Well, it's official. At least one young owlet has hatched! The first confirmed video of a white fuzzy head was in the wee hours of April 23. Here is the link to the video clips  http://www.flickr.com/photos/184joy/ and here's a link to some great pictures http://www.flickr.com/photos/61682359@N08/

We estimate that we have had well over 100,000 hits to the site (the ustream counter does not work all the time, so is inaccurate). Folks from all over the world are watching, and the interest will only increase now that the young have hatched. 

We are not sure if there are one or two owlets. As soon as we know, we'll announce a "Name the Owlets" contest. If you are able to confirm that more than one young is in the nest, please email us! 

We will soon post links to more pictures of Ellie and Albert and Family!

Owl Excitement!

Our Great Horned Owls, named Ellie and Albert by ustream viewers, are generating great excitement!  Although Elllie spends most of her time sitting quietly on her eggs, she does make the odd foray away from the nest and Albert is now coming in occasionally with food (usually a mouse).

Since Ellie spent many days literally sitting in a snow bank, we are not sure when she laid her first egg. A photograph taken on March 24^th shows her with her back to the nest, probably laying an egg. If she has two eggs and the photograph is indeed of her laying, then the first egg was likely laid on March 22. Incubation takes about 30 days, so a clutch of two eggs should start hatching on April 20^th. If she has a larger clutch, then hatching will start earlier.

Many enthusiastic owl watchers are keeping tabs of the nest and taking photographs when interesting things transpire.  We also have many school classes watching the nest each day.  One viewer has very kindly posted pictures on  http://www.flickr.com/photos/58492954@N06/sets/72157626252549619/

We hope that you enjoy the goings on at the owls nest!

On the evening of March 16, a porcupine climbed up into the nest! The female was away at the time, possibly spooked  off by the vibration of the porupine as it slowly climbed the tree. Porky looked around, then had a short nap before moving on. The male owl then came onto the nest and inspected the situation. He seemed agitated but left after a few moments. The female didn't reappear until about noon the next day, but she didn't seem to be at all upset about the unusual night guest. Owls commence incubating after the first egg is laid, so she is now into this month-long segment of the nesting process. We are interested in tracking the nest activity, especially if/when she ever leaves the nest and how often the male brings her food. If you happen to see anything interesting, please note it down and email us.

We are pleased to welcome you to the Ellis Bird Farm Blog!

By now you will likely have heard that the owl webcam is up and running. The camera is focused on an owl basket that was used by a pair of Great Horned Owls last year. In previous years, owls had nested here in an old magpie nest. When the nest finally disintegrated, we replaced it with a wire basket filled with twigs.

The owls first showed up just after midnight on March 13. Since then, we've had moments of owl angst as the female comes and goes at random. A porcupine dropped in to use the nest for a temporaty bed one evening, which was alarming for both the owls and her viewers!

We are hoping that viewers will be our ears and eyes on the owls. If you are watching and see something interesting (egg laid, interesting behaviour etc.) please note the details, along with the date and time. I will be out of the country until April 7th, so if you can keep your records until then, I'd be glad to have you email them to me ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Having so many people observing this pair of owls will give us lots of very interesting information about the lifecycle of these magnificent denizens of the night.

Our sincere thanks to WelCan Welding of Red Deer who designed, built and donated the 30-foot webcam pole to us. The pole can be tipped down and also has a moveable sleeve upon which the camera is attached. This camera is an infrared camera, so will show images in both daylight and at night.

Here is the ustream link: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ellis-bird-farm-owl-cam

Enjoy!
Myrna

Kristin Bouwesma has kindly offered to oversee our blog, so please check back regularly for updates about the upcoming season at Ellis Bird Farm!