Welcome to our
barn owl cam sponsored by Clay
Station Wines!
The image updates automatically every 20 seconds.
7/1/09 - There are seven eggs in the second clutch and it is looking less and less likely that any of the eggs will hatch. Of the first clutch of seven eggs, five survived to fledging. "Double-clutching" can occur among barn owls when food is abundant and could indicate that rodent populations are high this year. The best viewing is when it's dark. If you see anything good, please save the image and email it to us - on a Windows mouse if you click the RIGHT button you can save an image.
Update on Marin Art & Garden Center Box, Ross, CA:
We have placed a new owl chick in this box to be "hacked out." The new owlet fell from a palm tree and could not be put back. The owl is in the process of losing its baby fluff and acquiring adult plumage, that's what it looks a bit unkempt! The previous owls that were hacked out are still coming back to get food that is left for them on top of the box. Whenthis owl leaves the box it too will probably come for food, at least for awhile. Volunteers will drop food in the box every day until the owlets fledge. Human contact will be minimal. Once the owls fledge (leave the box) food will still be provided until they stop coming back for it. It appears that barn owls learn to hunt instinctively, not from their parents, that is why this method can work.
Check out the videos & photos below for some views of previous nesting!!
Owl cam watcher Leslie Michel has sent us this wonderful slideshow she created of the owlets.
The videos below were taken by a camera that is installed outside of the box.
Everyone Present!
Night Fly-out
Mouse Anyone?
Morning Peek
Night Flight
Thanks to volunteer Mike Gallagher for the videos!
04-09-08- Dear Owl Watchers, we are sorry to have to give you this sad news...sometime between late last night and early this morning, the female owl died while in the box. We tuned in to find the owlets huddled around her for warmth. Late today our volunteer tree climber removed the mother's body and the live owlets from the box. The owlets are not yet self-feeding, so even though the male owl brings food, he doesn't feed babies, he drops food off for the female to feed. Until the owls are self-feeding they will have to remain under the care of Hungry Owl and WildCare. The seven beautiful baby barn owls continue to thrive. The older chicks are now self-feeding and have been placed in a owl box at the home of a volunteer who will deliver food to them each night. Here are two new photos of the owlets:
The large owlet at the top is the first that hatched (on March 25).
This is the baby (#7) that hatched after removal from the box. The eighth
egg has not hatched.
It has been determined that the female owl died of natural, albeit freakish, causes. The skull of a gopher was found wedged in her throat causing death by suffocation. This kind of thing probably happens more than we know because we don't have cameras everywhere. We are very saddened by this loss. Barn Owls have tenuous lives and don't usually live past two years old. We have turned the camera back on because it is possible the male will find a new mate and begin again, but so far no new activity has been seen in the box. Please let us know if you see any visitors in the box!
These barn owls are nesting in a box in San Anselmo, CA. Barn owls require a cavity or secluded ledge to nest - these are hard to come by and nesting boxes provide more opportunities for these beneficial birds to nest. The image will automatically refresh every 20 seconds. We cannot guarantee that it will work with all browsers. We recommend Internet Explorer on the Windows platform or Firefox on either Windows or Apple operating systems. While you are watching the cam, if you see anything particularly good, quickly save the image to your computer by right clicking your mouse and from the menu choose Save Picture As. We'd love it if you sent us the image (as a jpg file) - send to the webmaster. Or just send an email describing what you observed! Scroll down to see some pictures we've captured. Donations for the cost of the connection to stream the pictures and other costs involved with maintaining the owl cam are gratefully accepted! We'd love to get better cameras and also to have cams at other schools in Marin County.
November 2007 - Two Owls Roosting in the Box
March 2008 - 8 beautiful eggs
April 3, 2008 - how many babies?
View Photos from the 2006 Owl Cam
For questions or comments, please contact Maggie,volunteer webmaster.