Indecisive Barn Owls Finally Start a Family 🦉🦉 | Willow & Ghost | Robert E Fuller

Barn owls Willow & Ghost are surely the most indecisive couple ever. It took them almost 8 months to finally get down to the business of laying eggs and most of the dilly-dallying was down to Willow's wobble over her choice of nest box. Watch Willow and Ghost interact live on my nest cam:    • Live From Fotherdale | Robert E Fuller   and follow their story in this playlist:    • Barn Owls 🦉Willow & Ghost | Wild Lives | R...   JOIN MY MISSION ____________________ You can support my wildlife rehabilitation and conservation work by donating here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s... or joining one of my supporter communities: https://www.robertefuller.com/support... ABOUT THIS FILM ____________________ Barn owl love story This barn owl pair first met in January and seemed tightly bonded. It was lovely watching them preen one another, which is what birds do when they are in love. The word for this mutual grooming is 'allo-preening'. Awkward lovers But these first time lovers were an awkward pair and as most other barn owls were busy laying, these two were still finding out the ropes. Their first attempts at love-making were hopelessly unsuccessful. Indecisive nesters But worst of all was their inability to choose a suitable nest site. Essentially the problem was that Willow, the female owl, had her heart set on Sycamore. But this nest box was already taken by a large family of kestrels. I made a film at the time about the barn owl pair's search for the perfect nest spot. You can watch it here:    • Barn Owl Pair Search For Perfect Nest 🦉🦉| ...   Right up to the last Even when Sycamore finally became available and the barn owl pair are at the point of scraping out a nest, Willow is unsure and bolts it back to the Barn Owl Tower, where they had spent the summer waiting for Sycamore to be free of kestrels. Finally there are barn owl eggs It was nail-biting stuff when she then makes a last minute shift back to Sycamore and lays her very first egg later that very day. But she forgot to tell Ghost Meanwhile Ghost hasn't a clue that there has been a last minute change of venue and can be seen waiting for her in Barn Owl Tower. Clueless barn owl Even after finally finding her, Ghost remains clueless and it is another six hours before he finally notices they have their first barn owl egg to care for. He also doesn't seem to have cottoned on that he is now a father - he still seems to think his job is mating! Willow's wrath The female barn owl finally loses her patience and the mood gets tense as she goes for him. Barn owl eggs Normally barn owls lay every three days, but it is five days before we see the 2nd egg. The 3rd, however, is laid three days later and on August 7th, 2021, Willow lays her fourth and final egg. Next time Subscribe to my channel to follow the story of this owl family, and find out how this clumsy couple cope as first time parents. ABOUT ME ____________ I am a British wildlife artist and filmmaker on a mission to share my love for wildlife with the world. As well as creating detailed animal film and art portraits, I promote wildlife tours around the world and do all I can to help conserve and protect wildlife here at my home in Yorkshire. I hope that by putting nature in the frame I can foster a deep love for wildlife amongst my followers. You may like to purchase my artwork which you can find on my website: https://www.robertefuller.com. Many of my paintings are portraits of the wonderful characters you watch here! You can also follow me on these platforms: Website: https://www.robertefuller.com Facebook:   / robertefullerart   Twitter:   / robertefuller   Instagram:   / robertefuller   ___________________ © Robert E Fuller Copyright Disclaimer: Please feel free to share my videos but do not download any content without permission with the intent to re-upload. If you would like to license any content, please get in touch: [email protected] #robertefuller #barnowls #owls