3 Hatchlings This Year

The owl family showed up right on time again this year.  I've been watching them for a month or so.  The eggs hatched around the 10th of January and mom has begun the brooding process wherein she gets off the nest for extended periods allowing the chicks to acclimate to their surroundings.  The weather has been getting warmer with temps in the high 70's in the afternoons.  I was glad to see the owls give birth to 3 apparently healthy chicks this year after losing the two chicks they had last year.  Something happened last year, not sure what, but one of the chicks was definitely born with a defect.  Hoping for a better result this year.

First, here's dad, off by himself in a nearby oak tree.

Mom, with her 3 babies.

The chicks are only a couple of weeks old and are still kind of shy about showing themselves to the camera, but I expect they will be climbing out on a nearby limb soon and there will be more opportunities for photos of their development.