Peak District Retreat Blog: Wildlife and general news about the Retreat and its environment

Less than half a day following the fifth hatching, the sixth and final barn owl egg has also hatched.

The video shows how the female owl stepped to one side for a stretch this morning, giving us a view of a mass of wriggling pink owlets. I think there are six there but they are difficult to count.

The oldest owlet (11 days old) is to the right, is beginning to develop white fluff, and is also seen exercising its winglets. On the left the next oldest is also stretching its winglets.

A second barn owlet has hatched around midday today.

Again the image is not very clear, but you can see there are now only four eggs, and to the right of the eggs there are two owlets, the newer one nearer the top of the image.

Lower down the photo there are some fragments of egg shell which the owl moved from underneath her about 50 minutes before this photo. She usually eats the shell fragments some time later.