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Luna and Shadow's chicks are now around 5 weeks old and are ready to fledge. Tawny owl chicks fledge with poor flying ability, relying on their claws and beaks to help them climb and hang on to trees while they develop their flight feathers and flying skills. Hopping from branch to branch, this stage is known as branching. But sometimes they miss, falling to the ground. Calling out to adults, so they still get fed. Some don't even make it to a branch. The second chick to fledge falls directly from the nest. But they're surprisingly good climbers and are soon back high up in the tree.
The third chick to fledge also misses the branch as the final chick looks on. This owlet is now alone in the nest, getting deliveries. The next evening, it fledges to the branch and this one manages to hold on. Shadow arrives with prey, but goes straight past the fledgling to the empty nest, quickly followed by Luna, who steals it. Leaving the hungry owlet calling on the branch. I can't wait to follow these fledglings around Fotherdale.
