Thanks to rose for working furiously to copy and paste the whole chat session on April 4. Then she spent forever editing and re-editing it so you can read it here! Everyone who appreciates this, please thank rose!!
Karla’s Q &
A 04/04/2013
#1 is 3 weeks old
today, #3 is 2 weeks old today, and #2 is 2 weeks and 4 days old
today
Q: Do the owlets
have names yet?
No names for the
kids yet. I'd like to know the sex of the owlets before names are
selected. I would like to do DNA sex testing with a drop of blood
when the owlets are banded. Right now I'm in discussions with the
permit authorities about which kind of band will be used.
Q: Karla, tell us about the "hissy
hoots" the kids were doing.
#1 & 2 did
little squeaky hoots the other day when all the owls were hooting.
The extremely cool thing about those little squeaky hoots is that
although they were squawks instead of hoots, they used the exact
rhythm Iris does in her hoots, a female rhythm. So I would say I'm
90% sure #1 & #2 are girls based on that, but you never know what
will happen with the vocal development. You won't find anything in
the published literature about males and females having different
rhythms, because I'm working on that research right now. I don't
think there is much other research going on with vocalizations of
other owl species, except Karan Odom has done quite a bit with Barred
Owls.
Q: I thought the baby was just
imitating her, didn't know it was gender based
We'll find out if
it's imitation or gender-based as time goes on.
Q: Karla, how much are the owlets
eating per day
I don't know that
I can say how much the owlets are eating per day. I just put out a
heap of food and the kids get some and Rusty and Iris get some. But,
I prepared 4 pocket gophers and a piece of rabbit for tonight, and
Alice got 1/2 a gopher.
Q: Karla, isn't it unusual for
Rusty and Iris to be mating now?
I can't say if
it's unusual for Rusty and Iris to be copulating now since I don't
think anyone has ever had the opportunity to see it like this.
Q: Good point Karla, about the
copulating. Could it just be reassurance, a "bonding"
thing?
Maybe it's just a
bonding thing, or hormones still going, hard to say.
Q: Karla, with your access to the
higher resolution/native videos, have you seen #1’s eyes start
to change color?
I haven't noticed
#1's eyes changing color yet. I think when the owlets all lay down
in the nest they look like a big mound of mold in the bottom of the
nest. #1 tried to hop up onto the
platform this afternoon. She couldn't quite make it.
Q: Naked armpits on that kid!
Good point on
naked armpits. Feathers grow in tracts, not all over the surface of
the body, so they have visible bared patches until the feathers grow
over them.
Q: How old will they be before you
start live food trials? Will you release live rodents into the pen?
I won't start the
owlets on live food until just before release.
Q: Karla, have you seen/heard or
come across any other reference of well, 'tea time' as a sound/call?
No, I've never
seen a reference to "tea time" other than here. Most call
it a scream or squeal.
Q: Karla...Has Alice been hooting
to Rusty at all and how is she doing??
Alice is still
very hooty. I took her eggs away, so she's mostly off her nest now
and out in her outdoor patio area. So she hoots a lot and you can
hear her on the cam. She normally leaves off the last note.
Q: Karla, I have not seen Iris and
Rusty allopreen each other. Do you know if it is common practice for
GHO's to allopreen?
I haven't seen
Rusty and Iris preen each other (allopreen) yet either. Alice used
to do it to me early on, but not anymore. Not sure if they grow out
of it and adults don't do it? Something we need to watch and record.
Q: Karla, I am real newcomer to
the owls, so I have a couple of questions. When do the owls start
fending for themselves, doing their own hunting and such?
Normally young
GHOs (Great Horned Owls) are no longer fed by Mom & Dad by
Aug/Sept. Then they have to move on and fend for themsevles. They
normally become "floaters" since all available territories
should be taken. They just shut up and don't hoot so they don't get
into trouble with the territory holders, but when one dies, that's
their chance. So, most have to wait a few years to breed in a
healthy population.
Q: What are floaters?
Floaters are
non-breeding owls that don't have territories.
Q: Karla, why do you think Iris
has been chewing on the astro-turf? I saw #1 imitating her, too.
The chewing on
the Astroturf thing is something many raptors in captivity do,
whether out of boredom, as a displacement behavior, or I think just
something to pick at.
Q: Karla, you teaching these 3 to
hunt is going to be quite the daunting task!
Thankfully, I
don't have to teach them to hunt. They have the natural instinct to
do it, but it must be motivated by hunger. Then they just need some
time to practice.
Q: Karla, how far away will they
have to go to find their own territory?
I'm not sure how
far they have to go (or will go) to find a territory. From the
research, i don't think it's very far (maybe less than 10-20 miles
normally??? not sure.)
Q: How old are they when they
normally find a mate and begin to raise their own broods?
I think they are
normally 3+ years old before they get their own territory from what
I've read in the literature, but they are capable at age 1.
Q: And they stay in the same
general area year round? They don't migrate do they?
GHOs are
sedentary and stay resident on their territories year-round, with the
same mate. No migration for GHOs, except that the Canadian
populations that depend on snowshoe hares will go long distances
(hundreds of miles) when the hare population crashes.
Q: What enemies, if any, do GHOs
have?
That's normally
the young GHOs. Adult GHOs only have one natural enemy (other than
killing each other), and that's humans. Eagles and GHOs may tangle
over nests. Not sure how many are killed in the process, but many
times the GHO wins.
Q: What happens when they need to
fledge? I’ve actually have been watching, but wonder how kids will
go out into the big world!
These owlets will
just fledge into their enclosure. It's about 1000 square feet, so
they have lots of room. You can find more information about this
project, the history, and what I plan to have happen on the Owl
Center website under the "our owls" tab and "background"
Q: Karla,
why do you think the owls in OKC decided on a planter on a balcony to
nest?
I don't think the
OKC owls have a lot of choice in their territory for nest sites.
GHOs don't build nests, they have to use something already there.
There aren't many large trees in the area, so the planter is probably
their best bet. GHOs I think would ideally like to nest in cavities,
but there are few trees large enough to have that size of cavity. It
takes a huge silver maple, cottonwood, or something. So they usually
use Red-tailed Hawk nests and squirrel nests around here, which they
normally trash in a year or two thanks to all that digging they do
prepping the nest. I would think GHOs would like their nest to be
sheltered from prevailing winds, if they can afford to be fussy.
Q: In OKC Jeff said that the
female who nested there previous years dug in different places before
deciding on that planter where she is now
Yes, GHOs go nest
shopping every fall/early winter.
Q: Karla, do you think Iris has
"lightened" up a bit over Rusty coming to the nest a lot?
I know he provides food, but to look at the babies.
I do think Iris
is lightening up about Rusty being around the kids. Males don't know
how to tear up food to feed to the kids, the Mom does that all. But
now that the oldest kids can accept mice and small pieces I think
she's easing up. I need to clarify, males don't know how to tear up
for FOR THE KIDS. They do it for themselves. Sorry for the
confustion.
Q: I’ve noticed that Rusty
just puts food in everyones face.
Sometimes Rusty
wags the food in front of the kid to see if they'll take it. Yes,
that's how Iris feeds too. But I think Iris has more patience about
wagging food than Rusty. I gave them a pile of mice last night, and
I heard Rusty did mouse delivery like crazy this morning. Reviewing
the video, it seems the kids got full before he was done delivering,
so it just got cached. But I saw him down a few too! So it seems #1
and #2 can down whole mice, but did anyone see #3 do a mouse yet? I
would think #3 should be ready for a whole mouse soon. I'm hoping
that one's a boy so I can compare his development with my presumed
females (1 & 2)
I really
appreciate the observations you all are making. They help me VERY
MUCH with the research since I can't watch all the time.
Q: I think one is male and one is
female in OKC due to opposite hooting types, behaviors when food
delivered, and other things, so I wondered about how the male eats.
If the baby does not tear up the food but instead just tries to down
it, could it be a male?
I'm not aware of
any differences with how males would eat their food, just in
behaviors delivering to the kids.
Thanks
for reminding people about the observation submission form below,
maxi.
Q: Has #1 kept her egg tooth
unusually long?
I have no idea on
the egg tooth retention thing. According to the literature it should
be off by now, but then again, the literature says eggs are laid 2
days apart, and it's 3. But then again, I'm not 100% positive that
the white spot is the egg tooth itself. The bill may just be white
under where the egg tooth was. Not sure.
Q: Karla, will you be putting
recordings of the owlets hissy hoots on the owl center site and
others as they grow?
Yes, I'll need to
get the new owlet hoots online, and maybe their little chitters too.
Not sure when I'll get there, but one of these days!
One thing I'd
like everyone to watch as you look at other GHO cam is how much the
owls cock their tail up when hooting. It seems some don't go above
horizontal, and some go almost vertical. Thanks! It's not often
that owls are SEEN hooting in the wild, so cams are a great place to
watch and compare.
Q: Wonder what that means? Do
female tails go higher?
Iris and Alice
really cock their tails up almost vertical. But an unmated female at
the Owl Research Institute in Montana didn't cock her tail at all.
Rusty doesn't cock his tail very high. I suspect Rusty is an old
fellow (but can't know for sure), so I wonder if he doesn't cock as
high due to age?? A question I have anyway.
Q: Is it an individual
characteristic then? I notice Rusty doesn't lift his tail up, but he
DOES lean over more than Iris does.
Bob Pruner has
some nice videos of his local GHOs hooting, so nice to compare with
them too.
Q: Have you had any more tv or
newspaper interviews lately?
No new media
interviews recently. Just kind of had a barrage for a while.
Q: What about Iris' age?
I don't know ages
of either Rusty or Iris. Iris was in captivity by at least 2006 and
Rusty by 2007. Some say that their eyes get darker yellow as they
get older, and Rusty's are darker, which is why I think he might be
an old fellow. Plus he's got kind of a husky voice.
Q: Has Rusty ever "clucked"
before?
I’ve never
heard him.
Q: Rusty & Iris were adults
when you got them, and they can breed at 3 years or so?
Rusty and Iris
self-selected each other in rehab. They were adults when they came
into rehab. They are capable of breeding at age 1 though. Normally I
don't think they get a chance to breed at age 1, and they probably
aren't as successful as older birds.
Q: How long have they been with
you, Karla?
Since the fall of
2010.
Q: Someone asked yesterday if #3's
eyes were open yet. Aren't they open right after birth?
No, their eyes
aren't open for several days after hatching. I'd have to look back
through my notes to see how many days it was before eyes opened.
Q: I wonder if it would be
different in circumstances where food was less available. I wonder if
there isn't competition when they are in the wild and food is not
hand delivered!
Yes, I read that
wild owlets may kill younger siblings if there isn't enough food.
Not an issue here.
I have seen it with eaglets and it is
very tuff to watch... :(
That's why we
need to pay attention and record what we see on the cams. Not
everything in the literature is correct or representative of the
species in general.
Rusty doesn't do
his "food grunt" as much for the kids as he does when he
brings food to Iris, I don't think. Does Mr. T make sounds when he
brings food?
Q: Karla, I've mentioned in chat
that Iris & Rusty seem more animated and content since the owlets
came into their lives.
Iris sure seems
more content these days than at the beginning. I remember thinking
several months after she moved in that she would never settle in and
I'd have to get another female. I did alllll kinds of modifications
to the enclosure to try to get her to calm down. Kept trying new
things and finally she gradually settled in.
I think males may just be more mellow than females in general.
Q: Was there one modification that
seemed to calm her down or did it just take time?
Covering up the
chainlink is what it boiled down to. I couldn't let her have an
unobstructed view of the outside world. . I hated to cover the
chainlink with slats, but I had do that, so she didn't do permanent
damage to her feet. It drove me nuts trying to figure out what would
calm her.
Q: What kind of enclosure did she
have before she came to you?
Iris and Rusty
were in an enclosure with slats on the walls if I recall. I think
there had been chainlink on the ceiling, but Rusty hung on it, so
that likely had been converted to slats.
Q: Karla, will you be able to
install a cam in the flight pen when fledging gets close?
Yes, I expect
that we should be able to install a pan/tilt/zoom cam in the flight
pen after the kids fledge. I think we are almost there
donation-wise. Maybe $200 or so if memory serves??
Q: With many of the barn owls, it
appears to be copulation for food. The male brings food, gives it to
her, female lets male mount. At the end of the day, the male's
ability to provide food is crucial to being an appropriate mate.
Interesting.
Barn Owls seem so different from the typical owls in so many ways.
Another thing I'd
like everyone to listen for is if Iris squawks to call Rusty to bring
food. I doubt it's likely since he brings food all the time, but I'd
love to record it if it happens. Again, I really appreciate
everyone's help!
Don't you think
Rusty's hoot is sexy?? The owl babes sure do, like Scarlett Owl Hara
and Jezebelle. Rhett's hoot is pretty deep and manly too. And
Victor, whew! He's got that vibrato thing going on. LOL Rusty
switches over to his "sexy hoots" before tea time. They
are lower, and sometimes he leaves notes off the end. Officially
I've called it a "greeting hoot" since that's the context I
knew it from.
Q: I wonder what that means, to
leave off end note.
It’s more like
saying "hi" instead of a formal "hello"
Did you see Iris
stand up tall to look at the food? Owls are far sighted. So just
like everyone who holds the newspaper at arm's length to read it when
they don't have their glasses, owls stand up tall to look at what
they're standing on.
WyoRanch thinks Karla better get
glasses for GHO's - legs only grow so long
Hein has over 10
pairs of reading glasses, so we're well stocked here.
I just realized a
few days ago that we have SIX owls here! Kind of snuck up on me.
Thankfully Hein is an owl guy, so he enjoys watching the cams and
learning too. Six captive owls: Alice, Rusty, Iris, and 3 owlets.
Wild owls: Rhett, Delilah, and Victor right now.
Q: Hein must be your soul mate. <3 all="" b="" does="" hein="" karla="" now="" of="" think="" this="" what="">
When I first met
Hein at the World Owl Conference in Holland in 2007, I felt like I
had known him forever in the first 24 hours.
The previous wild
owls include: Wheezy (deceased from West Nile Virus)Wendell, her mate
who was run off by other owls after Wheezy died. Virginia, who died
of an infection this past summer (was Victor's mate.) Scarlett Owl
Hara, the witch who wanted Rusty and wanted to kill Alice and hung
around for months until she hooked up with Rhett the fall of 2010.
And Jezebelle, who was here a few days after Rusty and trying to kill
Alice. Although I think Jezebelle might be Delilah.
Q: Did u find their bodies karla?
My neighbor found
Wheezy on the ground unable to fly but alive. I sent her to The
Raptor Center in St. Paul. She later when blind and was horribly
mean. She had to be euthanized. Another neighbor found Virginia on
the sand bar of the river, still alive. Virginia wasn't doing well
when we found her on the sandbar. We sent her to The Raptor Center.
She had a slice in her pectoral muscle full of maggots. They cleaned
it out, but she died of an infection a few weeks later and the found
an abscess under the skin in her leg. We can't know what happened to
her, but I suspect a fight with another female after the female
aggression I saw from Scarlett, Jezebelle, and Virginia.
I'm EXTREMELY
thankful to have found them. Otherwise they would have disappeared
and I wouldn't have known why or when. Like Scarlett. I don't know
what happened to her. Virginia had been resident at my place since
2005, when she and Victor booted out Wendell and Wheezy. Scarlett
seemed like she had hooked up with Rhett, so I didn't expect her to
move on from there. But you never know, especially with an owl with
a name like Scarlett.
Q: Karla, that was a barred owl I
heard the other morning, right? Have you named that one?
The Barred Owls
don't have any names since they don't come close and i haven't paid
attention so I can tell them apart.
Q: Could #3 suffer any ill effects
from not having as much time under mom as the others?
I suspect the
bigger kids help keep #3 warm. #3 might need a little help
thermoregulating yet. I don't remember at what age then can do that
well themselves.
Q: I hear one of the owlets at
Alessondra's branched to the railing tonight at 6 weeks old.
That's great! And
right on time from what I've read. So, something to watch for at OKC
now that branching is happening is contact calls between
Mom and the kids. I watched a wild nest and when the owlet first
started branching, Mom would make occasional single squawks when she
was away from the nest, like to let the owlets know where she was.
Q: Oh, thanks for the heads up,
Karla. Lots of hooting last night, but controversy over whether it
was mom or dad.
Has she done any
contact calls with the kids yet when away from the nest?
Yes, Karla
Females and males
have different rhythms, so once you get used to them you can ID mom &
dad pretty easily. Maybe she will call more to the kids when she's
away from the nest now.
I can't say it
enough: I really appreciate the help! There is simply no way I
could get so many important observations without you all.
Q: Are the contact calls like
regular hoots?
Contact calls are
single squawks. You can find a recording on the Owl Center website
under "our owls" and "vocalizations"
Higher pitched hoot with more notes?
Yes. Females are
higher pitched with more notes, and in a different rhythm
OK, did I manage
to get everyone's questions answered? Or are there some left yet?
Thanks for watching and helping! These cams are an incredible
learning and research opportunity. So, next time I'll have to shoot
for a Sunday early afternoon or late morning so the folks in Europe
can join in.
Q: Karla, maybe next time go live
so the newer viewers could meet Alice
I'll have to mess
with my Ustream settings to get the video from the computer working
again.
OK, time for me
to bug out for the night. Thank you all again!
Alice can be quite a character!
That's an
understatment!! Good night!
