Adult male is a night hunter and his prey consisting of small birds and mammals, such as this red-backed vole, are located by sight and sound.

Since nesting began, the male has been impossible to locate in the dark, damp forest near Slana, Alaska. But each evening he arrives at the nest site to deliver prey to the owlets. As the Alaskan days grow shorter, the male becomes active as twilight engulfs the stand of tall white spruce and poplar.  He is the sole provider for the five owlets snuggled inside a hollow stub.  The female abandoned her owlets when they were three weeks of age.  They no longer needed brooding so apparently her role is complete.

I settle in for a night of owl photography.  My camera with twin electronic flash units is triggered by remote control.

When the male arrives at the nest site with prey, he gives faint, single note calls to announce the delivery.

The male delivers a red-backed vole to the owlets.  In the foreground an owlet feeds on a baby flying squirrel.

Competition among the owlets is intense.  The owlets ages are separated by a couple of days each so the oldest is much larger than the youngest.  Of course the largest owlets get more than their share.  The male drops off the prey whole and the owlets must fend for themselves.  Luckily the male is a very good hunter and may bring five or six deliveries in the first couple hours after dark.  Prey deliveries taper off after midnight.  Although eighty percent of the prey brought by the male are red-backed voles, shrews and small birds such as juncos and sparrows are also brought to the nesting cavity.  I was surprised to learn that the occasional baby flying squirrel was also on the menu.  After dark I often heard and saw flying squirrels near the owls nest.

Male arrives at nest with sparrow.

As the owlets mature and are ready to leave they climb to the front of the line and meet the male at the cavity entrance.

The owlets are around four weeks old when they finally leave the cavity.  Able to fly short distances the owlets disperse into the surrounding forest.