A blog to share barn owl and other wildlife and general news about the Retreat and its environment.
Barn owlet update
16. May 2026 - Wildlife
Unfortunately we have lost the youngest owlet, the one that hatched last Sunday. This morning the female owl pulled out the small corpse from underneath her. So now there are five.
Fortunately in this area there is a plentiful prey for them, and the male is hunting well and bringing prey to the female and the young. They should not suffer shortage of food which may otherwise be a common problem.
Of course this is how nature works. Our survival record has been good in the past, with four eggs in 2023 and 2025 (no nesting in 2024), and four hatchings led to four successful fledgings in each case. (The typical survival rate from hatching to fledging is more like 40-50%)
