The old Papa owl looked very tired as he sat in the sycamore tree each day in the winter of 1999-2000. One day in early March we were astonished to see him sitting at the entrance to the hollow tree where Mama had likely just laid her eggs. He was always very careful not to give away the location of the nest by visiting it during the day. As soon as the eggs were laid, he would abandon his winter roost in the nearby sycamore tree and move further away from the nest.
However, here he was, right at the entrance to the hollow where Mama was sitting on her eggs. Barred Owls mate for life and he had always been very faithful to his mate. We think he knew he was dying and came to the nest to say "goodbye." We never saw any trace of him again.
Papa's demise left Mama in a bad way. She stays with her eggs except for a few brief periods each night, and depends on her mate for food. Without him to bring her food, she would have to leave the nest to hunt and the eggs would die from exposure.
At the same time, we were puzzled by the reappearance of Junior and his sister. Normally the young owls leave the territory during their first fall and are not seen again in the area.
The mystery was solved in mid-May when THREE owlets emerged from the cavity in the home tree. Junior and his sister had been bringing food to their mother each night for the month it took to hatch the eggs, and for the six weeks after they hatched, these two yearling owls had been feeding their mother and three siblings.
Little "Roamer" was the first of the triplets to leave the nest. He immediately "walked" through the tree tops to a tree some distance from the nest. This seemed to alarm Mama who stayed close to him.
"Gomer" was the second of the triplets to leave the nest and the only female of this hatch. Barred Owls have distinctive faces and to our eyes, she is the most beautiful of any owl we have ever seen. These pictures were taken in July, 2000.
Through the summer of the year 2000, Junior, his sister, and his mother worked very hard to feed and raise the triplets. Junior often could be seen hunting from early afternoon on. He began to hoot, often getting the eight-note song of the Barred Owls wrong. He would hoot as the sun began to set to draw the triplets to him as they began their evening hunt. We often heard him again at dawn's first light, signaling the triplets to find a roost for the day.
Little Homer was the last owlet to leave the nest. He seemed reluctant to leave and sat for a long time at the entrance before venturing further. And then he returned several times later. He's the only fledgling we've seen do that. This is why we named him "Homer."
Thanks to the efforts of Junior, his sister, and his mother, all three of the triplets grew to maturity.