Owl Gets Surprised To Find Babies In Her Nest

Nesting habits of the Barred Owl and Great Horned

There were three more hungry cubs in the owl nest.

Robert Fuller works as a wildlife rehabilitator worker in the United Kingdom. He has been watching an owl with the name Luna for several years already. They have placed a camera in her nest, and they are keeping track of how she is doing.

Sadly, what they have seen throughout these years was not encouraging. The poor thing had been trying to become a mother for several years now, but it never worked out. The eggs just did not hatch, leaving Luna in grief. Witnessing the bird suffer every time broke Robert’s heart. And for a while, he though that there was no way he could help her. It was just the fait that the bird had to accept and move on.

the Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl can be found throughout

However, one incident changed Robert’s mind. He knew that another owl, who had given birth to two nestlings did not make it, so the two newborn owlets had to remain orphans. But not under Robert’s supervision! He realized that if two owlets are in need of a mother, and a mother is desperately waiting for her babies, why not make them meet?

It was already clear that Luna’s eggs were not going to hatch again. So Robert waited till Luna was out of the nest to replace them with the two nestlings. He hoped that everything would turn out well, and that Luna would accept them as her own babies. He was waiting for Luna’s return with his fingers crossed.

When Luna came back, her happiness was beyond any expectation. She rushed to take the birds under her wing, and kept nurturing them. Her reaction made it clear that it was the start of a happy family. Whether Luna knows that the nestling are not biologically hers, or she thinks her babies finally hatched will always remain a mystery. But one thing is clear, Luna was more than grateful to have them in her nest.

Andrea Parss is a writer at Animal Club where her primary focus is on anthrozoology, conservation, human-animal relationships. Andrea has been writing and researching animals for over ten years and has decades of hands-on experience working with a variety of different animals.

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