Brown Hawk Owl families

There are so few birds around this year; it's almost like a premonition. With the Hawk Owls it’s no exception. Many of the yearly returning birds haven’t shown up at their nesting site. Why?

This year’s rainy season has been a bit extreme. Kyushu has had floods and mudslides and now, 1 week after Yamakasa it’s still not over. I was quite relieved to find one pair of owls that had 1 chick, which they took with them into the woods in record time. There was only one day for me to see them around the shrine where they have their nest.

アオバズク  =  Brown Hawk Owl

And I was very surprised to hear about another pair having 4 chicks. By the time I got to their place the father and the eldest chick had left, after a fight with the crows. But here was mum, busy looking after the other 3. She flew back and forth getting them cicada's which they happily munched on, hopping from one branch to the other.

I hope they grow up well.

And, as requested, last year’s trio.