Barred Owls Are Back For 2024 Season In Indiana

The Wild Birds Unlimited Barred Owl Cam is back streaming live from Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 2024 breeding season! Now’s your chance to watch your favorite Barred Owls attempt to raise a family in their nest box located more than 30-feet high against the trunk of a pignut hickory tree in the backyard of WBU’s President and CEO Jim Carpenter. The female owl laid her first egg on February 26, and another egg could arrive anytime in the next 24–48 hours. Don’t miss a moment—watch live.

“Egg-citing” Stats: Barred Owls typically lay 2–3 white, oval eggs per breeding attempt, although clutch sizes can range anywhere between 1 and 5 eggs. The female will lay one egg every 48–72 hours (sometimes longer for subsequent eggs) until the clutch is complete. After the first or second egg is laid, the female will begin full-time care over her eggs during the entire incubation period, which lasts 28–33 days for Barred Owls.

Where’s Dad?: While the female keeps the eggs warm and safe, her mate is tasked with providing food. Barred Owls are mostly nocturnal hunters, and the male can be easy to miss while delivering meals to the nest box in the wee hours of the night. To monitor the male’s comings and goings, watch the cam’s outside view by clicking the “2nd Cam” button above the livestream, and follow the WBU Barred Owl Cam on X/Twitter @WBU_Owls for updates about the activity at the nest.