Check out Benicia’s baby barn owls on the netcam at http://www.theowlcam.com
There’s been so much bad news to talk about these last few weeks … contaminated pet foods being recalled … now what do we feed our pets? … stopping puppy mills … what’s really in pet foods? … I think it’s time to talk about something pleasant for a change.

Like the cute little fuzzy barn owl chicks that have just hatched out in a special nest box in Benicia. The barn owl chicks are being raised by their barn owl parents, Frida and Diego.

What makes this particular nest box so special is the fact that there is a video camera focused on the interior of the box so you can watch the baby barn owls growing up, 24/7. It’s really fun!

Here’s a note I just received from Scott Zoog, the nice man who set up the nest box and has been photographing those little owls for us for the last few years:

Hi OwlFans!
The much anticipated 7th hatching finally occurred on Friday! Here is a nice shot of the empty egg just moments after Frida helped the 7th owlet out of it:
http://www.theowlcam.com/archive.php?day=2007-04-20&year=2007&img=3739

Here is another good shot at feeding time, at least five owlets can be seen:
http://www.theowlcam.com/archive.php?day=2007-04-21&year=2007&img=5331

Until Next Time, Happy Owl Watching! (Scott, TheOwlCam.com)

** To join TheOwlList and receive regular e-mail updates on what’s happening with the baby owls, send a blank e-mail to: TheOwlList-on@list.intuitiveisp.com

For those of you who are REALLY interested in peeking into some nest boxes of other bird species around the country, you can also check out the nestbox cams at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/nestboxcam

Have fun! /Gary

Take a look! Frida has now laid four eggs and is incubating them in her nest!

Frida and Diego Barn Owl live in a nest box in the Benicia Arsenal. Their every move is monitored by a video camera (webcam) and you can observe the results live, 24/7, on the Internet. Just dial your computer to http://www.TheOwlCam.com and enjoy.

Here it is September 1 and I’m lying here in bed listening to baby barn owls screaming for their parents to bring them some gophers to eat. This is the third family of barn owl chicks that prolific pair of barn owls has raised since last spring in the Monterey pine tree just down the hill from my house.

Anybody else getting this kind of barn owl population boom near your house? I’d like to hear about it if you are. Just click on "Comments" (below) and let me know the particulars. (How many families raised this year, how many chicks if you know, when, city or town where you live, nearest cross streets, anything else?)

Just curious.

Frida and Diego are two barn owls that live in a nestbox in the attic of a warehouse in Benicia, CA. A video camera was installed in the nest box a few years ago and you can actually watch the owls live (24/7) as they incubate their eggs and raise their chicks. To date, this year, Frida has layed four eggs.

It’s a fun Web site. Check it out at:

www.theowlcam.com