Hello again all,

In my anxiety to ask about "my" young owlet, I forgot to include my usual
signature information - my apologies.

Thanks and good birding,
Trileigh

***********
Trileigh Tucker
Lincoln Park, West Seattle

------ Forwarded Message
From: Trileigh Tucker <tri at seattleu.edu>
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:14:59 -0700
To: "tweeters at u.washington.edu" <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Conversation: Owlet gnawing bark - hungry or something else?
Subject: Owlet gnawing bark - hungry or something else?

This morning I located the West Seattle barred owlet ("Wollet") for the
first time in a couple of weeks. I was alerted to where he was by his
squealing for food, though could not find an adult nearby. When I got back
home and downloaded my photos to the computer, I was surprised to see that
he was gnawing first on some bark, then on the branch he was sitting on.
(Photos at flickr.com/photos/trileigh -- not great aesthetically, but
informative.)

I'm concerned that he may be overly hungry if he's chewing on wood. Or is
this normal behavior for a well-fed owl? Is there some benefit to his beak
or digestion to gnaw on wood?

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