Barn owlets in Buncombe County area fledge after viral live cam watch
All four surviving barn owlets had fledged from a Marshall nest box that began with six eggs and drew more than 62,000 live viewers.
All four surviving barn owlets in a Marshall nest box had fledged by late June, ending a spring watch that drew more than 62,000 viewers and turned a western North Carolina nest into the state’s first public live wildlife camera. The 24/7 feed, which carried audio, let people watch the owls nest, hatch, and begin the move to life outside the box after the clutch started with six eggs.
Barn owls are elusive raptors and are listed as a Species of Special Concern, which gives the nest added weight beyond the online attention. Sydney Brown, the agency’s education development and evaluation supervisor, called the cam the agency’s “newest conservation adventure.” The nest box, installed in western North Carolina in 2011, had been used by barn owls six times in 16 years, and state biologists point to habitat loss and some agricultural practices as reasons the species has declined in some regions.
The strongest viewing window came around April 15, when the owlets were hatching and the stream hit its high point. Since then, the key signs of fledging have been young owls losing their last baby down, edging to the lip of the box or a rafter, testing short flights, and, when they hit the barn floor, climbing back up with talons and beak. The outside camera can catch the awkward first flights and brief roosts around the nest box.
The birds were expected to leave the nest as soon as early July. Barn owls disperse on their own as they search for territory.
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