Arizona’s webcam-famous barn owls are expecting again

Arizona’s most-watched bird parents aren’t done for the year.

The barn owl pair that raised five owlets on the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s live nest camera this spring have laid a rare second set of eggs at the Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area in southeastern Arizona.

The first egg appeared on camera Aug. 6. The count now stands at four, though it’s unclear whether the female will lay more.

More than 38,000 viewers tuned in to the department’s live stream earlier this year to watch the pair raise their first brood of five owlets, making the Whitewater Draw nest cam one of the agency’s most popular wildlife feeds.

A second round of eggs from the same pair in one year occurs in only about 10% of barn owl nests. It typically signals a healthy habitat with plenty to eat.

It’s the first time this has been observed on the department’s nest camera, Jeff Meyers, the department’s wildlife viewing program manager, explained.

“This breeding pair are excellent providers and have been doing a spectacular job in producing more owlets,” Meyers said in a statement.

The department expects the first egg to hatch around the end of the first week of September, with hatches happening every few days.

Now the owls need the weather to cooperate.

“With the coming monsoon rains, we are hoping for heat relief and a rodent population boom to help this second clutch turn into more successful owlets,” Meyers said.

Viewers can watch the progress on the department’s live barn owl cam. The feed is unedited and nature is often not family-friendly. Viewer discretion is advised.

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