From Jason Fowler

This is why you leave owls alone when they are on eggs. People think the owl isn’t stressed standing under her talking loudly with other people.

I haven’t left this branch in 19 days.

It’s 4°F. The wind is 25 mph. The wind chill is -15°F. (That’s -15C, 40 kmh, and -26C respectively.)

I am a Great Horned Owl, and I am incubating three eggs that cannot survive one hour without my body heat.

- I cannot leave to hunt. My mate brings me food, when he can find it.

- I’ve lost 15% of my body weight since I started sitting.

-My feathers are caked with ice. I cannot preen.

- I rotate my eggs every 30 minutes, even at 3 AM.

- I have 9 more days of this before they hatch.

Beneath me, three heartbeats depend on my stillness. If I leave for 20 minutes, they die. If I shift wrong, they freeze on one side. If a predator comes, I must fight without abandoning the nest.

Motherhood is not a feeling. It is a 28-day siege.

  • anon6789@lemmy.worldOP
    3·
    3 days ago

    I’ve enjoyed growing along with the community. I came here as someone with a normal interest in owls, and through keeping you all and myself entertained, now I volunteer with wildlife and get to hold and care for owls and all sorts of other animals.

    Between learning with you all here and what I get to do in person, coming to Lemmy has been a very positive influence on my life. If I can get you all to see some positivity and delight in our natural world and maybe have a few of you volunteer or donate to your local rescue, I think it makes this world a tiny bit better when it needs it the most.

    I’m grateful to you guys, and hope to keep you entertained and inspired for a long time to come.