Barn owl is on his feet

He’s on his feet!   This is such an encouraging sign and that he’s still eating.  He helped himself to a chick for breakfast and took only a few minutes to gulp it down.  An owl’s beak might look small and their mouth is hidden but they actually have a big gaping throat and their food goes down quite easily.

We’ve called him Merlin, he’s a magical bird, an amazing creation of nature.   Merlin’s feathers are intact, he’s still very thin and much too light.   He hasn’t had enough to eat and this is the problem that late chicks face.  There aren’t so many small rodents around for them to catch.   Present day farming methods, big fields with no cover for small creatures, have a ‘knock-on’ effect on the wildlife food chain.   Hopefully though we’ll be able to save this young owl.

Another problem is his right leg which he doesn’t want to use, nothing to see but it’s obviously damaged.