Barred Owl Nest Box Cam

Live stream has now ended. Join us again next March!

Join Betty (female) and Maverick (male) in their third nesting season. Located in Milwaukee, WI, this nest box camera is part of a Barred Owl Monitoring Project run by Schlitz Audubon in collaboration with Bill Stout, a licensed raptor bander.

For the safety of the birds, their offspring, and integrity of the project, all information regarding their location is private.

We will be tracking events and listing them below, from egg laying through fledging. The average incubation period for barred owls is 28-33 days. Young owls grow quickly and fledge (or leave the nest) 28-35 days after hatching. 

We thank our partners at WE Energies for their support in continued maintenance of this nest box.

Significant Occurrences

March 12: Betty lays her first egg.

March 16: Betty lays a second egg.

April 14: The first egg hatches.

April 15: The second egg hatches.

May 7: Baby owl banding.

Morning of May 22: First chick fledges.

Night of May 22: Second chick fledges.

Owl Banding

Licensed bander Bill Stout visited the Barred Owl nest box and banded the two little owlets. They were carefully weighed, measured, and received one silver federal ID band and one purple colored research band. The purple bands with letters “AD” and “AF” connect them to the monitoring project and, if the birds are seen and reported, we can follow their dispersal after fledging. If you see a purple banded Barred Owl in the Milwaukee area, it’s one of Betty and Mavericks chicks! You can report ANY banded bird to the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory.

Important wildlife monitoring projects, like Bill Stout’s work, provide essential information for learning about population trends, behavior, and overall health of wildlife and the environment. Data collected can also shed light on new things that weren’t previously known or understood. We are grateful to Dr. Stout and his collaboration on our Barred Owl project.