4 Years in the Life of a Male Barn Owl | Barney - A Barn Owl's Life Story

barney was one of my favorite isles here at fatherdale barney had lived here for over four years but sadly on the 23rd of october 2020 i saw him for what would be the last time could he have sustained one too many attacks been hit by a vehicle or simply died of old age at least four years old barney was already beyond the average age of a wild bar now well i'm sad brian barney's gone he had a great run here so here's a look back at his extraordinary life here at fullerdale [Music] barney burst onto the scene in 2017. pairing up with a female owl and this was the one before gylfi i watched barney and this first mate caught him down in the elm stump and this was a wonderful thing to see they spent hours preparing the nest and before long they had four eggs for their efforts four chicks hatched and were doing really well and i was able to foster on another four rescue chicks this led to some amazing scenes as this pair brought up an eight-chick super brood and all successfully fledged after sadly losing his mate at the end of 2017 barney partnered again as gylfi moved into the area [Music] barney and gilfie was soon caught in a maintenance dump and this was the beginning of what would be a three-year relationship [Music] with this new partnership blossoming barney would do anything for gylfi even fighting off toenails on the feeding post which is no mean feat because toenails are much more powerful and soon his hard work paid off i watched as gilfie revealed the pair's first clutch of three eggs look at barney here in his prime surveillance territory [Music] barney and guilty cared for their chicks really well and they soon became strong in the outlets fledging in the late summer [Music] as the next breeding season came around barney and guilford in the almstump quoting them preening and this was to reaffirm their bonds for the next breeding season ahead [Applause] barney provided for gilfie as she began to lay even defending her from attacking toenails [Applause] [Music] soon the pair had another clutch and this time four eggs three of the chicks hatched and barney were checking on them regularly this is one of my favorite moments when the chicks venture to the nest entrance and i get to see them actually in real life rather than just watching them through the tv screen look at this sweet moment when one of the chicks pushes through its siblings to get a peek at the world outside as the first brood were fledging guilford was already on another clutch of eggs over at sycamore stump i was delighted when barney and gilfie raised the second brood because this was a first for the barnhouse of fullerdale [Music] the spring of 2020 rolled by and the pair headed back down to armstrong to start another brood guilfy laid another 3x which was another promising clutch but as the first egg hatched the others were so successful after cracking a hole the second chick seemed to be unable to get out of that egg [Music] but only seems to mourn the loss of this unhatched chick [Music] when the third egg didn't hatch i named the surviving chick solo and as an only chick she grew fast provided for by a busy barney [Music] meanwhile barney and guilford were courting again at the sycamore stump preparing for a second brood despite courting in a sycamore stump maybe this site was just too hot in the summer gilfie headed back down to the arm stump and laid a clutch of eggs alongside solo and once the eggs were laid an eight week old solo took a turn brooding this is something i'd never seen before as skelfie brooded the eggs for a month solo stayed alongside her for the whole process and this was really unusual [Music] barney was a bit put out because solo was taking food which was intended for gylfi his partner look how barney's giving solo the cold shoulder as the second brood of three chicks hatched disaster struck one morning after a wet and windy weekend solo undertook a nest raid she stormed into the nest and stole food from her mother's beak gobbling it straight down and then in a tragic turn of events solo grabbed the largest chick in the brood gilfie was completely confused torn between a maternal instincts for a grown-up daughter and that tiny chick in a flurry of feathers solo had killed the chick and then retreated from the nest with a chick in a beak gilfie was close behind her chasing her from the nest a fuller and gilfie returned to her two remaining chicks and settle down to brood them barney returned to find his partner with only two chicks and he seemed to be confused and looking for that lost chick [Music] but it's gone after this event solo was ousted from the nest thankfully the two remained in chicks hans and greet survived this ordeal and barney provided for them well they even attempted to feed them as gylfi was away this is unusual behaviour for a male barn owl and as you can see his technique needs some work he's trying to give this tiny chick a whole piece of prey he worked around the clock and soon hands and great were ready to fletch [Music] barney truly was an incredible owl and a fantastic father in his time here at fullerdale he fathered 15 chicks and he also helped to raise five other surrogate chicks too it was truly an honor to get an insight into this life of this spectacular owl well it's sad to see the end of barney's story it's exciting to see gilfie start a new chapter with a new mate finn [Music] you

Channel: Robert E Fuller

Views: 126,608

Rating: 4.9776268 out of 5

Keywords: animals, barn owl, barn owl baby, barn owl breeding, barn owl breeding cycle, barn owl call, barn owl eggs hatching, barn owl facts, barn owl life cycle, birds, nature, wildlife, wildlife art

Id: QD78101KsJA

Length: 8min 23sec (503 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 15 2021