From Hawks Aloft
Bubba and his Babies! We celebrate our avian foster parents, like Bubba, who take on the hard task of raising orphans, like the three Great Horned Owlets that arrived within the last three weeks.
Bubba feeds his charges, nuzzles them, guards them and ensures that they grow up knowing that they are OWLS. But, he is only programmed to deliver whole mice, so Amelia Thompson, our senior rehabilitator, has to hand feed in the first few days when they need chopped food.
Of the three, the oldest owlet has taken its first short flight and is perched next to Dad. Our female, Dulcita, watches over their brood from above. We are so fortunate to have foster parents in our avian ambassador program.
Thank you @Ethan Thompson for these photos.
I think the idea is that mom (or, maybe a fully wild dad?) would regurgitate or tear off baby-sized pieces.
Pappa owls typically just do the hunting so far as I’ve seen. Momma can’t really leave the babies, so the male will bring stuff to the nest and put some caches of food in nearby trees if the mom needs to quick grab something without losing sight of the nest.
Momma then pulls off some bits for the first few weeks until the babies can start eating whole prey.