Fuzz Ball is doing fine. Here is a PRIVATE video (link). It does NOT show up on my YouTube channel and will be deleted by Monday.  Thanks for everyone’s support. Molly and I cheered when I watched the trailcam video and confirmed feeding was occurring. The signs were obvious, but it was still extremely nice to see the actual evidence.

These five photographs of Mom were taken this morning. She is in the “protect and attack” mode. Crows can be relied upon to attack every morning around sunrise (5:27 am). I waited patiently watching for 15 minutes knowing that eventually she would attack. However, the images really took months to set up:

1. First I hiked after sundown last winter in the deep snow listening to the hoot
2. Eventually I found the nest on March 8th
3. I monitored the nest for months, learning behaviors and figuring out favorite perches
4. I used that knowledge to take a photograph

It is 7:00 am on Tuesday morning, and all is fine in the Amity Forest and nest tree, but there are now two nests, not one.  Since 4 pm yesterday afternoon I have very busy. Apparently some time yesterday Fuzz Ball the First fell out of its nest. This little guy is just that … very small / young. The owlet does not have any flight feathers, nor was it yet branching. Upon inspection, the bird did not appear to have any injuries, but also was NOT capable to climbing 80 feet back up into the white pine tree (or any tree for that matter).

The Final Photograph … A Happy Owlet in its new nest.

Fuzz Ball joined Molly for me as a guest for supper, and after dinner the construction of owl platform version 1.0 began. Just before sunset the little guy was placed in its new nest … about 50 feet below its Mom and sibling.

At 4:30 am this morning I finally gave up trying to sleep, and got up shortly thereafter. I made my first visit to “owl chair nest” around 5:30 am. The owlet quickly glanced over and stared at me. Hopefully Mom came down and fed it last night.

Yesterday in pictures. Molly is the photographer using her iPhone (see her blog).

The Rescue (wearing my raptor gloves … now used during four rescues)

Owl Nest V1.0

I constructed the nest out of available material. I realized the chair would rest securely against the white pine’s trunk if I could attach “the nest” firmly enough to the tree. Materials were a lawn chair, a very thick packing pad and bungees. I used the packing pad (secured to chair) to provide both bedding and ensure talons would not get caught in the chair’s webbing. The nest ended up higher than the images show, but not as high as I would prefer, but my own safety was also important. The key point is the owlet is well off the ground and easily reachable by Mom Owl. The chair’s armrest provide landing perches. I actually thought all of this through before starting construction.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!