Barred Owlets Prepare To Leave The Nest Box

Don’t miss a moment of the owlets’ final days on the Wild Birds Unlimited Barred Owl Cam! The confines of the nest box seem smaller each day as the owlets—recently named Midnight, Star, and Moon—continue to grow and develop. Now at day 30 of the nestling period, the eldest two owlets should be gearing up for their first foray into the surrounding woodlands within the next 24–72 hours. Watch live.

Box To Branch: The owlets are spending much of their time perched at the nest box entrance, likely contemplating their first step into the outside world. After branching, the young owls are still clumsy and barely have any flight skills, though they may make short fluttering leaps from tree to tree. As they explore, it’s typical to see the owlets lose their balance and drop to the ground—but don’t worry! Young Barred Owls find their way by climbing, and they’ll make use of their sharp talons to scale up the trunks of trees and find a safe space to perch before their next adventure.

Parental Persistence: The parents’ work isn’t finished after branching. Their offspring still have to learn how to fly, and catch their own food. It takes about 12 weeks for the youngsters to hone their flight skills, and the adults will continue to feed the fledglings until they are ready to disperse at 4–5 months of age.

We’ll continue to share any updates from the owlets activities after they’ve left the nest box on the cam’s Twitter/X account @WBU_Owls.