on her babies. They have, after all, not yet left the nest.
Here are a few answers to some interesting questions that came out of yesterday's post (more than some of you want to know).
Sonolady - Will you get to see them fly? - I doubt it very seriously. They will leave the nest soon, not to return. Once they leave, they will not go very far for a few weeks and we will hear their unusual squeal, but the foilage gets thinker with each Spring day, so it is unlikely that I will see them. I do, however, see mom and dad flying quite often. They are usually being chased by a broken-hearted mother crow.

fotoeffects, it is wonderful to have this nest in my backyard, now going on the 4th nesting season. An Eagle scout lived behind me at the time and put these boxes up as his final project. It is the kind of box they prefer. As a matter of fact, the same parents will come back to the nest every year and if something should happen to one of them, then the other will remarry and may bring his/her new spouse back to the nest.

JenniferD, they do not keep me up at night. They are actually fairly quiet during the late hours, but they do tend to make a lot of noise around 10am and again just around sunset. Speaking of noise, the adults make the well known "who, who cooks for you" sound, while the babies sound like an alien screaming from a B grade movie.
Generally responding - we didn't see them until Sunday. We can hear them in the nest, watch dad show up with food and that is it for the most part. Then the special day comes they stand on the edge, Mom and Dad close by trying to talk them down or encouraging them to jump - lol, we are not real sure. So we only see them for a very short period of time.

Last but not least, here is an excerpt from the reply email that I received from the UNCC professor that studies these little guys. That is when I learned that they were actually three babies in the nest. -----Original Message----- From: R. O. Bierregaard, Jr. Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 9:04 AM To: JeffGroves Subject: Re: The Owls have emerged from their nest. Great shot! I did come by on Thursday to band the 3! youngsters. This was our 4th box with 3 young this year--a new record. I was surprised they were still in the box. Young this large have usually flown the coop already. I think they're still there because there isn't an easy branch to jump to. They won't be there for long. Keep me posted as to when they leave the box, please.

Pic of the day