Film | Barn Owl Chicks’ Develop Extraordinary Bond | Gylfe & Dryer

This is the story of how three barn owl chicks are so well cared for, they put aside usual sibling rivalry and develop an extraordinary bond.

 

 

Barn owls Thunder, Storm and Cloud

Named by fans of this channel, these barn owl chicks are 26, 22 and 20 days old and are the offspring of Gylfie and Dryer. By this age the chicks can thermoregulate, which means they can maintain their own body temperature, and their mother Gylfie no longer needs to be in the nest all day, but she and her partner Dryer do need to keep the chicks fed. Owl dad provides Dryer does an incredible job hunting and delivering food, so much so that there is enough for Gylfie to snack on too! By August the chicks spend more and more time stretching their wings and pouncing around the nest practising their hunting techniques

Sibling support

One evening as Dryer delivers, I notice some unusual behaviour. The eldest chick Thunder passes the food to his younger sibling, Storm. And then I notice him do it again, clearly this altruism is a purposeful act Leaving the nest At 48 days old Thunder leaves the nest for the first time, but he doesn’t venture far and soon returns to the safety of his siblings. But this barn owlet is nearly ready to go, but his siblings don’t want him to go and try to pull him down from the entrance and Thunder seems torn. The drive for independence is strong, but the steady supply of food and the company of his siblings are good reasons to stay.

Thunder adopts role of carer

Amazingly, this barn owlet seems to also have taken on the role of feeding his siblings too! ID rings Before the chicks fledge I’m joined by Jean Thorpe, from the Ryedale Rehabilitation centre, a British Trust for Ornithology licensed bird ringer. Each BTO ring has a unique number, and will enable us to track these birds throughout their life. As Jean carefully fits the rings, I remind her that Dryer was an owl she rescued. This would have been impossible to know if Dryer didn’t have an ID ring.

Owlets weight & sex

All three chicks weigh exactly the same, 390g, which is very healthy. Ringing these chicks also gives us an opportunity to try and sex these owl chicks. A pale facial disk and no sparkles indicates Thunder is probably male, whereas darker feathers, and sparkles let us know that Storm and Cloud are likely to be female. It has been an amazing few months watching this barn owl pair raise their three chicks into healthy young barn owls and to see the eldest Thunder take his first steps outside. Join me next time to watch Storm and Cloud follow in their brother’s footsteps and explore the area around their nest here in Fotherdale and get an unprecedented insight into a barn owl chick’s life after fledging as Storm and Cloud set up residence in Beech Stump and Storm even ventures over to Ash Wood!