Owl Mum Brings Up Chicks After Dad Dies | Full Story | Gylfie & Finn | Robert E Fuller

Good and no complaints from Griffin. These three owl

chicks

are about 40 days old and alone in the nest. 4 days ago father Finn sadly died in a waterhole and his mother Gylfie is taking a rest in a nearby nest. At this age, parents don't spend time with their young, but the three owlets Freya Griffin and Fern have become a great team. Barn owl

chicks

normally compete with each other, but this trio shares food with each other, which must be a big help to Gylfie. Despite losing their dad, they are developing well. And when they flap their wings, the fluffy down falls off, revealing new feathers.   Gylfie had a lot of work keeping them alone, but I'm here to lend a hand and put extra food in the nest.

As the heat wave continues, the chicks are really feeling it. They separate to avoid sharing body heat, move as little as possible and begin to flap their wings.   This is when birds open their mouths and breathe rapidly to cool themselves, similar to a panting dog. As night falls the temperature drops. The oldest chick, Freya, heads to the entrance and takes her first look at the world outside. But soon she returns to her brothers. These three owls seem to have a particularly close bond. Now, at 7 weeks of age, it is time for the chicks to receive their identification rings.

This will allow us to identify them   for the rest of their lives. So I'm going to go up and take out the owlets. Now I care

full

y place the chicks in the bag, these young owls are very heavy. I have a lovely little female there. Alright, I've got the three owls in the bag and I'm going to make them ring as quickly as possible. Now I have them, yes, they look very good, these little ones. So, very heavy, very heavy owls, yes. Yes, I've been feeding them well, well that's what they want.  Do this as quickly as possible for the owlets, so we'll start with the biggest one.   Here we have a lovely, lovely feminine look in the color of this.

Absolutely magnificent, a dark color and a dark border around the facial disc, also tells us that this owl is definitely a female. Jean adjusts the chick with a lightweight metal ring perfectly sized to fit Life. Jean is an expert and makes sure that the process does not harm the chicks at all. The chicks are weighed and the data is sent to a national database. Okay, that's got the ringed owls, now I'm going to return them to the nest. I return them to the nest as quickly as possible to minimize discomfort. Soon the brothers settled back into the nest.

Griffin, the middle chick, is almost 8 weeks old and hops around the nest and then hops toward the entrance. The older sister, Freya, does not seem to like this and grabs him, eventually he retreats to the nest. But Freya seems confused and she begs Griffin for food. They are usually adults with food coming in through the entrance. Gylfie works hard as a single mother bringing food for the chicks and delivering it several times a night.  But when Freya gets a little feisty at the entrance, Gylfie quickly shows her who's boss. She forces the chick back to the nest and heads to the feeding station.

Here she meets a new man, this is surprising, it's only been 3 weeks since Gylfie lost Finn and she already caught the attention of a new suitor. They seem to hit it off right away and I see he has a ring but I can't read the number. However, back at the nest, Freya jumps to the entrance and then takes a leap, flying to the platform below. She glances around her and is joined by a young tawny owl. Her brothers react. Freya becomes defensive and begins to posture, but when the tawny owl retreats, she returns to the safety of the nest.

After getting a taste of the outside world, Freya spends a lot of time flapping and jumping. While her brothers watch. And that night Freya jumps out of the nest, taking the first flight. A few minutes later she tries to return, but she can't aim well. She has some learning to do. She has better luck the next day, when she reunites with her brothers. Over the next few days, the three chicks spend more time at the entrance. And they spend time flapping and jumping together. No wonder we have three tired owl chicks. Across the Fotherdale fields I see Gylfie entering the Sycamore nest and her new male follows her.

Upon closer inspection I can see her ring number and check my records to find that she is a male owl named Dryer. In 2019, Jean Thorpe rescued him from a corn dryer. They brought him here for his release and put him in Elm stump at the same time as Finn, Gylfie's former partner. So he's actually Finn's surrogate stepbrother and now he has his eye on Gylfie. This just shows the power of timbre.  Without this ring we would never have known Dryer's

story

. Now it is the end of August and Griffin is 58 days old, at night he jumps into the entrance and finally leaves the nest.

While his brothers watch. Freya even comes to greet him. Once the other chicks have grown, Fern spends more time alone. I can feel her getting restless, but soon it's her turn. After a quick visit from her brother, she leaves the nest for the first time. Fern does not return to the nest that night and spends the next day among the trees. All three owls have fledged, but continue to use Elm as a base for the next few weeks. My cameras capture them as they begin to explore the area. Landing outside my house, feeding on the maze wall and visiting the sycamore nest.

They still have a lot to learn, including how to deal with neighbors and the best places to pick up food. Freya Griffin and Fern have come a long way since they were chicks. When Finn passed away, she wasn't sure how this family would cope. But now, at 3 months old, they are strong, independent owls living a life in the wild. And as Gylfie and Dryer's courtship develops, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the coming months. Sadly, Gylfie and Finn's

story

has come to an end, but Gylfie and Dryers are just getting started. Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video.

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