After the excitement of last night’s fishing, we had a standard night tonight. Fly out, the meet up halfway, copulation and off to hunt for the night.
As they settle in as a couple, it will be harder and harder to keep up with them. And trees are starting to bud. I’ll enjoy them as long as they let us.
Wow, we saw something fantastic tonight. We saw the male fishing in the stream that flows from Glen Span Arch. He stared at the water and then in a flash swooped down to the water, just touching the surface. (Sorry, no pictures.)
Another behavior, seen in Central Park, New York City. Add fishing to copulation, fledging, hunting, worm eating, bathing, raccoon attacking, etc. All in Manhattan. How great is that!
Saturday, I was only able to see the female once and was unable to photograph either of the owls, so I was a little worried about finding them tonight.
It turned out to be a wonderful evening, with helpful friends and relaxed photogenic owls. Both owls were easily photographed tonight.
They spent some time by the small lawn on the northwest side of Glen Span Arch, hunting for either insects or worms.
The female roosted near the arch again this evening and flew out early in the warm temperature. She met the male but ended up going her own way to the west side of the drive.
She went down to the lawn into a group of snowdrops, possibly getting an earthworm. She then flew across the drive back to the Loch. She flew over the road only a foot above it. It was easy to see how an owl could get hit by car traffic in the park.
I arrived after fly out to find both owls in the area of the stream where the trees overhang the water. The male was hunting and the female was calling. She even went down to the ground and got into the snow for a few minutes.
They ended up moving to the trees on the east side of the stream and it looked as though the male brought a mouse to the female, but it was hard to determine for sure. Our new male looks to be finally getting with the program.
The night started with the alert female on the bridge. I took a long movie of her to document what the wake up process was like.
She flew off into the Loch when it got dark. They both went off to the branches and trees near the cavity by the damaged rustic bridge. They head rubbed, copulated and both spent time in the cavity. I need to watch this cavity one night to see if the male is roosting in it and guarding it during the day.
