Though I have still yet to see the Male Barn Owl enter the box, this the 7th nesting season 2025, I have turned on the Romanini Live Barn Owl Stream on YouTube, which is free for anyone to watch. I will post the first Barn Owl Update this Sunday March 2nd on my FaceBook Page The Natural Line. There has been enough interesting activity in the box, including a third Barn Owl making an appearance, to warrant streaming live for folks to enjoy .
In 2024, ornithologists split the barn owl into three species, including the American barn owl, which is native to North and South America:
American barn owl: Tyto furcata is restricted to the Americas
Eastern barn owl: Tyto javanica occurs in South and Southeast Asia and Australasia
Western barn owl: Tyto alba is found in Europe, Africa, and western Asia
Hi my name is Elizabeth Romanini, this live-stream is from a American Barn Owl(Tyto furcata) box in my back garden. Since 2019 there have been a total 37 eggs laid by the same female, with 23 surviving to fledge, though 1 owlet was killed just days after leaving the box by a Great Horned owl in 2020. The nesting season for 2024 was eventful, with the first clutch of 6 eggs being eaten by a raccoon, but a second clutch of 4 eggs was quickly laid, only three were viable, and all successfully fledged. In 2021 the female gained a new partner, as the previous male must have had an early demise. Though Barn owls do mate for life, they will take on a new mate should there be a death, such as in our case.
I usually keep folks updated during nesting season on social media platforms, such Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TheNaturalLine), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/elizabethromanini), and Nextdoor on Sundays, and leave the comments off here on YouTube, as to avoid spam. The updates include explanation of behaviors by the owls, their health and well being, the development of the owlets once they hatch, along with addressing any questions folks have. I kindly ask that folks do not email to say 'the camera is down and not streaming', as this will happen. Trust me I will know and be working to bring it back online as soon as I am able, so please have patience- thank you.
These are not captive owls and I will not be interfering in any way with their activities and raising of their young. Please understand, if eggs are laid they may not all hatch, and even after hatching it is possible not all owlets will survive. This is nature, beautiful and yet brutal by turns. Should we have owlets this year I will again likely have them banded to help with a population study here on the Central Coast of California, the camera will be turned off during the process and then resume streaming when it is complete.
The entrance/exit hole for the owls to come and go is on the left, just off camera view. The visible hole in the back right corner is where I would like to put a second camera in the future. You will notice on occasion that the camera zooms in for a closer look, this is because I have control over pan/tilt/zoom, and sometimes I will be changing this to optimize for recording videos that will later be shared to social media platforms.
Blessings,
Elizabeth Romanini