Little Owl lays her second egg

The female of this pair laid her first egg of 2015 on the 20th April. Little Owls usually lay their eggs on alternative days so I was really hopeful that this female had laid her second egg on the 22nd April. On Thursday 23rd April, I connected my monitor screen to the video recorder and saw her second egg! I excitedly downloaded the video files, as I was really keen to find out what day and time she laid her second egg. Little Owls usually lay their eggs on alternative days, so I was expecting there to be approximately 48 hours between the first and second egg. She laid her second egg 52 hours and 46 minutes after her first egg. 


Male prey provisioning

Male Little Owls present their partners with prey items shortly before breeding and during egg laying. These prey gifts reaffirm the pair’s bond and they help the female to acquire sufficient fat reserves for egg formation and incubation. They also give an indication of prey availability and the male’s ability to provide prey to his offspring. In this video, the female Little Owl swallows a small mammal prey item, which was caught by her partner. 



Pair bonding behaviours

Here's some wonderful footage of this pair bonding in their next box. I know it’s anthropomorphic, but I think that paired Little Owls can be tender; I love the way they nuzzle and preen each other. Male and female Little Owls look similar. The female of this pair laid her first egg on the 20th April at 15:29 hours; this video was recorded shortly before she laid her second egg on the 22nd April at 20:15 hours. The average UK Little Owl clutch size is 3 - 4 eggs.