Barn Owls' Struggle to Raise Autumn Owlets | Gylfie & Dryer | Full Story | Robert E Fuller

In this film, I follow barn owls Gylfie and Dryer as they lay a late second clutch and witness these owl parents become increasingly fatigued by the effort of raising chicks in Autumn. Date filmed: June - Nov 2024 Join this channel to support my work and get access to perks:    / @robertefuller   Watch barn owls and Gylfie & Dryer interact live on my nest cam: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... follow their story in this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... ABOUT THIS FILM ____________________ Barn owl pair It is Autumn and Gylfie & Dryer are in their second year together. Already caring for two chicks, Uno, and a foster chick named Lucky in Ash Stump, the pair are also already preparing for another brood. Late double brood It's a sign that these owls are doing well and have enough food nearby, and energy to raise more young. In England, only 10% of barn owls will double brood in the same year, a strategy only used by barn owls and short-eared owls here in the UK. Nest Surprisingly, they choose Beech Stump for their new brood. This is a risky move as normally tawny owls Bomber and Luna raise their young here. Egg laying But as the barn owl parents' two older chicks fledge, Gylfie lays her first egg and, whilst Dryer continues to supply food to the older owlets, Gylfie goes on to lay an incredible total of six eggs. Chicks hatch Barn owl chicks should hatch every 2 to 3 days but there is a five day gap between the first chick and the second and so I assume that two of the eggs failed. It means there is a nine day gap between the oldest and youngest chick. Youngest chick perishes With a gap this large the youngest cannot compete. Gylfie keeps standing on it and the eldest chick even pulls at it. Eventually it seems to disappear from the nest and I suspect the worst. It's likely Gylfie has fed it to the other two chicks - a common practice among birds since it is a source of food and also avoids attracting predators. Parent owls exhausted But something is wrong. Gylfie begins to spend less and less time in the nest and Dryer no longer brings in much food. Also, Gylfie begins taking the food he does deliver. Help Helping isn't easy. I can’t risk going to the nest, in case Gylfie flees, putting the two surviving chicks at even great risk, so, I decide to place supplementary food in nearby nests - enough for Gylfie, Dryer and the chicks. ID rings & fledging With my help, the owlets quickly regained weight and by six weeks are ready for their ID rings and shortly fledge. Dispersal Despite coming under attack from tawnys as they fledge, both chicks thrive and soon disperse to find territories of their own. 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 can support my work by donating here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s... or joining one of my supporter communities: https://www.robertefuller.com/support... 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! Follow me on social media: https://www.robertefuller.com/pages/s... #barnowl #wildlives #robertefuller #robertefullerwildlifecams CHAPTERS _____________ 00:00 Introduction 00:34 How to ID Gylfie & Dryer 01:01 Double broods 01:31 Nest choice 02:41 Barn owls court 03:06 1st egg 03:54 Dryer cares for both broods 04:06 2nd egg 05:19 3rd egg 06:06 4th egg 06:42 5th egg 06:44 6th egg 07:13 Gylfie hunts 09:19 Dryer hears first egg peep 11:11 1st egg hatch 12:16 Dad Dryer meets 1st chick 12:43 Chick caught underfoot 13:56 2nd chick hatching 15:08 3rd chick hatches 17:26 Youngest chick weakens 19:12 Gylfie & Dryer exhausted 20:23 I supply extra food 23:22 Gylfie steals from chicks 25:13 ID rings 30:19 Autumn fledges 32:05 Fall fledges ___________________ © 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 #[ADD SPECIES HASHTAG] #[ADD PLAYLIST NAME HASHTAG]