I have been watching this family of owls for some time now. I was told by another birder that there were four owlets being raised. I had never previously been able to identify four birds so had presumed it was the runt and had perished. To my total surprise and enjoyment I was able to observe all four of the offspring simultaneously as they went about their morning routines at the burrow site. Portrait of an owlet in soft early morning light The elusive fourth bird. It is leaner and paler than its siblings. Compare it with a more robust looking sibling A quick forty winks There was almost constant vocalisation from the juveniles, especially when the parents flew away from the site Here one of the owlets had hopped down onto the ground and had picked up a black beetle it had observed scurrying around One of the parents flew in with what looked like a small mouse. It immediately disappeared down into the crevices between the rocks. There was a mad scramble by the juveniles to follow and get a piece of the action Here one of the owlets reappears and hops back up onto a prominent perch Some talon cleaning being undertaken To end the sequence here is my favourite image of the smallest owlet. It appears to be winking at me as if to say "I had you fooled for ages"
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