From ARC
Our spring baby season continues with the arrival of baby barred owls.
These owlets have been placed with one of our resident barred owls, Mrs. P. Unlike our great horned owl, Nonamé, whose surrogate role includes feeding, incubating, and teaching, Mrs. P serves more as a visual surrogate.
We made the decision to introduce the barred owlets to Mrs. P after observing her nesting and brooding behaviors over a few weeks.
Following their introduction, we carefully monitored the interactions between Mrs. P and the owlets. While she showed great interest in them, Mrs. P did not feed or incubate the young owls. She did, however, carefully inspect the owlets' kennel, entering it briefly (a kennel is being used to simulate a nest cavity).
Interestingly, Mrs. P also began tearing her food into small pieces, seemingly intending to feed the owlets, but ultimately consumed it herself.
Although Mrs. P's surrogacy differs from Nonamé's, she still plays a vital role. These baby owlets are growing up daily, hearing and seeing an adult barred owl, which significantly improves their chances of independent survival in the future.
