The three fledglings spent the day in a tree by the West Drive.  When I arrived they were alert, watching the hundreds of runners and bike riders using the drive on a beautiful spring day.  At dusk, they started to fly around.  There were a few missed landings, but they did surprisingly well for their first and second days out.

I had social engagements the last two nights and missed the first two fledges which occurred on Monday.   

Tonight, I was lucky to find the two fledglings in the daylight with their parents surrounding them, and later got to see what appears to be the last nestling leave the nest cavity for what I suspect was the first time.  Owl watching doesn’t get much better than this.

Enjoy your wings youngsters!

After about thirty minutes, the owlet flies for the first time and we lose track of it.

The male slept outside today and the female was visible in the cavity most of the day.  She let one of the kids have a peak outside at least once during the day.

In the evening, the mother came out early.  For the first time, Jean and I were able to see her take a bath in the Loch.  My camera was taking pictures of the nestlings, so there are no images.  However, take my word for it, we got to watch something simply wonderful.  The female got into a shallow portion of the Loch and sat down.  She acted like a duck, moving her tail feathers back and forth like Donald Duck in a cartoon.  She dipped her head down to get it wet, like a playful Bufflehead.  She walked up on shore, rested for a bit and then used her legs to jump as part of her take off from the ground.  We watched her dry off and preen, as she moved from tree to tree. 

Last Saturday, we had seen her all wet and joked of it as her “Saturday Bath”.  It seemed funny that when we actually got to see her bathe, it was the next Saturday, as if she knew about our joke! 

During her bathing time, the male was attacking a raccoon and feeding the young.

I went away from the evening feeling privileged to have witness so many
different owl behaviors over the last few months.  And to think this is Central Park, New York City!

Tonight, the young ones were more aggressive about coming to the edge of the cavity.  There are definitely at least two nestlings. 

Adult whinny and hoot-hoot vocalizations were heard.  A raccoon seemed to trigger the hoot-hoots.

Feeding of what may be moths, continued as their were frequent flights between the trees near the West Drive’s street lights, an interim stop on top of a broken sapling ten feet in front of the nest and the cavity.  One pictures of a nestling shows the food, but it is too blurry to see if it is definitely a moth.

The male was reported to have been out of the cavity all day, and the female left just as I arrived.  They both would have been fun to photograph, but I concentrated on the cavity and its current jewels.

Tonight was a wonderful evening.  The behavior of the parents was similar to past nights.  What was wonderful this evening was that after the female few out, a nestling came to the edge of the cavity in the daylight, so we finally got to see one of them clearly.

It was an interesting night.  The male was already out sitting on a branch near the nest cavity when I arrived.  The female came out early and rested on a branch ten feet from the cavity in very bright light.

There was movement about the site by both owls and both whinny and hoot-hoot sounds were made.

The owls continued the active trips back to the nest.  It’s unclear if this is feeding or behavior to encourage fledging.  The dull nights are over!

I can’t tell how many kids there are.  I’ve included lots of pictures, just in case someone thinks they can tell some of the nestlings apart.