2008 Barn Owl Nest
Years ago, a box was installed, ostensibly
for Barn Owls, on a large Doug Fir on the east side of Clise Mansion. The
tree is the same tree that was hit by lightning a long time ago. There's a
small sign about that, and the trunk of the tree still shows a large scar.
Since the box was installed, it has been
mostly empty, though sometimes Eastern Gray Squirrels appeared to be nesting in
it. The size and proportions of the box are not ideal for Barn Owl, so it
was not surprising that they weren't using it.
In the winter of 2007-2008, we began
noticing owl pellets around the bases of large trees to the southeast of the
mansion. A few times, in the pre-dawn hours, Barn Owls were seen in the
trees.
On Wednesday, March 26th, 2008, I attended
the monthly meeting of the Friends of Marymoor Park. After the meeting,
and hoping to get a glimpse of a Barn Owl, I walked the path along the east side
of the mansion. I heard the grating sounds of a Barn Owl coming from the
vicinity of the old box. We stopped by there the next day on our weekly
survey, but saw nothing. The following week, however, we could see two babies in
the nest. Here are photos from then up through fledging of the two young.
All photos taken at Marymoor Park.
Uncredited photos by Michael Hobbs. All rights reserved.
April 3 |
April 3 |
Photo by Ollie Oliver, April 5 |
Photo by Ollie Oliver, April 5 |
April 10 |
Photo by Ollie Oliver, April 10 |
Photo by Ollie Oliver, April 10 |
Photo by Ollie Oliver, April 10 |
April 17 |
April 17 |
April 24 |
Photo by Tom Mansfield, April 26 |
Photo by Tom Mansfield, April 26 |
Photo by Tom Mansfield, April 26 |
Photo by Ollie Oliver, May 1 |
Photo by Ollie Oliver, May 5. Possibly
one of the adults back in the box??? |